lifeguard

ambassador

assistant supervisor

ride operator

revenue analyst

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

I worked in two positions at Busch gardens. I truly enjoyed my first job, for the most part. It had its ups and downs but the supervisors were fair and understanding and gave you long paid breaks that were needed after working hours in the hot sun. I was looking at the sea world job page online and noticed that they were accepting people to be transferred into the park. I figured I would give it a shot since I had been working at my first position for 8 months and wanted to try something new. HR called me about my transfer but never got back to me. I even went to the office and they told me that if I ever wanted to move up that I would have to quit my job and wait six months before applying again. So thats what I did. I put in my two weeks and found a job closer to home for the meantime. 

I was able to get a job operating one of the jobs inside the park. I figured this would be a better option for me because at least I would be out of the sun. But I was totally wrong. 

What your about to read next may trigger some so be aware.

After a couple weeks of working I was really liking it. I had made friends with a lot of my coworkers and all but one of my managers were really cool and were passionate about the job. One of the mangers though would occasionally flirt with me which I brushed off in the beginning because it seemed harmless, at first. Then as time progressed the flirted turned into constantly being followed/ looked at, and then verbal statements that would make anyone feel uncomfortable. I told one of my coworkers and she said that she and another was experiencing the same thing. Now at this point I was working Howl-O-Scream and there were plenty of intoxicated people so I was getting use to the fact that being harassed was going to be a normal thing from now on and that I would have to just get use to it because I needed my job. 

I dealt with the harassment for weeks and I felt so uncomfortable at work. The part where I said forget it and quit my job is when someone without permission gave my supervisor all of my social media and I had to deal with the harassment outside of work. I felt angry so I decided to quit and block all my coworkers accept the few I trusted. I wanted to get a group of my coworkers together and make a complaint at HR but they didn't want to loose there jobs because it was the only place they could work that was close to USF. 

Part of me still wishes that I would go to HR and file a complaint, but maybe writing a review will help someone not have to experience what I went through. I don't think Busch Gardens is a terrible place to work, but they need to fix the work culture. They don't do one on one job interviews because they treat workers like they are disposable. If maybe they got to know each worker individually before hiring they may have avoided hiring the manger that harassed me and my friends. And maybe if they had a system where workers could report harassment from co-workers and guest then it would be a safer place to work. But for now I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy to work here. 

And for the people who say I was probably just overreacting imagine trying to do your job and having to answering the phone to your supervisor saying the most uncomfortable things and having to be stuck in the same room with him.

I began working here after not working for a few years and I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed it.   

The shuttle itself is more similar to a small visa bus and is fairly simple to operate, it does however take a bit of time getting used to. 
   A Typical Day will consist of clocking in, grabbing a radio, going through a checklist before driving to ensure the vehicle is good to go and then driving on your assigned route, at the end you simply refuel, go through a closing checklist, returning the radio and then clock out.
   All routes are in the back of the park and you will almost never be asked to drive around the guest area, as such your only passengers 90% of the time will be either fellow ambassadors, security officers or management. 
   You are allowed to listen to the radio or even your own music while driving so long as it isn't explicit and you aren't looking at your phone. 

The only thing required for this position is a valid divers licence, no CDL required, just drive safely and be nice. 

There are disadvantages however, for one I strongly advise bringing your own food and eating asap before or after your shift starts as you will be eating re heated cafeteria food from lady's that actually care or kids that don't care at all about the quality. You also might be so busy with picking up/dropping off that it can be hard to find time to take a break and get a meal there before they close. 
   The pay itself is pretty low for a driving position with no opportunity for a raise and no part time benefits outside of getting discounts and free tickets, your best bet to get better money is to become an assistant manager or take better paying but much harder jobs in the park. 
   There is also some hectic scheduling as you might have to work 30 - 50 hours during busy holidays like spring break with only 6 - 7 hours in between shifts, which can take a physical toll on you, not for just lacking in sleep but also driving for long periods of time. 

The typical day at work was varied. If my supervisors needed me to come in early I would with no problem. The earliest I had to come in was 9:00am. The work was time consuming but not hard. Once done The Show Grill, outside of Trapper's Smokehouse, had to be ready by 1:45, that means all food needed to be out and ready to be cooked on the grill, the fire had to be already started 15-20 minuets prior to opening, cashiers, including myself, had to already have our tills counted out and set into the register 30 minuets prior to opening. The management style was a mix of the supervisors checking on us making sure we are following the rules and to make sure we all had breaks, and for us as a team to make sure we had all the supplies i.e. food, cups, plates, drinks, and to make the grill presentable i.e. no trash on the ground, no dishes behind the grill, wood stacked up neatly, all surfaces behind the grill clean, and crates for the bottled drinks out of site for the customers. The co-workers at the grill and inside the Smokehouse are a joy to work with. The hardest part is to clean the Show Grill, this includes drinks set into the crates and put away, the tub that we put the drinks must be dumped of all ice inside, the beer kegs must be taken out and put away, the drink/beer stand must be wiped off and cleaned, the countertops behind the grill must be wiped off and sprayed, the floor has to be swept before degreaser is applied to the floor and sprayed off, and above the grill must have degreaser applied and wiped off. The most enjoyable part of the job is the job itself, you get to work with awesome people, the work environment within Busch Gardens Williamsburg as a whole allows you to have fun and not that many places have that, and yes the work is hard but you know at the end of the day it was all worth it.

