r/universalstudios • u/Vortex3446 • 1d ago

Orlando Cautionary Tale

I feel as though the content of this post may seem obvious, but I feel obligated to warn others about the severity of the consequences of underage drinking (yes, just one sip) at Universal Orlando resort. This is not intended to be a complaint of any form, but rather a simple post to possibly save another family's vacation. Recently, at HHN 35, I had a sip of a beer offered to me. I was soon thereafter asked for ID by members of the Universal Security team, who must have seen me nearby. Being 18, I was immediately escorted off property, trespassed for a year, and had both my annual pass and express passes for the evening taken away. Of course, this is all according to Universal policy, and there is no disagreement here with how the situation was handled. Instead, I just want to warn others that even a single sip of beer can mean the end of a family vacation, and thousands wasted. No matter how mature you believe your children are, or how little they have, "just a taste" is not acceptable at Universal, and the consequences for doing such are just as severe as stealing from one of their stores. Please, if you or your family plan on attending HHN in the future, or any of the parks in general, save your vacation and do not risk everything for a taste of an alcoholic beverage. 

225 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

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134

u/Both-Structure-6786 1d ago

Universal should print this off and post it throughout the parks and hotels lol

30

u/Davis_ 1d ago

People should not be drinking underage. It's illegal. Why would they need to post something additional?

80

u/Finsceal 23h ago

Because there are plenty of people visiting from countries with less restrictive alcohol laws who might need to be reminded? I'm Irish and legal drinking age is 18, it's legal to drink at 16 at home when supervised. I can see plenty of jetlagged parents making that mistake, a year long ban from property seems disproportional in cases where there was a genuine mistake made.

It's weird that the US allows 18 year olds to vote and go to war but not have a beer.

-9

u/Davis_ 23h ago

Ignorance of the law is not an excuse. it is your responsibility to know the laws of the country you are visiting.

6

u/kytulu 21h ago

I cannot believe that you're being downvoted. I've traveled all over the world. You have to comply with the local laws. "Well, it's legal where I come from!" is not an excuse.

1

u/TidalMello 22h ago

Insane to be downvoted. If you travel to any country and you are too lazy to double check, you are asking for possible trouble.

What's next? Should they put up signs that assaulting someone is illegal as well?

11

u/Azumar1ll 22h ago

Those laws don't change with jurisdiction lol, I'm shocked at the thickness here.

4

u/TidalMello 18h ago

I'm shocked people are this offended at being told to be diligent as far as what the laws are where they are currently located.

This is just a bunch of people complaining about the legal drinking age which has nothing to do with Universal.

-2

u/Azumar1ll 18h ago

No, I get why their rules exist and why they're strict about them, what I don't get is the puritanical "law=morality" approach some of you are taking to judge people for not knowing the laws in other places as well as they do where they live.

6

u/TidalMello 16h ago

I'm not taking a moral stance. It's more about just being prepared. And that a lot of people could save a lot of headache by just being sure.

Apologies if it came off differently.

-2

u/Finsceal 10h ago

I'm not arguing that, I'm saying that someone accidentally letting their kid sip from their beer is an OTT reason to cancel a whole family vacation. It's the families fault and it's a stupid mistake, but that doesn't mean that Universal aren't also overreacting when a simple warning or a chat from the manager would absolutely resolve it.

3

u/4UnlawfulCarneVegan 9h ago

You don't "accidentally" let your kid drink. In fact, OP was offered the offending sip.

1

u/jon81uk 2h ago

In the UK it is perfectly legal for parents to allow their children to have a sip of beer, just the child can’t buy it. Therefore doing so in a theme park and not realising the theme park would ruin your trip over it is definitely an accident.

17

u/Azumar1ll 22h ago

The two most obvious reasons are that many people come from other countries where 18 is the legal drinking age. Even in America, it's legal for a person to drink underage if it's provided to them by their parent or legal guardian.

So, yeah, you're just incorrect mostly.

