Youth lock-in turns rowdy
Party at Katy’s Typhoon Texas shut down due to misbehavior
An overnight event at the new Typhoon Texas water park in Katy was shut down hours early after the crowd of roughly 5,000 teens allegedly turned unruly.
The private event, dubbed Typhoon Texas Youth Lock-In and featuring live music, was scheduled to run from 10:30 p.m. Friday until 6 a.m. Saturday.
It was called off after just a few hours because of misconduct, said Bernard Kaplan, a spokesman for Typhoon Texas, a $50 million, 25-acre water park near Katy Mills Mall that opened two weeks ago.
“Our code of conduct policy is pretty simple,” Kaplan said. “Come here, have fun, enjoy yourself. We have certain policies here for everyone’s safety.”
Kaplan declined to elaborate on the specific behaviors, but said attendees would not receive refunds since the event wasn’t canceled.
A statement from Can You Hear Me Now, a motivational speaking company that hosed the event, expressed disappointment that Typhoon Texas closed the water park without its authorization,
sending many young people out on the streets.
“The safety of the youth is our main concern, first and foremost, and we are cooperating with authorities to investigate why Texas Typhoon’s staff, policies and procedures failed to appropriately handle the ticket holders who entered the water park. Sadly, we are discovering that Typhoon Texas, having recently opened, may have oversold what the water park could accommodate, numbers beyond our original understanding when we booked our event,” the statement said.
About 3,000 advance event tickets for $28 apiece were sold, and an additional 2,000 people paid at the gate before the park stopped selling tickets.
Park officials said they had additional security on hand, but that event organizers are responsible for providing adequate chaperones for such private events.
Katy police confirmed Saturday that officers responded to the water park, but no arrests were made.
One woman wrote on Facebook that the crowd “quickly devolved into utter chaos” Friday, with guests “running rampant, swearing at staff, stealing food.”
Another person wrote on the water park’s Facebook page that the event may have gotten out of control because people up to 18 years of age were allowed in, along with children as young as 9 years old.
A cellphone video apparently shot during the event shows a crowded wave pool full of teens in green inner tubes. Someone grabbed the microphone and warned attendees to settle down, saying the park would be shut down if guests didn’t cooperate.
“Guys, if y’all get too rowdy, Typhoon Texas will shut down early, and everybody will have to go home,” an unknown voice said on the video. “So I need y’all to chill out for a second.”
Several complaints on social media said that although the event was private it looked as if it was open to the general public.
Kaplan said that wasn’t the case.
He said the park tried to accommodate people who came to buy tickets “in the spirit of the event” and that capacity issue weren’t what forced the closure.