The Off Topic Topic

[Santa07]

39 minutes ago, Theme Park Ninja said:

is me leaving the theme park enthusiast club a better option for everyone? 

No not at all, you're a cool guy. Stick around, give things some time.

[Theme Park Girl]

1 hour ago, Theme Park Ninja said:

is me leaving the theme park enthusiast club a better option for everyone? 

No mate, I wouldn't want you to leave. I just think you need to handle your page a bit more maturely.

I'll be totally honest and blunt with you. I've seen two "closing down" announcements now for theme parks world, with a "staying open" announcement in the middle there somewhere. At one stage, you had two conflicting announcements up. It's been a little confusing, to say the least. I stopped following at that point because it was just too much drama for such a small page.

And now you're causing more confusion with your existing fans by essentially abandoning them and starting a new page ?

I've also seen you tread on the toes of other related pages who have supported you with blatant idea copying, which isn't a great move either. I confess was a little irked when I started the B&W "what ride is this?" image posts on my blog, only to see you start doing to see the exact same thing on yours not long afterwards.

As @reanimated35 has said, these things take time and effort, and a bit of originality thrown in. Instead of confusing your followers with yo-yo'ing closing/reopening announcements and new pages, I think you're better off focusing on what you started with. Come up with new and fresh ideas to keep things interesting, and let your fan base build up by itself gradually. It will happen with dedication and persistence! 

I also personally think it's also way too early to be considering doing a live weekly stream as you don't have enough interest yet. Leave that to Ash to do, or better yet, help him to promote his, since it would be returning the favour for having you on it recently. He's put a lot of time and effort into his show, so you can understand why he would feel the way he does about it. 

Thats my honest advice anyway, take it or leave it.  But I don't think you should leave altogether. Just maybe try things from a different perspective. I'd be happy to help support you, as I am sure other would be, if you go about it the right way ☺️?

Edited July 25, 2016 by Theme Park Girl

[themagician]

I agree with you @Theme Park Girl. And you've got to remember @Theme Park Ninja it does take time. I've been running my page for almost six years now, and its only in the past couple of years I've seen a real increase, especially this year. I'm just passing 4,500 likes, and that may not be overly many when compared to TPSN who are about to hit 9,000 likes and has been doing it a couple years less than me. But I've found my own style for the page, know what people do and don't want to see, and I've learnt how to present my posts. I don't post things that are unnecessary that don't directly link to our parks. I know the focus of the page, who I'm targeting and I stick with it. And I think that's why I'm still going and my page is starting to get more popular. It's fine if people don't agree with what I've just said, but that's my opinion and what I've learnt in the past six years.

And it's a shame that some of the smaller pages out there, who do brilliant coverage and have taken some great photos, aren't getting as many likes, but if they keep at it, they will eventually get there.

If you want to keep a page going, why don't you rebrand your current page to Theme Parks Australia, delete all unwanted posts or references to Theme Parks World, or The Ninja. Then you've still got those likes, and find a style for your page, what do you want to show, and stick with it.

Hope this helps you.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

let me know if I made a good decision here, I'm continuing the Theme Parks World with Theme Parks Australia name, will make an apology on my page about the drama tonight, thanks for supporting me guys and I apologise to some of you guys for making this page like hell since I joined.. 

[iwerks]

I agree with a lot of the previous comments. Make sure you delete any references to previous incarnations of your site and any mention of the park chat show that didn't happen.

Imagine what it would be like if someone stumbled across your site for the first time - how confusing would it be? Don't admit defeat and be uncertain about your page.

Maybe one of the reasons Clayton has been so successful is that he is consistently at the parks taking pictures and working on his page. It might not be to my taste, but he certainly has his followers.

Check out your demographics - where are they from? Do they want local GC information or are you going to cover parks from the rest of Australia?

Use video - people always want to see moving images in their feed. A perfect viral video goes from anywhere from a couple of seconds to a minute and tells some kind of story. Even if you can only get to a park one day a week, split the video and photos up and spread them out through the week.

And if you are ready for a larger audience, put your money where your mouth is and advertise. Oftentimes people don't even know your page exists. You can advertise from as little as $7 a day. Can't afford to advertise, then use hashtags. Better still, create good content. You got to remember it's a privilege being on someone's feed. Be consistent - make sure you set a pace that you can maintain and be in it for the long haul.

