Art the Clown Harassment? Navigating Safety Challenges at Theme Parks

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Oh my gosh. From our studios this week again in

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Tampa and Orlando.

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This is green Tag Theme Parking thirty.

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I'm Philip and he is Scott Swinton of Scott Sweatson

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Crea Developments. On green Tag, we look at the top

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news each week in theme parks and discuss why it

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matters to business professionals. And this week is our five

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year anniversary.

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Wow, I know. So that means, let's see fifty two

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weeks a year, five years. Dang, we've done a lot

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of shows.

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We've done a lot of shows. Yeah, we have not

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missed a week and they've all been new content. Yeah,

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it's not. Yeah, I mean we did a few. Sometimes

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we do some pre recordings here and there, but we

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haven't like busy because we're both busy professionals. That's why Philip, Okay, well,

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maybe I don't know what I have or we just

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weren't available. I'm back in Florida after having gone to

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Halloween Horn Nights in Hollywood, and now I'm back here.

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And I just occurred to him in the Yes, this

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is our five year show. We started in twenty twenty

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on September sixth in twenty twenty, and we have been

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going on since then. We've talked about everything, you know,

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the shutdowns and the and posts.

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And balloons and streamers and stuff.

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But I don't know, I'm sorry.

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Can you do that in post? Could you just add

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balloons and streamers and post Philip, Yeah, just imagine it.

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Hold on, We'll just pretend that there's like balloons and

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streamers dropping. Oh this is so exciting. Look at all this. Wow.

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So I thought about doing the show where we talk

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about lessons or you know, any of that stuff, but

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there's always news. And I think this week's news was

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interesting enough that we already started like talking before the show,

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and so it's just it's an interesting thing. So this

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week we're gonna do a little bit of a mash

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up of things that all have to do with recent

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safety incidents at the Empire.

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And I think that that's a good you knows as

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a fifth anniversary show, I think that's a good thing,

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a good topic to talk about because again, throughout the

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last five years, we have mentioned safety and execution over

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and over and over and over and over and over again.

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So to focus on safety, and we will also get

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into you know, how can how can safety be appropriately executed?

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In the in a an experience or an attraction. So yeah,

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I think it's I think it's a good weighty topic

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to talk about on our five year because it kind

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of reinforces our commitment and should be everyone in the

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industry's commitment to recommending good safe practices that you know,

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end up not only avoiding guest injuries, avoiding any sort

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of guest situation, but from strictly a business standpoint, avoiding

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any sort of lawsuit, litigation, or the absolute destruction of

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your attraction or experience, because that can happen if you're

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if a safety issue comes about. There are more than

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enough theme park rides, more than enough theme park experiences

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that have literally shut down because of a safety infraction.

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So let's talk about the most recent and the most current.

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And Scott is a safety expert, and I'm just here

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to talk about things. But so so, as I mentioned,

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I went to the opening of Halloween Horn Nights in Hollywood,

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and then I came back here to visit this Horror

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Nights again for reasons unknown, but it to me, I

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thought this year, we already talked about that, We did

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a whole episode last week about it, and I just

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want to say that I've been watching as the crowds

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dial a little bit down, and to me, I still

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think that the first of all, the food is still

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at both parks enormously successful. Like I would not be

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surprised if that food program is probably the thing that's

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bringing them the most money this year, just because of

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how both again both parks have such a robust food offerings,

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and then they had the dining pass or testing in Hollywood,

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so it really is like a food festival. And I

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think that if you could add a food festival to Halloween,

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it's like it's like, hmm, what could you do to

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make more money? I know, at a food festival to

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Halloween Horne.

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And that's exactly right. You know, it goes down to

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have we tapped out the market? Can we expand our

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market anymore? And if so, where do we look? And

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you know, they can only get so blood, guts and gory,

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they can only get so many haunts in so many houses,

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in only so many scare zones in so let's look

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at Hey, wait a minute, maybe grown ups would like

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to eat something. Maybe we can tap into a different

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market if we, you know, get those people who are

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interested in Halloween but more interested in cool food, or

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people who want to do Halloween but want something that's

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a little bit elevated from a food standpoint, from a

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culinary standpoint. And those are the people, by the way,

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who have the money to spend on the extra things.

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So it like, Yeah, it sounds like a really wise choice.

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It sounds like something that you know, many parks have

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talked about over the years. How do we expand without

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without impinging upon our current core audience.

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Yeah, and I do want to say I think again,

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like Scott just mentioned, this is a good practice. We've

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been talking about it for a while. It's a new

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ish trend, but iopas also identified it. We talked about

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it in our Outlook twenty twenty five outlook before. I mean,

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we've talked about this as an emerging trend, and the

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data also backs it up. I just want to put

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an asterisk on that and say, you still have to

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be reasonable within your target market and within your your

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park and the you know, basically where the economic status

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of your attendees. Because I am actually shocked at how

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expensive the food is at Orlando and it's and whenever

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food at a food vestal is more expensive than Epcot.

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I think you have a problem. And I think the

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only reason I think that it's sustainable in the Halloween

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horonites examples what we talked about in the last show,

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which is just the brand and just the crazy fanaticism.

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But I think that if you were a zoo that

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was doing a Halloween thing there's special food, I'm not

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sure you could quite stretch it that far because each

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each dish, right, I mean it's like the cup cupcake

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is twelve thirteen dollars, right, a slice of pizza is

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fifteen dollars.

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I mean that's that's like, I don't think you.

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Could stretch it that far without the kind of the

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brand mystique you know, behind it.

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And then and it's also it's also what is the

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what is the event? What are the other costs surrounding

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the event? You know you mentioned a zoo Zoo Tampa

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several years ago actually did a dining guide for their

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Halloween event.

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Yep, I remember this, Yeah, and it was.

