How do theme park attributes influence visitors’ positive emotions? Nonlinear effects and spatial heterogeneity in Shanghai’s theme parks

Abstract

Against the backdrop of sustained growth in experience-oriented urban leisure consumption, theme parks serve as key venues for visitor experiences. A clearer account is needed of how park attributes and urban spatial structures jointly relate to visitors’ positive emotions. This study examines 106 theme parks in Shanghai to quantify visitors’ positive emotions and identify the supply-side attributes associated with them, while also examining park clustering patterns at the urban spatial scale and their relationship with emotional variations. The research integrates online reviews, Points of Interest (POI), and geospatial data to conduct emotional measurement, spatial pattern analysis, interpretive predictive modeling, and supplementary regression tests. Results indicate that park distribution exhibits significant clustering, yet emotional levels within hotspots are inconsistent. IP strength, service quality, and green-space leisure are the attributes most strongly associated with visitors’ positive emotions. Among these, only IP strength showed robust statistical evidence of nonlinearity in the supplementary spline and segmented regressions; service quality showed a possible inflection trend but was not statistically significant; green-space leisure generally exhibited a stable positive association. The study concludes that emotional experiences in theme parks are influenced not only by perceptible cues within the park but also shaped by the structure of urban spatial supply. Therefore, at the operational level, priority should be given to enhancing cross-touchpoint thematic consistency, process predictability, and the provision of decentralized restorative nodes; at the urban level, efforts should focus on optimizing connectivity to hotspot areas, mitigating the externalities of crowding, and promoting the decentralization of recreational supply.