‘Bait-and-Switch’ Class Action Alleges SeaWorld Hides Fees Until End of Checkout

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A proposed class action lawsuit claims that SeaWorld knowingly deceives customers into paying higher prices for tickets by concealing service fees until the end of the checkout process.

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The 24-page complaint alleges that United Parks and Resorts, which operates theme parks including SeaWorld, Aquatica, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens and Adventure Island, essentially operates a “bait-and-switch” scheme that involves advertising low ticket prices, or the “bait,” to lure consumers into a lengthy online checkout process before ultimately adding a “service fee,” or the “switch,” at the very end of the transaction, raising the advertised price.

According to the case, at no point did SeaWorld’s advertisements express that additional fees or mandatory charges would be added onto the displayed ticket prices.

When a consumer visits one of the defendant’s websites to purchase tickets, they must first select ticket quantities, dates and any add-on experiences, the suit relays. Only then is the consumer presented with an itemized breakdown of costs, including a section labeled “Taxes & Fees,” the case says. Finally, after entering contact, billing and payment information, the consumer is presented with the ambiguous “Service Fee” at the very end of the transaction, the lawsuit relays.

Per the case, SeaWorld’s websites and ticket purchasing process were designed to increase sales through deceptive tactics called dark patterns:

“Defendant’s online purchase flow (i.e., the experience customers encounter when they purchase tickets to Defendant’s parks) is intentionally designed with dark patterns—defined as online design tactics that trick or manipulate users into making choices they might not otherwise make—to heighten purchasing commitment and pressure consumers to complete transactions despite the sudden addition of significant, undisclosed fees relative to the total ticket price.”

According to the case, the inclusion of so-called “junk fees” has been outlawed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), with the FTC’s Bureau of Economics finding that they force consumers “either to incur higher total search and cognitive costs or to make an incomplete, less informed decision that may result in a more costly [transaction], or both.”

Per the complaint, research has shown that consumers who are faced with added fees at the end of the checkout process end up paying “upward of twenty percent more than when the actual price is disclosed upfront.”

The plaintiff, a Florida resident, says she purchased tickets online to the Discovery Cove theme park in Florida on February 19, 2025 based on the low prices advertised in promotions and on the company’s site. After reaching the final step of the checkout process, the plaintiff was charged a service fee of $64.99 in addition to the aforementioned taxes and fees breakdown, the case states. 

The SeaWorld class action lawsuit looks to represent all individuals who, during the applicable statute of limitations period, purchased tickets from a ticketing website operated by United Parks & Resorts where mandatory fees were not included in the initially displayed or advertised price.

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