Orlando theme park operator sued over hidden fees at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA

A Virginia man is suing the Orlando-based company that runs SeaWorld and Busch Gardens parks around the country for tacking on hidden fees for theme park tickets in his home state.

Matthew Beeman filed his lawsuit^[1] seeking class action status against United Parks and Resorts^[2] in U.S. District Court’s^[3] Orlando division after he bought tickets earlier this year.

He accused the company of “bait-and-switch tactics that mislead consumers about the true price of tickets that Defendant sells to lure consumers into paying higher prices than they otherwise would.”

Tacking on what he called illegal hidden fees to theme park tickets violates a new Virginia law meant to protect consumers, he argued.

“Defendant uses a deceptively low initial price to lure consumers into the purchase process — the ‘bait.’ Then, after the consumer has relied on that low advertised price and decided to buy, Defendant adds a hidden ‘Service Fee’ — the ‘switch,’” his lawsuit said.

Neither Beeman’s attorney nor United Parks and Resorts returned a message for comment for this story.

It’s not the first time the company has been sued over allegations of deceptive fees.

An Osceola County woman sued the company in 2024^[4] over a 5% fee appearing on her receipt when she bought items inside SeaWorld Orlando. The company argued in a response that it had disclosed the surcharge prior to purchase and denied any wrongdoing, according to court records. That lawsuit is still pending and is set for trial in September 2026.

Beeman bought a ticket to Busch Gardens Williamsburg^[5] and two tickets to Water Country USA^[6] online this Summer. After he went through the checkout process of picking the dates and number of tickets, he clicked “add to cart” and saw the itemized breakdown for “taxes and fees,” the lawsuit said. On a closer look, he realized he was charged $0 for taxes and $11.99 in service fees that he said had not been advertised in the ticket price.

“Defendant intentionally excluded these mandatory fees from the displayed and advertised ticket prices and disclosed them only after Plaintiff — and all other consumers purchasing tickets through Defendant’s websites — had invested significant time and effort selecting tickets,” his lawsuit said.

Beeman’s lawsuit said the company charged more than $5 million in these service fees to guests. “On information and belief, the Defendant has sold at least several hundreds of thousands of tickets during the statutory period,” the lawsuit said. 

Beeman’s complaint pointed to a new Virginia state law — “one of the first laws of its kind”— to require companies to advertise the full price.

“The brazenness of Defendant’s conduct is exemplified not just by the fact that Defendant, a multi-billion dollar enterprise with significant legal resources is undoubtedly aware of Virginia law, but also that Defendant complies with upfront pricing in other states where it operates,” his lawsuit said.