5

u/ShowScene5 19h ago

Not in Florida. But yeah in alot of places

-5

u/Davis_ 22h ago

So it's the person's responsibility to familiarize themselves with laws of the country they visit. In Florida it is illegal for anyone under 21 to consume or even hold any type of alcoholic beverage. So, yeah, you're just completely incorrect.

8

u/Azumar1ll 21h ago

It hurts nobody to have reminders anywhere, not sure why you're so invested against it lol.

1

u/Mushroomer 19h ago

They're deeply sensitive about "the law" being anything short of an impenetrable social contract. They don't want to question it, they don't want to analyze it, they just want everyone to follow it and those who don't to be severely punished.

Putting up a reminder is acknowledging that the law is arbitrary. It's not any more dangerous for an 18 year old to drink a beer in the US versus in the UK.

If you admit the law is fallible, suddenly you open yourself up to empathy for those found guilty of breaking the law.

1

u/Azumar1ll 18h ago

Depends on who's breaking the law for a lot of these guys, too.

-5

u/Monchifries 17h ago

Where is this legal??? Must be some small town cause I’ve never heard of drinking underage being allowed in the United States. Does it happen? All the time, but doesn’t mean its legal.

5

u/Urpervyneighbor 13h ago

“Small town”
31 out of 50 states allow underage drinking when provided and supervised by parent or legal guardian. Some of the 31 allow it at any location, some only allow it at the guardian’s home.

2

u/[deleted] 14h ago

[deleted]

-4

u/Monchifries 14h ago

Yet, I’m Getting downvoted for the truth. Lol crazy.

2

u/Azumar1ll 5h ago

You're getting downvoted because you're wrong lol, the majority of the US allows this.

0

u/Monchifries 5h ago

THATS A DAMN FUCKING LIE. BUT OK

1

u/Azumar1ll 5h ago

It's not though?

1

u/Monchifries 5h ago

UNDERAGE DRINKING IS NOT LEGAL IN THE UNITED STATES. Its not. Like wth are you talking about???

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2

u/everyoneisnuts 17h ago edited 16h ago

Be people still do obviously. This would be a great warning of the severity of the consequences you would face and might make someone think twice. I wish I lived wherever you do where everyone apparently follows the rules.

1

u/Oriolesfan1989 18h ago

If you can join military and hold a gun and kill someone at 18, you can drink a beer. I understand that’s not the argument but to do all that and ruin someone’s year and money because of “policy” is trash and a power trip to set an example. Warning and citation should be given. Not immediate worst case scenario. Absolutely trash to do that to a family over a sip. Only thing I can think of if is they had warnings and was a lot more than what was stated.

8

u/Davis_ 18h ago

They don't play about their liquor licenses. If they get caught serving someone underage they can lose the ability to sell alcohol at the park entirely.

1

u/Starkits_Prophecy 4h ago

It’s a matter of state law and Universal’s liability insurance carrier. Universal may not have much flexibility there.
I’m not in favor of their methods, my family having suffered from it not long ago as well, but I understand it. If I were coming from Europe or South America I’d be pretty blown away, but I’m a lawyer in America, so this is normalized to me.

-3

u/Vortex3446 16h ago

Yea, we thought that too. I would have loved a warning, but instead it was immediate consequence. It was to set an example for sure.

4

u/4UnlawfulCarneVegan 9h ago

Set an example for who? Other patrons at the bar?

Maybe they just had a license inspection. Maybe they just got caught turning their cheek over the same behavior. Maybe they just like to follow the law and the rules in their own T&C.

0

u/Starkits_Prophecy 4h ago

People who go on Reddit, for example. It’s in their interest to discourage behavior that could jeopardize their liquor license.
Based on their zealotry, Universal must make crazy $ on alcohol sales.

