A Universal Orlando guest wore Minnie Mouse ears to the park and was confronted by Shrek's interactive Donkey character. Donkey is a character from the popular Shrek franchise voiced by Eddie Murphy. The Shrek 4D ride was a motion simulator ride that opened up at Universal Studios Florida in June 2003, acting as a connecting film between the releases of Shrek and Shrek 2. Lord Farquaad comes back as a ghost and tries to steal Fiona from Shrek once again. Despite DreamWorks being bought by NBCUniversal back in 2016, the Orlando theme park just closed the ride on January 10. However, Donkey's meet and greet remains open.
Universal and Disney have always had a competitive relationship, and Universal has been known to make fun of Disney on its social media pages. Universal Studios Florida opened in June 1990 in order to compete with the Orlando market that was dominated by the Walt Disney World Resort. In response to the Universal park coming, Disney quickly produced their own studio park, then called Disney MGM Studios. They opened their park in May 1989, more than a year ahead of Universal Studios Florida. Since then, Universal has grown and now makes up 25% of Orlando's market share.
As seen in a TikTok video from Sarah Barkley, Donkey scolds a Universal guest for wearing Minnie Mouse ears into the competing park. The puppet points out how disrespectful it is to all of Universal's characters to wear such a hat into Universal Studios Florida. Donkey joked that the lady had one job, yet instead ended up insulting all of the characters at the park.
After the funny altercation with Donkey, it was clear that the park attendee wasn't offended as she smiled and filmed herself with the character that was so ashamed of her. While the rides and attractions are obviously the main reason most people visit Universal Studios, the character actors also have the ability to leave an impact on visitors. Whether it is simply taking a picture with someone or having a funny conversation like the one in this TikTok, the workers at Universal Studios have the opportunity to give fans a lasting memory of the time at the park.
It is not surprising that the Donkey character would speak so poorly of the Walt Disney Company. The Shrek movies are known for parodying Disney fairy tales. There was even a sign in the attraction that read "The Happiest Totalitarian Dictatorship on Earth." Underneath it read, "well, second at least.". This was a reference to Disney's classic slogan "Happiest Place on Earth." The two companies have been competing for years but that just makes things better for the fans. This has encouraged them to produce some beloved new attractions, such as The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge.
Source: Sarah Barkley