SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment
Reviews and Complaints

Hello, I purchased 2 adult tickets and 3 children's tickets for Oct 19th, 2024. I called to see if I could get assistance with either getting a refund and/or credit for 2 children tickets as there is a current promotion that is going on in the month of October that states if you purchase an adult ticket a children's ticket would be free. I have spoken to two customer service reps and I was advised that they cannot honor a refund, which I understand but why can I not receive credit? Their only reasoning was because I bought the tickets before Oct. But I do not understand why that matters if my reserved date is still for a day in Oct. This is very unfortunate and horrible customer service. Order number is: [protected].

Oct 29th, passes that I didn’t even know we had were renewed automatically. I was told that I authorized automatic renewal when the original passes were bought years ago. Caught it this year because the card was paid off and the charge popped up. Has been going un noticed for a few years. Got the email notice but thought it was a scam, since hadn’t realized we had been being renewed automatically and were never notified we had tickets to be picked up. Also why would I have renewed the pass for my wife since she passed this past January.

I purchased 3 in-water dolphin experiences for 7/26/23 (Order #[protected]) and I need a refund on 1 ticket. When my children and I arrived 7/26 I was told my son was 2” short and was unable to participate. I was told I’d received a refund for his ticket however I have not seen it yet.

I’ve called the main line 3 times already. The representative says they cannot issue a refund since the staff member at seaworld did not make a note about the refund. They gave me the option of driving to the park and requesting a refund in person however the park is 8+ hours away from me. I was then given guest relations email which I’ve sent 3 emails already and have yet to receive a response. Management on the main line tried to reach the park all 3 times I’ve called but says they cannot be reached. Apparently they need to reach the park to confirm only 2 participated. I offered to send them pictures of only 2 participating however that’s not valid. They cannot give me the parks number so I can call directly. This is unacceptable.

Seaworld states it opens at 9 am but then they do not open any attractions or the children's area till 10, 11, or 12. This is misleading when purchasing tickets. The orca encounter is not educational. They kids they can save the world and do not have one practical piece of advice for kids. They did not talk about Reef safe sunscreen, they didn't talk about cleaning up trash, not using plastic, not supporting oil industry. They did not give kids hope for anything. The show was so disappointing. In sesame street my kid was tall enough and the employee would not let him on saying he is not tall enough even the people in the line told her he was tall enough and she was rude. There is trash all over the park and the trashcan are disgusting.

Hi - I didn't want to renew my Annual Pass. Seaworld auto renewed my membership and didn't send any receipt or details of the charges. When i check the credit card statement then i called the customer care. She denied to cancel the membership and refund the charged.

This is not a ethical business practice. I want my money back

Regards,

Pratap Mishra

What I disappointed experienced me and my family had at Seaworld Orlando today 07/20/2023. After paying almos 500$ for a day, we found out a lot of attractions close because they were short of hand! At Sesame Street at some point 3 of the attractions were close in the same time. The tower closed for no reason around 4pm, and another big attractions closed at 7pm. Saying this, you are in line forever and then without any notice they closed it.

First time and last time for us. A lot of the stuff were super rude for no reason.

I am writing to express my deep disappointment and frustration with my recent visit to SeaWorld on Friday, July 14. As a longtime patron of your park, I was shocked and dismayed by the numerous issues I encountered throughout the day. I hope that by bringing these concerns to your attention, you can take the necessary steps to improve the overall guest experience at your facility.

First and foremost, the extreme heat on the day of my visit made it incredibly challenging to enjoy the park. I was disappointed to find that there were very few areas with adequate shade available for guests seeking respite from the sun. This lack of shaded areas made it difficult to relax and enjoy the various attractions and amenities. Additionally, I noticed that several of the stores had broken or minimal air-conditioning, making it uncomfortable and unpleasant for guests to shop or even take a break from the heat.

Another significant issue was the high number of ride closures. It was disheartening to discover that most of the rides were shut down, rendering them inaccessible to visitors. This not only limited the entertainment options available but also resulted in long wait times for the few operational attractions. In particular, my party waited over two hours in line for the Atlantis ride before we were forced to give up due to heat exhaustion. This experience was not only physically draining but also deeply frustrating, as we had looked forward to enjoying the ride during our visit.