On a typical day at Busch Gardens,Tampa, I would come in and work my 11:00 am-7:30 pm shift in my ice cream shop, Moroccan Delights After setting up my building, I would check my emails and consult with management about the events of the day. Around 1:00 pm, the rest of my team comes in and I communicate to them the promotions, goals and my expectations of them for the day. We work as a team to accomplish the goals that are set and the majority of the time, we succeed!. While working at Busch Gardens, I have learned that communication is a KEY factor for a successful business and teamwork is extremely important! I have also learned to listen and take constructive criticism and use it as a tool to improve my work performance. The management can sometimes be difficult or too demanding but they have a job to do just like me so I don't criticize them about their actions. My co-workers are a delight to work with! We are a very strong team and we get the job done because we work together. The hardest part of my job is trying to convince upper management of the fact that even though I run a small building, it does require more than one person to run it. There are days where I am the only person running the building as well as being the cashier and the server. Management says that on a slow business day, one team member is all that is needed but I beg to differ! When the line gets long, think about the guest and how long they have to wait! That's not great customer service! The customer is the most important part of our jobs! Without them, we have no job! The most enjoyable part of my job is meeting people from all over the world! People from different states and countries come to Busch Gardens and it is very exciting to see the diversity of our guests!

I worked in husbandry and education for a year and a half. Husbandry isn’t really husbandry—you’ll be in the feeder booths selling fish and shrimp to guests most of the time, but it was still a pretty cool job.

For such a big company, it was pretty easy to get to know people in other departments. I got to work really closely with the aquarists and trainers, which was a lot of fun. During most of my time there, husbandry was part of the education department, so since I started in husbandry, I was able to cross train in education. I don’t think that’s possible anymore, though.

The education curator who was there during my time is no longer there, which is great news if you’re going into education. I’m not sure about the current curator, but the aquarium managers I had when husbandry was switched to animal care were pretty good. Pay is not enough to live in Orlando, though, so it’s good to have another job that pays a lot more.

Working with the general public is going to be the same no matter where you go, and you’d be shocked at how many people will pay for tickets to SeaWorld just to tell everyone who works there how evil and awful SeaWorld is. But it can be really rewarding when you get a good guest who’s passionate about conservation, especially the kids. That and bonding with the animals are what made me love working there.

There are lots of pros and cons, but if you’re looking for a start to your animal care career or somewhere you can grown into an aquarist or trainer position, this is a great place for it. The connections you’ll make here will get you really far.

Morning meeting followed by stretching (depending on the venue). Then specific opening track procedures, followed by daily general venue maintenance and show operation. After show completion, repeat while maintaining consistency.

I've learned general maintenance and operation of Rigging, Scenic and Lighting setups, as-well as working in a group of venue setup/maintenance/striking specialist called "Special Projects".  

Higher level management played a guessing game with seasonal contracts and employed emotionally unstable personalities that continually broke rules with slap on the wrist consequences. While having nothing to fear but receiving notes and being transferred to an undesirable venue, lower level management lacked respect for new employees.

My fellow co-workers became some of my closest friends, but only after having to run a hypothetical type of guillotine. The full-time employees stuck together like clicks in high school and weren't open to getting to know new employees. While most of the long standing seasonal works were willing to tarnish the name of their fellow seasonal co-workers to get the advantage on them for full-time placement.

The hardest part of the job was/is having to deal with the corporate cut throat mentality and lack of consistent team work.

The most enjoyable part was/is their year round team sport activities that are meant to build team chemistry in the work place. The flaw is that these events aren't mandatory.

I  deal with guest all over the world with guest relations  and guest services as a tram announcer as a sales guy on the back of a moving operational tram. I tell guest at Busch Gardens of Tampa Bay Florida  ticket prices, rollercoaster rides, animals, food, actractions etc about things that goes on in busch  gardens.. I also work in our park  operations transportations department as we park guest in parking lots at busch gardens as the traffic comes in we ensure our guest fast safe and friendly service of quick parking of there  vehicles so we  can hurry up park there cars in a timely manner and quicky direct i guest to the park entrance to enjoy there day at busch gardens.