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And it was really successful. I mean they did a

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really nice job. But to your point, they they kept

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it affordable or they kept it I mean it was

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probably there are probably some people who went to zoo Tampa,

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who thought, gosh, that's that's kind of pricey, but you

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couldn't get the bat wings or the monster cupcakes or whatever.

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You know, Indianapolis Zoo did the same thing. They they

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did a some some event only culinary ideas. I always

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whenever I pitch any new festival, whether it's Christmas or

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Halloween or Summer or whatever, I always include culinary and

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merchandise suggestion simply because I think it makes it for

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a more rich and robust experience from a creative standpoint.

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But it's also a way to make the experience more

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sustainable financially, because you can continue to elevate. So I

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think your point is well taken, Philip, and that is

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you have to make certain and I won't even say price,

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I will say value, because you can be cheap as heck,

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but if the stuff looks and tastes like crap, no

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one's gonna buy it. So you have to make certain

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that the value is there, and you have to make

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certain that it does it's a value that falls within

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the spending demo of your core audience.

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Yeah.

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Yeah, So all that being said, wrapping around to safety now.

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So the article that I think we'll link to is

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from Disney Dining dot com and the title is Universal

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dives headfirst into crisis after Halloween horrnine's disaster, So that's

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definitely on the clickbait region. The different things they mentioned

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in this article is about the food and about it

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running out. We mentioned that already last week's episode about

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the premium Scream Night and how many people were there,

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which we talked about last time. They talked about the

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idea that the frequent fear passes with Express were sold

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out and have been sold out for a while since

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since opening weekend, which I think happens every year, so

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I'm not sure.

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I mean, I don't remember. Honestly, I don't remember. I

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don't remember that.

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But anyway, if you think about it, that means there's

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already a ton of people with Express that are just

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recycling every night. And we've talked about that before, because

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we've talked about how if the line is ninety one

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hundred and eighty, Express is ninety already because there's so

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many Express.

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Well, and I guess my question is, I don't know

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what sold quote unquote sold out means.

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Correct?

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Where are you capping it? You know? What is the

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cap if you're only selling one hundred and it's sold out,

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then gosh, that's a great value and that's a wonderful thing.

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If there's ten thousand or one hundred thousand and you're

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sold out, that means it has very little value. So

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you have to figure out what that what that cap

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is where you know, here's my This has always been

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my feeling. It is completely fine to quote unquote sell

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out of any sort of premium experience, of any sort

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of of guest experience in general, as long as the

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cap that makes it sold out is reasonable and doesn't

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impact do you know, you're you're getting what you're paying for.

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In this article they talked about you know, they reference

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guests who are saying they'll never do it again. They

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felt cheated. They you know, they still had to wait.

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They barely got through all the houses and they had

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the premium pass, which.

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Which is what I talked about. We talked about that.

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I was there and the only thing, you know, the

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only thing they said that was premium was the price.

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So you know, it's it's one of those things. I

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guess My point is, Philip there, it's not just you,

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because you know you're grousey. You you gribe that truth.

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But this is a bunch of people. This is a

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bunch of people who who may or may not have

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the same level of experience that you do when it

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comes to attending houted attractions. And you know, it's it's

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one of those situations that it's okay to sell out

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as long as you're not a sellout. Yeah you know,

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I mean, yeah, you can get greedy. Once you get greedy,

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then it starts to have diminishing returns. And according to

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this article, there are many guests at Halloween Hornets in

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Orlando that believe that it's already that it's hit that point.

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Yeah, and I think we will again. We talked about

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this last week. But the only way to know, I mean,

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you just people have to start not going right, just

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like the Disney thing, right every we've talked about it

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since since we started the show. Again, another theme of

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the show since we started the show has been prices

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continually going up at Disney and Genie Plus and all

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all the up charges and all these things, and it

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still sells out.

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So I think that's.

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The the challenge we've been coming to more and more, right,

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is I think the people that are more in the

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park fans to have seen it as more unaffordable.

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But again, the personn't really want us.

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They want the people who are willing to spend a

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lot more because they're only going to go once every

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ten years.

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You know, look how many times have you been to

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Horrnites this year?

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It's exactly so they still get you.

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And we said here and talk about it. It's too expensive,

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so exactly, that's exactly the point. Yeah, that's so, I mean,

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but all that aside.

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It's not too expensive. That's what I'm saying. It's not

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too expensive.

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Yeah, and I think it's just going to continue. I

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don't think they're going to change anything, is my point.

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They're not gonna change anything until something tanks. But all

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that aside to the safety thing. So I think the thing,

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aside from the food that has been the most successful

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from a branding standpoint, has been this partnership with Terrifier.

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And it's one of those sweet spots where it's a

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small enough brand like it's they're easy to work with

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because they were able to pull them on panels with them,

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00:11:57.200 --> 00:11:59.879
the director and the like the original. I mean, there's

244
00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:02.600
so easy to work with, this so accessible, but it

245
00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:05.799
got like a cult following, and it's like a horror icon.

246
00:12:06.360 --> 00:12:10.080
And the character is also like easy because there's no talking,

247
00:12:10.159 --> 00:12:12.320
there's no it's no face, it's in a mask. It's

248
00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.919
such an easy character to have multiple people play, and

249
00:12:14.960 --> 00:12:16.759
so I think the easiest.

250
00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:18.360
The best thing they've done this.

251
00:12:18.360 --> 00:12:20.840
Year from the Brandy standpoint is work with Terrifier, and

252
00:12:21.159 --> 00:12:23.840
it's one of those elements of working with Terrifier has

253
00:12:23.879 --> 00:12:25.960
been to bring the haunted houses to both coasts, and

254
00:12:26.279 --> 00:12:29.039
as I mentioned, because the eyep is easy to work with.

