Are We A Dying Breed?

[nhman93]

I Have been thinking about this and I wanted to know all of you guys opinions on the subject. But are we Coasters Enthusiast a dying breed, I've been thinking this because it seems that about ten years ago their where many more coaster sites and just about every park had a fan site with a active forum community.

 

Now it seems that most sites are closed or dead and very few new sites are being made. Also most parks fan sites are dead or on life support except a few sites for the major parks.

 

So do you guys just view this as times and sites changing (plus we have TPR which is like a all in one mega site) or do you think kids just are not falling in love with coasters like we all did due to all the other entertainment options they have nowadays. Also something to Consider is many of us that our in our late teens and early 20's grew up when Six Flags was building Huge coasters for each park every year and Coasters where breaking records and pushing new limits year in and year out it was a great time for a kid to fall in love with the Industry.

 

Nowadays with limited coasters being built in the US and most of the new innovation going to China and overseas do you think as many kids will pick up the hobby?

Edited January 9, 2013 by robbalvey

[larrygator]

There are a lot more Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for manufacturers and parks than there were 10 years ago.

[cfc]

I think that Twitter, Facebook, You Tube have taken a lot of "business" from the coaster and theme-park fansites. I don't think enthusiasm has waned about coasters--there are just more venues to talk about them available. Besides, I hardly think there's a "lack of innovation" in the U.S.--a lot of interesting new atrractions are bing built (for example, Outlaw Run at Silver Dollar City and the new Antarctic pavilon at SeaWorld in Orlando).

 

TPR keeps going because it has a wider focus than coasters or individual parks.

Edited January 9, 2013 by cfc

[robbalvey]

There are a lot more Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for manufacturers and parks than there were 10 years ago.

THIS!

 

I'm gonna answer this question as honestly and as frank as I can be.

 

The only reason why many of those sites are dead now, is because there wasn't anyone at the helm to keep the alive. Please do not underestimate the amount of work is takes for Elissa and myself, and also our amazing moderating team, to keep this forum active, and full of new discussion every single day.

 

And on top of that, we ALSO have an active Twitter and Facebook feed as well.

 

We have moderators who's sole job is to find news items, posts their findings to the forum, help generate discussion, and keep the forums constantly active.

 

And it's largely because of that is why we have so many equally as awesome members who choose to post their trip reports and comments to Theme Park Review because of how active our community is. You're not going to spend the time and effort to put together a trip report if there isn't an audience.

 

A lot of people have said that "online forums" is what the "dying breed" is, and Facebook and Twitter are taking over, which I do agree to some extent that we have seen a decrease in our forum traffic and an increase in our social media traffic...HOWEVER... you still cannot have a decent, threaded discussion on either Facebook or Twitter so I feel that the online message board still has quite a bit of life left in it!

 

TPR's forums had an average of over 10,000 posts per month in 2012. Personally, I find that to be VERY active, and not a sign of this community or the hobby being a "dying" breed.

 

Hope that answers your question!

 

--Robb

Edited January 9, 2013 by robbalvey

[robbalvey]

One more thing to address....

Nowadays with limited coasters being built in the US and most of the new innovation going to China and overseas do you think as many kids will pick up the hobby?

The economy is getting better, and 2011 was a much better year than 2010...

196.3 million: Total attendance for Top 25 worldwide parks, +3.8 % from 2010

127 million: Total visits to Top 20 theme parks in North America, +2.9 % from 2010

103.3 million: Total visits to Top 20 Asian theme parks, +7.5 % from 2010

57.8 million: Attendance for Top 20 European theme parks, +2.8 % from 2010

23.6 million: Top 20 worldwide water parks attendance in 2011, +8.2 % from 2010

13.4 million: Total visits to Top 10 Latin American theme parks, +0.7 % from 2010

14.4. million: Total visits to Top 15 Asian water parks, +10.3% from 2010

 

So yes, I think YOU will just as many people being into it, because there are more people going to parks.

 

Everything has a life cycle - at one point it was all about Usenet and now that's dead. Then it was every person on the planet having an online forum, and only the good ones and dedicated few have survived. Now it's a combination of those and social media that most people are focused on.

 

Stick with TPR - we aren't going anywhere and we'll always bring you the most up-to-date information and we'll have the MOST FUN while doing it!

 

--Robb "

[DougMJr]

Dying, no... Evolving, YES!!!!

 

10 Years ago it would have been difficult to get the amount of up-to-the-minute coverage we are able to get today! Think about the TPR Cruise Coverage! From the middle of the ocean they are able to post updates on Facebook. From there the Mods update Twitter and the Forum.

