SeaWorld says it is continuing to process thousands of refund and rebooking requests after a power outage disrupted operations at the San Diego theme park on July 31 and Aug. 1. Among those affected were two out-of-town families who told NBC 7 Responds that their refund claims had been denied, de spite being told they could request reimbursement after the park closed early because of the outage. Dana Beason from Woodland Hills shares her frustration with the power outage that cut her trip short and her inability to get refunded. Dana Beason said she and her family drove about 2½ hours from Los Angeles County to visit SeaWorld on Saturday when the outage occurred. “My daughter and I went to use the restroom and there was no power, so they told us that we had to go in and use our flashlights.” Beason said the outage quickly affected the family’s visit, including their ability to buy food. “We had just come from a 2 ½ hour trip and then we tried to get food after that because nobody had eaten and we were hungry and all of the food stations were closed.” The family waited in hopes power would be restored, but Beason said employees could not say when operations would return to normal. “So they told us that they didn’t know how long it would last. The same issue happened the day before and they told us that we could go to guest services to get a refund.” Many visitors left SeaWorld after the power outage shut everything down. Beason said guest services instructed her to call a customer service number and submit a claim seeking a refund of the $480 spent by her boyfriend’s brother on two-day SeaWorld tickets. She said the request was ultimately denied. “The first gentleman that I spoke to told us that we were able to go back to the park because the power outage only happened in the morning and that the power was back on, which was not the case.” After multiple phone calls and hours spent on hold without a resolution, Beason contacted NBC 7 Responds. NBC 7 Responds had already been communicating with SeaWorld about the outage and shared Beason’s experience with the company. In a statement, SeaWorld said: “Our Guest Relations team is currently assisting a high volume of guest inquiries as they process requests for either a Return Any Day ticket or a refund. They will be reaching out to [the consumer] within the week. Thank you for your patience and understanding.” SeaWorld did not explain why Beason’s refund request was initially denied when NBC 7 Responds asked. However, the issue was ultimately resolved, and Beason and her family received their refund. “Amazing. Thank you so much, I appreciate it.” This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less