SeaWorld San Diego Hosts Second 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 Waves 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.
Active-Duty military members may also dive into endless fun with our exclusive Annual Pass—just $99.99. And for our incredible veterans, we’re offering complimentary admission for you and up to three guests now through July 6. It’s our way of saying thank you for your service.
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 is now hosting monthly Military Appreciation Weekends. A new park initiative designed to uplift and inspire active-duty members and veterans.
June 14 and 15 marked the second Military Appreciation Weekend at SeaWorld San Diego. 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 are very passionate about this initiative and the need to enhance our relationship with our military community. Their goal is 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.
Though Juan and Tito have walked different journeys, their shared bond as service members connects them deeply. That common ground fuels a powerful mission: to reimagine the SeaWorld San Diego experience for the military community. Together, they’re building something special—a welcoming space for service members and their families that goes far beyond the base.
The Beginning of Meaningful Tradition
Drawing from their own lived experiences, Juan and Tito deeply understand what matters most to service members and their families: meaningful connection, heartfelt recognition, and time well spent together. Inspired by that insight, they helped shape both our Memorial Day Weekend and the new Military Appreciation Weekends—infusing every detail with sincerity and soul.
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.
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.
In the second installment of our series in mid-June, they partnered with Support Our Troops, Shelter to Soldier, and Workshops for Warriors.
In partnership with Support Our Troops. , we invited all guests to write meaningful postcards to active-duty service members. Once the guests finished, they deposited their postcards into our designated mailbox located right next to the table which Support Our Troops will mail out to ensure our active-duty service members feel inspired and supported.
Shelter to Soldier known for its life-changing work, pairing rescue dogs with veterans coping with mental health challenges, offering vital emotional support and companionship, popped-up at our June Military Appreciation Weekend with some of their dogs and team members.
Workshops for Warriors focuses on preparing veterans for successful civilian careers by providing training in advanced manufacturing skills, such as welding. During the event, they offered a hands-on experience with custom dog tag engraving, allowing guests to engage with their mission.
The presence of these organizations added 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.
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.
If you are a non-profit organization and would like to work with us, please contact Juan Rosario Lizasuain at [email protected] and Tito Neptune at [email protected].
Waves in the Community
Juan and Tito’s dedication goes far beyond SeaWorld’s gates—they’re out in the community, turning connection into action. From Miramar Base to Camp Pendleton, they’ve been hands-on, teaming up with service members to discover fresh, meaningful ways to bring the SeaWorld experience to military families. Their work shows one thing loud and clear: SeaWorld San Diego isn’t just behind the military community—it’s right beside 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 monthly Military Appreciation Celebrations. These events are incredibly meaningful to the entire SeaWorld San Diego team, but especially Juan and Tito.
Our next Military Appreciation Month is in one week, July 4 through July 6, from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
If you’re active-duty service member or veteran, let SeaWorld San Diego show you what you mean to us!