It’s no secret that Universal Orlando Resort goes all out for the Holidays. Between garlands galore, the surrounding faux snow (we are in Florida, after all…), lights-a-plenty and, of course, the iconic Christmas tree at Universal Studios Florida, it’s hard to miss the moment when the parks light up in a dazzling display.
But to the untrained eye, it may take a second glance — particularly at the big tree — to notice a small, albeit a bit silly, fixture: a furry squirrel popping in and out, adorned in holiday accessories and baring a strand of blue lights between his teeth.
That squirrel is Earl, and he plays a leading role in Universal Orlando’s holiday ensemble. But have you ever wondered how he got here? What’s his story?
We decided to do some digging (burrowing?) to uncover what we now present to you as the fluffy feature you didn’t know you needed: the origin story of Earl the Squirrel.
A ‘Blue’ Christmas
It takes fine attention to detail to string together the Holidays at Universal — including being able to spot when something seems a little… off. One such moment occurred more than 15 years ago, when the enormous Christmas tree over in the New York area ran into a tiny snag and wouldn’t light up quite right. Puzzled but determined, John Hamaric, vice president of technical entertainment was on the case.
“When we turned on the tree, there were patches of lights that were out,” John recalls. “I asked our Technical Management team to troubleshoot and see what was going on. The next day I get a strand of blue Christmas lights on my desk.”
Turns out, the team had quite the story: one of the techs climbed up the tree and discovered a nest. As they got closer, a squirrel shot out of it, and inside the nest? Blue strands of lights! “We found out that this squirrel had actually bit through the lights,” John says.
The mishap had the team cracking up — thoughts of “why just the blue lights,” and “really? A squirrel?“
For the sake of humoring the larger Entertainment team, John’s team decided to take things one step further by hiding a stuffed squirrel in the Christmas tree and having it move in and out.
Lora Sauls, assistant director of creative development and show diection in Entertainment, recalls when the surprise delight made its mark: “We had all of our talent that year rehearsing around the tree and, all of a sudden, we see this squirrel coming out of the tree. We thought it was so funny!”
It wasn’t long before the inside joke had everyone chattering. Cherishing the cheer the squirrel brought, the Technical Entertainment team bestowed him the official name of “Earl.”
From then on, having a squirrel in our Universal Studios Florida Christmas tree became a holiday tradition for the Entertainment team — and a game for everyone else. “Every year, the Technical Entertainment team put the squirrel in a different place,” Lora says. “Team Members looked for it, Annual Passholders looked for it… You go out there on any opening day of any of the Holidays, and you watch people trying to find Earl.”
Earl the Squirrel quickly captured the hearts of guests and Team Members alike. Then, one Team Member decided to make Earl’s presence even bigger.
Poetry for a Squirrel
Let’s go back about 10 years ago to Mark Dixon’s first day as a team lead for the holiday parade. “My trainer walked me over [to the big tree] and showed me this adorable stuffed squirrel on a robotic arm, and he told me the story of Earl,” says Mark, who is now manager of Universal Creative’s Global Communications team.
Mark loved Earl instantly, and soon began to pursue a path to give his furry friend a bigger spotlight. However, he had no idea at the time that the fateful encounter would become a defining moment in his career journey.
“In 2018, I got wind that Internal Communications was doing an article on Earl,” Mark says. “I told them all about my grand ideas for Earl [as a] holiday character. They were taken by the idea and let me guest-write an article, which became a poem called ‘The Holiday Tail of Earl the Squirrel.’”
That poem helped ignite Earl’s growing influence — and Mark’s career. “I got a role on the Internal Communications team as a result and spent a couple of years building Earl’s brand for Team Members. We saw Earl as a misunderstood, lovable folk hero,” Mark says.
Suddenly Earl wasn’t just an animatronic in a tree; he was a concept with a full-blown persona. Stories shared of his squirrely antics earned him the status of Team Member icon. But his story doesn’t end there.
Unfurling Earl’s Rise to Fame
Back in 2020, Rob Cametti, senior director for visual merchandising and store design, and his team were working on the very first Holiday Tribute Store. However, due to a series of last-minute changes, they found themselves with an entire room that had no design at all. “We decided to create this kitschy, maybe a little bit tacky, Christmas room, but we still didn’t have a theme for it,” Rob says. That’s when the idea of “a very special squirrel out in the tree” struck as the perfect solution.
Immediately, Kevin Kophamer, a concept designer for the Revenue Operations Team, got pulled into the project and was tasked with creating a sketch of Earl. That simple sketch, reminiscent of a classic caricature, transformed into the face of the Earl we know today.
With that, the Tribute Store started coming together: “We came up with the tree farm idea […} and kind of just made a whole theme around the squirrel and gave him a little personality,” says Rob. At that point, Earl was already a legend among Team Members and Annual Passholders. But to the guests? Not yet. The grand opening of the Tribute Store would be Earl’s official debut to the wider world.
“The guests walked in, looked around and were like ‘Earl the Squirrel? We LOVE Earl the Squirrel,’ says Rob. “I didn’t realize there was a built-in fan base for this character already.” Soon, Earl was on merchandise that sold like hotcakes (or acorns, if you’re a squirrel).
The rest is history. “Each year we’ve expanded his personality and his presence, not only in the [Tribute] Store but in the park,” says Rob. “Team Members and fans have really gotten behind him to make him who he is today.”
It wasn’t long before guests started asking about Earl’s backstory, which ultimately led to the development of a dedicated Earl the Squirrel storybook (brand-new this year!)
Earl, the Universal Studios Florida Icon of the Holidays
Looking back to how this story started, let’s be honest — who could’ve predicted that Earl would become as big as he is today?
“Actually,” John says, “I thought someone was going to get in trouble for putting the squirrel out there [in the Christmas tree], unauthorized. And then boom, it was huge.”
Lora credits Earl’s rise to the collaboration of so many different teams: “Visual Merchandise, Entertainment, Marketing, Food and Beverage, Costuming…All of that came together to create what is the icon of the Holiday program at Universal Studios Florida.”
Rob adds: “It’s that one little idea that has grown each and every year, and it became something that is very important for our guests and our Team Members. If we never would have tried Earl in the Tribute Store, I don’t think we would’ve had the holiday icon that we have today.”
Mark feels like it’s a dream come true. “I haven’t looked at my ancestry, but I’m pretty sure I’m part squirrel. I think everybody sees the holiday charm in Earl and it’s amazing.”
Earl represents more than just the holiday spirit; he is the epitome of joy, passion and creative minds coming together at Universal Orlando.
Want to watch Earl’s story as it evolved over the years? Click here to see his journey from happy holiday mishap to full-blown fame.
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