Perhaps this was just my own experience, but for this year at least, the problem wasn't nearly as big as some of us are perhaps implying.
I'm not defending these people by any stretch of the imagination, I don't claim to understand their aggressive mannerisms, minimalistic clothing or ritualistic promiscuity - in fact I'm not REALLY sure I entirely see the point of the travellers event as so many of them DO seem to use it as an excuse to hang around and make a nuisance of themselves - but any group standing around doing that CAN appear intimidating to an outsider - I'm sure our own group did at some point on Sunday.
I can't fault Towers on their preparation - half of the Staffordshire Moorlands policeforce seemed to be on park, there were metal detectors and thorough security screening in order to get into the park, but this was no hassle for the majority of guests. The atmosphere was perhaps notably different after dark, but I didn't see any trouble - the worst that happened was one or two people walked into me without apologising - to be honest, aside from the chaos during THAT shower, I have more people hassle on an average day at Thorpe than I did yesterday. I DO know that 2011 was a very different story as I was unlucky enough to experience it, but yesterday was a very peaceful affair - perhaps pick another weekend if you have a choice, but I think we exaggerate the impact these people actually had and we've made it sound worse than was in fact the case. Sure, be more careful if you visit on the first Sunday of Scarefest and expect a security presence - but certainly don't be put off visiting that day. I think Islander put it best.