[themagician]

Some good point from iwerks, and agree with not posting too much a day. I don't like when some pages post tonnes every day. Today was the most posts made on my page in a while, mainly because I hadn't posted an update on doomsday in a week. And even $5 is fine to promote a post is a good amount, and can push a posts reach up a few hundred people.

[iwerks]

I think it's really easy to sell a theme park website - it's cool stuff people want to read about - so often you'll reach more people than Facebook thinks.

The problem with boosted posts is that after two weeks they can be hidden from view. Advertising for even a week will really boost your numbers. The ideal target market would be 13-30 year olds.

[themagician]

I only ever make the boosts for a couple of days, and only for posts that I feel like are important, and always target every age.

[Slick]

While we're on the topic, what is everyone's favourite theme park website? Official or otherwise? And what do they love to see the most in terms of content? 

I love what Aussie World's done with their new website (http://www.aussieworld.com.au), and despite not being a massive fan of the current marketing campaign, overall it's a fantastic UX that's laden with content. Me rikey.

I don't mind Dreamworld's at all, I really dig the big emphasis on imagery, but it's very, very heavy to load. For me personally, I think the big missing is offering more beyond a few hero shots and a blurb for your attractions. I'd love to see more attractions pages like Dollywood's where you can scroll through an endless supply of photos or videos. 

On the flipside of things, to me it's interesting how many websites aren't up to date and integrate modern UI/UX practices (responsive design, etc.) into their main portals. Disney, Merlin & Village all still have sites in some capacity or another that have remained unchanged for quite a while. I'm interested, does this alter your experience to the point where you'd rather go elsewhere to research prior to buying tickets (or as google call it, ZMOT)? I know Richard takes a ridiculous amount of pride in custom-coding what's gotta be literally the best theme park website out there in terms of the systems in place - you only have to look at Theme Park Review to realise the light and day difference.

I also really, really love what Busch Gardens does in terms of webisodes and additional content (like above), as does Disney & other brands, but maybe that's just me.

With OurWorlds i'd love to have more time to craft together park guides, psuedo Vlog meets Top Gear style pieces that are gorgeous, funny and informative, but that right now remains a pipe dream until I get ontop of projects again.

 

[themagician]

I agree with you @Slick. When I've been on TPR, it feels really outdated, and considering how big the company is, compared Parkz is so much better and nicer. And I think yours is a really nice site to. I much prefer DWs newer look compared to the previous version, and I do like MWs, etc, but a couple of elements could be done better, such as the park maps.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

To answer the main question - I only visit village or ardent sites to purchase tickets, and only when they have a better offer than places like groupon or local social clubs. I don't visit them for content unless i'm checking maintenance pages or height restrictions. The reason is simple - they don't offer anything in the way of content that i can't get anywhere else - Parkz delivers what I want to see, and if the website comes up with something interesting (such as when they launch a new product like Star Tours, or their seasonal products like FN and WC) its usually posted on the Parkz Forums for me to direct link to.

TL:DR - the GC parks sites are shit, but I don't think it really matters.

[Reanimated35]

All of the park websites are basically the same. They offer little to no reason to visit other than to purchase tickets and get some extremely basic ride info. Pretty much exactly what I'd expect from the Ekka's website, and what do you know, it's exactly what you get from the Ekka's site. 

Where's the content? (This is certainly not anything against Parkz) I shouldn't be forced to come to a site like Parkz to get an understanding of what to expect in the park. I want to go to a theme parks website and learn what I can expect. I want to see ride stats from the manufacturer. I want to see up to date images of what's at the park. I want to see a fun and games area for kids (or kids at heart) with things like colouring in of rides/attractions, or online browser based games. I want to see on ride POV or off ride videos of what to expect. I want to see accurate and informative food and beverage options. Hell, I want to see a damn live webcam of a popular section of the park so I can see what the atmosphere is like. 

Right now, I'll jump onto the page and see that yes, this ride is open, there's the ticket price, ok I've made my purchase, time to go do other things. 

One thing that bugs me about VRTP too is the fact it has 2 different ticketing systems. One for the passes, and one for the extras. Why can't it just be the one? Especially when the extras one doesn't work on a phone. 

Overall there's not one single page I've found, local or international, that has what I'd consider a full experience worthy of being called the "best". There's a few decent ones, but nothing that stands out. 

[Theme Park Girl]

16 minutes ago, reanimated35 said:

Hell, I want to see a damn live webcam of a popular section of the park so I can see what the atmosphere is like. 

