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Theme Park Worldwide

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I’m sorry if I upset people and both of them our lovely people and how they have time for all there fans. On an another forum (not giving out name) members are really nasty about them both.
For example on the 1st travel vlog I lost count how many times he mention about the forms they had to fill in.
I enjoyed the Universal Beijing both day vlogs and it looks like a beautiful park then they moaned about the queues at the next 3 parks even thou its Konsa’s main summer season and then comment on how quiet Legoland with locals still protesting outside.
 
cloudburster said:
I'm a fan! They make long-form content which ticks my boxes, and that's their thing. Shawn especially goes into depth about the stuff I care about, coasters, park infrastructure, and theming, so I tend to have it on in the background and treat it like a podcast. I admit not all parks or vlogs appeal to me, but I'm not glued to my screen when watching either and can happily skip a video. I also really appreciate the detailed travel vlogs, they're incredibly helpful. I never feel either of them look miserable, though I can understand how tiring long, multi-park trips must be, especially when you factor in the behind-the-camera stuff and culture shock for Charlotte especially. I enjoy the enthusiasm and the passion and knowledge built up over the years, and it's always nice to see people out there livin' the dream. There's also tons of short-form theme park content out there these days, we're spoilt for choice!

My only negative would be the parasocial YouTube community that's built up over time, but that plagues most larger channels. In fairness to TPWW too, they do interact with comments a hell of a lot more than most YouTubers do!
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i'm down with that.

i have them in the background whilst working from home also, and their vlogs help me plan where to go and what to avoid. Their recent asia trip has kickstarted my plans once again and i adore decent, harmless people achieve their dreams, good for them.

Themeparksandy1981 said:
I’m sorry if I upset people and both of them our lovely people and how they have time for all there fans. On an another forum (not giving out name) members are really nasty about them both.
For example on the 1st travel vlog I lost count how many times he mention about the forms they had to fill in.
I enjoyed the Universal Beijing both day vlogs and it looks like a beautiful park then they moaned about the queues at the next 3 parks even thou its Konsa’s main summer season and then comment on how quiet Legoland with locals still protesting outside.
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i don't think you really watch shawn and charlotte for concise content. they're basically children's presenters - one of which knows his stuff and is - by my standards - incredibly fair and balanced in his opinions and also tries to consider how other people may feel when visiting attractions.
 
I’m really picky with which of their vlogs I watch as I’m a coaster fan, not a theme park fan so their recent Asia trip was a bust for me as places like universal and Disney don’t cut the mustard. Gimme a 300ft car park coaster over a 4d trackless dark ride any day of the week. But their videos are infinitely informative and I can’t be more grateful for their Europa park travel guides. That park can be a nightmare to get too, those vlogs are so helpful. Didn’t even realise todtnau alpine coaster existed until I saw it on their channel and that was the highlight of our trip to Germany!
 
Now Sean from lift hill and thrills is a good example of how a vlog should be done a whole day edited down to 15-30 mins.
Like going back to the Tokyo city vlog it may have only been 30 mins long but the only attraction they filmed on was them on the karaoke big wheel. That video could have easily been 15 mins long with the ride and explaining that the coaster was closed. Also I know some vloggers release videos every 2-3 days with a pov in between.
I always watch there travel vlogs as they always been the best.
 
I've been following this series because I've been traveling a fair amount to this part of the world, and as a result a lot of the parks they are visiting I've either been to, would like to go to, will likley go to, or in one case was was personally involved with its construction.

In the case of that last example I really appreciated the long form video content, because it gave me an insight into how that park is now that shorter summary videos simply don't convey.

I also think that if you are considering traveling to Asia the sections they've done about travel and the documentation you need are really useful. These parks are not unobtainable as my younger self often thought, but they do require more planning than just getting on a plane. If a few more people visit them because a vlogger showed them how achievable it is I don't see that as a bad thing.

Having said all that I do agree that some of the videos are a bit of a slog to get through. And whilst I watch a lot of background videos while doing chores around the house these are not the best easy listeners, especially if it's not just myself at home. Coaster Studios was brought up as a comparison and I do find their format neatter.
But I think their are different styles of vlog for different people, and while TPWW isn't my favourite they are also so much more informative than most the new vloggers we've seen in the last few years. Someone else said their content is like children's TV. I'll take that over vloggers that are acting like children.
 
