Theme park fans are getting quite excited, as the world’s newest park, Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe, is getting closer and closer to opening to the general public. While the park isn't open to all paying guests, it has been open for early previews, which has already resulted in several “firsts” for Epic already happening. We’ve already had the first piece of Epic Universe merch selling out. Now we have the first person being booted off the property, probably for the rest of his life.
People can be trespassed from theme parks or even arrested for a variety of reasons, but the most common are public intoxication or people otherwise making a disturbance in the park. A TikTok recently went viral, which appears to show a man admitting to getting busted while stealing from Epic Universe.
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While details are scarce, it’s clear that the guy is having an interaction with authorities outside the park. It seems all but certain he’s in the process of being banned from the park, if not actually arrested. He claims he stole from the park. Needless to say Epic Universe fans are both in awe, and more than a little pissed off, that this has happened so soon. Comments on the original TikTok, as well as on a repost on Twitter, include:
- so go to a park that's not even fully open to the public yet and try to steel good job fucko's that must a be a record for being trespassed from a park that's not even open yet.
- What a shitty person.
- And you KNOW the person he came there with got fired for this since it was TM previews
- This is why you choose your friends wisely folks.
As one of these comments, and several others, points out, except for the recent Epic Universe media preview (where I got to experience every ride in the new park), the park has only been open to Universal Team Members and their guests so far, which implies that this person either is a Team Member or, more likely, was the guest of one. It’s been reported several Team Members may have lost their jobs due to violating various rules of the preview, and it’s quite likely that a Team Member bringing somebody who tried to steal probably doesn’t work there anymore.
It’s unclear if there was any particular motivation behind this beyond the normal “wanting something for nothing.” There has always been a market for people wanting exclusive theme park merchandise, with many willing to pay a premium to get it. As such, there are often those who stock up on potentially valuable items, though most of them are at least willing to pay retail price to get it. Maybe somebody was trying to make more than the standard markup. Or maybe somebody really wanted one of those Captain Cacao teddy bears.
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