255
00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:31.840
In Orlando, they made a water.

256
00:12:31.759 --> 00:12:35.159
Pathway right that like a wet way and a dryway,

257
00:12:35.200 --> 00:12:37.840
which is just makes every bit excited because that everybody

258
00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:40.480
can do those before and after trends and show how

259
00:12:40.519 --> 00:12:43.159
soaked they get. So it's great from a brand marketing standpoint.

260
00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.600
But then they're able to bring Art the clown and

261
00:12:46.679 --> 00:12:51.279
let him just be the character, but all throughout both parks. Now,

262
00:12:51.320 --> 00:12:56.000
in Hollywood, this was not a problem. I mean, I

263
00:12:56.000 --> 00:12:57.600
don't know if it's because you get the Hollywood vibe

264
00:12:57.600 --> 00:12:59.960
where people are like, you know, they're used to seeing

265
00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:02.679
like Brad Pitt and random people. I've never seen Brad Pitt,

266
00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.159
but I've seen other random celebrities that just randomly and

267
00:13:05.159 --> 00:13:07.240
you just you know, like you're trained to just like

268
00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:10.559
kind of like look at them or maybe wave or whatever.

269
00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:13.480
We don't like harass them. So there's that training maybe.

270
00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:17.159
But like, uh so in Hollywood when I went for

271
00:13:17.320 --> 00:13:19.840
the media night, I went there and I think I

272
00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:22.960
saw him five or six times. I mean we he

273
00:13:23.159 --> 00:13:26.360
like clearly they had they had a whole team of

274
00:13:26.519 --> 00:13:30.200
art characters because he was like everywhere and he was

275
00:13:30.240 --> 00:13:32.519
in different costumes and outfits and he was just doing

276
00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:34.000
different things and he was just hanging out.

277
00:13:34.039 --> 00:13:34.840
We saw him all the time.

278
00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:39.320
And the girl that I brought with me was also

279
00:13:39.399 --> 00:13:42.440
an actress and she had like some contacts and stuff

280
00:13:42.440 --> 00:13:44.799
in so he loved picking on her and they would

281
00:13:44.799 --> 00:13:47.440
have like staring contests, you know, and they would just

282
00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:49.559
do a bunch of a bunch of stuff. And we

283
00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:51.440
saw her. We saw him all the time. Okay, but

284
00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:54.720
in Florida, this is not the case. In Florida, it

285
00:13:54.759 --> 00:13:58.519
has become a problem. And when when I have still

286
00:13:58.600 --> 00:14:01.120
never seen him in Florida, by the way, like this

287
00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:04.440
is the asterisk. However, I have friends that have and

288
00:14:04.480 --> 00:14:08.120
I have watched on I've looked online specifically for videos

289
00:14:08.159 --> 00:14:09.639
because I haven't seen them and I want to kind

290
00:14:09.639 --> 00:14:13.759
of see what it's like. And he now it's becoming a

291
00:14:13.799 --> 00:14:16.840
thing where he's becoming harassed and chased, and I've started

292
00:14:16.879 --> 00:14:19.240
to watch all these videos of it, like kind of

293
00:14:19.279 --> 00:14:21.120
becoming worse and worse and worse and worse and worse.

294
00:14:21.440 --> 00:14:23.480
And he's supposed to be a roaming character, but now

295
00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:26.919
it seems like Universal is considering pulling him into a

296
00:14:27.000 --> 00:14:31.519
more safe, enclosed space just because guests are just being crazy.

297
00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:34.200
People are following him around with flashlights, you know, people

298
00:14:34.240 --> 00:14:36.360
are blocking his way, people are trying to take props,

299
00:14:36.399 --> 00:14:40.639
people are just doing all this. Just the behavior is

300
00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:43.080
just insane about this. And this is where we finally

301
00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:48.360
get to the safety portion because Scott, I think you

302
00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:50.080
have a lot more experience in this. I'm just looking

303
00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:52.240
at it and I'm just like, you know, I'm one

304
00:14:52.279 --> 00:14:55.480
of those things when I'm just baffled, like I'm surprised.

305
00:14:55.519 --> 00:14:57.960
I'm not even surprised, and I am. It's like one

306
00:14:57.960 --> 00:15:00.720
of those things where you're like, you know, it was

307
00:15:00.759 --> 00:15:05.000
inevitable in like Florida because of the fanaticism that you get,

308
00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:07.200
but you were hoping that it wouldn't you know, it

309
00:15:07.200 --> 00:15:09.240
wouldn't go there, right, Like, I'm not surprised, but I'm

310
00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.080
just like sad because to your point, I mean with.

311
00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:15.480
With celebrities in California, the reason people are trained to

312
00:15:15.519 --> 00:15:17.600
behave in a certain way is if you go up

313
00:15:17.639 --> 00:15:21.440
and harass Brad Pitt, what happens. Yeah, you get arrested,

314
00:15:21.879 --> 00:15:24.679
you get taken away, one of his guys takes you away.

315
00:15:24.759 --> 00:15:29.200
Then you get arrested. You know, So they're not they're not.

316
00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:31.480
They didn't take that into consideration here. They haven't trained

317
00:15:31.480 --> 00:15:33.000
the audience here in Florida.

318
00:15:33.440 --> 00:15:36.039
And I will say the only situation I saw firsthand

319
00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:39.639
was actually last night, and it was with another roaming character,

320
00:15:39.679 --> 00:15:43.559
which is the Grapper, and he's roaming. He's medium roaming,

321
00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:45.159
like he can roam, but he's supposed to he' supposed

322
00:15:45.159 --> 00:15:47.480
to stay around his black phone but booth, but he

323
00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:50.320
can roam in that whole area. And actually he only

324
00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.720
had one handler, which which the fact that we have

325
00:15:52.720 --> 00:15:55.559
to say he only has one handler is crazy because

326
00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:57.919
I believe most of the Disney parks only give them

327
00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:01.320
one handler. But he he was being harassed by like

328
00:16:01.559 --> 00:16:04.360
by teens and they were just like, Oh, do this

329
00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:05.879
and do that, and they were like, I mean, it

330
00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:09.759
was like I had never seen people get that close

331
00:16:09.919 --> 00:16:10.759
to a character.

