SeaWorld San Diego Hosts First Military Appreciation Weekend!

Our wonderful park is located in beautiful, sunny San Diego, a city that is deeply rooted in its strong and vibrant military community. Service members and their families make up a significant portion of the population, and their presence is an essential part of the city’s identity. For this reason, SeaWorld San Diego proudly supports members of the U.S. armed services, specifically through its Wave of Honor military salute program—a program that provides free admission to members of the U.S armed forces to not only our park but all SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place Parks.

The Wave of Honor military salute program allows for Active-Duty personnel to receive one complimentary admission per year for themselves and up to three direct dependents. For a limited time, Active-Duty personnel can redeem an additional three complimentary tickets. We also have an exclusive Annual Pass for Active-Duty service members for only $99.99. In addition to Active-Duty, we also have our veteran offer, which for now through July 6, former military personnel and up to 3 guests can enjoy complimentary admission to SeaWorld San Diego.

Through this program and these offers, we hope to provide our military community with a fun, safe, and educational space—a place they can come to with their families to relax, reconnect, and create lasting memories. But we want to think bigger than just admission, we want to find new ways to make our service members feel seen, heard and appreciated.

To honor this connection, SeaWorld San Diego has now planned to host monthly Military Appreciation Weekends. A new park initiative designed to uplift and inspire active-duty members and veterans.

As the weekend approaches, SeaWorld San Diego is gearing up to host its first Military Appreciation Weekend. To learn more about the vision behind this initiative, I spoke with two dedicated members of our sales team who played a key role in bringing this program to life—Juan Rosario Lizasuain, our Sales Director, and Tito Neptune, Sales Account Executive.

An Inside Look to Juan and Tito’s Mission to Serve Those Who Serve

Both Juan and Tito were very passionate about this initiative and the need to enhance our relationship with our military community. They wanted to go beyond providing free admission and create deeper connections and moments. To understand why this initiative was so important to them, Juan and Tito proudly spoke about their background, even beyond SeaWorld.

Juan was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Florida at a very young age, growing up in another one of the country’s major military states. In 2014, he became a part of the military community himself by joining the Marines. He was even stationed right here in San Diego, over at Camp Pendleton, creating a personal and lasting connection to our local military community. After being medically discharged from the Marines, Juan moved back to Florida and began his career in sales, where he eventually found his way to SeaWorld. He has taken many roles—Sales Coordinator, Sales Account Executive and International Sales Manager—before coming back out to San Diego, joining the team as our Sales Director.

On the other side of the coin, Tito’s connection to the military is through his father, who served in the Navy. Born and raised in San Diego, Tito was fully immersed in the military environment from an early age. His connection continued as he worked with several military-affiliated companies before joining the team here in SeaWorld San Diego.

Their personal ties to the military have influenced how both Juan and Tito approach our military initiatives, from partnerships, ticket sales, and now event planning. And with their backgrounds, both understand why supporting our military community is a priority for SeaWorld San Diego.

 

Turning Ties into Impact

Juan shared that his commitment to support the military community is deeply personal. As a veteran, he understands the dedication, hard work and sacrifice that these service members have. His goal is to give back to these individuals by providing them with opportunities to bond with their families when they are faced with harsh realities. 

As the child of a Navy service member, Tito offers a unique perspective from the other end of the spectrum. His passion and need for advocacy stems from firsthand experience; growing up in this environment, he understood how vital it is for military families to have a community outside of the base that values and supports them. Tito deeply appreciated this support, even recalling the time his family was invited to SeaWorld San Diego as part of a military community initiative. Knowing that SeaWorld has always had this purpose to help military families like his own, makes him want to be a part of the new wave of support and connections.

Despite their different paths, Juan and Tito still have shared experiences, unique to service members and their families. Because of this, both share a definitive goal, to transform the military community’s experience at SeaWorld San Diego. Their main goal is to create a community for these service members and family beyond the base. 

