SeaWorld San Diego sells two kinds of repeat-visit admission: the Fun Card and three tiers of Annual Pass. We buy the Silver pass ourselves.

My short answer: if you drive to SeaWorld, buy a pass, because parking is included. If you don’t drive and can work around six blockout dates, the Fun Card costs less and runs through the end of 2027.

SeaWorld discounts these products year-round, and a flash sale can beat any price on this page on a given day.

Annual Pass or Fun Card: What’s the Difference?

The Fun Card is prepaid admission with blockout dates and nothing else attached. An Annual Pass is twelve months of admission that carries free parking, guest tickets, and in-park discounts, with no blockout dates on any tier.

Which one you buy comes down to parking and dates. Choose the Fun Card if you rarely drive to the park and none of your visits fall on a blockout date, because nothing else here gets you in for less. Choose a pass if you drive. A pass also carries no blockout dates, and it comes with guest tickets for the people you bring.

If you are visiting exactly once, my discount SeaWorld San Diego tickets post is the one to read instead.

2026 Prices and What Each Includes

The Fun Card price is what you pay through our own ticket store, where it runs $2 under SeaWorld’s $94.99. The pass prices are SeaWorld’s own, because our ticket store sells the Fun Card but not the annual passes. Regular rates are what you pay when no sale is running, and taxes and fees are added at checkout.

Daytime seasonal events are included with any of these, so a pass or Fun Card gets you into SeaWorld’s Christmas Celebration and the Halloween Spooktacular on a regular visit. Howl-O-Scream is separately ticketed for everyone, pass members included.

Check what season the Sesame Place add-on actually covers before you buy it. SeaWorld’s own product listing names it a 2027 pass, while the benefit list on the page describes unlimited visits in 2026.

How Monthly Payments Work

SeaWorld calls its monthly plan EZpay, and it splits any Annual Pass into twelve payments at 0% APR. That is $14.00 a month for Silver, $15.50 for Gold, and $22.00 for Platinum.

The first payment is due the day you buy and eleven follow, so the yearly total matches the annual price before taxes and fees, which SeaWorld adds at checkout. The Fun Card has no monthly option.

Monthly payments make the most sense for local families who know they will visit across the year and would rather not put the whole cost on one charge.

The Break-Even Math

Using the prices above, here is when each option costs less than buying tickets one at a time.

• Fun Card, $92.99: It costs less than one $99.99 any-day ticket, and less than two of the cheapest $59.99 single-day tickets. It pays for itself on your second visit no matter how cheaply you buy, and then keeps going through 2027.
• Silver, $168: It costs $75.01 more than the Fun Card, and SeaWorld prices general parking in the mid-thirties a visit. Two visits with a car cover almost all of that, a third puts you clearly ahead, and the pass also carries in-park discounts and guest tickets the Fun Card does not.
• Gold, $186: The $18 a year over Silver buys two more guest tickets, a step up in every in-park discount, and the option to pay the difference for up-close parking. One redeemed guest ticket covers the $18 several times over.
• Platinum, $264: A Gold pass plus the Sesame Place add-on comes to $292.80, so Platinum costs $28.80 less than that pairing and still adds up-close parking, reserved show seating, a free single-ride Quick Queue each visit, and nine more parks around the country.

Which One Fits How You Visit

Pass Member Benefits in the Fine Print

These sit in the Pass Member Portal and the fine print, and they are where a pass earns its keep beyond admission and parking.

