Busch Gardens Quality Control Team

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Looking back, I remember them making an announcement in Griffon's station about the hornets, and the "greeter" positioned at the entrance to the queue also told everyone passing by about the issue. So at least they're taking care to warn people about them, which for now is really all they can do.
 
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The wasps are not attracted to B&Ms, or any roller coasters or machines specifically. They're apparently attracted to tall structures. They seek out the tallest thing around them which, at parks, is usually a coaster's lift hill or a tower. So your campaign to destroy Bolliger & Mabillard rides will have to find another justification besides pest control, Zimmy:

"Paper wasps eat a lot of insects (usually caterpillars) and should be considered beneficial to the landscape most of the time. Paper wasps are best known for their open, grey paper nests built under an open porch ceiling, window sill or some type of overhang. In this nesting phase of their life cycle, paper wasps can be defensive and are likely to sting if the nest is disturbed.

However, paper wasps show types of swarming behavior during the cool and cold times of the year when there are no nests and no young larvae to protect. During the Fall, this behavior is connected with mating and is the wasp version of "boy meets girl". Male wasps look for the best place to "hang out" and attract females. On these warm days during the fall, the future queens become active and fly about. Dozens or hundreds might be seen around the upper stories of a building, transmission tower or other tall structure. Frequently, they are seen banging around the TV news cameras mounted atop buildings or bridges during the broadcast. Males locate a good perch on which to sit and become somewhat protective of this spot as they release odors (pheromones) to attract that certain special female wasp for mating. Activity is usually associated with tall structures that might include the NASA launch pad towers, amusement park rides, grain storage structures, or transmission towers. It is not totally understood why tall structures are attractive to the wasps or why they choose certain structures over others. Structures may be substitutes for tall trees or rock formations especially in relatively flat land. It is common for a house that stands taller than others in the neighborhood, to have wasps swarming about while there are none at any of the neighbors' homes. Communication tower climbers, grain bin workers and others with similar jobs that take them atop tall structures, may be uncomfortable and at risk, primarily due to the height at which they work, rather than the threat of being stung. At some time after mating, the males die and the females seek a shelter for the winter."
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Source
 
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Oh my. It looks like Land of the Dragons hasn't seen a leaf blower in a while. :(
[instagram=http://instagram.com/p/uGeBTzEQFT/]
 
No big suprise. Zachary pointed out the same thing this time last year, and we all know the park doesn't learn from their mistakes anymore.
 
Since LOD is off the main path it gets overlooked and really isn't a priority sadly. Also that section of LOD rarely sees people. :p But I still have to give landscaping a pat on the back because the park is still beautiful thanks to them.
 
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I have not seen LOD and I don't know how long they have been there but I want to point out that leaves are a bitch. I pretty much spend the entirety of late october/november trying to keep up with the leaves in my yard. There have literally been days where I spend all Saturday raking bags upon bags of leaves just to wake up Sunday morning to have a fresh blanket on my yard.

Don't even get me started on acorns....
 
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In general I think leaves should be left; they're on the ground for a reason. But that preference doesn't extend to park pathways and paved areas. It suggests neglect, and the leaves can also stain and damage paving and concrete. It's also a potential liability since layers of leaves can be slippery.

My suggestion is to simply have the residents of this area of the park burn the leaves away with a quick blast of their drachen dragon fire.
 
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Connor said:
But I still have to give landscaping a pat on the back because the park is still beautiful thanks to them.
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It seems as if they don't even get around the park to water the plants anymore. Half the summer I was looking at drooping plants, especially the hybrid impatiens. They still groom them well, but what's the point if they look dead.
 
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Matthew, there's a reason why I always vote for them for Worlds Most Beautiful Themepark. I have never seen something that landscaping has done where I find a plant in need of care. Plants are like animals, there unpredictable. Nature is something really hard to take care and that is something BGW has always been good with.
 
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Connor said:
Matthew, there's a reason why I always vote for them for Worlds Most Beautiful Themepark. I have never seen something that landscaping has done where I find a plant in need of care. Plants are like animals, there unpredictable. Nature is something really hard to take care and that is something BGW has always been good with.
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Connor, I feel as if you just ignored my whole post. I'm not lying to you when I say that the park miscared for some of its flowers throughout the summer. Why do you continue to not believe me? Do you need me to provide pictures?

Plants aren't as hard to take care of as you and some other people on these forums tend to believe and make up to give the park an excuse. You know that fiasco at the beginning of the year, where half of the park's flower beds had a severe absence of flowers then some people started to say "well it's still cold, I wouldn't expect flowers to be planted this early anyway." The park's spring flowers consist of pansies and violas and some other hardy plants. All of which can sustain being constantly frozen over, snowed on and survive daily temperatures under 0. The park has absolutely no excuse to not have the park decked out in flowering plants all year long.

The park out-right killed and deprived some of their plants this year from water. I watched it happen. I know it happened. You can either believe me or not. But when you're walking through San Marco again and you see things sticking out of the ground that look like clusters of stems, but have no leaves or flowers. That's not the first time they've looked like that this year.
 
I realize that the landscaping everywhere isn't always up to are standards of perfection but yesterday when I went it was beautiful. I was literally wide eyed walking through the park yesterday. It really brought back memories of when I was really young and would just take time to stop and smell the flowers. Also, Matthew I always read post before I reply. :p I find it rude for somebody to reply to a post without reading all of it.
 
Connor, I read your post, don't worry. I honestly don't know where you're getting these sudden feelings that the park is more beautiful all of the sudden. I mean, I guess you must have just recognized the newly planted Chrysanthemums which are flowering a lot better than the seemingly dead summer flowers. I guess I'll have to get pictures next time I go for support.
 
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