 

The Beginning of Meaningful Tradition

Juan and Tito have a clear understanding of what service members and their families truly value: connection, recognition, and quality time. From their shared experiences, our Memorial Day Weekend and new Military Appreciation Weekends were brought to fruition, both bringing authenticity and heart to every detail of these events.

Memorial Day Weekend marked the first step on the path to transformation. Juan and Tito worked tirelessly to bring their vision to life, creating an event that honored service members in a meaningful way. The weekend included heartfelt postcard writing, a powerful Flag Ceremony, a Remembrance Table, a dedicated photo backdrop, and fireworks display—each element designed to celebrate, remember, and connect with the military community on a deeper level. The response was overwhelmingly positive with guests expressing appreciation for every aspect of the event.

And this was just the beginning! Energized by the positive response, Juan and Tito began brainstorming ways to make future events even bigger, more impactful, and deeply meaningful for the military community. And they did exactly that! 

 

A Community Beyond the Base

With the launch of Military Appreciation Weekends, Juan and Tito have created an even more personal and impactful experience for our military community, building that community beyond the base. A top priority of theirs was to bring in additional community support to create a full 360-degree experience for service members.

SeaWorld San Diego delivers the fun with thrilling rides, unforgettable animal experiences and endless tasty snacks. But Juan and Tito asked a deeper question: What more could we provide? The answer came through meaningful partnerships with nonprofit organizations that specialize in supporting active-duty personnel and veterans as they transition into or out of military life. These collaborations have brought valuable resources and guidance to the park, ensuring that Military Appreciation Weekends are not only fun, but also supportive, informative, and deeply meaningful.

As more of these weekends take place, Juan and Tito hope to grow their partnerships to provide additional support, however they can. Both are actively working to find new non-profit organizations to work with. For this weekend, they partnered with Support Our Troops, Shelter to Soldier, and Workshops for Warriors.

 

In partnership with Support Our Troops, we invite all guests to write meaningful postcards to active-duty service members. Once the guests have finished, they will deposit their postcards into our designated mailbox located right next to the table. Our team will work to mail these postcards out once the weekend has concluded. Head over to Wild Arctic to share your words of encouragement and gratitude from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Additionally, two incredible non-profit partners—Shelter to Soldier and Workshops for Warriors—will also be joining our Military Appreciation Weekend in the Wild Arctic area. Shelter to Soldier is known for its life-changing work, pairing rescue dogs with veterans coping with mental health challenges, offering vital emotional support and companionship. Workshops for Warriors focus on preparing veterans for successful civilian careers by providing training in advanced manufacturing skills, such as welding. During the event, they’ll offer a hands-on experience with custom dog tag engraving, allowing guests to engage with their mission.

Their presence adds an additional powerful layer of purpose to the weekend, to honor our military community and beginning creating a space for them to not only celebrate but to build connections, to heal, and be surrounded by family.

 

Waves in the Community

 

Juan and Tito’s commitment to turn their ties into impact doesn’t stop at the park. They are actively showing up in the community as well. Both have attended events at our Miramar Base and Camp Pendleton, working directly with personnel to find new ways to bring SeaWorld’s offerings to the families on base. Through these efforts, Juan and Tito are demonstrating that SeaWorld San Diego doesn’t just support the military community, it stands with it!

When I spoke with Tito and Juan, they shared that deployment moves can be incredibly hard on families, which is why SeaWorld’s presence at these events matters. Our booth represents more than entertainment—it’s a message that their new home has welcoming experiences, meaningful connections, and places to build new memories.

Aside from enhancing in-park activations, Juan and Tito continue to expand outreach efforts beyond the gates—ensuring that military families feel supported from the moment they arrive in San Diego.

We hope you join us to celebrate and show your support for our active-duty service members and veterans at SeaWorld San Diego’s first Military Appreciation Celebration, this weekend from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Wild Arctic area. These events are incredibly meaningful to the entire SeaWorld San Diego team, but especially Juan and Tito.

If you’re active-duty service member or veteran, let SeaWorld San Diego show you what you mean to us!