Discovery Cove Tickets No Longer Include Complimentary Admission to SeaWorld and Aquatica

Discovery Cove is a spectacular place. This all-inclusive day resort allows Guests to experience exciting animal encounters in a breathtaking tropical atmosphere, including activities such as relaxing in the large resort pool, swimming along a tropical river, snorkeling with tropical fish and rays, wading beside otters, hand-feeding exotic birds, swimming with dolphins, and so much more.

In addition to all that, Discovery Cove tickets previously also included complimentary admission to both SeaWorld and Aquatica for a total of 14 consecutive days, making this an even better deal. Sadly, it appears that SeaWorld quietly changed the policy in the past few weeks, as Discovery Cove Guests no longer receive free admission to these other parks (NOTE: It appears that Guests purchasing tickets from the U.K. still receive free admission to SeaWorld and Aquatica, so the change does not affect them).

As of today, Discovery Cove Guests have the chance to purchase heavily-discounted tickets to SeaWorld, Aquatica, Busch Gardens, and/or Adventure Island for $20 per person, per day (minimum two days, maximum three days). This means that a party of three Guests will have to spend an additional $120 to visit any of SeaWorld's other parks for just two days. Additionally, the price does not include parking, taxes, or service fees and all visits must be used within a seven (7) consecutive day window of your day at Discovery Cove.

While this is certainly still a great deal compared to regular theme park prices, we are appalled by this move. It is already quite expensive to visit Discovery Cove, but the complimentary admission to the other two parks for two full weeks was undoubtedly a perk that gave Guests another reason to justify the expense. While we will always support SeaWorld, we wonder if this is the right way to deal with the financial issues the company is currently facing.

This change comes just a few weeks after the news of dynamic pricing for parking fees that the company recently introduced at SeaWorld Orlando and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (click here to learn more).

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