Holiday weekends are some of the busiest times at theme parks, leading to massive crowds and long lines at attractions. For that reason, we can see parks cut back on discounts and other offers that might otherwise be available to guests. However, SeaWorld Orlando has seemingly taken things a step further, as it has apparently removed a guest’s ability to reenter the park after leaving on the same day, at least for now, a rare, and already unpopular decision.
At most theme parks, the purchase of a ticket entitles a guest to visit the park throughout the day, even if they leave the park and return. Traditionally this has been done through a hand stamp or some other mark to confirm that the guest reentering is the same one that left. As technology has improved Disney World and Universal Orlando have begun using photographs of guests to link tickets and guests together.
SeaWorld Is Limiting Say Day Reentry
One certainly hopes that the lack of ability to reenter SeaWorld Orlando, as has been reported on Twitter, is some sort of special holiday weekend rule that is being implemented to help manage crowds during what is expected to be a busy weekend. But we’ve rarely if ever seen this sort of thing before. While not every theme park or amusement park allows for reentry, most of the major ones do, and it's unusual for a park that allowed for it to then take it away.
Sometimes you just need a break from the parks. Maybe you have small children who need a nap or you’re an adult that could use a nap too. Being able to take a break back at the hotel, or just get away from the crowded theme park is something that guests should be able to do.
New SeaWorld Policies Have Frustrated Guests Before
This is far from the first time that SeaWorld Orlando has frustrated guests in recent years with new rules. Following the park’s reopening after the pandemic, SeaWorld instituted a 5% surcharge on all food and drink in the park. Such a move wasn’t completely unheard of at the time, but in the four years since the park reopened the surcharge has remained in place, effectively acting as a 5% price increase on the food, while still listing lower prices of the items.
SeaWorld has seemingly been going through a period of financial difficulty. In 2023 the theme park was dealing with lawsuits filed by the city of San Diego, as well as a second one filed by Sesame Workshop, the owners of Sesame Street, which SeaWorld licenses for use of the characters in SeaWorld parks as well as the Sesame Place theme parks.
Hopefully, this lack of reentry in the park is a temporary measure and will go away after the busy weekend. Still, if it becomes a new rule or even just a rule that regularly appears during busy periods, guests will have to take that into account when planning their day at SeaWorld.
