United Parks & Resorts, the parent company of SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Discovery Cove, and several other parks, is facing four proposed class actions alleging its online checkout is a bait and switch. The SeaWorld bait-and-switch lawsuits, filed in Florida, Virginia, and California between November 2025 and January 2026, claim the company advertises one ticket price and then adds a mandatory service fee only at the final checkout screen, after buyers have already picked their date, entered personal information, and committed to the purchase.
What the Lawsuits Say Happens at Checkout
The four complaints describe the same pattern. A shopper sees an advertised ticket price, selects a park and date, moves through several screens of selections, and reaches a final checkout page where a mandatory service fee appears for the first time. According to the Beeman complaint, that late fee can push the actual price “upward of 20 percent” above what was originally shown.1Top Class Actions. SeaWorld Class Action Alleges Theme Park Chain Uses Bait and Switch Tactics
Fee amounts vary. The Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA buyer in the Beeman case was charged $11.99.2Florida Politics. Orlando Theme Park Operator Sued Over Hidden Fees at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA The Discovery Cove buyer in the Mouzer case was charged $64.99 on a four-ticket order.3ClassAction.org. Mouzer v. United Parks and Resorts Inc. Complaint The SeaWorld San Diego buyer in the Ngo case was charged $9.99.4Hoodline. San Diego Man Says SeaWorld Gotcha Fees Soak Ticket Buyers A FOX 35 review found extra fees could reach $32 depending on the transaction.5FOX 35 Orlando. SeaWorld Faces Lawsuit Alleging Hidden Ticket Fees
The California Petrun complaint adds two allegations the earlier suits didn’t raise. It says SeaWorld labels the charge under “Taxes & Fees” even though “taxes were never part of the equation.” And it says the site starts a 12-minute countdown timer once tickets are in the cart, promising to hold the price for ten minutes, but “systematically fails to deliver on that promise and upcharges consumers within the twelve-minute period.”6ClassAction.org. SeaWorld Uses Fake Sales Hidden Fees to Trick Online Ticket Buyers Class Action Claims7ClassAction.org. Petrun v. United Parks and Resorts Inc. Complaint
The Four Cases and Who They Cover
Beeman: Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA
Matthew Beeman filed Beeman v. United Parks & Resorts Inc. (Case No. 6:25-cv-01931) on November 11, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The proposed class covers everyone who bought Busch Gardens Williamsburg or Water Country USA tickets on a company-operated website where mandatory fees weren’t included in the initially displayed price. The complaint estimates United Parks collected more than $5 million in service fees across hundreds of thousands of Virginia-park ticket sales.2Florida Politics. Orlando Theme Park Operator Sued Over Hidden Fees at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA1Top Class Actions. SeaWorld Class Action Alleges Theme Park Chain Uses Bait and Switch Tactics
Mouzer: Discovery Cove
Allison Mouzer, a West Palm Beach resident, filed Mouzer v. United Parks & Resorts, Inc. (Case No. 9:25-cv-81410) on November 13, 2025, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Her complaint focuses on Discovery Cove in Orlando and alleges a $64.99 undisclosed fee on a purchase of four tickets on February 19, 2025. The suit notes hidden fees start at $11.99 for standard park tickets and scale up depending on the park and ticket type.3ClassAction.org. Mouzer v. United Parks and Resorts Inc. Complaint
Ngo: SeaWorld San Diego
Johnny Ngo, an Orange County resident, filed a class action on December 8, 2025, in the Superior Court of California for San Diego County. He alleges he was charged a $9.99 fee only after entering personal and payment information when he tried to buy two single-day SeaWorld San Diego tickets on August 26, 2023.4Hoodline. San Diego Man Says SeaWorld Gotcha Fees Soak Ticket Buyers
Petrun: Nationwide Website Buyers
Claire Petrun filed Petrun v. United Parks & Resorts, Inc. (Case No. 3:26-cv-00090-BTM-BLM) on January 7, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California. Petrun’s proposed class is the broadest: all U.S. residents who bought tickets through SeaWorld’s website during the applicable limitations period.7ClassAction.org. Petrun v. United Parks and Resorts Inc. Complaint
The Laws Behind the Claims
Beeman’s case rests on two Virginia statutes. The first is Virginia’s all-in pricing law (Va. Code ยง 59.1-608), which took effect on July 1, 2025, and requires businesses to “clearly and conspicuously advertise or display the total price,” including mandatory fees, with limited exceptions for taxes and shipping. The law exempts airlines, car dealers, utilities, and phone providers, but not theme parks.8Virginia Poverty Law Center. Surprise! Virginia Outlaws Surprise Junk Fees on July 1st The second is the Virginia Consumer Protection Act, which allows $500 per violation, up to $1,000 for willful violations, plus attorney’s fees.1Top Class Actions. SeaWorld Class Action Alleges Theme Park Chain Uses Bait and Switch Tactics Willful violations can be tripled.9Simms Showers LLP. Consumer Protection
Mouzer alleges violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.3ClassAction.org. Mouzer v. United Parks and Resorts Inc. Complaint Ngo cites California’s Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Legal Remedies Act.4Hoodline. San Diego Man Says SeaWorld Gotcha Fees Soak Ticket Buyers Petrun brings claims under the California Ticket Seller Law and the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.7ClassAction.org. Petrun v. United Parks and Resorts Inc. Complaint
Where the Cases Stand
As of mid-2026, none of the four lawsuits has been certified as a class action, and no court has ruled on the merits. The Beeman, Mouzer, Ngo, and Petrun cases are all in early stages, with no reported settlement discussions or substantive motions.2Florida Politics. Orlando Theme Park Operator Sued Over Hidden Fees at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA10ClassAction.org. Bait and Switch Class Action Alleges SeaWorld Hides Fees Until End of Checkout Nothing is being paid out yet, and there is no claim form to submit. If you bought a ticket during the covered periods and one of these classes is later certified, class notice would typically follow.
Does the FTC Junk Fee Rule Cover This?
A reader hearing about “hidden fees” may assume the FTC’s junk fee rule already forbids what these suits describe. It’s not that clean. The FTC finalized its Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees in December 2024, effective May 12, 2025, requiring prominent disclosure of the total price wherever prices are advertised.11Federal Trade Commission. Federal Trade Commission Announces Bipartisan Rule Banning Junk Ticket Hotel Fees But the rule specifically covers “live-event ticketing and short-term lodging,” defined as concerts, sporting events, theater performances, hotels, and short-term rentals. Whether a theme park admission ticket qualifies as a “live-event ticket” is not clear from the rule’s text, and the FTC has not taken any enforcement action against theme parks under the rule.12Federal Trade Commission. Rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees Frequently Asked Questions That gap is a large part of why the challenges against SeaWorld are coming through private state-law class actions rather than federal enforcement.