Travel: Visit Sea World For Free!
Sea World is a fun place to visit, but let’s face it, it’s just not the greatest place on earth. The $57 admission fee is asking a lot for a park that’s not all the way up to par on the nature exhibits or rides. Still, there’s some things worth checking out, like the Shark Encounter, the Penguin Encounter and some of the shows.
So whatever can you do to bypass the outrageous admission fee and still have a great day at the park? Go for free using a “Shopping Pass.” Like every corporation, Sea World loves to make money and they won’t risk losing a sale even if it means letting someone in the gates for two hours. The “Shopping Pass” allows you two hours admission to the park for free, and you can get a hand stamp to come back as soon as you leave.
First, bring a lunch and a large cooler filled with ice to leave your lunch safely chilled in your car. Be sure to get to the park very early. The sooner you get there, the less the employees pay attention, the shorter the lines are and, being as how you are still in San Diego, the cooler the walk around the park will be.
When you arrive at parking lot, tell them you have a shopping pass at the front gate and they said you wouldn’t have to pay for parking. If they argue with you, just pay for it, it’s better than bringing attention to yourself and paying $10 for parking one car is still much cheaper than paying $57 per person for admission.
Now that you have parked, you’re ready to exploit the system. By pass the ticket windows and head straight for the will call building on the right. You will probably also get to save time waiting in line by going here. When you get to the cashier, inform them that you wish to make a purchase of something you saw the last time you came and didn’t get at the time. Ask them for a shopper’s pass. You will have to pay the full admission price for the shopper’s pass as a sort of “deposit,” so do not lose your admission tickets because they will garner your refund when you exit for lunch in the next two hours.
The shopper’s pass will only allow you in for two hours, they figure you’ll be able to hit up any stores you like and exit within that time, which is great, provided you were actually trying to use the pass to shop. So what you will need to do is hang about the park for an hour or an hour and a half, then get a hand stamp upon exit of the park. You’ll then need to return to the will call window, ask for the refund for your shopper’s pass and give them the admission tickets back. Now’s the time to go grab lunch to help let them forget your face so they don’t call security when you try to enter again.
Now that you have your hand stamp, admission is free all the rest of the day, go ahead and hit the beach for a while, it’s only 5 minutes away. Do remember you’ll have to pay for parking after you return though.
After the money you saved on admission and not eating in the park, you can even afford to buy the kids, or yourself, some souvenirs. Now you’ve even gone shopping and everyone, even Sea World can be happy about that.
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