Sea World San Antonio--My Wallet Died There!

@vokey9472 (1486)
United States
June 15, 2007 2:09pm CST
Ok, so we took our little boy to Sea World San Antonio for his 5th birthday. I figured that we would spend about $300 not including tickets to the park. We were able to find some tickets with a 20% discount so we only paid $120 for the three of us. That was a great savings. So we get to the park and we are not allowed to bring anything in. No water bottles, no cups, no straws, nothing. We are not even allowed to bring in my son's snacks. I think to myself, ok it's not an issue. We can buy drinks and snacks. I mean a 20oz soda is only $1.29. WRONG!! We went to a gift shop to buy some bottled water and it was $3.23 per bottle!! A 20oz bottle of water!! So, I refused to buy it. We went to one of the many places to eat within the park and a small drink (16oz) was also $3.23! We ended up spending $30 on three kid's meals and three small drinks! And that was just breakfast. Then my son wanted a snack a few hours later. The cheapest thing we could find was some Shamu Fruit Snacks (2oz) and they were almost $3! What I don't understand is why everything had to be so expensive. They charge you almost $50 per person if you don't have a coupon just to walk through the front gate and then we ended up spending almost $200 in food/drinks alone. We had promised our son that he could get a stuffed toy Shamu before we left and it was $29.99 BEFORE taxes. We ended up not only spending the $300 in cash we took, but we maxed out 1 credit card. Has anyone else gone to Sea World and been utterly shocked by the expense of everything? Do you think the prices are fair or just too high?
2 people like this
4 responses
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
22 Oct 07
We just went to Sea World Orlando. My son got us in free, he is Navy. If he were not, I think it would have been 60-70 a person. We did find it expensive to eat, but we had a big breakfast, and left before dinner, so we just had lunch there. Yup, it was expensive - but I can't begin to figure how much it costs to upkeep just Shamu for a day - especially if you count the tank, the staff etc. It is just like any other tourist spot
@usmcsgtwife (4997)
• United States
1 Aug 07
yes we just went to the sea world in San Diego and it is outrageous. $10.00 to park, we got in for free cause my husband is Military, well 4 of us did we had to pay 37.50 for a child ticket. we ended up bringing food with us and leaving it in the car but last time we went we spent about 50.00 for food and that was for 5 people at fast food style type food.
@ElicBxn (63594)
• United States
15 Jun 07
Those places just gouge you. Like, here, open a vein & take all the blood, that's all I've got left after visiting the joint!
@KissThis (3003)
• United States
17 Jun 07
I personally have never been to any Sea World. An I must admit by the sounds of it I probably never will visit one. I can't afford to pay those kinds of prices. I complain about how much i spend to take my children to the movies. I am getting off cheap compared to what you paid. I hope that your family had a wonderful day except for the cost.