ORLANDO, Fla. – A Florida family says a visit to Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe to celebrate their autistic daughter’s birthday ended with them being escorted out of the park and accused of shoplifting, a situation they describe as a misunderstanding tied to their child’s disability.
Nikki Daou said she visited Epic Universe on Dec. 27 with her husband and their nonverbal, autistic daughter, who was celebrating her seventh birthday. Daou said she had previously registered her daughter with Universal’s disability access program and reviewed her accommodation needs with the company ahead of the visit.
After several hours at the park, Daou said the family entered a Mario-themed gift shop, where her daughter became excited about a Mario keychain. As the store grew crowded, Daou said her daughter became overwhelmed and agitated.
Daou said she took her daughter outside the store to calm her while her husband stayed behind to continue shopping and planned to pay for the $16 keychain. She said her husband removed the tag from the item and kept it with him inside the store.
Moments later, Daou said she was approached by Universal security outside the shop and accused of shoplifting.
“I felt very scared,” Daou said. “I immediately started crying.”
Daou said she told security that her husband was still inside the store and intended to pay for the item. Despite that explanation, she said she was taken to a security office, where she was questioned.
According to Daou, she was later told Orange County sheriff’s deputies were on the way and that her family would be escorted off the property. She said Universal informed her she had been trespassed from the park for one year and would receive a fine in the mail.
Daou’s attorney, Eric Block of Morgan & Morgan, said he has submitted a demand letter to Universal, accusing the company of overreacting and failing to consider the family’s explanation or their daughter’s disability.
“They didn’t apologize or acknowledge that this was a misunderstanding,” Block said. “Instead, they sent a demand letter for money, accusing her of retail theft.”
Daou said she believes Universal did not take her daughter’s disability into account when the situation unfolded and questioned whether employees were aware of the company’s disability access policies.
Universal Orlando has not responded to a request for comment.
Daou said she hopes sharing her experience will prevent similar situations for other families navigating disabilities while visiting theme parks.