332
00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:14.200
And then he was also.

333
00:16:15.600 --> 00:16:17.480
Like touching some of the teams, not in the bad way,

334
00:16:17.519 --> 00:16:19.360
but like kind of like you know, like you know,

335
00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:21.159
he had his like prop and he was playing pop

336
00:16:21.159 --> 00:16:22.919
really close to their face and they would like grab

337
00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:23.360
it or this and that.

338
00:16:23.480 --> 00:16:24.480
I was like, I was like, this is.

339
00:16:24.519 --> 00:16:26.440
Behavior that is like, no, wonder if they're doing this

340
00:16:26.480 --> 00:16:30.559
with grabber, you know. And then the handler was like

341
00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:32.600
distracted over in a corner or whatever. And then the

342
00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:34.879
handler was like telling me, He's like, oh, I hate

343
00:16:34.879 --> 00:16:37.440
these teenagers. They're so ridiculous this year and everything.

344
00:16:37.480 --> 00:16:39.519
It's crazy. And I was like, yeah, but like you're

345
00:16:39.600 --> 00:16:40.399
letting them do it.

346
00:16:40.480 --> 00:16:44.159
I mean yeah, when there's no when there's there's no

347
00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:46.879
follow up, when there's no you know, they don't there's

348
00:16:46.919 --> 00:16:49.120
no they don't get in trouble for it. When you

349
00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:50.639
don't get in trouble for it, you keep doing it.

350
00:16:50.919 --> 00:16:57.679
That's that's reinforcement, you know. The and it also based

351
00:16:57.720 --> 00:16:59.879
on that description alone and some of the videos that

352
00:16:59.919 --> 00:17:02.080
I I've seen as well with with art the clown.

353
00:17:03.600 --> 00:17:06.799
I I look at it and go Okay. Before I

354
00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:09.519
would pull him from the streets and put him in

355
00:17:09.559 --> 00:17:13.240
a safe, you know, little stage location, I would go

356
00:17:13.319 --> 00:17:19.319
back and do a complete retraining because you know, I've

357
00:17:19.400 --> 00:17:20.920
done a lot of strolling characters. I've done a lot

358
00:17:20.920 --> 00:17:24.720
of strolling characters at Halloween time in and about without

359
00:17:24.720 --> 00:17:27.680
a handler. Now, granted, I am six four and I'm

360
00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:29.839
not a I'm not a slender person, so I'm I'm

361
00:17:29.839 --> 00:17:33.039
a pretty I'm a pretty imposing character to begin with.

362
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:36.240
But that said, that doesn't stop twelve year old girls

363
00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:40.440
who want to get content for for social media. So

364
00:17:40.519 --> 00:17:42.680
they're gonna do They're gonna do whatever they want to

365
00:17:42.680 --> 00:17:44.440
do and try to get away with it. And I

366
00:17:44.519 --> 00:17:46.319
use twelve year old girls because twelve year old girls

367
00:17:46.400 --> 00:17:53.680
of course know everything, just ask them. So so the

368
00:17:53.680 --> 00:17:57.440
the challenge there is to make certain that A the

369
00:17:57.480 --> 00:18:02.920
training is is right, B the lighting is right because people,

370
00:18:03.279 --> 00:18:04.599
you know, if you think about it, when you go

371
00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:08.640
to any Halloween event, you're for the most part, getting

372
00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:13.440
people all hyped up on either alcohol, sugar, or just

373
00:18:13.480 --> 00:18:18.000
adrenaline and scaring them in dark places. So they're going

374
00:18:18.039 --> 00:18:23.200
to fight flight, fawn or freeze. Those are the four options,

375
00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.680
and fighting, which we I think we'll talk about a

376
00:18:26.680 --> 00:18:30.599
little bit more later. But the fawning and the fawning

377
00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:34.000
is sort of trying to ingratiate yourself with the person

378
00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:38.039
that has frightened you. And that is so annoying if

379
00:18:38.039 --> 00:18:40.799
you're trying to be a terror character, it is it's

380
00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:42.680
like they want to be your best bud so that

381
00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.880
they can get away, they can become who you are.

382
00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:47.119
That's what they want is to to, you know, to

383
00:18:47.200 --> 00:18:51.440
be your best bud. And the strongest way to get

384
00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:53.759
away from that is to get away from that, to

385
00:18:53.839 --> 00:18:57.359
turn away, you know, don't give them the opportunity to

386
00:18:57.519 --> 00:19:00.680
become your buddy as a as a monster character. And

387
00:19:00.720 --> 00:19:03.200
if you can't frighten them away, then turn and walk

388
00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:05.880
away and then have your handler come in. Once you

389
00:19:05.960 --> 00:19:08.319
walk away, then have your handler come in and make

390
00:19:08.359 --> 00:19:11.240
sure that they don't follow you. You know. That's that's

391
00:19:11.359 --> 00:19:13.519
that's how I would train somebody. I also think that

392
00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:16.480
when you start talking about invading people's privacy, or not privacy,

393
00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:20.599
invading people's personal space. That's where the moment you stay

394
00:19:20.640 --> 00:19:25.359
longer than a second in someone's personal space, you've just

395
00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:29.279
invited some sort of retribution. You've just invited some sort

396
00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:34.559
of follow up. And it's also reading the crowd. That's

397
00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:36.240
why I say this is a training issue to me,

398
00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:40.680
reading the crowd. Understand, I can go and mess with

399
00:19:40.720 --> 00:19:42.319
these people and they'll have a good time with it.

