Are We A Dying Breed?

[Angry_Gumball]

Park-specific sites seemed to have died off, especially around here... Back in the day we had Great American Thrills, SFMWOnline, SFDKZone, and NorCalCoasters.net (just gave myself mega nostalgia just now)...Maybe it's just a Bay Area thing. Sites like TPR I don't see dying off anytime soon...would be like any major successful big-box stores being a dying breed, TPR having a healthy amount of park coverage similar to a big-box store carrying a wide selection of goods.

 

With social networking sites booming and such, the way we receive information will only evolve...as Robb pointed out, live updates from Media Day or a major TPR trip. It is definitely a lot quicker to post several images up on Facebook with a quick caption from the phone than trying to make a decent post on TPR with several images, not to mention having to downsize them on your phone on the fly.

 

Having done 1 media event so far, I had to do it 'old school' style (since I don't have a park fan page on Facebook...yet) and wait until I got off work the next day to go through pictures, resize them, and finally get my take on the report up - minus the postings on Facebook/Instagram for my coaster enthusiast friends to see. To be fair, I did head off to another park after the media event for the rest of the evening. I wonder if unofficial park fan pages will make a rise (if they haven't already) since they are free to set up on Facebook. I know I've seen an unofficial Cedar Fair page, dedicated only to CF parks...minus the typos/grammatical errors and some of the posts, initially it could be hard to tell if it's the real deal or not.

 

There are some sites out there that appear to see less traffic compared to back in the day when I used to visit pre TPR forums...one being CoasterCrazy. I see the same threads just sitting there collecting dust while here the first page of the forum is always changing with updates to threads and such...a lot more active. I haven't ventured into their coaster exchange but I think that's primarily their strongest spot of the site.

 

So yea, I don't see our breed dying and especially don't see TPR fading off to oblivion unless the whole amusement park industry completely wanes for some unknown reason.

 

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

We manage to keep the CGA thread on the first page over the past several seasons since the CGA thread was made. Just because it's off season doesn't mean the parks don't exist, there's always some kind of discussion bound to happen whether if it's construction updates, speculation, or when all else fails, ghosts (yes this actually happened last year in the CGA thread )

[azza29]

My two cents: online forums are still much better at fostering community and discussion, especially when they're well managed and moderated. I find this makes them more rewarding to contribute to than other types of social media.

 

Facebook/Twitter/Youtube seem to be more of a 'release and respond' model - heavily reliant on the creator to push out a piece of content, and comments tend to be feedback on the content rather than discussion.

 

For example, a Facebook update along the lines of 'what's your favourite coaster?' will just get a stack of answers with people listing coasters in response to the original question. A TPR thread along the same lines usually results in people not only contributing their own response, but commenting on the responses of others also.

 

I think these other forms of social media are still useful - Youtube is a great medium for TPR vids, and I enjoy Robb's twitter updates. However for a good, meaty discussion nothing beats the forum.

[IrishBuckeye]

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

 

Well I would hope so, because facebook and twitter didn't exist ten years ago!

 

It is my sincere hope that those as interested as us are not a dying breed, but don't feel I can comment much one way or the other. As for the poster who discussed future generations only wanting everything to be bigger taller faster and shunning the classics (can't find the quote ATM), I would absolutely hope not. My home park is Cedar Point, and I could absolutely marathon ride blue streak all day long if you told me to. I love the ricketyness and nostalgic feeling of an old ride like JackRabbit at Kennywood, for example.

[Intaman]

Before the internet, there were obviously fewer ways to communicate. In fact, how did groups interact with their members? Since enthusiasts are a rather small total of amusement park attendees, there are arguably a few enthusiast boards, groups, clubs, etc. that will capture this niche market. There may have been too many forums, etc. for the number of enthusiasts. Additionally, those that have survived and/or thrive are able to offer products and services (information, events, tours) that others cannot provide. TPR is one of those that offers many benefits to its members and registered users. That said, here we are enjoying this great no-cost forum, trips, bashes, park index, etc. It also has about 40,000 registered people, yet has a much smaller feel (which I also enjoy).

 

I also think it is somewhat difficult to estimate the number of enthusiasts by the number of boards. One, there are some people who "lurk" and prefer their anonymity. Two, some people might use other ways to get their info e.g. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. Three, competition has produced proverbial "winners" and "losers".

