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. Credit: Busch Gardens Tampa BayThis 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. Credit: Inside The MagicHalfway 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. There’s a reason I’ve never been to Adventure Island at @BuschGardens or Aquatica at @SeaWorld… No real security or enforcement of policies lead to guest behavior like this. Not my cup of tea… pic.twitter.com/RopAMcxy5O— SaxOnTracks (@SaxOnTracks) August 26, 2025Several 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. Credit: Inside The MagicThese 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.