SeaWorld Orlando Begins Using Dynamic Pricing for Parking Fees on Busy Days

Over the past few years, some of Central Florida's theme parks introduced what's now known as "dynamic pricing." With this system, the price of admission at participating theme parks can vary depending on the date Guests are planning on visiting the location (for example, Guests who want to visit the Magic Kingdom Park at the end of January will pay less than Guests visiting the same park on July 4). While this system has been used for a while for theme park tickets, it appears that SeaWorld Orlando is currently using dynamic pricing for its parking fees.

Indeed, just a few days ago, one of our Readers reached out to us after having been charged $30 for regular parking at SeaWorld Orlando (parking is usually $22 at this park). Here's the original message:

"[We] went to SeaWorld today 6/23, regular standard parking was $30. Preferred was $40. When asked when it took effect, the parking attendent [sic] told me "today." No info is on Sea worlds website about the astronomical price hike. They are only reporting the previous price of $22."

After receiving this message, we turned to Twitter to find out if others had a similar experience while visiting the park over the past few days. SeaWorld then replied to us by stating the following: 

Hi there! We haven't raised our prices. Info about the parking pass 👇https://t.co/XlW1q2LMEr

— SeaWorld (@SeaWorld) June 25, 2018

Well, that's definitely reassuring! Or... is it? After reading this message, the same Reader that previously contacted us decided to reach out to SeaWorld to find out what happened during her visit, as she was charged $30 to park at SeaWorld Orlando. The park responded by officially confirming that "parking cost is dynamic and reaches its peak price during busy days."

While some Guests may already be aware of this, many others (including us) did not know this. After doing more research, we noticed that SeaWorld's official website does mentions that "general parking starts at $22 and preferred parking starts at $30."

If you plan on visiting SeaWorld Orlando on a very busy day just keep in mind that you might end up paying more for parking. Of course, you can avoid this issue by purchasing your parking pass online.

PHOTO: © 2018 SeaWorld Parks & Resorts Orlando. All Rights Reserved.