Class Action Lawsuit Alleges Sesame Place, SeaWorld Use Deceptive Tactics to Sell Park Tickets Online

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims the company behind SeaWorld and Sesame Place uses deceptive and illegal tactics to trick customers into buying tickets to the theme parks online.

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The 45-page case, filed in California against defendant United Parks & Resorts, Inc., alleges that SeaWorld.com and SesamePlace.com have lured customers by advertising fake sales and using hidden fees to conceal the true price of park tickets until the very end of the checkout process.

The defendant consistently represents on its websites that customers have a limited amount of time to take advantage of promotions for steeply discounted ticket rates, the suit charges. According to the filing, however, United Parks & Resorts continuously extends the expiration dates for these promotions so that tickets are on sale indefinitely.

For example, SeaWorld advertised on July 5, 2024 that its “best sale of the year” would end July 7, the suit shares. Then, on July 8, the defendant began promoting an even larger sale that would purportedly expire on July 14, the case notes.

“Consumers are more likely to purchase an item if they know that they are getting a good deal,” the United Parks & Resorts lawsuit says. “Further, if consumers think that a sale will end soon, they are likely to buy now, rather than wait, comparison shop, and buy something else.”

Per the complaint, an investigation by the plaintiffs’ counsel showed that the company’s sales on SeaWorld.com and SesamePlace.com have persisted continuously since at least February 11, 2021.

The lawsuit argues that United Parks & Resorts’ fake markdowns violate California law, which prohibits companies from advertising a product’s former price unless it was the “prevailing market price” during the previous three months.

“The regular prices [United Parks & Resorts] advertises are not actually [its] regular or former prices, or the prevailing prices for the tickets [the defendant] sells, and do not represent the true market value for the tickets, because [the defendant’s] tickets are always available for less than that, and customers did not have to formerly pay that amount to get those tickets,” the suit contends.

The filing goes on to allege that SesamePlace.com and SeaWorld.com trick customers by advertising fee-less ticket prices only to tack on a hefty service charge in the final subtotal. As the case tells it, SeaWorld stopped using this manipulative design practice known as “drip pricing” when it was made illegal under the California Legal Remedies Act on July 1, 2024. However, Sesame Place has apparently continued to misrepresent its true ticket prices until consumers have invested a significant amount of time selecting and finalizing their ticket specifications, the complaint contends.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who, within the applicable statute of limitations period, purchased one or more tickets advertised at a discount on the SeaWorld or Sesame Place websites.

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