Page 76 - The Disneyization of Society

HYBRID CONSUMPTION

with a casino, hotel, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, and a theatre; and Genting,
City of Entertainment, Malaysia, which comprises gambling, golf courses, con-
26
vention facilities, restaurants, sports facilities. Along Philadelphia’s waterfront, a 67
large number of themed bars and restaurants have opened, along with a Dave and
Buster’s (see next section), a seaport museum, ice skating rink and a Hyatt hotel. 27
New York’s controversially rejuvenated Times Square is yet another example, with
its striking combination of themed restaurant, bars, theatres, stores, all linked to
a general tourist entertainment theme. Of course, cities have invariably contained
combinations of leisure facilities, but what is significant about such developments
is the coordinated way in which these hybrid consumption areas are assembled
and the fact that this tends to occur in a clearly defined enclave.

Hybrid consumption within outlets

Related to hybrid consumption of the kind found in malls, as outlined in the last
section, is that many outlets seek to incorporate more and more consumption
opportunities under their roofs. Placing coffee shops within book store chains like
Barnes and Noble and Borders in the US and Waterstone’s in the UK is an example
of the way in which some outlets seek out a symbiotic relationship between dif-
ferent forms of consumption in order to enhance the general ambience of their
main offering. This kind of twinning is also very much to do with the stay longer
principle outlined above. At the time of writing, many branches of Abbey
National, a chain of banks in the UK, include a small Costa coffee shop within
each branch (Costa is one of the main chains of coffee shops in the UK).
Another example of the process is Dave and Buster’s where several different adult
entertainment activities, such as video games, restaurant, billiards room, and a
nightclub are brought together under one roof. The Dave and Buster’s chain is often
found in malls, especially those with a strong entertainment orientation. Since the
chain’s outlets include several consumption activities, they serve to increase the
range of hybrid consumption in these malls. Disney’s ESPN Zone chain also func-
tions in a similar way as a resort for adult sports enthusiasts where they can eat in
the restaurant, be spectators of sports, participate in interactive video games, and
28
purchase sports souvenirs in the shop. In the UK, at Girl Heaven, a chain of retail
stores for girls aged three to 13 and themed on the concept of ‘girl power’, the aim
is to provide a platform for a total makeover into a ‘princess’, so the outlets include
hairdressing, manicure, and make-up along with clothing. 29

Hotels

Hotels are often at the heart of hybrid consumption settings because the bigger they
are, the more likely it is that people will be prepared to stay longer and therefore they