Types of theme park goers

1. The General Public (GP)

The most common. These are people who enjoy going to theme parks maybe once a year, or once every few years. Lack of knowledge about theme parks runs rampant among this population, but that's okay. They are the biggest draw of revenue for parks. 

Some examples:

- The couple at Magic Mountain who spend their entire time in line making out. 

- People who comment on YouTube about how they almost died on a completely safe ride. 

- Dads who are "too cool" to go on rides with their children, and just stand there on the sidelines and watch instead. BTW if you do this you are extremely lame. 

- People who visit parks once every year, or once every few years. They usually spout incorrect stats or freak out while in line for relatively tame rides. However, they still really enjoy going. This is like me with hiking. I enjoy doing it, and will usually go if invited -- even all day -- but I'm not crazy about it. 

- People who lollygag over to the parks at 11:45 AM and wonder why the lines are so long. 

- People who complain "rides always make me motion sick". 

- People who love their local park, but don't go anywhere else. Think Lagoonophiles. 

2. The Almost-Enthusiast 

They love parks but don't have a ton of knowledge about them. They may only visit parks once or twice a year, but they will have a dedicated plan when they do go. They may occasionally play RollerCoaster Tycoon or similar games. Most enthusiasts were in this category once. 

Ultimately, there are two paths that the almost-enthusiast can take. 

1) They gradually become a full-blown enthusiast over time, leaving this category. 

2) They start complaining about how expensive or crowded theme parks are becoming, and they gradually move onto other interests. 

This is my dad! He took the second path, sadly, but was a huge factor in my love for theme parks growing up. He will still go every once in a while -- but usually not. 

3. The Disneyphile

Standard people who are obsessed with Disney, and Disney ONLY. These are the weird people who refuse to go to any other parks (other than MAYBE Universal), being loyal to branding more than anything. Riders and most enthusiasts will generally get along with Disneyphiles, until the inevitable altercation occurs about whether or not one should visit other parks. Theming is more important than thrills for these people. Most classic Disneyphiles are scared of big rides, and will probably chicken out of Rock and Roller Coaster as well as Summit Plummet. They tend to be more interested in the art and story than the engineering of theme parks, but enjoy both. Will often complain about "iron parks" such as Six Flags, not understanding that hurtling towards the ground on Scream is awesome even if you're just looking at a parking lot. None of them will post on Theme Park Review, but they'll be all over Disboards and WDWMagic (both of which are great communities). 

Disneyphile girls are usually cute AF, but think twice -- would you really want to be long-term with someone who ONLY wants to go to Disney? IDK, I've dreamed of honeymooning at Disney World ever since I was 13, so maybe. But I'm really not sure. 

4. The Universalphile

Everyone loves Universal. But true Universalphiles are mostly former Disneyphiles who got disgruntled with Bob Paycheck. Or Disneyphiles who are fine with other parks -- as long as they are themed. Everyone else there is either an enthusiast, rider, or GP. Will complain about iron parks just like Disneyphiles. 

5. The classic coaster enthusiast

Roller coasters are LOVE, roller coasters are LIFE. These people primarily go to parks FOR coasters. They often eschew flat rides and most water rides, preferring to solely focus on coasters. But not always. They have a dedicated credit count, and very strong opinions on different models and manufacturers. Most enthusiasts love theming and see Disney as the gold standard, but aren't afraid to travel to pretty much any park...so long as it has coasters. Their interest lies primarily in the engineering of theme parks, with art and story secondary. Most theme park YouTubers are in this category. 

6. The water park enthusiast 

Do these people even exist? Trying to find a water park community online is almost impossible, and most classic enthusiasts aren't interested in water parks. I remember the kid from Xtreme Waterparks who grew up by the Wisconsin Dells and wanted to be a water park designer when he grew up. There are enthusiasts who love water parks, such as Marcus from Water Slide Database, but most of them love coasters too which puts them in category 7 -- Riders. 

7. The rider 

This is my category. Riders love everything, so long as it has rides. Disney. Universal. All other theme parks and water parks. Theming and thrills take equal precedence. We are usually interested in coasters first and foremost -- we'll keep a dedicated credit count, and ride coasters before anything else -- but we'll show up to pretty much anything that has rides. Or even anything that is related to the amusement industry! Roadside carnivals, state fairs, zoos, aquariums, etc. At theme parks, we love the rides first and foremost, but we also love the food, the animals, the scenery, the theming, the shows, the engineering, the stories, the artistry...Everything that theme parks have to offer. We will often prioritize riding EVERYTHING at a park over getting rerides, though obviously both is best. Being generalists, our knowledge may not quite equate to that of Disneyphiles or coaster enthusiasts -- but it will get very, very close. I think Peter from Theme Park Crazy would fall into this category. 

8. The people-watcher, foodie, show person, theming/story is king, etc. 

I'm thinking of Nikki from Theme Park Hipster. Some people love parks, but go for other reasons than rides. I think people-watching at a theme park is a rather expensive way to do it (outlets and malls are free...) but hey. Do what you love. 

I'm pretty sure the dude who designed Evermore Park is in this category, focusing on the theming and story so much that there are NO RIDES. WTF?! Who wants to visit a "theme park" with no rides? That's not even a theme park. Similarly, Imagineers who aren't actually enthusiasts, but who just love art, are in this category. If you're an artist but also love theme parks, you're in one of the other categories. Just saying. Whoever designed the 2020 Imaginations challenge, to create an "installation", is also in this category. 

It's not theming over thrills for these people -- instead, thrills don't matter at all. 

9. The carnival enthusiast 

Again, a rare breed. Most carnival attendees are GP, riders, or the rare coaster enthusiast who will get the Wacky Worm credit and then leave. Most people in this category are former carnival employees. You know how many times I've tried to get into carnival Facebook groups and gotten rejected by these people? I have no idea why. I'm a rider, and as such, I love carnivals. Maybe it's because I've never worked at one. It's a very exclusive group. Think of the people who visit Matt's Carnival Warehouse regularly, for example. Brian from DoD3 is a good example of this. Though he may actually be a classic coaster enthusiast or a rider, as he enjoys coasters as well, and he hasn't been posting as much lately. 

10. The non-Disney coaster enthusiast (The true adrenaline junkie)

Some coaster enthusiasts are not like those in category 5, who love Disney. These people will go to Disney for credit runs and then just blow it off after that. They're in it for the THRILLS first and foremost, not the theming. They tend to clash with Disneyphiles, and probably have Cedar Fair and Six Flags passes. Some eschew flat rides altogether. Others will do them if they're thrilling enough. On the extreme end of the spectrum, these people also like motorcycles, cliff-jumping, bungee jumping, river rafting, parasailing, and skydiving, and are generally crazy. They may also get into legitimately dangerous hobbies like alligator wrestling, cliff diving, or those haunted houses where your head is locked in a cage with actual tarantulas and you have to sign a waiver. 

11. The zoo and aquarium person

These people usually love animals and conservation, but not to the point of weird Blackfish stans or vegans. Will enjoy rides, but prefer to see the animals. SeaWorld is king to these people. 

12. The haunt person

Will never shut up about how much they love fall, even though it means winter is next and everything is about to close. But is generally very cool otherwise. Likes walk-through attractions for some reason. Is not afraid of really anything. Probably loves coasters, haunts, AND horror movies. You can also find them at your local fall fair or corn maze -- especially if it's haunted. The Knott's Network staff fall under this category.