400
00:19:42.400 --> 00:19:44.400
If I do the same thing with these people, they're

401
00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:46.279
going to either get up in my face, they're going

402
00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:48.640
to push me away. You know, I scare the I

403
00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:52.440
scare the fifteen year old football player who's on a

404
00:19:52.519 --> 00:19:54.599
date with his girlfriend and he looks like a fool,

405
00:19:54.799 --> 00:19:57.839
so now all his the only the only recompense he

406
00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:01.480
has is to hit me. So you have to read

407
00:20:01.480 --> 00:20:02.279
your crowd.

408
00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.279
Actually, now that you're mentioning that, I well, of course,

409
00:20:06.319 --> 00:20:09.119
this is why I brought this to you, Scott, because

410
00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:10.920
you have the experience in this. But now that you're

411
00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.279
mentioning it, I was like, you know, maybe this is

412
00:20:14.920 --> 00:20:17.839
part of another trend we've been talking about forever since

413
00:20:17.839 --> 00:20:21.839
the show started, which is the casting and the staffing

414
00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.640
and the training and the training and how a lot.

415
00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:28.000
Maybe maybe it's because we've talked about for a while

416
00:20:28.039 --> 00:20:30.880
how like so many people during the pandemic, they left

417
00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:33.720
the sector and it's been like rekind of been trying

418
00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.559
to back build up your talent pool, and maybe this

419
00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:38.720
is one of those where, like you just don't they

420
00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:41.119
just have people that have not actors, that have not

421
00:20:41.480 --> 00:20:44.039
had this type of training before, and they just don't

422
00:20:44.079 --> 00:20:47.039
know how to diffuse it. And also we've also I

423
00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:50.000
don't want to like put you know, like shade on

424
00:20:50.079 --> 00:20:53.160
the younger generation, but we've also talked about how because

425
00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:55.759
again because of the pandemic and because of the less

426
00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:58.960
socialization in that generation, that you do have a generation

427
00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:00.279
of kids that are just.

428
00:21:00.200 --> 00:21:03.440
Don't know how to have the actual real people.

429
00:21:03.519 --> 00:21:05.640
Interacting with And so maybe these two things are colliding

430
00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:07.599
where you're like, oh, like they don't know how to

431
00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:10.720
interact the actors eat maybe the actors are also young enough,

432
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:12.519
because some of these I'm sure are barely.

433
00:21:12.920 --> 00:21:15.920
Of course, it's this is yes, I think, I think

434
00:21:15.960 --> 00:21:17.759
I agree with you on all of these topics. I

435
00:21:18.039 --> 00:21:22.240
think what it basically comes down to is the first

436
00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:24.720
of all, they haven't set up the parameters of what

437
00:21:24.799 --> 00:21:29.039
is acceptable behavior and what is not within the parks themselves.

438
00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.720
And b I don't it sounds like and I don't

439
00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:34.559
know because I'm not involved with the project at all,

440
00:21:34.759 --> 00:21:40.519
But it sounds like the training is not necessarily the

441
00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:43.839
strongest either. People automatically assume I'm playing Art the Clown.

442
00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:46.880
People will be afraid of me. But they won't because

443
00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:49.079
they have Art the Clown on their T shirt. So

444
00:21:49.160 --> 00:21:50.720
any character that you can have on a T shirt

445
00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:54.759
is not going to kill you. They they've already suspended

446
00:21:54.799 --> 00:21:58.559
their disbelief or they've already you know it basically ignored

447
00:21:59.279 --> 00:22:02.440
the brand standard of what Art the Clown stands for.

448
00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:05.960
And so they're just going to try to get Art

449
00:22:05.960 --> 00:22:07.440
the Clown to be their buddy, to do something fun

450
00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:09.400
because they know he's not going to hurt them. So

451
00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:11.480
what they have to do is figure out, Okay, if

452
00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:13.960
he can't hurt them in revenge, what can he do.

453
00:22:14.079 --> 00:22:15.640
He can turn and walk away so you don't get

454
00:22:15.640 --> 00:22:19.200
your content. Yeah, so you know they've got to they've

455
00:22:19.200 --> 00:22:23.559
got to establish that those those guidelines, just like you

456
00:22:23.599 --> 00:22:27.079
talked about in California. In California, when you see a celebrity,

457
00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:30.000
you maintain a distance. And the reason you maintain a

458
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:33.599
distance is because you know one of the celebrities. People,

459
00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:36.839
whether you know who they are or not, are going

460
00:22:36.880 --> 00:22:39.920
to come and move you out of their way and

461
00:22:39.960 --> 00:22:44.680
then perhaps involve law enforcement. So the audience has been

462
00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:47.559
trained there, not so much in Florida.

463
00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.799
Yeah, I agree that that's a that's yeah, it's an

464
00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:53.720
excellent way of paying it because I think about in

465
00:22:53.759 --> 00:22:56.759
California when I saw we kept seeing we actually kept

466
00:22:56.759 --> 00:22:58.599
seeing art like all night, and I literally was like,

467
00:22:58.880 --> 00:22:59.839
how many are there?

468
00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:01.799
Or like, how are we seeing? Are all it was?

469
00:23:01.839 --> 00:23:03.920
He was, He felt like he was everywhere in California.

470
00:23:04.079 --> 00:23:05.599
That's great, That's what it should be.

471
00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:06.640
That's what it should be.

