Pokémon Go: Florida Theme Parks Welcome Considerate Trainers

The Pokémon Go craze has hit Florida in a very big way with PokéStops, gyms and critters cropping up all over the place — even at some of the state’s biggest theme parks.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Legoland have both reported players hunting high and low for Pokémon while enjoying days at the parks.

"Pokémon Go is certainly creating a lot of buzz, and we are excited that our guests are engaged in this activity in the park,” Busch Gardens Tampa Bay spokeswoman Karen Varga-Sinka said. “The safety of our guests, animals and ambassadors is our top priority, so while we want our guests to have fun and catch them all, we ask that they continue to follow all posted safety guidelines and procedures, including not entering restricted areas."

Legoland took to its blog to offer players some commonsense advice to keep them out of trouble with park security.

“Even a Pokémon Master must stay within guest areas,” the Legoland Florida Resort blog recommended. “Please don’t climb any fences or follow any Pokémon into employee only areas. No catch is worth sacrificing your safety.”

Legoland does seem to be having fun with the relatively new mobile game sensation.

“If you find a Pokémon at the Fun Town Pizza Pasta Buffet, let the nearest Model Citizen know, we prefer pepperoni over Poké Balls.”

Pokémon Go is a new mobile app that launched about a week ago. It is encouraging players to get out and visit real locations to find Pokémon. Rather than playing solo in their bedrooms, players are actually going outside, taking walks and conversing with people at public places about the game.

While the new game has its positive side – getting people outside and moving around – it does pose a few potential pitfalls. The Largo Police Department issued a few warnings on its Facebook page Monday.

It seems a patrol officer happened to notice about 100 people walking around Largo Central Park just before midnight Sunday, “staring aimlessly at their phones,” the agency wrote. “It looked like a bunch of trendy zombies following a mystical GPS device.”

While Largo Central Park closes at 10 p.m., the adamant Pokémon hunters didn’t seem to care all that much. Police, however, are concerned about player safety and offered a few words of advice.

“If you are going to play this game, please remember a few things,” the agency wrote. “Never, ever drive and play Pokémon. Quiet simply, very bad things will likely happen. If you are walking around playing this game, look where you are going. The game very much divides your attention.”

Players are also warned that bad guys in other parts of the country have been using the game to attract robbery victims. Police in O’Fallon, Missouri, say four men used “PokéStops” from the game to find armed robbery victims, according to Gizmodo.

For those who haven’t caught Pokémon fever, the game works by having players move through the real world. As they do, their smartphones vibrate to let them know when a Pokémon is near.

Players then throw a PokéBall to catch it and add it to their PokéDex. The game uses a smartphone’s GPS and camera to turn the real world into a gigantic scavenger hunt.

In each town nationwide, developers have added PokéStops— from libraries and churches to public art installations, historical markers and monuments. An in-game item called a “Lure Module” attracts Pokémon to a PokeStop for 30 minutes and they're visible and attainable to everyone nearby.

Largo Police also say it’s a great way to get folks out enjoying local parks and other attractions – as long as caution is exercised. Legoland and Busch Gardens seem to agree.

A Largo Police officer even managed to catch a Pokémon on a cruiser Monday.

Patch also reached out to Disney World to see if the Pokémon players are out in force there, but we haven't heard back yet.

Are you playing Pokémon Go? Tell us where you’ve had the best luck catching critters by commenting below!

Read more about Pokémon Go here.

Photo courtesy of the Largo Police Department Facebook page