• Redeem guest tickets before you go. Friend-for-Free tickets are redeemed online in the Pass Member Portal, not at the gate, and each is valid only on the dates SeaWorld specifies for it. Learning that in the parking lot is how a free admission goes unused.
• Check the monthly member rewards. SeaWorld loads member-only offers every month, and Platinum members get an additional savings coupon each month on top. If you never open the app or portal, you never see them.
• Member-priced tickets appear at select times of the year. When you need an extra ticket beyond your free guest tickets, check the portal before buying at public prices.
• Parking works differently at each tier. All three park free in general parking. Gold lets you pay the difference to upgrade to up-close parking, and Platinum parks up close for free with its own park entrance.
• The Bayside Skyride is free with any pass. SeaWorld lists free Bayside Skyride access on Silver, Gold and Platinum. It is an upcharge attraction otherwise, so it is worth doing on a pass visit even if you would not pay for it.
• Every pass and Fun Card is photographed at the gate. SeaWorld takes your photo on the first visit and matches it on every entry after that, which means a pass or Fun Card cannot be shared around the family.

Visiting Just Once?

A single visit almost never justifies a pass, and pairing SeaWorld with the Zoo or LEGOLAND changes the math again. My comparison of every single-visit ticket is the place to start, and the CityPASS and Go City routes cover the multi-attraction trips.

FAQs About SeaWorld San Diego Annual Passes

Can I pay for a SeaWorld San Diego pass monthly?

Yes. SeaWorld’s EZpay plan splits Silver, Gold, and Platinum into 12 monthly payments at 0% APR, currently $14.00, $15.50, and $22.00. The first payment is due the day you buy, and taxes and fees are added at checkout. The Fun Card cannot be paid monthly.

What happens after the 12-month commitment?

EZpay continues automatically on a month-to-month basis until you cancel, and your pass stays active while you pay. If you don’t want a second year, cancel after the twelfth payment.

Do any passes include Sesame Place San Diego?

The Platinum Pass includes Sesame Place San Diego as one of its 11 parks. Silver and Gold members can add a Sesame Place season pass for $112.80 and $106.80 respectively, though SeaWorld’s product listing names that add-on a 2027 pass while the benefit list on the page describes 2026 visits, so confirm the season it covers before you add it. A standalone 2-Park Season Pass covers both San Diego parks for $199.99 through January 3, 2028.

Do the passes or Fun Card have blockout dates?

The passes do not, and the Fun Card does. Silver, Gold and Platinum are all sold as unlimited visits with no blockout dates. The Fun Card’s 2027 blockout dates are 5/24, 7/4, 7/11, 7/18, 7/25 and 8/30. This is the clearest practical difference between the two products.

Does the SeaWorld San Diego Fun Card include parking?

No. SeaWorld states plainly that parking is not included with the Fun Card, and the Fun Card carries no food, merchandise or guest-ticket discounts either. Free general parking starts with the Silver Annual Pass, and it is the main reason a pass costs more than a Fun Card.

Does the Fun Card renew automatically?

Yes. SeaWorld’s Fun Card terms say it renews on your one-year anniversary at the recurring annual price listed in your payment agreement unless you cancel first. The Annual Passes renew automatically too. If you only want the one year, set a reminder before the anniversary date.

Is a SeaWorld pass the same as a membership?

SeaWorld calls its products Annual Passes and Fun Cards rather than memberships. If you are used to San Diego Zoo memberships, the Annual Pass is the closest equivalent.

Do passes include Howl-O-Scream?

No. SeaWorld’s pass terms give access to seasonal in-park events but exclude separately ticketed ones, and they name Howl-O-Scream as the example. Daytime seasonal events, including the Christmas Celebration and the Halloween Spooktacular, are included with pass and Fun Card admission.

Are there military or teacher passes?

Active-duty military can buy a Military Silver Pass for $113, and free-admission offers for active duty and veterans run through Waves of Honor. My discount tickets guide covers how the military offers work. SeaWorld’s teacher page now says registration for the 2026 Teacher Fun Card has ended, and the 2026 Preschool Fun Card required a first visit by May 31, 2026 to activate, so neither is a route this year.

Whichever you choose, buy while a sale is running. The Fun Card currently runs through the end of 2027 whenever you buy it, and a pass starts its 12 months on the day you buy, so there is no advantage to waiting once you know which one you want. See the SeaWorld San Diego hub for everything else we’ve written about the park.