Moreover, I was appalled by the poor maintenance and cleanliness of the areas designated for cup refills. The refill stations were visibly dirty, and it was evident that the employees responsible for their upkeep did not show proper care or attention. I observed multiple families refilling cups that did not appear to be purchased from SeaWorld, indicating a lack of proper monitoring by your staff. The absence of any checks to ensure that cups were legitimately purchased that day is not only concerning from a guest satisfaction perspective but also raises questions about the park's adherence to policies and procedures.

As someone who has fond memories of SeaWorld and has held annual passes in the past, I am saddened to see the decline in the overall quality of the park. I understand that every establishment can have off days, but the numerous issues I encountered during my visit have left me with serious doubts about the current management and maintenance standards at SeaWorld. I had been considering a visit to Discovery Cove in the near future, but after this disappointing experience, I am now uncertain if it would be worth the investment.

I sincerely hope that you take my feedback into consideration and address these concerns promptly. SeaWorld has the potential to be a wonderful destination for families and animal lovers alike, but it is essential to ensure that the guest experience meets the expected standards of quality and satisfaction. I urge you to make the necessary improvements to prevent other guests from encountering similar issues in the future.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your prompt response and a resolution to these concerns

I purchased 2 annual memberships on May of 2021. They were silver and I realized I meant to pick gold, so I called them immediately to change it to gold. The representative said since I hadn't used the membership yet or activated them I could change it.

For the next year I enjoyed my visits to Seaworld.

My Renewal came up and I let it continue to charge my account as I thought I would be continuing to enjoy going. I decided after my last trip there in December of 2022 that I did not want to continue my membership.

I canceled my recurring annual membership on 01/26/2023 before it was to to be charged again on 02/28/2023. I hit End Membership on the active cards. After that it said I had until 02/28/2023 to use my passes. I went back in on 02/28/23 to make sure the subscription was canceled and it said my passes were still now active until 03/28/2023.

I assumed maybe I canceled the membership too close to the next billing cycle so I went back in and hit 'end membership' to make sure I wouldn't get charged again for them now that it was 30 days before my next charge. When you go to the end membership screen after this it said 'no active passes' so I figured ok so they are canceled but again maybe I did it so close to the renewal date that I still was charged for it. I did not go to Seaworld even though the pass said it ends in 03/28/2023 since it confirmed on the website and it said no active passes to cancel.

I figured everything was good now and I would not be further charged.

Now in 6/25/2023 I'm going through my credit card statements and it shows I have charges every month still from Seaworld for $56.72.

I go back to the website and sure enough it says 2 Gold Passes on the account page passes expire 6/28/2023. And it shows that there is a pending charge of $56.72 for 6/28/2023.

I go back in again for the 3rd time at this point and hit "end pass" and again it shows "No active passes" available to cancel.

Now since I'm getting the same thing as the last time I logged in I call Seaworld directly. After holding for nearly an hour I get someone on the line. She says I still have active Gold Passes and it shows I never made an attempt to cancel the passes that I only canceled the Silver passes and never the Gold. I explained to the representative that if they look at the dates the silver was canceled the same day of purchase and I purchased the correct membership of the Gold instead. I only ever used my Gold Membership. She confirmed that and then said no attempts were ever made to cancel the Gold Membership that I could cancel now over the phone but that everything was non refundable. I explained to her for a 2nd time the whole process I went through when I canceled back on January 26th 2023. She said she had no record of that so at this point I asked for a Supervisor.

The supervisor Mark E. came on the line and understood what I was explaining and apologized. He requested I emailed him a picture of the website where it says I have no active passes to cancel. And he confirmed that while on the website it shows I have no active passes to cancel their side still showed as active. In fact I double checked what Card they have on file and that Credit card expired 01/2023 so somehow they were still able to charge that card every month though I had since been issues a new card with a new expiration date. With all this prove I was able to provide, including that the card had expired that same month the Supervisor Mark E says he got approval now to provide a refund of the last 4 months I was charged incorrectly of $226.88. And he advised me it would take upwards to 2 weeks to receive my refund.