 

Using the technology available to us today in unison is proving to be a great strategy for TPR, and I love the fact that some form of coverage is available wherever I happen to be. Facebook, Twitter, RSS feed on my Desktop, and the Forums.

[RoCo]

All points above are great ones; it's just staggering how media has changed and fragmented in the last 25 years. Remember when hit shows like Friends had tens of millions of viewers each week? The viewer numbers for the biggest hit network shows today are way down from that. But are people watching less TV? Not at all. They're just doing it differently, and they have thousands more options available to them.

 

Remember Friendster?

Edited January 9, 2013 by RoCo

[robbalvey]

10 Years ago it would have been difficult to get the amount of up-to-the-minute coverage we are able to get today!

This is a good point! It used to be that we would go to a media day...shoot lots of photos & video, come home, take a day or two to put together a really big report, and then release it to the masses...

 

NOW... you guys are seeing it AS WE SEE IT almost live!!! We couldn't do that up until about 4 or 5 years ago.

 

--Robb "I kinda miss the old days!" Alvey

[Extreme]

I think what you are seeing is the cream rising to the top. 10 years ago websites were the thing to do. Those like Robb and Elissa chose to put a ton of effort it to making this site what it is today. There just isn't that many people who want to make that commitment. In any thing its the people that want to put in the effort that over the long term are going to become the defacto standard. Once that happens, it will take a large concerted effort to gain a foot hold in the area. Unless there is someone that is willing to put in all the time and effort that Robb and Elissa have put to make there site viable you are not going to see a lot of site succeed. At this point you are going to need to invest upwards of 10000 hours to get that point which at 8 hours 5 days a week will take you 5 years. If there was some one willing to invest that kind of time they would be already there.

 

Thanks to Robb and Elissa for all they have done. I know that the commitment is excetional

 

 

Ken

[Lareson]

Innovation could be part of it too. I've noticed since the record breakers were introduced at Cedar Point (Millennium Force and TTD) kids think that if a coaster doesn't go 100mph+ or 400ft+ tall, it's a boring coaster. Some of the GP comments can be pulled out of that category every time some ride is announced at a park. I remember hearing all of the complaints with Maverick when it was announced about its height and speed. Kind of irked me, but the line doesn't lie at the park, turned out to be a popular ride even with it flaws.

 

Inversions don't seem as big of a thing anymore as it was 20 years ago, but that seems to be coming back with a few recently built coasters.

 

I'm glad the industry is getting more involved with social media. I mean, 10 years ago, sites like TPR would be the only outlet to get info from. Now that a majority of discussions have moved onto more "public" sites, you can pretty much follow any park from the moment a ride is announced to when the first pile of dirt is moved. I remember back around when Millennium was built, there wasn't any construction tour, it was just the occasional video or picture released on the park's website or that someone was lucky enough to know someone who worked there and could get a tour and forums go crazy to discuss what was going on. Now that the GP has gotten involved with those discussions, let's just say that there's been a lot more bickering.

 

Only thing that does slightly worry me is preservation. In 30+ years, will we still have some of these classic coasters around and will there be the thought that future generations think of them as pieces of crap that need to be torn down. I do always have that in the back of my mind, will my grandkids be able to ride The Beast, Shivering Timbers, Magnum, or even TTD and Millennium. I already know that by that time, a lot of the old Arrow coasters will be gone and that they'll never get to experience many of those, but I guess it's just a waiting game to see what's going to last the longest now.

 

What Robb and Elissa have done is unbelievable, TPR would probably one of the last sites like this to exist if some of the other ones close down. The community on here is probably one of the most friendly that I've read and now that I've been more involved in the conversations over the past few months or so, I'm looking forward to being part of this for quite a long time.

 

Like what others have said, thanks Robb and Elissa for keeping it alive!

Edited January 9, 2013 by Lareson

[nhman93]

There are a lot more Twitter feeds and Facebook pages for manufacturers and parks than there were 10 years ago.

THIS!

 

I'm gonna answer this question as honestly and as frank as I can be.

 

The only reason why many of those sites are dead now, is because there wasn't anyone at the helm to keep the alive. Please do not underestimate the amount of work is takes for Elissa and myself, and also our amazing moderating team, to keep this forum active, and full of new discussion every single day.

 

And on top of that, we ALSO have an active Twitter and Facebook feed as well.

 

We have moderators who's sole job is to find news items, posts their findings to the forum, help generate discussion, and keep the forums constantly active.

 

And it's largely because of that is why we have so many equally as awesome members who choose to post their trip reports and comments to Theme Park Review because of how active our community is. You're not going to spend the time and effort to put together a trip report if there isn't an audience.

