To keep cool this summer, Busch Gardens Tampa’s water park, Adventure Island, offered guests a new kind of adventure: an after-hours ticketed event that would give guests access to the water park and other special areas after the park closed.

The entrance sign for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, a popular Florida theme park surrounded by greenery. The logo features the words "Busch Gardens" in white cursive lettering and "Tampa Bay" in yellow underneath, all set against vibrant green and multi-colored looping structures.
Credit: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

This after-hours event ran through most of the summer, but as the warm weather started to wind down, the party became an absolute disaster for Busch Gardens. In a new video posted on social media, on one of the final nights of the party, thunderstorms rolled in, shutting the party down; however, while guests were waiting for a refund, a brawl broke out in the customer service line, and dozens of patrons, most of whom had nothing to do with the fight, were pepper-sprayed.

The nearly three-minute video shows hundreds of teenagers walking around the after-hours event, despite Busch Gardens’ website stating that there was a chaperone policy in place for anyone under 17. That policy stated that all guests under 17 must be accompanied by an adult over 21. There should have been one adult for every five teenagers.

A split image shows police car lights flashing on the left and a colorful amusement park with roller coasters on the right under a blue sky near Busch Gardens.
Credit: Inside The Magic

Halfway through the event, which was scheduled to run from 8 to 11 p.m., Adventure Island started shutting down many of the park’s waterslides due to inclement weather. Guests were told that if inclement weather “canceled the event,” they were covered by Busch Gardens’ “weather-or-not assurance policy,” which “guarantees the value” of the guest’s ticket.

As the thunderstorms started rolling in, hundreds of guests headed to customer service to receive a refund for the event. That’s when the real thunder started.

Several guests started arguing in line, and a fight broke out in front of the customer service window. Busch Gardens’ security team was able to break up the fight and pepper-sprayed some of the guests involved in the altercation, as well as dozens of other guests who just happened to be waiting in line nearby.

The video ends with a representative from Busch Gardens telling guests how to get a refund for the event through the park’s website.

A colorful Busch Gardens Tampa Bay with numerous roller coasters, featuring twists, loops, and steep drops. The sky overhead is dark and stormy, creating a dramatic contrast with the vibrant rides. Lush green trees are in the foreground, and a building labeled "Iron" is visible.
Credit: Inside The Magic

These types of altercations have become all too frequent at theme parks, especially when frustration boils over after an event’s cancellation. While the guests should get their money back from Busch Gardens, they cannot take back the pepper spray that inadvertently got in their eyes.

What has your experience been like at Busch Gardens this summer? Let us know in the comments.

The post An After-Hours Event at Busch Gardens Ended in a Melee as Fights and Pepper-Spray Close Down Park appeared first on Inside the Magic.