Busch Brawls

[mikes]

My cousin and I were there yesterday and it's very obvious that the type of crowd at BGW has shifted. We saw 3, presumably teenaged, young men be told to leave Apollo after they were told 3 times to stop hopping over the queue bars. They refused to get off the train for longe enough that one of the attendants got on the phone, I'm guessing to security as they were told not to leave the immediate area. (If the video hadn't been posted on the 11th, I would have assumed these were the people in the fight)

Another kid almost got security called on him after running in a house and jumping onto and then off one of the floor props to get away from an actor. The employee that called him out was very stern and told him he needed to watch himself.

Less relevant to fights, but I saw so many people with backpacks in queues and even saw a few getting turned away at the front of the line.
Whoever this new crowd of people is, they are not at all familiar with BGW and the most basic rules, let alone respecting them.

Respecting is the big word there. What do all of theses teenagers need backpacks for anyways?

I'd personally like to see some sort of unaccompanied minor rule put in place. Kennywood in PA put one in place and it seems to have curbed some of the issues.

 

[AlpenChrist97]

This got posted on Facebook Saturday, not sure when it happened exactly:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Someone needs to kick their ass like their parents should have, Not sorry

 

[Le Moose]

My cousin and I were there yesterday and it's very obvious that the type of crowd at BGW has shifted. We saw 3, presumably teenaged, young men be told to leave Apollo after they were told 3 times to stop hopping over the queue bars. They refused to get off the train for long enough that one of the attendants got on the phone, I'm guessing to security as they were told not to leave the immediate area. (If the video hadn't been posted on the 11th, I would have assumed these were the people in the fight)

Edit: I forgot to mention that people were cursing at them when they didn't immediately get off after being told they weren't allowed to ride. It definitely took a while, but the f-bombs thrown around were definitely not necessary. A couple people were saying to just let them ride anyway. What seemed to be the adult of the group tried to say that she was the one asking them to come over to her from the other line so they should get to ride and the operators we're having none of it.

Another kid almost got security called on him after running in a house and jumping onto and then off one of the floor props to get away from an actor. The employee that called him out was very stern and told him he needed to watch himself.

Less relevant to fights, but I saw so many people with backpacks in queues and even saw a few getting turned away at the front of the line.
Whoever this new crowd of people is, they are not at all familiar with BGW and the most basic rules, let alone respecting them.

I saw one person last night come up from behind a scare actor, grab them, and then scream in their ear. Another scare actor who saw the whole thing came up and said “no scare” then walked away.

 

[rswashdc]

Raise gate and membership prices, which they'll probably need to do anyway to deal with higher wages going forward. Use that higher price point to operate at a lower capacity, which should deter troublemakers who aren't spending much in the park anyway and make operations easier with the smaller crowds.

 

[Icer]

The fundamental prices are fine as is. Hell, they are higher than ever before. What they need to do is stop the deals and bargains, that is where things are getting insanely cheap for people. And it is just a slap in the face to members when it would've been cheaper to get the periodic deals to go to each event than it was for memberships for the whole family.

I am not a huge fan of the narrative that "the cheaper tickets are attracting rougher crowds" since it is a stone's throw away from some other more uncomfortable conversations, though I can't ignore the correlation. I don't think it is solely ticket prices causing this though, more an overall brand philosophy shift since it is being marketed more and more as a "come get your cool rides" destination rather than the family and locals destination it was once framed as.

I do think one thing that is linked to this is the dramatic shift in the demographics of your average BGW employee over the past 10 years. I acknowledge those current employees who really do try to deliver a good guest experience and work hard to be knowledgeable about the park (whether guest-facing or management side) and I thank them for exhibiting the "old way of AB" as I will call it, but it is very obvious that the average level of "caring" towards park knowledge and guest experience has dramatically decreased over the past 10 years from a staff perspective. The employee mannerisms greatly impact guest behavior, whether it be because of guests who are friends with some of the lower caring employees, guests noticing they can get away with more shit, or just not feeling that sensation of "pressure to behave" since you are in a nicer establishment (a sensation that was once brilliantly conveyed by your average BGW staff member).

I am not saying any one thing is the reason this is happening, I just think it is a perfect storm of smaller issues all stemming from the greater issue of the overall shifting company philosophy away from the "quality over EVERYTHING" philosophy the parks once operated with.

 

[WDWRLD]

When thugs are allowed to do what they want in the park with no recourse the shitty park conditions are what you get. So far these fights have been just that but with the increasing frequency of them it’s only a matter of time before there’s a stabbing or shooting in the park.