 

A lot of people have said that "online forums" is what the "dying breed" is, and Facebook and Twitter are taking over, which I do agree to some extent that we have seen a decrease in our forum traffic and an increase in our social media traffic...HOWEVER... you still cannot have a decent, threaded discussion on either Facebook or Twitter so I feel that the online message board still has quite a bit of life left in it!

 

TPR's forums had an average of over 10,000 posts per month in 2012. Personally, I find that to be VERY active, and not a sign of this community or the hobby being a "dying" breed.

 

Hope that answers your question!

 

--Robb

While It's sad that forums are supposedly going the way of Blockbuster I think their are many people on here that love this forum and are very thankful to you Robb for putting in the time money and effort you do to keep this Site up and Running and to keep adding new features and sections to the site while many other site owners would have been content building a great site and leaving it as is. I feel like some people on here don't seem to remember that Robb has a job,family and life that does not included this site and expect the world of him when it comes to updates and other news. Just like the rest of us this is just a hobby for Robb he just gets to have more fun and ride more coasters then the rest of us So to you Robb I say a huge thank you for giving so many of us coaster misfits from around the world a place to join and feel like a big community and where we can still have a Intelligent but fun conversation about something that's supposed to be fun in the first place.`

 

Edit: I just realized that I forgot to mention and thank Elissa who is a huge part of this website

Edited January 9, 2013 by nhman93

[BeemerBoy]

I don't pay attention to anything outside of TPR, so I wouldn't know.

[DougMJr]

I think the big thing keeping the TPR forum alive is the Quality of content here is better than other groups that rely solely on twitter/facebook.

 

Another great thing about the TPR site/forum is the fact that it kind of acts and an archive. The future of facebook/twitter is anything but certain. Look at MySpace and how it lost relevance in 5 years.

 

I'm sure Robb feels more secure knowing that the majority of content is stored on privately owned TPR servers and not on Facebook/Twitter's servers.

[robbalvey]

I feel like some people on here don't seem to remember that Robb has a job,family and life that does not included this site

TPR is actually now my "full time job" which also is a huge factor for why I feel it's so important to keep it growing, active and alive. In order for this site to take care of me and my family, I also have to give back to our community something that makes people want to keep coming back and contributing more and more.

 

There have been some people who take issue with us turning TPR into a "business" but to be honest, it's due to that very fact that we HAVE to uphold a higher level of quality and content. Without those things, we wouldn't be able to survive, and neither would TPR.

 

So we have quite a vested interest in making sure TPR stays awesome!

 

--Robb

[RoCo]

^Wait a minute, you want to actually make money with all the work you put into the site, the videos, etc. HOW DARE YOU?!

 

This is the way the Internet is supposed to work: Someone starts website with passion for a particular subject. Website becomes really popular. Owner of said website is able to monetize that popularity and pours some of that back into website, which in turn grows more, becomes more popular, makes more money.

 

Owner wins, visitors to web site win. There's a problem here?

[Shavethewhales]

Personally, I'm not sad to see the era of every 12 year old enthusiast starting up a coaster site go past. Every park used to have so many of those little free website builder websites with little content and little usability. Then you had a scattering of forums, most of which were poorly run and filled with whining and immaturity.

 

Looking back, it seems to me that when TPR started these forums, it started to revolutionize the community over time be setting a new standard. If you wanted to start a coaster forum now, you'd have to ask yourself what you would be able to do better than TPR, and the answer would probably be not much. So again like others have discussed, most of those older style websites are stagnating because there are simply better places to go.

 

I do think the time is ripe for something better than forums though. I really like clean, simple nested comment systems such as those on reddit. I've imagined setting up a site like that just for parks and enthusiast where each park has it's own "subreddit" of sorts to filter news and discussion topics. At one point I was developing a site like that, but I'm a senior engineering student now and just don't have the time for coding anymore.

[robbalvey]

I do think the time is ripe for something better than forums though. I really like clean, simple nested comment systems such as those on reddit.

I would assume that this may be a natural next step for Facebook Pages. I mean, we can post a photo and get good comments and discussions going, but there is no way to organize or search those, other than to create albums.

 

At the point that Facebook does actually integrate some sort of organized "discussion" into their business pages, I could see internet forums greatly decreasing in popularity.

 

But until that happens, we'll continue to keep this active, and WHEN that happens, at least we are in a very good place to get on board!

[_koppen]

I can only imagine the amount of coaster enthusiast's that will start to pop up in china, and the amount of online forums they will have in a few years.

