Disneyization of Taiwan

Theming

Jurassic restaurant: dinosaur themed restaurant

The three-story Jurassic restaurant in Taipei opened in 1988. The menu is traditional; it includes stinky tofu and frogs cooked in soy sauce, but it is the decorations visitors come for. (Switek, 2009) Dinosaur skeletons are on the roof and on the sides of the building, while 6-metre-long dinosaur skeletons and T-rex skulls decorate the interior. (NTDTV, 2009) Jurassic restaurant was launched during a time when there was a glut of wild-west-themed establishments in Taipei. (Switek, 2009)

The restaurant owner, Mr Huang Pei-Song said that their idea was to have a theme that cannot be easily replicated. Why dinosaurs? He explained that simply because they do not exist now. Regardless of the generation people were born in, they do not exist and so they would always remain a sense of freshness. (NTDTV, 2009) Therefore, as mentioned in the video below, even after 20 years, new customers are still surprised when they dine there. While most wild-west themes slipped into extinction, Jurassic restaurant holds on (Switek, 2009) and it has succeeded as they are able to provide a unique experience that customers are seeking for.

Besides dinosaur themed restaurant, there are also numerous of popular themed restaurant in Taiwan. Some examples are jail themed restaurant, toilet themed restaurant, A380 themed restaurant and hospital themed restaurant. The themes are the unique selling point that attracts customers to the restaurants.

Hybrid consumption

Taipei zoo is an example of how the concept of hybrid consumption can be applied. The zoo itself becomes a destination and the principle is not purely to visit the animals but getting people to stay longer through things that they offer. Besides the animals as the main attraction in zoo, there are children’s zoo, food and beverage outlets and souvenir shops to keep your children entertained, fulfill your psychological needs and allow you to do some shopping.

Another example would be Leofoo village theme
park. Since it is not possible to complete the tour of Leofoo Village Theme Park on a single day due to its size, it is planning to include an international hotel (AsiaRooms, 2011), to meet the physiological needs of the visitors. They also have the plan of including a huge garden. The theme park is more than just thrilling rides, having a garden allows relaxation and it is appealing to market segment such as the elderly. Restaurants, shops and performances attract them to spend longer time there.




Merchandising

The souvenir shops in Taipei zoo sell merchandise to the tourists and the purpose is to maximize the opportunity for the customers to buy so as to generate sales. The sales made from the merchandise is one of the components that contribute to the profit of the zoo. So what did Taipei zoo do? Their merchandise has a suitably attired character on them; the pandas. They provide their own merchandise such as t-shirts, cups, hats and masks that represents pandas with Taipei zoo logo. (Mac, 2011) The t-shirts that tourist could buy acts as literally the walking advertisement of the zoo.

Performative Labour

At Fatimid, Taiwan maid café, the staff becomes the actor on stage. Besides dressing up as maid to get into the character, the “maid” needs to address the customer as “master” and place them as their priority. They are required to be smiley and friendly at all times to provide
good quality of service.