Advertisement
Advertisement

Parents of disabled upset with SeaWorld

Share

Parents of disabled children are crying foul over SeaWorld’s decision to eliminate its long-standing policy of offering free admission to companions of individuals who are unable to come to the San Diego theme park on their own.

SeaWorld San Diego said Wednesday that it changed its decades-long policy last year to make it consistent with the ticket pricing practices at all other SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment properties, which did not offer complimentary admission passes for those who accompanied disabled visitors.

“We still offer a significantly discounted ticket for both our guests with disabilities and their escorts, specifically by providing them 50 percent off of the single-day general admission price,” SeaWorld San Diego spokesman Dave Koontz said in a written statement. “In addition to offering this half-off ticket, we offer additional programs to assist our guests with disabilities, such as complimentary guides for visitors that are visually impaired and American Sign Language interpretation for those with hearing impairments.”

Advertisement

Parents say the discounted single admission discounts are of little help to local residents whose children and their escorts are coming multiple times to the park and instead rely on passes to cover visits throughout the year. A general admission ticket for an adult is $84, the same price as a “Fun Card,” which, if purchased now, covers entrance to the park through the end of 2015. There is no half-price discount for the pass. (The price for children ages 3 to 9 is $78).

Discount policies vary across theme parks in Southern California. Local parks like the San Diego Zoo and Legoland offer free escort passes, while major attractions such as Disneyland and Universal Studios Hollywood do not.

Some local parents, as recently as this month, have opted to file formal civil rights complaints with the Department of Justice, alleging discrimination by SeaWorld because their children, some of whom are adults, were denied “reasonable accommodation” to come to the park, they contend.

The complaints are largely coming from parents whose children have varying forms of developmental disabilities, including autism, and regularly visit SeaWorld on a monthly and weekly basis because of the enjoyment and familiar, structured environment it provides them.

Koontz said that “SeaWorld takes its responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act very seriously” and believes it is complying with the law.

With the park’s change in policy, some parents say they are paying hundreds of dollars more each year to purchase passes for caregivers and aides who accompany their children on SeaWorld outings. They worry that many disabled individuals can no longer come to the theme park because their low-income parents do not have the financial means to pay for the added cost of admission.

“Regular folks can go by themselves,” said Connie Strohbehn, who has filed a complaint on behalf of her 32-year-old son Michael, who is both mentally retarded and autistic. “My son can’t go by himself, and his reasonable accommodation has always been an escort pass. So now, because of his disability he’s being discriminated against financially.”

Strohbehn, who is a marriage and family therapist, said she does not know how many others have filed formal complaints but is urging other parents to do so in hopes that SeaWorld might reverse its decision.

She said she’s fortunate to currently have a companion for her son who already had a SeaWorld pass of his own. That’s not the case for Michael Fraunces, whose 13-year-old son has significant developmental disabilities and relies on multiple caretakers to take him up to five times a week to SeaWorld.

Fraunces said he is now paying more than $600 a year for a total of seven different passes to cover him and his wife, his son (who he declined to identify by name) and four escorts. Prior to the policy change he was paying about $200 annually. His son, he said, is enthralled by many of the rides at SeaWorld and relishes the freedom of walking around, untouched.

“Clearly, we were disappointed by the change in policy, because it’s more money out of our pocket,” said Fraunces, an executive with a wireless services company. “We can afford to pay the extra money but there are plenty of families who would love to take their child there and can’t afford it.

“I don’t want to beat SeaWorld up too badly, because they’ve been really great to my son when he’s there, and once you’re in the park, they do have shorter lines for folks with special needs. I just think there’s a better way to allow folks like my son to go with somebody.”

The parents’ protests represent the latest controversy facing SeaWorld, which has been under continued siege from animal rights activists and has had to battle unwanted publicity from the documentary “Blackfish,” which was critical of its use of killer whales in performances.

Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, which includes Disneyland and Disney World in Orlando, is also facing criticism of its policies related to the disabled, specifically those with autism. It is the target of a lawsuit filed by the parents of autistic children who claim the theme parks’ practices violate the Americans with Disabilities Act because they fail to adequately accommodate visitors with autism. The lawsuit stems from a change in its policy for handling the way disabled visitors can obtain passes to reduce the waiting time for rides. The case has been moved to Florida.