 

Maybe that could be something for TPR? Get somebody that knows Chinese to help you start up a Chinese division of the site?

Or maybe it's just to much work, I really don't have a clue, but it's always good to be first with something.

Edited January 9, 2013 by _koppen

[singemfrc]

There have been some people who take issue with us turning TPR into a "business" but to be honest, it's due to that very fact that we HAVE to uphold a higher level of quality and content. Without those things, we wouldn't be able to survive, and neither would TPR.

 

So we have quite a vested interest in making sure TPR stays awesome!

I just want to say thank you and that I think the site and it's users are better off for it, too.

[Arrow Dynamics fan]

A dying breed? I don't think so. Theme Parks are still very popular with younger audiences from what I have seen. Concerning sites like TPR, this is normal for pretty much any industry. Any time an industry is new, you get a lot of contenders and after the market gets flooded, the ones whom did the best job are the ones that will remain when people settle on their choice. It was this way with the car industry (there were a ton of car companies that made one car and were gone the next minute), search engines for the internet, etc. In order for a forum to be successful, you have to have a dedicated staff whom keep the discussions going by feeding constant new information about the industry and be able to make the site fun. TPR has done this very well, that is why they are the go to site.

 

In my opinion, Facebook for people that are more self interested than topic interested, and less concerned about how what they post can come back and haunt them (especially considering that they are using theoretically their real name, not just a fun made up one like what many of us use). Youtube is taking things to the next level with videos and all and is a competing but different industry. If newspapers, radio, and television could co-exist, so can discussion forums, Facebook, and Youtube.

[Sir Clinksalot]

I certainly think "evolving" is the right term. As others have said, 7-10 years ago you'd have a dedicated fan-site for every park and if you wanted to visit a particular park you'd pretty much have to join that forum for that parks fan-site ask your questions and then you'd never visit it again. Now with TPR, a few other sites, FB and Twitter you can pretty much get any answer you are looking for in one place.

 

It's simply easier to get info now than it was then.

[KoasterDan]

I think the problem with a lot of sites is the off-season. Most sites are park-specific, or maybe even region-specific. With TPR, or DISBoards, there are constantly people going to parks in California, Florida, etc. These thinks keep interest in the community. On sites that are based on northern parks, some people stop going onto the site during the off-season, then they forget to ever come back. It's tough, but like people are saying, Twitter is taking a lot of people. It's very convenient for updates.

[robbalvey]

I think the problem with a lot of sites is the off-season.

I stand by my comment about needing someone at the helm to create ongoing content and discussion. Just because a park is closed doesn't mean there isn't something you could discuss...or, when the park is back open, discussion should start back up again.

 

If the person who runs the site, just stops creating content or discussion, of course it's going to die.

 

There are plenty of skiiing and snowboarding discussion forums, for example, and that season is even shorter than most amusement parks.

 

--Robb

Edited January 10, 2013 by robbalvey

[netdvn]

Another thing about those older websites. As time moves on, the admins may lose interest in the hobby, find it too hard to keep updated, or they may get lives/jobs that keep the sites from staying active. The same happens with members. As the site gets updated less frequently, they move onto more active discussion boards or they lose interest etc.

 

With park fansites, it seems that if the park has fewer sites, they'll remain pretty active much longer than parks that had 4-5+ different fansites. Usually those 4-5 fansites will whittle themselves down to one or two (excluding Disney and a few exceptions here and there).

 

I do miss some of those older sites though. Some are still around today, but far less active than they were in 2001-2003. Coasterforce and Coasterbuzz seem to be the only major discussion sites that are still active from that time period.

[154bmag]

Another thing about those older websites. As time moves on, the admins may lose interest in the hobby, find it too hard to keep updated, or they may get lives/jobs that keep the sites from staying active. The same happens with members. As the site gets updated less frequently, they move onto more active discussion boards or they lose interest etc.

 

With park fansites, it seems that if the park has fewer sites, they'll remain pretty active much longer than parks that had 4-5+ different fansites. Usually those 4-5 fansites will whittle themselves down to one or two (excluding Disney and a few exceptions here and there).

 

I do miss some of those older sites though. Some are still around today, but far less active than they were in 2001-2003. Coasterforce and Coasterbuzz seem to be the only major discussion sites that are still active from that time period.

 

Most of these other websites haven't been updated in years, like Xtreme Coastin, they haven't updated the sight since 2007 and are possibly going to bring it back. Most websites die out over time, the only websites I know that are still in service are TPR, Coasterforce, and TPI, all others I know of are either closed or are facebook groups.