472
00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:09.079
And also but with us and I was rolling with

473
00:23:09.119 --> 00:23:11.200
my camera, I mean we were rolling and we literally

474
00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:13.519
we we ignored him for the most part, and he

475
00:23:13.640 --> 00:23:16.400
came up to us multiple times, like but we just

476
00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:18.319
were like let's walk past him, you know, let's just

477
00:23:18.559 --> 00:23:20.759
walk by. And he would come up and then like

478
00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:23.240
he would, he would stare at Jen, who I was with,

479
00:23:23.279 --> 00:23:24.880
the actress I was with, and then she would just

480
00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:26.519
stare back, and I think that was one of those

481
00:23:26.519 --> 00:23:29.359
where an interaction that he didn't expect because she would

482
00:23:29.359 --> 00:23:31.640
just like stare and he would stare, and they would

483
00:23:31.640 --> 00:23:33.440
just stare each other, or he would do something or

484
00:23:33.440 --> 00:23:34.839
whatever and then he would move on. We just you

485
00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:37.079
just let him do his thing. You just you keep walking.

486
00:23:37.279 --> 00:23:39.839
He does this thing. If he interacts with you, great,

487
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:41.640
If not, keep moving.

488
00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:43.319
Part of the part of the training for a scare

489
00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:49.519
act in an uncontrolled situation is once again reading your crowd,

490
00:23:49.680 --> 00:23:51.640
reading your audience. Who do you want to engage with?

491
00:23:51.839 --> 00:23:54.839
You can't do the same interaction with every single person

492
00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:58.960
because different people will react differently. Yeah, you know, And

493
00:23:59.640 --> 00:24:01.960
you also have to recognize, Okay, I've got this bit

494
00:24:02.240 --> 00:24:04.680
and if a if the beginning of the bit doesn't work,

495
00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.200
I have to have an immediate pivot. I've got to

496
00:24:07.200 --> 00:24:10.559
have an immediate improvisation to head it out so I

497
00:24:10.640 --> 00:24:15.559
don't look foolish, get hurt, get cornered, get chased, get grabbed, whatever.

498
00:24:16.119 --> 00:24:18.079
And I just think you're right that the training in

499
00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:20.279
Hollywood stay. And that was the other thing I didn't

500
00:24:20.319 --> 00:24:22.400
mention at the top of the show. But basically, the big,

501
00:24:22.440 --> 00:24:27.400
the big. Everybody is always like Orlando is better than Hollywood,

502
00:24:27.480 --> 00:24:29.799
or hollywoods better. Everyone's always has these opinions about like

503
00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:31.720
which is better about blah, And I'm like, the reality

504
00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:31.920
is we.

505
00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:32.640
Talked about before.

506
00:24:33.559 --> 00:24:38.599
They're separate events with separate situations, right with entirely separate

507
00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:41.119
audiences and separate audiences, and so I don't think it's

508
00:24:41.119 --> 00:24:43.640
good to compare. But I think, as I've always said,

509
00:24:44.200 --> 00:24:46.279
the biggest thing is your talent pool. That is the

510
00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:50.079
biggest difference. And so in Hollywood, the houses are designed

511
00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:53.839
to have more acting roles, so it's not just the51200:24:53.880 --> 00:24:58.279



scare zones. And this year, I think that's why, you know,51300:24:58.319 --> 00:25:00.319



it's it's so much easy. Basically, it's so much easier51400:25:00.359 --> 00:25:02.319



to get art to clowns in Hollywood, and that's probably51500:25:02.359 --> 00:25:04.359



why they have so many of them. They're probably more51600:25:04.400 --> 00:25:06.799



highly trained because they have so much a big acting51700:25:06.839 --> 00:25:09.880



pool there as opposed to in Florida. But also the51800:25:09.920 --> 00:25:12.640



houses in Florida. All of the actors in the houses51900:25:12.680 --> 00:25:16.759



in Florida, as always are just animatronics. Basically, they just52000:25:16.799 --> 00:25:18.480



pop out of corners and do the same thing over52100:25:18.519 --> 00:25:18.799



and over.52200:25:18.920 --> 00:25:19.319



But you have.52300:25:19.440 --> 00:25:22.839



Hollywood and all the street spirit performers walk by and stare.52400:25:22.599 --> 00:25:24.240



At you, yes, exactly.52500:25:25.319 --> 00:25:28.440



And you have in Hollywood where you do have they52600:25:28.920 --> 00:25:31.559



are trained in prov folks and they do everything that52700:25:31.599 --> 00:25:34.119



you mentioned, and they switch up their tactics and they52800:25:34.160 --> 00:25:38.519



also you have people in the haunted houses that execute scenes.52900:25:38.960 --> 00:25:41.799



You know they will they will do acting inside the53000:25:41.880 --> 00:25:44.039



hind House. You know, you have Jason that pops out53100:25:44.240 --> 00:25:46.559



and he shoots a girl with an arrow and it's53200:25:46.559 --> 00:25:49.799



two actors and they do that like all night, and53300:25:50.680 --> 00:25:54.319



you know it's it's a great scene and it's movement based, right,53400:25:54.359 --> 00:25:57.359



and it's like that happens in California.53500:25:57.400 --> 00:25:59.359



It could never happen in Florida. It's because of the staff.53600:25:59.440 --> 00:26:01.799



Well, they have done that at times in Florida. The53700:26:01.880 --> 00:26:06.799



challenge there is the Florida because the Florida Florida has53800:26:06.839 --> 00:26:11.279



such a capacity push that. Unfortunately, if there is a53900:26:11.319 --> 00:26:13.920



scene that has to be reset like that, I would54000:26:13.960 --> 00:26:16.000



say seventy five percent of the people who go through54100:26:16.039 --> 00:26:18.799



the house miss it. Yeah, because they have to reset54200:26:18.880 --> 00:26:19.839



and get ready to go again.54300:26:20.240 --> 00:26:21.079



It is crazy.54400:26:21.400 --> 00:26:23.599



Yeah. I saw that happen years and years and years54500:26:23.599 --> 00:26:26.880



ago in the the Never More House that they did54600:26:26.960 --> 00:26:29.960



about Edgar Allan Poe. There was a great scene, but54700:26:30.359 --> 00:26:33.279



