No, I didn’t mess with gift cards this time. Been there done that. As I’ve mentioned a few times, my parents are coming to visit us in March. Naturally, I have a ton of stuff planned out, one of them going to Sea World Orlando.
First, let me acknowledge the controversy surrounding this amusement park and say that I totally understand why many are boycotting it. I personally have struggled with whether we should go or not but in the end, decided to just do it. I know for a fact that my parents will love it. That said, I don’t think I’m going to watch the whale show. I guess it’s my “half-butt” way of boycotting it.
OK, controversy out of the way! Back to my topic. So, last year I bought 4 Sea World tickets during DailyGetaways (promotion is now over). There were only $50 each, a significant discount off regular price. I wasn’t 100% certain my parents would be coming to visit us, so didn’t want to commit to 6 tickets. I figured we could always just take the kids and have a fun outing.
Well, my parents’ trip is fast approaching and I needed to find a way to buy 1 more ticket. Why not 2? Well, Sea World is having a promotion where kids 5 and under who live in Florida get to go for free. Yay! Pretty brilliant marketing because they know it will encourage parents to buy tickets as well. Plus, they are having trouble turning a profit due to this whole whale controversy.
Obviously, I didn’t want to pay more than $50 but turns out, eBay sellers felt differently. And they were right because tickets were going for $65 plus. It’s a law of supply vs. demand, and it wasn’t working in my favor. I kept an eye on eBay but it was slim pickings. Well, an opportunity has presented itself recently. You may have heard about iConsumer shopping portal. It was paying out 8% on eBay purchases as part of a special promo. It has increased payouts on other stores as well.
Incidentally, I saw 2 Sea World tickets on eBay for a total of $115. Hmm, I could just buy them by going through iConsumer and resell one. How hard could it be? After all, the tickets are electronic, so no need to mail anything and we already have an account on eBay. I’ve sold stuff before like maternity clothes and while it involves some hassle, it’s nice to get cash for things you no longer need. And I am not having more kids! I told my husband if I did, I would have to move out. It’s either me or them.
So, I bought my tickets but didn’t read the description. The seller emailed them as soon as she got the payment through Paypal. Well, look what we have here!
Hmm, call me crazy, but I don’t think they want me to sell it. These are comp tickets received by an employee of Sea World. If I tried to sell them, I would be doing something unethical. In fact, the eBayer even emailed and said that if they ask me, I should just say the tickets are a gift. What in this world (Sea World)? People have no qualms about lying these days and asking others to do the same.
I probably could have pressed for a refund but the description did say they were comp tickets (no other details). I really didn’t want to make a stink because I know majority of people wouldn’t care. I wasn’t even sure we should use them but I found a workaround. I’ll just give the ticket to my husband and if they ask, he can say it was a gift (100% true). A gift from me! As for the other ticket, we are treating a friend. He was quite excited about visiting Sea World and it will give my husband a chance to have someone to talk to. In English. Win win.
P.S. Speaking of iConsumer portal, here is the email they sent me a few days ago :
“Help build your company and earn money at the same time. It’s called “Share the Love”. Everytime somebody you recruit becomes an iConsumer member / shareholder and tries us out by making at least one purchase, you’ll get $10, plus 100 more shares. Your recruit also gets 100 shares, and some great deals. From Monday, Feb. 1, 2016 through and including Feb. 14, 2016. Central Standard Time.”
So, if you want potentially worthless 100 shares of this company, feel free to sign up via my link and make a purchase (no minimum). Thanks in advance!
Click here to view various credit cards and available sign-up bonuses
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Oh, my! Sounds like you’re not going to win that battle. We just aren’t big toy buyers. Most of my kids’ toys came from their aunt and uncle who love to spoil them. I imagine you have the same problem there. That being said, I did just go to Walmart this morning and buy my daughter an Elsa doll. It was a compromise though because she wanted a $135 American Girl Doll like her friend had. A $25 Elsa doll was a lot easier to justify.
@Jennifer Ha! $25 doll is nothing. You did good. My husband can not say No to kids on anything.
We NEVER buy souvenirs at theme parks. They are so overpriced. The first time we went to a theme park, we bought the little coin collector books. Now, each time we go to a theme park, we bring a pocketful of quarters and pennies and the kids have fun making the souvenir pennies and adding them to their collection.
@Jennifer I agree 100%! Now if I can just get my husband on board. Can you please talk to him? 🙂 I sent him to Walmart once and he had kids with him. They came back with $150 worth of toys. No wonder we can’t save any money…
For us Florida residents, The SeaWorld Fun Card is the best deal out there. For just a bit more than the regular one day ticket, you get unlimited visits through the rest of the year. If you time it right, you could even get 14 months out of it! Our favorite hotel to stay whenever we go to SeaWorld is the DoubleTree Orlando at SeaWorld. There is a path that connects its parking lot to the SeaWorld entrance (about a 15 min walk), so convenient! On top of that, you get all the perks by staying at a partner hotel (free Quick Queue pass, 10% discount on meals, early entry on select dates, etc). On our previous experiences, we have received a one-time per ride Quick Queue pass during peak season, and unlimited rides Quick Queue pass during off season. I’ve booked this hotel before as cheap as $40 + 8,000 points, a steal given all the perks!
@TropiGal I actually thought about doing the Fun card. We have gone that route before, but I decided to just get 1-day tickets this time around. The problem is, when you factor in parking, food and toys ( always drop a small fortune on those), it adds up. Plus, we live 1 hour 45 minutes away from Sea World, so a day trip is problematic, especially with small kids. Now we are talking hotels costs etc. But you are absolutely right, it’s the best deal if you want to visit that park a few times.
DoubleTree Orlando definitely sounds like the way to go when you are visiting Sea World, and $40 + 8,000 Hilton points is certainly a steal.