Hey, welcome to Theme Park Bites’ first quarterly update. It’ll be a bit more thorough than the last two updates I’ve posted. I typically do these when I feel like there’s something that needs to be said and I figured I’d keep you abreast to my plans of where I’m taking Theme Park Bites.
I honestly can’t believe that Q1 is OVER! It went by quickly and the blog has grown quickly, too. If you’re new here, these updates are a way to keep me accountable to the blog. Hopefully you find some value in it.
If there’s something that you’re hoping to see happen on this blog you may find it in the Q2 plans (or it could be included in the January 2024 Update), but if you don’t, it’s most likely due to the fact that it’s not something I can accomplish at this time. Anyway – thank you for reading and staying with us (especially if you’re a returning visitor – hi!).
🙂
Q1 Overview
Visited 2 resorts
- Walt Disney World
- Universal Orlando
Attended 3 festivals and created content around them
EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (Food Review)
EPCOT Flower & Garden (Food Review)
Universal Orlando Mardi Gras International Flavors of Carnaval (Food Review)
Attending festivals has been fun since I started doing them, however, there’s so much to these festivals that I didn’t get to do as I’m doing this solo. I did get to do one day with a friend of mine at Mardi Gras, but it’s a different vibe when there’s differing opinions on how things should be done, so it was slightly difficult.
It’s made me realize how much I like doing this on my own, but also appreciating the opinions needed to enhance the site since I only see things from my own perspective.
My favorite festival has been the Festival of the Arts, which I didn’t expect! It was my first festival but after doing three back-to-back I can see how much better that festival is compared to the others.
Do I think people shouldn’t go to the others? Absolutely, yes. Experience something different, plus, Mardi Gras has this awesome parade that I think everyone should experience at least once.
Content creation
- I feel accomplished this quarter. Notwithstanding the New Years update post, I’ve written 14 articles (you can check out the six above, links are clickable below, too), although I was hoping to maybe squeeze in two more before end of March:
- The Complete List of Theme Park Festivals: A Journey Across the USA
- The Ultimate Knott’s Berry Farm Foodie Adventure Guide
- Magical Meals Beyond the Mouse: Character Dining Spots You Didn’t Know Existed
- Perfect Snacks to Bring Into Theme Parks
- Food Review: Trying Some Food at Harry Potter World, Universal Orlando
- How to Navigate Theme Parks with Allergies Safely
- Resource: Food Policies at Theme Parks
- Exhaustive List of Gluten-Free Options at Universal Orlando
Engagement
- Started implementing newsletter waitlist and sign ups. I have no clue what the newsletter will realistically have on it, however, just having the waitlist is enough for me to know how much interest there is in a particular category.
- Got started on Instagram, but I didn’t do a good job, so I took a break for three weeks… again. I’m hoping to figure out how to get Q2 to be a stand out for social media. Consistency!
Q2 Plans
Social Media
- I’m an overthinker so I have a more solid content creation calendar that I’ll be utilizing. I’ve been doing a lot of research into the kinds of things I want to post, their potential look, and what I’m really aiming to bring to the audience on that platform, and subsequently, to the blog. The likelihood is that sometime in April I’ll have everything ready to get going again.
Menus and Pricing
- Since I’m still stuck travel-wise at the moment, I’ve been working on Universal Orlando’s menus and at least one park is halfway completed, but I’ve been slower on everything else. So, my plan is to finish all of Universal Studios Orlando and eventually post. I’ve been exhausted all March though so I have had little interest in completing it, but I will soon.
- I noticed there’s a few theme parks posting their prices online and so I’ll be transferring whatever updated data they have to the site to make it a little easier. There just won’t be any pictures I have taken there for the time being, but I’ll do my best otherwise.
Resources
- I created a resource in Q1 based around food policies, and while I’m not thinking it will be a popular post by any means, I like the idea of creating other resources people can gravitate toward to get a feel for what they can expect at popular theme parks in the USA depending on the topic. Any ideas are welcome.
- I’m dabbling with the idea of creating a meal planning template, maybe before end of April?
Newsletter
- It’s time to start the push with the newsletter and getting emails. I’ve been kinda experimenting? There’s an in-line form but no subscribers as of yet, so I’m going to try doing a lead magnet to showcase the value our website brings. Once the newsletter gets to a point that I like it to be I’ll be stopping these posted updates to deliver those updates via email. (Hint: subscribe!).
Food Guides & Tips
- Being honest here, I don’t think I’ll be able to do many food guides to theme parks this quarter. A lot has come up in my personal life so going into parks right now is going to take a toll, however, I have two very viable parks next to me (Universal Orlando and WDW) so I should be able to get information out at the very least for those parks and hotels. I’m excited cause this is a HUGE undertaking considering how big these parks are, but woo let’s goooo!
- I’m concentrating on other kinds of guides though so hopefully you enjoy them when I drop them! Sign up for the newsletter to get updated when a post drops.
Alright, and that’s it. Q2 is going to be really fun and I’m finally starting to get into a groove here, so, I hope you all find the content you need and if you don’t, please leave a comment below. Thanks so much for making us your theme park food companion, bon appétit. 🥨