A family's birthday celebration at a major Orlando theme park turned into a distressing ordeal after their non-verbal autistic daughter was involved in a shoplifting misunderstanding, leading to their ejection and a fine.
A Birthday Outing Takes a Dramatic Turn
Nikki and Alain Daou visited Universal's new Epic Universe park in Orlando last month to mark their daughter Everly's seventh birthday. In preparation, they had registered Everly, who is autistic and non-verbal, with the park's official disability access programme.
The trouble began during a visit to a Mario-themed gift shop in the Super Nintendo World area. Everly became fixated on a $16 Mario keychain, and her mother, Nikki, let her hold it. As the shop grew crowded, Everly became overstimulated—a common challenge for autistic individuals in busy environments. To calm her, Nikki decided to take her outside immediately.
Her father, Alain, remained inside with the intention to pay. He tore the price tag off the keychain so his daughter could continue to hold it comfortably while he completed the purchase of that item and a few others.
Confrontation and Ejection by Security
However, the moment Nikki and Everly stepped outside, they were stopped by security personnel and accused of shoplifting. Despite Nikki's frantic explanations that her husband was inside paying, she was taken to a security office for questioning.
"I was very scared," Nikki told local media. "I immediately started crying." The park's response was severe. She was informed she was being trespassed from Universal property for one year and that Orange County Sheriff's deputies were en route to escort her off the premises. She was also told to expect a fine by post.
Legal Demands and Calls for Better Training
The situation escalated further when, three days after the incident, the Daou family received a demand letter from a Universal attorney. It requested $200 in civil damages and accused them of "intentional deprivation of merchandise."
Outraged, the family hired attorney Eric Block of Morgan & Morgan, who sent a counter-letter. He criticised Universal for an overblown reaction and a failure to consider the family's explanation or Everly's disability. "Did they give her an apology, or say we overreacted, or we see your husband was trying to pay?" Block stated. "No, they actually sent her a demand letter for money, accusing her of retail theft."
Nikki Daou expressed her belief that the staff involved seemed unaware of the park's own disability policies. "It seemed like they had no idea that Universal even had a disability program," she said.
The family insists they are not seeking financial compensation. Instead, they hope their story raises awareness and leads to better training for Universal employees in line with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), to prevent similar traumatic experiences for other families with disabled members.