While I had a positive experience with the Supervisor the original representative had no compassion and did not offer any other solutions other than 'we can cancel it now but wont refund the last 4 months'

It seems I am not the only complaint with how their online system works on the website to cancelling annual passes. I feel everyone should know that Seaworld has this on going issue with continuing to charge its customers even though they take the proper steps to cancel in the first place and if you don't push to speak with a supervisor it is their policy to offer no solution other than to cancel it from that point forward with no refunds and never offered to escalate the issue that they so obviously have on the cancelation process on their website.

I have not yet confirmed if the refund will actually go through as I have seen complaints that previous people have had to have multiple calls to insure their refunds. I requested that I receive a confirmation email of the cancelation and the supervisor advised me there was no ability to send an email confirming that the cancelation is not processed and could only verbally confirm to me that it was canceled and that a refund would take place in 1-2 weeks.

So once I do receive my refund I will update the progress.

5/28/23 it is a hot day. We are first time gold pass holders. After walking around for a while we are ready and looking forward to the members lounge. We get there and there’s a line of course. We noticed it’s moving quick seems like some people are checking in some are not. No one was getting counted in or held to the one guest per membership standard. We are second in line now, we can hear the guy in front of us tell andrea (counter person) “my whole family made their way in already.” she was ok with that. When it was our turn she denied our entry because we had one more person than passes. That’s my 11 year old son she wouldn’t let in. She let everyone else do what they wanted. I’m a guy that follows rules and understands them but when you signal me or my family I have a problem. What’s the point of paying for the full benefits if the staff ruins it? We left to the hotel instead to refresh since we were denied entry to the lounge. We have a 11,5, and 2 year old. Andrea is obviously a person that feels different towards a group of people.

I purchased a park pass October 31, 21 per Busch gardens as of todays conversation. When it was time to go during the summer I looked threw my email and didn’t see the original email so I called Busch Gardens to see if they could send me the original email with the passes to enter the park. I was told they we didn’t have any passes after giving them several names, addresses and my email in which led me to believe that they were cancelled. I ended up just paying for my kids to enter the park whenever they chose to go and didn’t think anything else of it. Fast forward today when I called my credit card company thinking I had a fraudulent charge labeled amusement parks. I had them search further because I know I haven’t physically used my card. They told me it was an automatic payment for SeaWorld so I immediately called Busch Gardens who acknowledged that the couldn’t find my account because the passes weren’t under my name. They stated the passes were in my daughters name and my email name in which they were brought for my kids. They found the account and after asking let me know that they were still charging my card because I was confused at this point if we’re not supposed to have a pass. So we missed a whole year of me paying for a pass because of the miscommunication that Busch gardens relayed to us and they weren’t trying to rectify it. She said they could only refund me the money of the renewal. I had to tell her I was going to call the better business bureau and speak to a lawyer before she said she could submit a request for 6 months extended but it wasn’t guaranteed it would be approved. I don’t know what type of customer service this is but I do know I held to the contract and the accountability is on the end of Busch Gardens so my kids should at least receive an complimentary card because they missed the whole year and I had to pay out of pocket for them to attend which was even more money. This is ridiculous and I’m will to even call 10 on your side if I don’t get answers.

Rude staff at the Sharks under water bar & grill restaurant! Girl who takes reservations very snotty yelled nasty things to us as we were coming out the door after paying to much for 2 beers! We did not talk or meet her but

no one else was around when she yelled you suck for no reason!

Also, the bartender a Russian lady blonde at Seafire Grill & Flamecraft was very rude I asked her for something to wipe the table outside because they were all very dirty and she just slammed a bottle of spray and then she

tried to hand me a Filthy rag ed I asked for some paper towels so I can clean the table! Not very nice staff! Dec 6th 2022

We bought just bought a yr. Pass and I don’t want to go back!

