Guests visiting SeaWorld were stunned to find the Orlando, Fla.-based park overflowing with garbage.
Customers took to social media to document the mess, which included discarded cups, empty beer bottles, crushed soda cans and used masks, piling up across the park.
One user tweeted a photo of the self-serve soda fountain in the lounge for annual pass holders which was littered with heaps of melting ice and soda cups.
“From the SeaWorld passholders page, taken in the AP lounge. Why are people such slobs? Like seriously,” the customer wrote in the tweet posted Aug. 8.
Another user added: “Sea World. Rude and unhelpful staff, trash everywhere. Never again.”
SeaWorld, which is known for its dolphin and orca performances, as well as more traditional theme park fare like rollercoasters, is staffed with cleanup crews, but customers said that trash piles were pretty common lately.
It is unclear if the mess was due to staffing shortages linked to the pandemic or if employees are overwhelmed by the booming theme park attendance.
SeaWorld did not return requests for comment.
Earlier this summer, another user tweeted out a trio of pictures, documenting empty bottles, food wrappers, cans and one high-top sneaker floating in stagnant water around SeaWorld’s iconic 400-foot Sky Tower, which gives guests a bird’s eye view of Orlando.
“A cleaning crew is needed around the base of SeaWorld Orlando’s Skytower which has become a dumping ground for trash,” @SWneedshelp tweeted, along with photos documenting the detritus.
Last year, another guest documented the trash pile-up on TikTok.
“Sea world do better.. this parking lot is DISGUSTING 🤮🤮 #seaworld #trash #oldmasks,” the user wrote, alongside a video showing garbage scattered on the side of the road at the park.
But the garbage problem isn’t just a SeaWorld Orlando issue. One Twitter user pointed out that SeaWorld’s San Antonio, Texas location has similar issues.
“Also a common scene at SWSA, just totally inconsiderate and just plain gross. Ambassadors having to clean and mop entire areas three times over during a single hour,” the customer wrote.
Even neighboring park, Disney World, is having trash problems, according to theme park blog, Inside the Magic.
At the Florida amusement park, guests have left restaurants and common spaces completely trashed, the blog said, noting that the phenomena has become worse since the onset of the pandemic.
Guests told the blog that customers visiting the Most Magical Place on Earth are not respectful and leave public spaces in disarray. In recent months, there has been an uptick in instances of guests trying to cut the line and getting into fights while visiting Disney World.
Last summer, the fan blog reported on overflowing trash at the Disney parks, as well as piles of garbage being left at restaurants.
