Theme Park Insanity Interviews YouTube Banter sensation Digital Dan!
Out of all of the fantastic theme park content creators on YouTube there is one who stands out as rather unique in the content he delivers and in the way he chooses to deliver it!
Since first establishing back in 2013 and with a current total of 6.89K subscribers (one of which is ourselves of course!) Digital Dan has brought us what we consider to be some of the funniest theme park content out there and has managed to leave us laughing time and time again due to his rather brilliant sense of humour which he integrates into every piece of content he creates!
We were therefore absolutely thrilled when we reached out to ask if he would like to join us for an official Q&A and he accepted! We really hope you enjoy these fantastic answers to some of the questions we posed whilst getting to know one of our favourite theme park YouTube content creators much better!!
Who is Digital Dan and what inspired the beginning of your career as a theme park content creator?
Hello, cheers for having me on to do this – my name is Dan or as most people know me, Digital Dan, and I created my channel back in 2013. I started posting at the beginning of 2016 and was mainly into gaming but eventually evolved into making theme park content as you see today. The transition started when I began experiencing the parks for myself – in which gave me a huge spike of interest in them so I took that and forwarded my interest into my YouTube channel.
Having followed your career as a YouTube content creator for quite some time we absolutely love your unique and very humorous approach to the content you create, however what inspired you to take this approach initially?
Thank you, I’m really glad you enjoy my content! The inspiration mainly came from the fact a lot of people in the theme park community stuck to a more serious type of content – factual wise or Vlogging wise. I thought having not seen many channels give an ironic and humorous side to the community, why not try and do that myself. Whether I’m funny or not is up to the viewer, but I honestly don’t have anything against the parks I joke about haha.
Over the years we have seen you join force with other content creators including the likes of Chris Davenport of Screwy Loops and many more, however who would you say you have enjoyed working with the most?
All the channels I’ve been lucky enough to collaborate with have all been amazing people to work with and the videos we’ve worked on have come out really well which I’m extremely happy about. I therefore really can’t pin point a single person/channel I’ve worked with as being the best!
Out of all the parks you have travelled to over the years which park would you say holds a particularly special place in your heart and why?
All the parks I’ve been to over time have had some sort of memory with it, whether it be Alton Towers for getting me over the fear of coasters, Thorpe Park for holding amazing Halloween events, Portaventura for being my number one park or Phantasialand for having my number one coaster – I honestly love all the parks I go to and appreciate them all for what they are!
There is a running joke on your channel surrounding the speculation that Thorpe Park Resort could be getting an RMC in the near future, however how realistic a prospect would you say you feel there is of this actually coming to fruition in the not too distant future?
I personally don’t think an RMC would happen at Thorpe Park, but the joke is fun to ironically say. If anything I’d quite like to see a B&M Dive Machine on the back of Swarm Island as I think it’d suit the surroundings and skyline really well, it would be a crowd pleaser and would be a great addition to their already great line-up overall.
Having watched your recent podcast episode we have to say that the overall feel of this piece of content reminded us very much of the famous TV show Fonejacker in the way the episode was put together! Is this just coincidence or is it fair to say that you drew inspiration from the show's presentation style when creating the episode?
I believe its just coincidence as I’m unsure whether I’ve heard of the show haha, but there was some inspiration from the Ricky Gervais Show and the way in which it’s animated. It was mainly just me trying to make an entertaining watch whilst also being revolved around the podcast aspect of listening.
Could you tell us a little more about the overall response your recent Thorpe Park coaster concept competition has received and what inspired you to bring it to your followers?
The response to my recent competition so far has been insane, the map already has over 800 downloads and I’m sitting at 40+ responses not even half way through the time period. I couldn’t even tell you how much I appreciate the support from everyone. The inspiration came from multiple things, first of all a big shout out to Coaster Bot who held a challenge himself that I personally took part in too – that gave me some insight into the competition. Then there was also multiple suggestions and ideas being thrown about and I finally settled on the idea as it is seen today.
Like the rest of the world we are all currently stuck in lock down, however when lock down ends and the parks re-open which park do you plan to hit first and which are you missing the most?
I’d be happy to visit any park at this point haha, but if I could choose one in the UK it’d have to be Thorpe Park on a sunny day, really miss going there especially seeing the weather outside knowing I could’ve been there right there and then – I miss it so much that I’ve decided to take on a Tidal Wave challenge at some point when the park re-opens. I might get hypothermia but it’ll be fun so i’m fine with that!
Could you tell us what inspired you to first become an enthusiast and are there any times over the years which stand out for you the most?
I started to become an enthusiast the more I started enjoying the coasters at the parks. I’d have to say my personal highlights have definitely been seeing the evolution and being involved within the community itself. At points things can take a turn for the worse but there’s been many a time we show we can do things together to make a difference.
How have you found the theme park community since becoming a content creator and have there been any times you have found particularly challenging whilst running your channel?
Being involved with the community has definitely had its ups and downs – but the majority of my involvement has luckily been positive. I’ve met and become friends with so many amazing people over the span of my channel’s life and I’d just like to thank anyone who’s watched, met or been with me since the start or even recently – I really appreciate it.
Which park would you say is top of your bucket list and why?
Top bucket list park for me has to be either Energylandia or Cedar Point – the coasters at both look incredible. Although, I was supposed to visit Energylandia this year but there may or may not be a worldwide pandemic that could prevent that from happening. Keeping my head high though, they both look like amazing parks and I really want to get out to them at some point or another. .
Which UK park do you feel has the most secure future and which park would you say is the one to watch and why?
I personally would say Paultons Park and Alton Towers will have an extremely positive future – not only have they been investing but they consistently get high ratings from the public and enthusiasts alike. Chessington seems to be another park on the rise – just Thorpe Park left who need to pull something out the bag now.
What can followers (including ourselves) look forward to from Digital Dan going forward? Are there any projects you are particularly looking forward to bringing to the channel?
If I’m quite honest in these times there isn’t too much to make videos about as news isn’t really being spread other than the closure of parks involving this pandemic which as I’ve said prior, I want to refrain from mentioning. I’m working on many new videos (or 7pm uploads), new Digicast episodes and am planning on doing more Live Streams during this time to make sure I keep the people entertained throughout this difficult time! So I hope anyone who watches my channel enjoys!
We would like to thank Dan for agreeing to joining us on TPI and for the fantastic insight he has provided us with!
As you will have also seen we have tried to include the relevant content where possible so you can find out more about the references within the questions!
If you have yet to check the legend that is Digital Dan for yourself then we can’t recommend doing so enough as he really is one of the best out there when it comes to creating that perfect mixture of entertaining and down right hilarious at the same time!
