Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, filed a lawsuit against SeaWorld on March 12, 2026, seeking to end a 45-year licensing relationship and accusing the theme park operator of withholding royalties and damaging the Sesame Street brand.
The complaint was filed in Manhattan federal court and names SeaWorld’s parent company, United Parks and Resorts, as the defendant. Sesame Workshop says SeaWorld has been its exclusive U.S. theme park licensee for 45 years, operating Sesame Street-themed parks and attractions featuring Big Bird, Cookie Monster, and Elmo. According to the filing, SeaWorld began ignoring the terms of their most recent licensing agreement, which was finalized in 2017, by withholding royalty payments and closing themed sites, including Sesame Place San Diego.
The situation escalated in September 2025 when SeaWorld stopped paying royalties entirely. Sesame Workshop says SeaWorld then made what the complaint calls a “preposterous” counter-accusation that the nonprofit had failed to invest in its own brand. Sesame Workshop is seeking termination of the agreement, unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, and all related termination fees.
This lawsuit is not the first legal clash between the two organizations. In September 2024, a federal judge in Orlando upheld an arbitration ruling requiring SeaWorld to pay Sesame Workshop more than $11 million, including interest, for prior breaches of the licensing agreement. SeaWorld did not make that payment until October 2025, more than a year after the ruling.
Sesame Workshop said in a statement that United Parks and Resorts had repeatedly failed to honor its obligations, leaving the organization with no choice but to pursue litigation to protect the brand and the trust families place in it. SeaWorld said it looks forward to setting the record straight in court but did not offer further comment.
What This Means for SeaWorld’s Sesame Street Parks. If Sesame Workshop succeeds in terminating the licensing agreement, SeaWorld would lose the right to use the Sesame Street brand, characters, and intellectual property across its parks. SeaWorld currently operates Sesame Place theme parks in Pennsylvania and San Diego, along with Sesame Street-themed areas and attractions inside other SeaWorld properties. A termination would represent a major loss for the parks, which have built family-oriented programming around the Sesame Street characters for decades.
The outcome of this case could reshape what families visiting SeaWorld and Sesame Place parks can expect to find going forward. The lawsuit is ongoing, and no trial date has been set.
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