Now I grant you that I haven’t yet watched all of their Asia content, but in the ones I have watched, I didn’t think they seemed to be “moaning” excessively. In the parks in South Korea, for instance, I felt that Shawn was merely describing the long queues rather than moaning about them; in Lotte World, for example, they both said about how they had a brilliant day in spite of the queues.

I can understand the length criticism, as I’ll admit that I even sometimes tend to skim through their vlogs rather than watch the whole thing. However, I think Shawn and Charlotte are really informative, and I think it would be a shame to lose that just for the sake of a shorter video. I do find the information they give incredibly useful, and like @Tim said, I think it inspires you and shows you that these parks are not unobtainable visits. But if you’re not interested in that, then I can see why the videos might be too long for you and why you might prefer a more concise format.

On the whole, I enjoy Shawn and Charlotte’s content. Perhaps controversially, I have to say that I think TPW’s content has improved immensely ever since it started being just the two of them and the rest of the TPW entourage stopped appearing a few years back. At the time it was released, I loved the content with the wider TPW entourage, but as I’ve grown older, I’ll admit to the footage of them messing about and the “banter” is less my kind of thing. I re-watched some of them recently, and I’ll admit I found them a bit cringy for my liking, despite now being around the age that Shawn was when he filmed some of the earlier TPW vlogs. I don’t know if anyone else agrees, but I much prefer the tone of the content since it started just being Shawn and Charlotte, personally.
 
I trust Shaun's take on theme parks, and appreciate the useful planning element that he brings to the forefront. But the far-flung travel vlogs are hampered by the fact that the two of them seemingly lack any interest in food, culture, history or much anything else. Their frame of reference is often just the basics of theming or the relative cost of a portion of chips. And when they're not in a theme park, something theme park-adjacent or just sat in an airport, it's excruciating.

Nonetheless, I think their extremely down-to-earth quality is probably what has made them so successful.
 
There is also a clear tendency to control spend on food, going for the cheaper/cheapest options where it's actually bought. Not unreasonable considering the prices, but they are very much 'rucksack' theme park visitors. You're unlikely to see many three course a la carte meal reviews on the channel.
 
Davezilla said:
The videos would be better if he didn't have the palate of a 3 year old, be nice to have some reviews of interesting park food instead of "classic chicken tenders"
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always makes me laugh. they're not really the most cultured people in terms of food/history but that's never been their bag. not sure i'd trust their views on that even if they did try other things.
 
The amount of stuff they took for 25 nights was crazy my case just for a weekend away was bigger than a bag pack.
I wonder if they thinking of starting a family next year for the reason to visit every Disney park this year.
 
Me and the missus are always watching their vlogs, We've really enjoyed the asia ones especially seeing the Asian Disney and Universal parks (How good does DisneySea look!)

They both come across as very down to earth, honest and informative, what more do you want from a youtube channel?
 
Themeparksandy1981 said:
Now Sean from lift hill and thrills is a good example of how a vlog should be done a whole day edited down to 15-30 mins.
Like going back to the Tokyo city vlog it may have only been 30 mins long but the only attraction they filmed on was them on the karaoke big wheel. That video could have easily been 15 mins long with the ride and explaining that the coaster was closed. Also I know some vloggers release videos every 2-3 days with a pov in between.
I always watch there travel vlogs as they always been the best.
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That’s just your personal taste.

I personally prefer longer videos. Luckily there are people who cater for both so it’s not an issue.
 
Josh555 said:
That’s just your personal taste.

