Epic Universe has some of the most advanced rides Universal Orlando has ever built, but somehow one of the park’s biggest fan-favorite additions is a giant blue chocolate bear.
And now guests are finally going to be able to meet him.
Universal Orlando has confirmed that Captain Cacao will officially begin appearing in Celestial Park starting May 22, giving Epic Universe fans a brand-new character meet-and-greet experience almost exactly one year after the park first opened.
NEW: Captain Cacao will begin meeting guests in Celestial Park at Universal Epic Universe starting May 22. pic.twitter.com/XNC8mtrhkL
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) May 18, 2026
For longtime visitors, this announcement has been a long time coming.
Captain Cacao became one of the unexpected breakout stars of Epic Universe almost immediately after the park debuted. Even though the character was originally tied mostly to Moonship Chocolates & Celestial Sweets, guests quickly became obsessed with the bear’s design, backstory, and merchandise.
The character stands out the moment you see him. Captain Cacao wears a bright blue captain’s outfit with orange details and has a white star around one eye. The design feels playful, weird, and completely different from the movie-based characters Universal usually focuses on.
That uniqueness matters.
Modern theme parks are filled with familiar franchises. Guests can meet Mario, Harry Potter characters, Minions, and classic Universal Monsters across Universal Orlando. Captain Cacao, though, is something entirely original created specifically for Celestial Park.
Fans noticed that immediately.
Universal’s official backstory says Captain Cacao travels the universe alongside Maya of the Skies searching for unique sweets using a moonship powered by marshmallow stars. Somehow, despite sounding completely ridiculous on paper, the story clicked with fans online.
The merchandise success probably surprised Universal too.
Captain Cacao plushes reportedly sold out multiple times throughout Epic Universe’s first year. Guests regularly posted online about hunting for the merchandise or trying to track down restocks inside the park. What looked like a small side character slowly turned into one of the defining symbols of Celestial Park itself.
Now Universal appears ready to lean much further into that popularity.
The timing actually feels smart. During Epic Universe’s early months, most guest traffic centered around the park’s biggest attractions like Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry or SUPER NINTENDO WORLD. Universal likely did not want another massive crowd draw inside Celestial Park while operations were still stabilizing.
But now, one year later, the park is beginning to evolve.
Adding Captain Cacao as a meet-and-greet experience gives guests another reason to spend time exploring Celestial Park instead of simply walking through it on the way to another land. That kind of addition can completely change how families experience an area of the park.
And fans are already reacting exactly how Universal probably hoped.
Social media immediately filled with excitement, jokes, and requests for even more Captain Cacao content. Some fans even started joking about the character eventually receiving his own attraction somewhere inside Epic Universe.
Honestly, stranger things have happened in theme parks.
Disney turned characters like Figment and Orange Bird into massive icons largely because guests connected with them emotionally. Universal may now have discovered its own version of that kind of original mascot success.
The biggest surprise in all of this may simply be how naturally Captain Cacao fits into Epic Universe’s identity.
In a park filled with giant franchises and billion-dollar intellectual properties, one goofy chocolate-loving bear somehow became one of the things guests talk about most.
And starting May 22, fans will finally get to meet him in person.