Oct 17 Provide a status by Friday 21 Oct; Oct 12 Please provide update. This is poor customer service.; Sept 23,: USAA Federal Saving Bank Visa Debit Card: x9968 ; Sept 23. bgw.[protected]@buschgardens.com, Thank you for sending the requested information. Please provide last 4 digits of credit card used for the membership upgrade at the park? Samantha Busch Gardens Williamsburg Guest Correspondence Team; Sept 23; Steven Magaro Attachment 1: Original Military Ticket Purchase. Paid $339 for 3 military season passes 14 June. Attachment 2: Military Ticket Bar steve; Attachment 3: Military Ticket Bar agnes; Attachment 4: Military Ticket Bar sonna; Attachment 5: Busch Gardens Rcpt for upgrade 21 June; Attachment 6: Busch Gardens form for reimbursement 21 June; Attachment 7: Follow up to seaworld/bg entertainment representative 15 Aug: Summary: Purchased 3 military tickets at the Navy Base. Upon first use at Busch Gardens Williamsburg noticed that benefits from previous seasons were not working. Asked customer service if a "military" upgrade was available. They said yes. After purchasing we realized that we were NOT sold a military upgrade (because non exists) We were sold a full fair season pass that we did not want. Asked for refund. Customer service returned our military passes and kept our full fair passes and had us fill out a reimbursement form. Since 21 Jun Called customer service 5 times for help. 1 time a representative from Florida came on the line and she had me email the same things I am sharing today. Visited Busch Gardens Customer Service 3 times for help. I am seeking my refund of $495 for 3 season tickets returned to BGW on 21 Jun. cell [protected]; , Sept 22, BGW Guest Relations; Provide receipts from the transaction. Samantha Busch Gardens Williamsburg; Aug 21, Steven Magaro; 542 Muddy Creek Rd; Hertford, NC, 27944, [protected]@yahoo.com; Message: 18 June I filed for a refund of an overpayment of an incorrect ticket sale. To date, no refund was received.

Howl-O-Scream October 15, Review:

The first bad thing happened during parking. We paid for premium and none of the employees directing traffic knew where to send us. After going from one person to another we just guessed and parked. There were no signs or anything. Even now, I have no idea if we parked where we were supposed to.

We purchased the most expensive fast passes. These are meant to include all of the haunted houses, several rides and proffered seating to the show. We might as well have thrown our money in the garbage.

Just like parking, there were zero signs or employees to tell us where to go. We had to work our way through every line just to attempt and find a sign, usually somewhere near the halfway point. But even after finding where to go, the employees couldn’t be bothered with helping us. One even said just to push our way through the people in line and work our way to the front… To me that sounded like the fasted way to piss off the other guests and terrible advice when all they needed to do was hang a sign at the line entrance. You know? Like how every other park does, including their sister park, Busch Gardens.

The ride experiences were worse. I honestly don’t know why they sold ride fast passes when the ride operators refused to honor them. Instead, they sent us into a 1.5 hour line for Mantis. The operators told us to just wait the hour and a half as they knew nothing about the ride passes. Same with Mako. The only ride we ride that punched our card and actually had a clearly marked line for was Ice Breaker, but that experience was the worst part of the night! The operators insulted us by first insisting that we wouldn’t fit on the ride so they made us step through and then tried to kick us out when I asked if we could try. After kindly arguing with us, using e wry word to describe our body types without saying “fat”, they finally agreed to let us try a different row. We fit perfectly. And do you want to know why? Because neither my wife or I are over weight or tall or disabled or have ever had any issues on any ride. I will be happy to post a picture of us if you feel the need to scrutinize us further, but I cannot begin to tell you how embarrassing that was for my wife and I! Others in line were actually laughing and swearing. The operator even smiled. And that was the first thing we went on.

As for the haunted houses, they weren’t that great. They felt plotless, without scares, and were more confusing than fun. The pirate one was okay, but mostly because the actors seemed like that had actual lines to say that fit the atmosphere.

To sum up, we wasted money for passes that were not honored, we were insulted, and no one knew or cared where we were supposed to go.

They only thing that was a quick experience, where the employee was helpful and knowledgeable, was buying the overpriced and useless express passes. Since when has Sea World turned into this?

I believe Orlando can never have too many great horror events, but this experience was messy and cruel. Sea World came across as greedy, unprofessional and heartless… I was one of their biggest fans and they just took our money and treated us like garbage.

