Unruly Guest Behavior : Frequency, Acceptability, Reactions, and Causes

The presentation will report on an empirical nationwide study that examined a sample of 500 theme park visitors’ experiences with their fellow visitors’ unruly behavior. The presentation will report on the types of unruly behaviors observed in the theme parks, the frequency of their occurrence, bystanders’ level of acceptability of the different types of uncivil behavior, the perceived causes of unruly behavior, and the visitors' suggestions for management to tackle this behavior.   

The findings reveal that behaviors like eating, running around, talking loudly, and yelling in public areas were highly tolerated, whereas actions such as hitting employees or guests, stealing, being disrespectful to other cultures, and smoking were least accepted. These behaviors were observed in various theme park sections, with common occurrences in parking lots, ticket sale booths, and food and retail outlets. Generally, regular theme park visitors exhibit a relatively high level of tolerance towards unruly guest behavior that could stem from uncertainties about what are acceptable norms, a perceived lack of personal empowerment to address such behaviors or fear of potential consequences for speaking up.

Frequently observed issues by bystanders included running, loud talking, eating, yelling, and inappropriate use of cell phones or flash photography during shows and rides. On the contrary, less frequent occurrences involved disrespectful behavior towards handicapped individuals, theft, physical assault on employees or other guests, and smoking in public areas. Visitors perceived that unruly behavior stemmed from factors like long waiting lines, technical challenges with theme park apps, guests feeling entitled, disorderly queue line management, and alcohol consumption.

The respondents’ recommendations to address such behavior included empowering employees to enforce rules, issuing on-the-spot warnings to guests displaying unacceptable behaviors, strategically placing signposts around the park outlining the consequences of inappropriate actions and deploying law enforcement members at theme parks, among other suggestions.

The findings unveiled noteworthy gender variations, with males displaying greater acceptance of specific behaviors compared to females, even though they observed more instances of such behaviors.  However, males also demonstrated elevated expectations from the park's management and a higher likelihood of specific reactions, in contrast to females. Implications for management will be discussed at the end of the presentation.

Do you have a plan on how to handle unruly behavior? This session dives into a nationawide study that examined a sample of 500 theme park visitors’ experiences with their fellow visitors’ unruly behavior that helps operators understand the types of behaviors, how often incidents occur, how other guests react, and what is causing these behavioral incidents. Join this session to get a detailed analysis of the report and how operators can use this information to handle situations that may arise.