This study examines how tourist perceptions in theme park settings are shaped by three modalities of user-generated content: text, image-text, and video. Drawing on Media Richness Theory, we analyze posts from Weibo and RedNote related to Universal Beijing Resort and Shanghai Disneyland using topic modeling and deep learning sentiment classification. Seven perceptual themes emerge, with clear cross-modal differences: text emphasizes service evaluation, image-text highlights aesthetics and symbolic elements, and video captures immersive, process-based narratives; sentiment distributions also differ by modality. Theoretically, the findings refine media-task fit by showing stable correspondences between modality cues and the focus of perceptual expression. Methodologically, the study demonstrates a scalable pipeline for mining multimodal perceptions from large, real-world corpora. Practically, the results translate into concrete measures: deploy text monitoring to surface operational issues and reply with concise guidance; standardize visual presets and required hashtags to strengthen brand visibility; and curate first-person video with authentic on-site sound to amplify atmosphere around characters and rides.

As a vital component of urban tourism, urban theme parks increasingly face experience homogenization and intensifying competition. Accordingly, the implementation of refined digital marketing and operational strategies based on visitor digital behavior has become increasingly essential. In this context, tourists’ social media sharing has become a crucial link between destination marketing and visitors’ experience construction. Within the SOBC (Stimulus–Organism–Behavior–Consequence) framework, this study examines how theme park servicescapes (S) shape sharing motivations (O), which, in turn, influence multimodal sharing intentions (B—text, image + text, video) and subsequently contribute to memorable theme park experience (C). A two-stage, mixed-method design was employed, and the study considered visitors to Beijing Universal Studios and Shanghai Disney Resort. Semi-structured interviews and grounded analysis identified five motivations: altruism, self-presentation, affective expression, hedonic motivation, and community identification. Testing was performed using a survey (N = 604), along with structural equation modeling. The findings indicate that the staff-related social environment exerts significant positive effects on all five motivations, whereas the effects of the physical environment are more selective. Motivations differentially predict modal intentions: text aligns with altruism and affective expression; image + text aligns with altruism, community identification, and self-presentation; and video aligns with self-presentation, hedonism, community identification, and affective expression. All three intentions positively affect memorable theme park experience. These results clarify how motivations map onto content forms and validate a support SOBC framework from servicescapes to memorable experience, offering actionable implications for experience design and digital marketing.