I personally prefer longer videos. Luckily there are people who cater for both so it’s not an issue.
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I love long form content, but editing is a virtuous skill and Mr Sanbrooke does not appear to have it. There's a shocking amount of repetition in many of his videos, and many of his videos feature some form of repetition. Repeating things, in long form content, happens quite often in Theme Park Worldwide videos and rather than editing it out, you just end up with a lot of videos featuring example of him repeating himself. I suppose it is what it is, and it's just one of them really.
Plastic Person said:
I trust Shaun's take on theme parks, and appreciate the useful planning element that he brings to the forefront. But the far-flung travel vlogs are hampered by the fact that the two of them seemingly lack any interest in food, culture, history or much anything else. Their frame of reference is often just the basics of theming or the relative cost of a portion of chips. And when they're not in a theme park, something theme park-adjacent or just sat in an airport, it's excruciating.
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You've got this spot on. It becomes extremely apparent in some of their videos that they're not entirely au fait with cultural issues or sensitivities either. A particular incident where Sanbrooke told a bunch of Chinese teenagers to download a VPN (which is illegal and a custodial offence for Chinese nationals) so that they could watch his YouTube channel and snickered ran they ran away asking him to stop, was rather cringe inducing. Filming this interaction and posting it to the internet was a bit of a headbanger too.

I really feel as though he would benefit, quite incredibly, from a producer. It would allow him and the channel to grow to the next stage.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
I love long form content, but editing is a virtuous skill and Mr Sanbrooke does not appear to have it. There's a shocking amount of repetition in many of his videos, and many of his videos feature some form of repetition. Repeating things, in long form content, happens quite often in Theme Park Worldwide videos and rather than editing it out, you just end up with a lot of videos featuring example of him repeating himself. I suppose it is what it is, and it's just one of them really.
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It sounds like you know what you’re on about so I’m not going to argue except to say that it honestly doesn’t bother me.

To be fair I mostly watch it lying down on the sofa and half paying attention so that may well be why.
 
We bumped into them at CBeebies celebration at towers.. my 4 year old girl was so excited as she loved their content.
Considering they probably get stopped hundreds of times they were really good.
Had a photo and chatted to her for about 5 mins.
 
GooseOnTheLoose said:
It becomes extremely apparent in some of their videos that they're not entirely au fait with cultural issues or sensitivities either. A particular incident where Sanbrooke told a bunch of Chinese teenagers to download a VPN (which is illegal and a custodial offence for Chinese nationals) so that they could watch his YouTube channel and snickered ran they ran away asking him to stop, was rather cringe inducing. Filming this interaction and posting it to the internet was a bit of a headbanger too.
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As much as I like TPW, I'll admit to agreeing with this.

That Happy Valley Shanghai video in general (the one where Shawn repeatedly told Chinese locals to "get yourself a VPN, get yourself on YouTube") does not show him in the best light, I feel, despite that video's iconic status among die-hard TPW fans. I remember finding it hilarious at the time, but I rewatched it recently out of curiosity and held a very different opinion years on. If I'm being frank, I found that large parts of that vlog were at best almost unwatchably cringing and at worst possibly bordering on racist. Actually, maybe racist is an overly extreme word, but numerous parts of that vlog did not seem the most sensitive to Chinese culture. I'm thinking of things like Shawn and Alex (Crump) sniggering at translated ride signage, or the whole saga with the mobility scooter and trying to attract the attention of locals, or the sheer anger and hysteria at the exercises in the wooden coaster station, amongst various other events.

I apologise if this makes me sound a complete humourless bore, or a "snowflake", but that vlog is actually one of my least favourite TPW videos, as I'll admit that Shawn and Alex's hysteria at many aspects of a Chinese regional theme park and its operation do make me mildly uncomfortable in hindsight.

To be fair, though, this video is now 7 years old, and Shawn does seem a bit more sensitive and like he has toned down the cringe somewhat in his more recent content.

For context, here's the video I'm referring to:


Plastic Person said:
I trust Shaun's take on theme parks, and appreciate the useful planning element that he brings to the forefront. But the far-flung travel vlogs are hampered by the fact that the two of them seemingly lack any interest in food, culture, history or much anything else. Their frame of reference is often just the basics of theming or the relative cost of a portion of chips. And when they're not in a theme park, something theme park-adjacent or just sat in an airport, it's excruciating.

Nonetheless, I think their extremely down-to-earth quality is probably what has made them so successful.
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In terms of the comment about Shawn and Charlotte's seeming lack of interest in food and non-theme park culture; out of interest, what exactly are people expecting in terms of non-theme park interests portrayed in the videos, and why exactly do people feel this is a detractor from their videos? TPW is a theme park channel first and foremost, and Shawn and Charlotte do have a second channel, The Sanbrooke Adventures, for the non-theme park cultural stuff.
 
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