Sea World Price Change 09'

Before Sea World actually comes out with an official release for the new prices there were already rumors going around that the annual pass prices have gone up. In reality, that’s far from the truth. Sea World will either lower the price for Florida Residents or keep the annual pass the same price. Sea World has announced that they will raise their prices on Friday, which may not be such a surprise to everyone is that the price is still below competitors Disney World and Universal Studios. However, its only by a whopping $0.05. But as stated earlier the resort will reduce the price of its popular "Fun Cards," which will allow Florida residents to purchase a single-day ticket and be able to make repeated visits to the park. Sea world plans to raise the price of a one day base ticket $4 making the cost $78.95.

Along with Sea World, Busch Gardens will also undergo the exact same price changes. Joe Couceiro, CMO for SeaWorld parent Busch Entertainment Corp. said the higher base price is "something that not only is indicative of what we feel is the value of our parks but frankly is going to allow us to continue to invest in our parks at the level our customers expect." Meaning that the customers will be paying for what they believe the park is worth and they will be getting their money’s worth.

Orlando-based Busch Entertainment is in the process of being sold for up to $2.7 billion. Company observers expected that the ticket prices would rise shortly after the Blackstone purchase was announced to the public earlier this month, even though the sale is not expected to close until after the New Year.

Multi-park ticket options will also be raised, Sea World primarily sells the multi-park ticket options to out-of-state tourists. Similar to its major competitors Disney and Universal, Busch uses its pricing structure to drive customers toward more frequent visits to the parks and facilities.