At Busch Gardens our  job team placement management system runs like the military job  2way radio communications employee park meetings  pay grades and unit managers to ensure that our coworkers keeps updated  with whats going on in the everyday flow of busch gardens.




At Busch Gardens  all of over  employees  work hard towards  one common goal that is to ensure  a memorable time for  our guest and outstanding world class services for our guest and there famalies to remember.



The hardest part of my job on a day to day bases is nothing really hard you make your job hard on yourself if your not a people outgoing type of person. They guest always pays attention to your smile your personality and your presence so if your  a people's peroson Busch Gardens is the place for your if your not a people person the guest will tell and know by how you interact with them..



I get to make people smile that's the most enjoyable part of my job and spead happynies through out there day.

I worked for Busch Gardens' culinary department for three seasons. It was my first job ever and I loved it. A typical day would include preparing food before we opened, setting up the restaurant and making sure everything was neat and organized for our guests. We always expected a large lunch rush every day between 1and 5. We stayed busy and had fun working as well. I learned so much while working there. I learned about food preparation, food safety, customer interaction, and gained a lot of respect for amusement park employees. It looks like a fun job but we put in a lot of hard work and attention to make sure our guests have a fun and safe visit. I appreciated the management team at the restaurant I worked at. They always thanked us for our hard work and they paid attention to everything we did. There was a lot of respect between the managers, supervisors, and team members. I was lucky to work with such an energetic, cooperative, and fun group of coworkers. We always made sure everyone stayed on track and did their job. Friendships were created throughout the time I worked there. The job itself was not hard. Yes, we had our really busy days on the hottest days of the summer which may have caused us to slow down but that's known to happen in a job like this. There was a lot of standing and moving around in a small space, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle. The part I enjoyed most about my job was meeting all the different people that came to work with us. I have met people from Russia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Poland, almost anywhere you can think of. The employees at Busch Gardens are what make the park. It was a wonderful experience.

Did you pick it up as a summer job or in high school to earn some extra cash? Then sure, it's fine. But if you said no, then it's not fine.

Work/Life Balance: There is none unless you get your availability approved, and management will not (usually) approve only working weekdays.

Benefits: You like riding rides and going to Adventure Island? Then the benefits are great. If not, well that's about it. No free or paid lunches. PTO is almost never approved unless you're full time.

Job Advancement/Security: Unless you know someone already in a leadership role, the odds are against you. Even then, depending on the mood management is in, you could lose your chance. That mood also goes into their firing decisions, along with a few other things.

Management: Not all management is bad, just like how not everyone if perfect. Most don't interact with regular employees more than they have to, which is usually in a negative situation and so first impressions are shewed.

However, this detached nature leaves most regular employees looking at the supervisors, who the majority of are college students or young adults. Leading to the next part.

Job Culture: Depending on who you end up with and where you go the culture is going to vary. It can be anything from a circle of school students to straight-laced middle manager types. Generally, most of the regular employees are easy-going, but can vary greatly as well. Some high school students act more mature and responsible than the older adults.

Overall, like any job, you're either going to mesh well with the people and type of work, or you're not. Busch Gardens can be stressful at the best of times.

Seaworld is overall good (maybe great) to other minimum wage jobs. In my merchandise position (before COVID) my coworkers were (mostly) very friendly and helpful. However, during my very first shift, they pretty much just threw me on a register during the most busy time of night. Before this, they’ve only verbally trained me about how the register works and I didn’t get to really practice beforehand - plus this was my first job. Luckily, you’re close to other registers and so a coworker of mine was friendly enough to help me out through the night.

In my position as Park Operations - (after Covid furlough) i only lasted 2 todays. Much brisk walking back and forth between enclosures if you’re scheduled as a “breaker”, which was not for me. I also didn’t really like having to use a walkie talkie, but that’s just me who has trouble understanding others through it lol

Although you’re standing for long periods of time, the 20-40 minute breaks definitely make up for it! After having another retail job outside of SW, I definitely missed my merchandise position. You do need to be open to work the week of Christmas and thanksgiving, but the environment is fun and they give you free pizza:) Both my managers were grumpy and strict 100% of the time, but they’re not always around and most people are very friendly.

I would say this job is definitely worth the try even just for a couple months, because it’s very easy to get hired + it looks impressing on your resume to other employers!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Lifeguard 1 salary reported	$13.00 per hour
Ambassador 10 salaries reported	$13.73 per hour
Assistant supervisor 5 salaries reported	$13.60 per hour
Ride operator 1 salary reported	$13.00 per hour
Revenue analyst 3 salaries reported	$65,000 per year

Working at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment: Company Overview and Reviews

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment Ratings

Popular jobs at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected