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“Lawsuit-Worthy”, Theme Park Allegedly Hides Prices, Guests Feel Scammed

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Posted on by Luke Dammann 7 Comments
Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Credit: Busch Gardens

With the entire world shutting down in early 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the world became a different place. Seemingly everything changed and the theme park industry is no different. At Disney World and Disneyland, capacity was cut significantly as well as food portion sizes. Universal Studios also faced closures and changes to the way it operates across the country and world.

Other theme parks have also implemented changes since COVID-19 took over the world but some fans are calling a recent change at a Virginia theme park “scummy” and a “scam”.

Credit: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Related: Disney Pulls Popular Dish From Menu After 36 Years

We recently covered a price increase that was practically hidden at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The park introduced a 5% surcharge, on top of taxes, to all checks. While the purpose of these surcharges is not specified, it is most likely due to issues stated above, such as supply chain issues and inflation. While small, this is still not something most Guests will like to see while visiting an already pricey theme Park.

Now, another increase has been spotted and Guests are not happy. A tweet from BGWFans (@BGWFans) revealed this change:

New frontrunner in our #SpotTheSEAScam game! This menu board at @BuschGardensVA‘s Three Rivers Snacks does the best job of concealing the park’s scummy 5% surcharge disclaimer we’ve seen yet! Still anyone out there willing to claim this isn’t an intentional ploy to deceive?

Related: Universal Studios Set to Demolish Entire Building

The replies to this tweet were all critical of the theme park. Tanner Phillips (@thetannerphillips) said:

They definitely darkened the background where the text is. They’re being shady as h*** with this. They’re one bad quarter away from charging park admission and charging per ride too.

Tim Masterson (@TimMasterson) said:

Not a lawyer but this almost feels lawsuit worthy. Intentional deception.

Jared Kenney (@JayKenn096) said:

Wow there’s no way to explain that other than trying to scam guests

As you can see (or not see), the slight increase in price is listed on the bottom right of the menu board, conveniently written in a grey color that is almost identical to the background making it nearly impossible to see. As of the publication of this article, the official Busch Gardens Williamsburg website does not provide any information regarding these price increases.

busch garden williamsburg
Credit: Busch Gardens

More on Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, in Virginia, is an incredibly popular theme Park that welcomes thousands of locals and tourists annually. Home to attractions like Apollo’s Chariot, Verbolten, Invadr, Griffon, Tempesto, The Lock Ness Monster, and Escape From Pompeii, Busch Gardens Virginia packs thrills and joy for the whole family to enjoy! And let’s not forget Pantheon, the Park’s newest coaster, which opened recently.

We recently saw Busch Gardens Williamsburg launch and modify a challenge involving five of the Park’s most popular coasters, Griffon, Alpengeist, Pantheon, Invadr, and Verbolten, which sparked polemic as some of these coasters were unavailable during the first day of the challenge.

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Luke Dammann

When at Disney world, Luke will probably be found eating with his favorite animatronic, Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. When not at Disney World, Luke will probably be found defending Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe to people who claim "there are better restaurants"

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