I love this idea!!! That way you can also tell if the park is busy or not, and worth the trip out if you're visiting from across suburbs or from another town or city. Nothing worse than driving for an hour to a theme park and finding 90 minute waits for rides 

I would also like to suggest is making more of a big deal about attraction/ride maintenance. I do understand that there's currently a specific page for this on each theme park website, but there's nothing listed on the individual ride pages about them being closed at the time. I see a lot of complaints stem from disappointment of rides being unexpectedly closed, and knowing how much tourists pay for their tickets and passes, it would definitely be beneficial for the parks to try and make it as obvious as possible when attractions are down or unavailable - maybe even a rolling update on the purchase pages themselves?

Either way, I think that this would cut back on complaints/negative reviews, as it means that guests can either consider visiting another day or another time if they aren't happy with the current offerings at that time.

 

[rappa]

I really hate having to dig through to some obscure location to find info about ride closures, heaps of parks do that. 

 

I also dislike pages where you have to go all the way back to the start should you want to look at a different ticket option or something. 

 

As as for layout and UI I'm actually the wrong person to ask. Because I like the simpler and basic the better. So TPR for example I love because it's so basic and easy to use. But my preferences are never going to win any awards. 

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

11 hours ago, reanimated35 said:

Hell, I want to see a damn live webcam of a popular section of the park so I can see what the atmosphere is like.  

Well, since we're talking about park sites not keeping with the times - I just want to point out that Wonderland had FIVE webcams live on their site in 2001.

I think this point is going to garner plenty of interest here. Many parks use webcams on their site - especially for construction watch. If anyone at VRTP is watching - you guys need at least to get a webcam set up for your coaster construction - stick it on Batwing or Green Lantern overlooking the coaster site - THAT would build hype... but other than that, stick one on main street, and maybe another one overlooking wild west or Doomsday or both. 

[Gary86]

On Sunday September 11 Dreamworld will be having a fun run to raise money for the DWF. Looks like fun (I like the looks of the wild scramble).

http://www.dwf.com.au/get-involved/dwf-fun-run

[iwerks]

Anyone want to claim responsibility for the Theme Parks Downunder Podcast? It looks like it has just started in the last month. It certainly is the year for theme park blogging.

https://m.facebook.com/tpdupodcast/?tsid=0.5987805563490838&source=typeahead

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

seeing that no one has done this, I'm thinking about doing videos on my YT channel giving out my thoughts about recent news around the theme parksgood idea or nah? I'm also considering do reviews my channel as well

Edited July 29, 2016 by Theme Park Ninja

[BNErider]

53 minutes ago, Theme Park Ninja said:

seeing that no one has done this, I'm thinking about doing videos on my YT channel giving out my thoughts about recent news around the theme parksgood idea or nah? I'm also considering do reviews my channel as well

With all due respect, I think you should just do whatever you want to do. And do it for longer than a few months because it'll take a heck of a lot longer to get people interested, trust me.

[Jay Jay The Jet Plane]

moving away from theme park pages now, what do you guys think is the most overrated and underrated ride in the GC?

[Reanimated35]

On 29/07/2016 at 9:33 PM, Theme Park Ninja said:

seeing that no one has done this, I'm thinking about doing videos on my YT channel giving out my thoughts about recent news around the theme parksgood idea or nah? I'm also considering do reviews my channel as well

Reviews of what exactly? People aren't going to want to sit there looking at your (or anyone's) face try to describe a ride or experience in a video. They'll want to see the experience in the video. 

Video reviews on something that isn't a physical object you can show just don't really work that well. If you had legitimately sourced on ride videos or experience videos, it might work but they're not exactly easy to come by. 

Edited July 31, 2016 by reanimated35

[WalleyWorld]

Absolutely loving the new look of the refurbed Incredible Hulk Coaster at IOA. The lighting is so cool. It was a bit rough in the back cars when I rode in 2012. So now that the track has been replaced, and new trains, it should offer a much better overall ride experience. One of the most photogenic rollercoasters around.

Another vid with some good daytime shots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=274&v=iBWp0_yYw6o 

[BNErider]

^ Looks great, just a bit bummed out that they didn't use the new B&M vest restraints.

[Whombex]

I'm happy the layout appears to have not changed - what an awesome first minute to a ride.

[Tim Dasco]

Does anyone know if they changed/replaced the launch system?