ABSTRACT
While it is possible to find individual elements of Fantasy City in earlier times, notably in the “golden age” at the turn of the twentieth century, it is the convergence of three major trends in the 1990s which has led to the emergence of the contemporary theme park city- These are: (i) an increasing dominance of rational techniques of production (i.e. the “McDonaldization” of the market place); (ii) the proliferation of themed environments; (iii) and the elevation of “synergies” of form, content and structure as a key business strategy.