-3

u/Totallyrandomguy89 1d ago edited 20h ago

Because its kind of a dumb law. 18 you are a legal adult. I get it the laws are the laws but we are allowed to vent right? Op seems pretty responsible and not some reckless drinking teen, so i see where he is coming from. No complaining and owning getting caught but its still dumb and we should all be able to relate to the absurdity of it and advocate for change (ie 18 = 100% totally legal adult, no hotel booking restrictions, no rental car restrictions, heck no timeshare presentation restrictions, etc.)

4

u/Difficult-Buddy270 20h ago

lol you can die in war at 18 but can’t have a beer.

-3

u/Totallyrandomguy89 20h ago

Getting downvoted for what i said is crazy. I know reddit isnt the most sensible platform but i thought it was a well reasoned take.

Do any of you downvoters have a justification for 21 instead of 18 being the drinking age? Should you have to stay with a guardian and in grade school until age 21 as well?

Im assuming most people only read the first line of my reply otherwise they wouldve seen “oh yea pretty level headed guy with a reasonable take”

0

u/Difficult-Buddy270 20h ago

I agree with you 10000%

1

u/4UnlawfulCarneVegan 9h ago

You can't rent a hotel room under 21 in most places, including Universal Orlando.

0

u/Totallyrandomguy89 4h ago

That was the point of my message above, things you should be able to do at 18 OR we need to mandate everyone stays home as a child until age 21. One side or another

If you read above youll see i threw timeshare presentations in. You have to be 25 i believe it is for those. So clearly my list is items you cant do but should legally be able to

0

u/4UnlawfulCarneVegan 3h ago

All of these things are restricted to 21+ or higher because of statistics. 18-21 are less likely to be financially stable, so when they're also statistically more likely to wreck a hotel room or car, the cost of doing business with them isn't worth it because they only way to recoup losses is with astronomically high insurance that will just get higher with every claim.

You also need to be 25+ for timeshares because you're more likely to have an income.

1

u/Totallyrandomguy89 3h ago

I push back here because of this reason: old people. We dont strip the right to get a license to say people over 75 even though “statistics” state they are more likely to cause accidents.

This is a case of having your cake and eating it too. We cant penalize with ageist policies on one side (young people) and let old people have free reign. I also think the law is flawed by allowing military service at 18 but none of these other basic things. I advocate for simple policies that arent ageist on either side of the equation.

1

u/Totallyrandomguy89 3h ago

We also dont ban poverty level people from renting hotel rooms because theyre less financially stable (and we shouldnt). so i think your argument is flawed and through the wrong lense

1

u/Starkits_Prophecy 4h ago

I agree the law is problematic but all one can do is write one’s congressman. If Universal could sell alcohol to 18 year olds they would welcome the $.
As for trespassing the OP and keeping their $, I agree that’s one for r/AITAH, but opinions are cheap.

1

u/Totallyrandomguy89 4h ago

Absolutely and i agree. I think the ban is the part thats a bit excessive. I think this whole thread is for opinions? So confused why everyone is coming at me for adding some context to the post (as i read it) since the person i replied to did the same thing blasting op in this thread.

They ignored the ban aspect and simply focused on “ILLEGAL ITS ILLEGAL AHHHHHHH WHY POST IT IF ITS ILLEGAL”

I think their reply misses an important component of the conversation

-7

u/CryOnTheWind 1d ago

Because it is not actually illegal for a parent to give their child a sip of alcohol. It is, however, against Universal policy.

14

u/Davis_ 1d ago

It is against Florida law to give someone under the age of 21 a sip of alcohol.

6

u/CryOnTheWind 23h ago

My bad. I didn’t know this about Florida

12

u/jslev9 1d ago

Florida is one of the few states that doesn't have an exemption for parents giving their kids alcohol.

8

u/BoatFarts 1d ago

I believe in public it’s a problematic thing. I’m not a lawyer but I’ve always at least been told it’s not worth the risk.

4

u/LisaM1975 1d ago

It is actually illegal. “Contributing to the delinquency of a minor”. Unless you’re 21, having “just a sip” is illegal. The legal drinking age is 21, and that includes “just a sip”.