For 30 years my family have been coming to Orlando from the Uk and have always visited your park. I can say with hand on heart this week's visit was the worst we have ever had at any of the parks here. A total waste of money. We brought our tickets at the gate, normally we do a package before we leave the UK, but we were only here a week this time so paid as we went. Nothing at the gate tells you almost everything was closed or hardly any performances because of the Halloween evening guests. Opened at 10am rides closed at 5pm and ONLY Orca, Dolphin and Sea lion shows (talks are not shows). Food venues closed. The food we did get at the Voyage smokehouse the food was disgusting and expensive. The chicken was so hard i couldn't cut it with the plastic knife and the $5 beans were so watered down they run all over the table. There were no signs redirecting you from areas that were closed for Halloween event, we followed the park signs only to dead ends and ended up missing the dolphin show because it took so long to work out how to get there. There was also no sign telling you where the entrance to the wild artic encounter, you turn up at what use to be a ride/animal encounter to signs saying its shut but nothing else. We had walked back before someone told us it was through the shop, no longer a ride. Then the penguin what use to be a ride, is just a shuffle group to different queue then penguins no ride and no sign saying that, why not just let people walk through. We were so disappointed in end we left early and didn't even see the Orca show particularly as the tiniest map in the world said that area shut at 5.30pm and the show was listed at 5.30pm. Your App we tried to load we came in park just kept sending us adverts to upgrade and kept saying no current information so we had no idea what was going on. NOTHING like we have experience before. We have a holiday booked with children and grandchildren next year but to be honest I don't feel like your park is one I would want to experience again which is such a shame as it was one of my favorites because it focused on the animals, we would have seen more animals at the local zoo and paid a lot less for it. I never go out my way to complain but this visit was so bad I felt I needed to as we were so disappointed.

I exhausted all alternatives with travel agency so I now refer to you directly.

I have tickets that were not used to Busch Garden in Florida, due to all Covid restrictions, and I have no financial resources to travel abroad any time soon.

Travel Agency (CVC Viagens - from Brazil) claims that is just observing SeaWorld Parks' refund policies.

Your direct competitor, Disneyworld, easily offered full refund, certainly aiming to alleviate all the impacts of pandemic on their clients.

Why is it so difficult with your company? Could not SeaWorld Parks offer refund too?

I am open to negotiate any alternatives and desperately claiming to be heard.

Certain on your attention.

Adriana Valentim

email: [protected]@hotmail.com

Phone: +[protected]

On July 7.2022 I sent a complaint to Sesame Pl, Pa. An auto response was received stating I would receive a response within 5 - 7 business days. Since that time I sent 3 follow-ups, still no response,

My complaint was that on June 14, 2022 I took my family to Sesame Pl. I had purchased 6 tickets, a preferred parking pass and a twiddle bug cabana rental. In total I spent about $1,000.00 for the park. The reason for the visit was to bring my 2 1/2 year old grandaughter. The issues I had that day were as follows:

1- The lunch served was terrible, a cold pizza.

2- There was only a mini parade instead of a regular parade. (The parade was what my granddaughter was most looking forward to.

3- We were supposed to be able to enter rides with our fast pass. There was a long wait for the lazy river and we were told the general line was waiting longer due to staff shortage, after 45 minutes of waiting we were finally admitted. This was extremely unacceptable. We wasted 45 minutes waiting on line which took away time from the other attractions.

Despite these issues we had a nice time, but it should have been perfect.

At this point I believe I should receive a complimentary redo including admission, parking and cabana.

Hope to hear from you.

So the manta is a fun (my favorite) ride that I wanted my family to experience together. Around 9:30 Friday morning of June 8th is when it happened. We are in the ride and the lady employee comes to push our seats in place and pushed it so hard on my chest I almost screamed out in pain. I got light headed and began to hyperventilate. She saw me and walked away so my fiancé asked her to please come back. She ignored and then finally told him to wait. With an attitude eyeroll she looks at me and I ask her to please lift it off my chest that it’s hurting me. She signals to have someone else unlock and shoves it back down on me again but not as hard and walked away. With my family worried about my chest we continue the ride even though I wanted off. The reason this was traumatic, is I’ve got implants and a lump on one that she’s possibly caused to rupture. If my implant is now ruptured as of Friday, I will proceed with my attorney as I just had my mamo and it was fine. I’m afraid she’s place my health and life in danger. Please have someone contact me to discuss what needs to happen. Does this employee not like her job and if not, I would suggest letting her go before the liability continues. I now have another mamo soon as I’m in pain with something wrong and extreme soreness since then. I will be in touch with someone but hopefully someone will contact me to make this right. I won’t go away so I’m going to wait on a call or email with resolution.