I would say maybe twenty five percent of the people54800:26:33.279 --> 00:26:36.079



who actually went through ever saw it because the reset54900:26:36.160 --> 00:26:40.079



was horrendous. Yeah, took forever. But we're not the only55000:26:40.079 --> 00:26:42.319



ones talking about safety. That's the important thing. Yeah.55100:26:42.359 --> 00:26:43.799



Yeah, I was like, we haven't even got to the55200:26:43.799 --> 00:26:44.200



next time.55300:26:44.200 --> 00:26:46.400



I know, so I'm moving aside. Yeah.55400:26:46.440 --> 00:26:50.200



So basically, there was also an incident this week at55500:26:50.599 --> 00:26:57.240



Hershey Park and I anyway, so just to outline the incident, basically,55600:26:57.279 --> 00:26:59.440



there's the young boy. He got separated from his parents.55700:26:59.640 --> 00:27:04.279



The parent kind of immediately contacted the park and they55800:27:04.279 --> 00:27:07.119



were looking for him. But where they found him was55900:27:07.160 --> 00:27:10.279



actually on the monorail tracks, like on monorail tracks, Like56000:27:10.279 --> 00:27:14.000



he's walking on mono tracks and nobody knows how he56100:27:14.039 --> 00:27:16.680



got on the tracks because the station was like locked off,56200:27:16.720 --> 00:27:20.160



everything was secured all that. The monorail is not active,56300:27:20.279 --> 00:27:23.160



so it's inactive monorail, which hence why the station and56400:27:23.200 --> 00:27:26.640



the area were already closed off because it's inactive monorail56500:27:27.000 --> 00:27:31.599



and so it's a closed site. So the video that56600:27:31.640 --> 00:27:34.920



went viral and got picked up by literally everyone is56700:27:34.960 --> 00:27:37.440



a video of the crowd, a crowd of people like56800:27:37.480 --> 00:27:40.759



shouting at the boy. And then there are these two56900:27:41.079 --> 00:27:43.359



men who are not related to the parents or their57000:27:43.519 --> 00:27:46.960



party at all, who just jump on top, like climb57100:27:46.960 --> 00:27:49.400



on top of the building like an adjacent building, and57200:27:49.440 --> 00:27:52.200



then get onto the montail tracks and get the boy57300:27:52.279 --> 00:27:56.000



and bring him down, and so he was fine. The57400:27:56.000 --> 00:28:00.279



boy was fine. The whole incident probably took think they57500:28:00.279 --> 00:28:03.519



said twenty minutes where he was randomly at the monorail's57600:28:03.839 --> 00:28:05.960



gate area. Is so in me twenty thirty minutes the57700:28:05.960 --> 00:28:09.160



whole situation took and he was returned and safe and57800:28:09.200 --> 00:28:10.039



everything was fine.57900:28:10.400 --> 00:28:11.839



But this went all over.58000:28:11.960 --> 00:28:16.240



And of course this has the bad timing of being58100:28:17.079 --> 00:28:19.720



just a month away from an accidental drowning at the58200:28:19.720 --> 00:28:24.559



Hershey Park water park, which was deemed by everybody an58300:28:24.599 --> 00:28:26.160



accident because you know, they were like they had one58400:28:26.200 --> 00:28:28.400



hundred lifeguards there and it was just a complete accident58500:28:28.559 --> 00:28:31.440



that was not at all the park of the fault58600:28:31.480 --> 00:28:35.559



of the park, but it's been it's everywhere, It's everywhere.58700:28:35.799 --> 00:28:38.640



The head president of AYAPPA had to do a segment58800:28:38.680 --> 00:28:41.160



on today where he talked about how the injuries per58900:28:41.160 --> 00:28:44.319



million atendees actually went down by fifty one percent. Oh59000:28:44.359 --> 00:28:48.079



and that basically it's parts have never been safer, and59100:28:48.680 --> 00:28:52.960



that these in both these incidents, we were not where59200:28:53.000 --> 00:28:54.960



the park was doing everything they could and that they59300:28:54.960 --> 00:28:56.640



could be recently set to do well.59400:28:56.680 --> 00:28:58.960



And I think that what this reminds us of is59500:28:59.400 --> 00:29:03.440



safety is a journey not an end result. You know,59600:29:03.680 --> 00:29:07.119



you never know how safe you are. Obviously, a child59700:29:07.400 --> 00:29:12.000



in a completely quote unquote locked up, lockdown cannot access well,59800:29:12.599 --> 00:29:15.039



obviously they can access. So you got to go back59900:29:15.039 --> 00:29:17.440



and review where did he get through? How did he60000:29:17.519 --> 00:29:20.599



get through? How do we fill that in? Because he's60100:29:20.599 --> 00:29:23.359



a kid, he didn't know the difference. The fact that60200:29:23.440 --> 00:29:25.400



you know, the fact that you've got the two adults60300:29:25.599 --> 00:29:27.640



who are able to climb on a building and get60400:29:27.640 --> 00:29:30.480



on the on the on the track, that concerns me60500:29:30.559 --> 00:29:33.440



as well. I appreciate them being a good Samaritan. I60600:29:33.440 --> 00:29:35.400



think that is exactly the right thing to do, But60700:29:35.480 --> 00:29:39.359



the fact that they could means that there's a second issue.60800:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.119



