A Florida family’s big birthday surprise at Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe ended with security escorts instead of cake and confetti. What started as a seventh birthday celebration for a nonverbal autistic girl turned into a tense confrontation over a $16 keychain and a shoplifting accusation her parents insist was a simple mix-up. Their story is now raising uncomfortable questions about how major theme parks handle disability, intent and basic empathy when something goes sideways.
According to the parents, the day was supposed to be all about their daughter enjoying rides, characters and sensory-friendly spaces, not about being marched out of a park in front of strangers. Instead, a few rushed seconds inside a gift shop, a child’s fixation on a shiny souvenir and a breakdown in communication with security combined into a scene that has followed the family home and onto social media.
From dream birthday to security office
The family, identified in multiple reports as Nikki Daou and Alain Daou, traveled from Florida to celebrate their daughter Everly’s seventh birthday at Universal Orlando’s new Epic Universe park. Everly is nonverbal and autistic, and her parents say the trip was carefully planned around her needs, from ride choices to timing breaks so she would not get overwhelmed. At one point, they stopped in a gift shop where Everly grabbed a keychain, a small item later reported to cost $16, and walked out of the store with it while still holding her mother’s hand. Nikki says she believed her husband was right behind them and would pay at the counter, a routine many parents of young kids will recognize.
But that assumption collided quickly with park protocol. Moments after Nikki and Everly stepped outside, security staff approached and accused her of shoplifting, according to Daou’s account. She says she immediately tried to explain that Alain was still inside the shop and intended to pay, and that their daughter is autistic and nonverbal, but the interaction escalated instead of cooling down. In a video shared later, Nikki recalls a guard telling her, “You’ve been caught shoplifting,” before instructing the family to come with him, a moment echoed in an Instagram reel describing the encounter.
‘Misunderstanding’ or rigid policy?
Nikki says she stressed to security that Everly’s disability was central to what happened, not criminal intent, and that Alain was still at the register ready to pay for the keychain. According to her, that explanation did not change the course of events. She describes being told that Orange County sheriff’s deputies were on the way and that the family would be escorted off the property, a detail reflected in local reporting. She says she “immediately started crying” as the reality set in that their long-planned birthday outing was effectively over because of a misunderstanding over a small souvenir.
In her telling, Nikki repeatedly pointed out that Everly is nonverbal, that they carry documentation about her disability and that they were willing to pay on the spot, but the guards focused on the fact that the item had left the store. She later recounted that she told security her husband was inside and would pay, “Despite that explanation,” they were still treated as shoplifters, a sequence echoed in a second detailed account. The family says they were taken to a security office inside Epic Universe, then escorted out of the park, with the birthday girl watching the adults around her argue in a space she could not easily understand.
Viral backlash and the disability gap
Once they were home, the Daous took their story public, sharing video and a detailed write-up that quickly spread among theme park fans and disability advocates. A widely shared post described how a family visiting Epic Universe for a nonverbal autistic child’s birthday ended up being removed from the park after a keychain incident, even though the husband had stayed behind to pay. Another version of the story framed it as a “misunderstanding” that spiraled into a full ejection, with the parents saying they were “kicked out” despite trying to cooperate, language that matches the tone of the coverage that followed.
Several outlets highlighted that the keychain at the center of the dispute was a relatively low-cost item and that the family’s explanation hinged on Everly’s disability and the split-second nature of the exit from the store. One report noted that the keychain cost $16, while another emphasized that Nikki said she tried to explain the situation and still ended up escorted off the property with her child. A separate write-up described how she “immediately started crying” as the reality of being removed from a park on her daughter’s birthday sank in, a detail echoed in international coverage that also noted requests for comment from Universal.
Theme parks, training and what comes next
For families who navigate theme parks with disabled children, the Daous’ story hits a nerve because it feels familiar. Parents often rely on disability access cards, advance planning and staff training to bridge the gap between rigid rules and real life. In one clip, Nikki mentions telling security, “We have a disability card,” a detail reflected in an online video that has circulated among park-goers. Advocates say that if staff are not empowered to use discretion when a nonverbal child fixates on a small item, policies meant to deter theft can end up punishing disability instead.
The incident is also shining a light on Epic Universe itself, a marquee expansion of Universal Orlando that has been marketed as a next-level destination. For the Daous, the reality was a birthday that ended in a security office and a walk to the exit, not fireworks or a final ride. One detailed feature described how Nikki Daou and felt staff failed to take their little girl’s disability into account at every step. Parallel local reports from regional stations and other affiliates have repeated the family’s description of being removed from the park after the confrontation, underscoring how a single moment in a gift shop can ripple far beyond one family’s vacation.
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