We all love to see our favorite characters from cartoons or movies in a theme park. Getting a chance to hug a favorite character can be a legitimately emotional experience. There’s something perhaps even more special about those characters that are original to a theme park. Universal Orlando has created some incredibly memorable characters through Halloween Horror Nights. It calls the the likes of Dr. Oddfellow and Jack the Clown "icons," but for any that prefer Christmas to Halloween, and I do, the true “icon” of Universal Orlando is Earl the Squirrel, the mascot for the Christmas season.
But why exactly is Universal Orlando’s original holiday character a squirrel in an ugly Christmas sweater and no pants? I have wondered exactly that in the past, but on my recent trip to experience Universal Orlando’s holidays for the first time, I learned exactly where Earl the Squirrel came from. Assistant Director of Creative Development Lora Sauls told the story of Earl, who is based on an actual squirrel that ended up in the Universal Orlando Christmas tree several years ago. She explained…