If they could get on the tracks, it means there's60900:29:42.119 --> 00:29:46.759



a second issue because, quite honestly, and you know, if61000:29:46.759 --> 00:29:48.480



you if you search the internet long enough, well it61100:29:48.599 --> 00:29:51.200



won't take that long, you will find so many videos61200:29:51.200 --> 00:29:54.880



of people in places that are locked off, secure, closed.61300:29:55.599 --> 00:29:58.240



You know there there are there are entire channels of61400:29:58.440 --> 00:30:00.759



abandoned theme parks, people who have broke get into abandoned61500:30:00.759 --> 00:30:03.720



theme parks or even behind the scenes at working theme61600:30:03.759 --> 00:30:07.640



parks and getting you know that video, that content, et cetera,61700:30:07.680 --> 00:30:11.440



et cetera, et cetera. So safety is always going to61800:30:11.519 --> 00:30:15.240



be a living document. Your safety plan is always going61900:30:15.240 --> 00:30:18.319



to be a living document. And this is just a reminder.62000:30:18.359 --> 00:30:20.160



And thank goodness, nothing happened to the child. I think62100:30:20.160 --> 00:30:23.599



that's great. You know that some people have said, well,62200:30:23.640 --> 00:30:25.640



the parents just lost, just turned away for a moment,62300:30:25.680 --> 00:30:28.720



and then he was on the monorail track. Well, unless62400:30:28.720 --> 00:30:33.039



there was a transporter involved, I don't think that happened. Okay,62500:30:34.200 --> 00:30:36.000



the kid had to be have been missing for a62600:30:36.039 --> 00:30:38.240



little while. Now I'm not a parent, so I'm not62700:30:38.279 --> 00:30:40.359



going to sit here and back seat parent. It is62800:30:40.440 --> 00:30:42.920



very possible that they were panicked and looking for the child.62900:30:43.400 --> 00:30:44.759



They were looking on the right and he was on63000:30:44.799 --> 00:30:47.079



the left. That's completely I get it. I get it.63100:30:47.359 --> 00:30:51.759



But you know, there's so many factors involved that we63200:30:52.000 --> 00:30:55.200



just either don't know, haven't figured out yet, or have63300:30:55.319 --> 00:30:59.680



not been reported. The reason this is an issue is because, again,63400:30:59.759 --> 00:31:02.319



once the media gets a hold of a safety situation63500:31:02.680 --> 00:31:05.839



for a large theme park, they're going to shake it63600:31:05.920 --> 00:31:08.160



like a dog shakes apossum. You know, It's one of63700:31:08.160 --> 00:31:11.960



those situations where it's far more it's far greater news63800:31:12.000 --> 00:31:14.319



than someone slipped and fell in the grocery store. You know,63900:31:15.200 --> 00:31:16.960



and there are people who slip and fall in grocery64000:31:16.960 --> 00:31:19.039



stores and have to be taken to the hospital every64100:31:19.079 --> 00:31:21.920



single day in almost every single community. But a small64200:31:22.000 --> 00:31:24.839



child who was not injured on a monorail track in64300:31:24.920 --> 00:31:29.880



a theme park is much sexier news. So we have64400:31:29.960 --> 00:31:33.079



to kind of weigh that. So at the same time,64500:31:33.119 --> 00:31:35.920



I'm saying, yes, this is a great opportunity. In fact,64600:31:36.119 --> 00:31:39.519



if I were the safety guy at you know, at64700:31:40.920 --> 00:31:42.519



where are we at Hershey Park? If I were the64800:31:42.559 --> 00:31:44.119



safety guy at Hershey Park, the first thing I would64900:31:44.160 --> 00:31:46.960



do is go thank you for helping us find yet65000:31:47.000 --> 00:31:49.839



another way we can be safer because the child was65100:31:49.880 --> 00:31:52.920



not injured, and it was another opportunity for us to65200:31:53.279 --> 00:31:55.599



ramp up our safety. And of course everyone's going to65300:31:55.640 --> 00:31:58.440



come back and say, well, it wasn't safe before we65400:31:58.519 --> 00:32:00.880



thought it was. We thought it was. But no matter65500:32:00.920 --> 00:32:04.319



how safe you think it's going to be. And again, parents,65600:32:04.599 --> 00:32:06.519



you know this. Your kids are going to find a65700:32:06.519 --> 00:32:09.119



way to get to where they want to be. So65800:32:09.640 --> 00:32:13.799



it's it's another opportunity to get even safer so I'm glad,65900:32:13.839 --> 00:32:17.799



and I'm glad. Yakab from IAPA spoke out about it66000:32:17.839 --> 00:32:22.640



again just to reinforce people. It's not unsafe. It's not66100:32:22.720 --> 00:32:24.960



more unsafe than it's ever been. It's safer than it's66200:32:24.960 --> 00:32:26.480



ever been to be in a theme pars.66300:32:27.039 --> 00:32:27.960



That's right, that's right.66400:32:28.279 --> 00:32:31.079



Yeah, well, I think we're going to have to continue66500:32:31.400 --> 00:32:34.759



the safety discussion and unhinged because we're already out of time.66600:32:34.759 --> 00:32:37.039



I don't even know. Well, we got.66700:32:36.960 --> 00:32:41.160



Talking about Halloween too, so that that doesn't so anyway. Well, guys,66800:32:41.240 --> 00:32:44.160



thank you so much for being with us for five years,66900:32:44.160 --> 00:32:45.880



for those of you who've started with us at the67000:32:45.960 --> 00:32:50.160



very beginning, and for those of you who are recently joined.67100:32:50.319 --> 00:32:53.079



Here's to another five years. Hopefully we'll go way into67200:32:53.079 --> 00:32:57.200



the future. And until next week on behalf of Philip67300:32:57.240 --> 00:32:59.279



and myself. This is Green Tag Theme Park in thirty67400:32:59.519 --> 00:33:02.880



and we will see you in seven days