Introduction

This chapter argues for a move away from the notion of theme-park visitors as naïve, controlled and duped into excessive consumption, and for approaches that take seriously the range of ways that theme park fans form active, reflective and pleasurable attachments to theme parks and their rides, attractions, and experiences. It argues that a Fan Studiescentric approach allows better understanding of how and why people become fans of theme parks and their attractions, and develop emotional and affective connections to these, whilst being acutely aware of the consumerist nature of the themed environment. Offering an overview of the chapters that follow, the chapter also provides a summary of the book’s central arguments.