[MrSum1_55]

The point is that, no matter how much the technology advances, roller coasters are still going to be popular. Although kids have plenty of other forms of entertainment, this market is the type of market that cannot be filled in any other way. Roller coasters will always be popular for the same reason skiing/snowboarding will always be popular. They are a kind of fun that cannot be substituted by any other means.

[boardwalkbullet91507]

As long as there is a coaster...there will be us.

[ArizonaGuy]

I wouldn't say we're a dying breed......we're still here. The number of sites I would say has decreased, but sites like TPR have increased tenfold in traffic and content. I pretty much don't go to any other sites anymore for coaster content because I know pretty much if it's not on TPR, then it probably won't exist anywhere else.

[Sammy*]

I dont think so, theres a new entusiast born everyday. However a lot of sites didnt make it. I guess it kinda goes like this. TPR is like Walmart. Walmart put a lot of other stores out of business as TPR has done to others sites. Why go anywhere else when you can get all here. Im from the south so yes I used Walmart as an example.

[Bane]

Interesting topic.

 

I run the official supporters club for Blackpool Pleasure Beach, and we've found a lot in the last six months, that a lot of our members tend to enjoy posting on our Facebook page, more than our forum, but we just can't work out it why and it is really frustrating at times.

 

Coaster enthusiasts certainly aren't a dying breed, but I think people bother less with newer forums or sites dedicated to one park, more than what they bother with Facebook.

 

There's no doubts TPR and other established sites will always be busy, and that's purely because of the hard work put into it, that will always be there for all to see.

[619fan]

I also run a webpage with some friends and it is so much work, that we decided to cancel our forum and just have a "normal" webpage with stories and pics.

I really love this work, but due to the fact that I also have to go to work, it's pretty hard to go press conferences or openings.

But when you than read that the people like the work you're doing, than it's great.

And I can say that here in Germany the coaster community still grows and it's great to meet new people to talk to...

[Philrad71]

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

 

 

This.

[cstrfrk67]

I really cant speak of other theme park sites, but I am active at forum sites which pertain to my other life interests. One thing I can say about TPR.....I have not seen a site that incorprates so many of the options available as heavily and as well as what has been done here. Example, TPR has CoasterTube, but Robb uses YouTube as an outlet to create TPR exposure for those on the "outside" of our community who may not know TPR exists, which of course has the potential to make our community grow. I am not a big social-media type guy. I have a lot of interests that I partake in, then once you add in work, family, etc., my 24 hr. days are pretty well accounted for. So Facebook, Twitter, etc., have never been my thing. But having the TPR name out in those medias as well, keeps us relevant, and lets people know where to go when they decide they wanna get "into" what we're about. I myself, found TPR a few years ago because of my enjoyment of messing around w/ RCT games. Thats how I stumbled onto this site. Ol saying goes, "if you dont adapt, you die". Robb, Elissa, the Mods, and the members here is what keeps TPR relevant and evolving, and I'm proud to be part of it.

[simaticable]

I don't think we're a dying breed. In fact, I'm pretty sure this entire site has proven the opposite. This site is growing everyday with new members joining constantly. I don't see coaster enthusiasts ever "dying out."

[Randomman295]

As long as there is a coaster...there will be us.

This.

 

As long as anything is being made, there will be a fanbase or an enthusiast base for it.

 

Even if we just stopped making roller coasters all together, the enthusiast community would take several years to die down.

[Angle O. Descent]

I only really started getting into roller coasters a year and a half ago... at 30 years old.

I'd say that coaster enthusiasts aren't a dying breed at all

[Tropical7]

Coaster and park enthusiasts? No, in fact I've seen quite the opposite. I am active on a few sites, and just in the past few months a few of those "slow" sites have picked up with new members all over. Though, I would say that waterpark enthusiasts are semi a dying breed. I never hear anyone speak about waterparks in park discussions anymore. I always hear "Forget the waterpark, hit the coasters!" leaving me out for an hour or so to be at the waterparks. So, what used to be a good number is now in the lower 100's in my usual sites, though TPR, I do not know due to how I just came back after not posting for a while.

[gerstlaueringvar]

Someone posted about Chinese coaster forums. Well... Honestly in RCD which is the biggest and most professional coaster forum in China, only the minority can reach the TPR standard. But the most professional members are definitely experts. We are spreading coaster/park related knowledge and already had a pretty good result.

 

Coaster enthusiasts are not disappearing! I believe as long as coasters are building and new things show up with creative ideas, the amusement industry is going forward and we Will have more fun.

 

Don't worry!