 

[horsesboy]

I honestly feel that this is more of time and place of our society right now then strictly a BGW issue. Me and several friends were talking about the general crappy attitude and aggressive and shitty behavior we were all experiencing lately in our work environment. We all had examples and were all saying the same thing that we seen fights, been verbally abused and even had moments of wondering about our physical safety. BGW definitely is showing some major issues and is manifesting this in an extreme way that needs to be addressed but I don't think the answers are going to be as easy as a higher ticket price or changing marketing and I don't see there being any good quick solutions over then really ratcheting up security and trying to catch and remove trouble makers quickly before they escalate

 

[Jonesta6]

Good ol RCT2 logic still applies - hire security guards, but also decrease the reason for unruly guests

 

[horsesboy]

The fights made the news and BGWFans's twitter is quoted in the article

Busch Gardens Williamsburg increases security for Howl-O-Scream after two fights at park

James City County police officers said some boys got into a brawl at Apollo's Chariot. Some girls were in a fight in the France parking lot.

www.13newsnow.com

 

[Spydergirl123]

There are more fights than you even know, I’m just finding that out. There was another attack on Saturday 9/11 that was not reported yet by the news. A middle aged woman with her family was attacked by a mob in front of Griffon around 8:15. At least three teens, one of them a male kicked and beat a woman in front of her young child.

 

[Spydergirl123]

I would not let that deter me from visiting yet. Sure, it is very disappointing that this happened, but it is not like there would be brawls all over the place frequently.

I would highly recommend to pick one of the less busy days though, if that is an option.

Yes there are daily fights, BGW is covering it up and removing social media posts discussing the fights. It is not safe at HOS for children or families until they can get a better handle on their security.

 

[Nibbins]

That's a bit extreme extreme of a stance.

I have been there twice with my kids already and it's not like we are in any immediate danger.

Does it suck that they have fights? Sure does.
Usually it takes 2 parties picking a fight though. I don't see any teens coming up to us and start beating the shit out of my 8 year old.

 

[chevyhd17]

Yes there are daily fights, BGW is covering it up and removing social media posts discussing the fights. It is not safe at HOS for children or families until they can get a better handle on their security.

I noticed the social media post thing on Sunday. I kept going back to the same posts to try and get updates or see if BGW would address or acknowledge any of it, and all of a sudden any posts that mentioned any of the stuff that happened on Saturday were gone. Even the ones that just asked...what happened? One of their posts about HOS had 24 comments at one point, and when I went back there were 6.

 

[Logang]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Apparently BGW has responded

 

[CoasterAuditor]

Glad to hear they will be ramping up security. I hate stories and situations like this it deters non-thoosie friends of mine from wanting to go to the parks at all.

 

[WDWRLD]

At HHN over the weekend I took note of the security....and I didnt even know about this latest fight till yesterday. But anyhow, every house had at least 2 "Security" persons in bright yellow shirts and most houses had at least 3 actual Police or Sherrifs. They also all looked like they mean business, they were all pretty stocky guys that didnt look like they would play. I think that alone gives the "dont fuck around" vibe that BGW needs now. But no, we have meter maids and most of the actual cops look like "im here but im not getting involved".

 

[WDWRLD]

At HHN over the weekend I took note of the security....and I didnt even know about this latest fight till yesterday. But anyhow, every house had at least 2 "Security" persons in bright yellow shirts and most houses had at least 3 actual Police or Sherrifs. They also all looked like they mean business, they were all pretty stocky guys that didnt look like they would play. I think that alone gives the "dont fuck around" vibe that BGW needs now. But no, we have meter maids and most of the actual cops look like "im here but im not getting involved".

Yea but will they or is that just security theater to hopfully make the news.

 

[Spydergirl123]

I noticed the social media post thing on Sunday. I kept going back to the same posts to try and get updates or see if BGW would address or acknowledge any of it, and all of a sudden any posts that mentioned any of the stuff that happened on Saturday were gone. Even the ones that just asked...what happened? One of their posts about HOS had 24 comments at one point, and when I went back there were 6.

I took screenshots of many of them

 

[Spydergirl123]

That's a bit extreme extreme of a stance.

I have been there twice with my kids already and it's not like we are in any immediate danger.

Does it suck that they have fights? Sure does.
Usually it takes 2 parties picking a fight though. I don't see any teens coming up to us and start beating the shit out of my 8 year old.

There were more than 2 fights on 9/11, I know this for a fact. There were at least 4 that I know of

 

[GrantLee123]

What Busch doesn’t need is to get a SFA reputation, because 100% of people will see the price tag that comes with fights and stop coming. Can’t be chargin $90 and having fights