I admit, when I think "theme park," I think thrill rides, roller coasters, big stuff-- guy stuff.
But then when I think "Theme Park Insider," I think more of how good costumes were during a show, the theming of a ride, the music, the family fun stuff-- girl stuff (I think so anyway).
I AM A THEME PARK ADDICT! And I'm definitely a chica. Can someone explain this fascinating phenomenon to me? Are guys truly bigger theme park fans (overall) than women?
But music, theming, etc. is beyond gender as there are artists and musicians and people that appreciate both art and music... which most Theme Parks do very well.
While I do agree that thrill rides seem to be male dominated, I think a lot of male Theme Park "addicts" are closet fans... like their friends may not appreciate a guy wearing a Mickey Mouse or Harry Potter Shirt. But on the internet, no one cares. Just my two cents!
My survey demographics show that the actual readership of the site is split evenly, 50%-50%. So I wouldn't say that women are more or less likely to be theme park fans than men. But that since the editor of the site is a man (i.e., me), that's probably led more men to "delurk" and comment than women, since it's a male voice we hear most often on the site. Which, in turns, encourages more men to post. So the posting demographic becomes self-fulfilling.
The solution? I gotta get Laurie and Natalie to start posting around here.... Perhaps those female voices will encourage our female readers to chime in more often.
I think females might feel the same way, unsure if their comments make a difference. From what I remember from another thread, a number of people said they read the posts, but it took them a year or two, to get up the courage to actually post something.
And then, males might be afraid to post comments on say, costumes, the flower show at Epcot, parades, or other things like that, for fear of being type cast.
And I encourage all women and girls to post on TPI, we men and boys need to accept other points of view. It's great to be able to chat with people from all around this big beautiful world of ours. So to all you people lurking out there, afraid to post, just start typing and join the fun, your opinion does matter.
At theme parks, who is the target demographic? Families. In the traditional nuclear family, who ends up watching the kids?
So in a typical day at a theme park, which partner can enjoy the sights, sounds, and smells while the other partner makes sure nobody eats before riding or swimming, keeps track of nap time schedules, prevents Timmy from dropping ice cream on his new t-shirt Aunt Martha bought him, sets up a location to meet in case the party gets separated, packs a bag of snacks, sunscreen, water, cameras, first aid staples, and raincoats, and all the while has the parking spot location identifier memorized in her head?
That said, I don't think TPI's comments section is a mess - I just generally don't read the comments, and don't comment myself, because the rest of the internet has scared me off. (The few times I have read the comments, they seemed pretty astute!)
Additionally, I haven't been to some of the parks that get mentioned fairly frequently (Holiday World), so I don't feel like I have much to add.
I don't know that a female blogger would get my attention or cause me to de-lurk any more or less.
I know I'd love to see a non-family (adult singles or couples) theme park article series, and might get involved in that discussion. But I bet I'm in the minority there...
Robert, our fearless leader is a great guy, maybe he'll take your advice Meagan and do something on the non-family subject.
JK!,
with love luis G a.k.a (TPI troll)
p.s WORD!!!!!!!!!
True... I actually don't see many women commenting on any other sites to begin with. Hmm, I wonder why. Maybe Joshua's right-- we're too busy chasing the kids around OUTSIDE of theme parks to be commenting online. Oh GASP(!) I hope I still enjoy theme parks when I become a housewife and have kids. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
WORD!!!!!!!
And no hun, you're not the minority here...while it is true that families are the one's that frequent most theme parks...there is a pretty big group of people that don't frequent them with their families all the time...
For example....past Six Flags advertising campaigns seemed more targeted toward the young adult set, its only recently that they've converted to a more family based marketing strategy...
Anyway...back to the topic at large...I personally think its a generational thing...the whole Men Vs. Women on theme park addiction...
Older generations of people seem to have men at the forefront of theme park addiction...I've seen many examples of this in my own family as well as in friends and their families. As for younger generations, the gap seems to equal off a bit between the boys and girls...with both sharing the addiction more or less...
So you could argue that "Theme Park"="Thrill Rides" to some people but I wouldnt change the name.
