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Credit: UniversalResellers have been an issue with the Disney and Universal community for years. They rose to infamy with the Figment popcorn bucket that was offered during EPCOT’s Festival of the Arts last year, but they’ve struck with several seasonal or limited time merchandise items. Fans of Splash Mountain were devastated when items disappeared from shelves only to pop up on eBay at a major markup.
It seems they’ve struck again, but this time they hit Universal Orlando. It was announced last month that Poseidon’s Fury in Islands of Adventure would be closing on May 9, 2023. This announcement came less than a year after the attraction reopened after an extensive (and expensive) refurbishment. While the news wasn’t a surprise to many fans who had seen the decline in attendance and interest for the attraction, it was still a blow to those who recognize it as the last non-IP attraction in the Park.
In memorial of the attraction, Universal released a “Final Tour” shirt that went viral online on social media. The shirt was released just a few days ago, and as of today is completely sold out online and in the Parks. Rumor has it that the Park will not be restocking the item, and fans are furious at the speed with which the shirts were gone.
UPDATE: It does appear that the shirt is currently out of stock for all sizes. They are hoping to get more in stock at the store in the park I am hearing, so hopefully more show up online as well. Try again later, y'all!
— Alicia Stella (@AliciaStella) May 2, 2023
“Sad to see Poseidon’s Fury shirts gone so quick but I think that speaks to the lack of restrictions on Universal’s part AND the fact that this ride hasn’t had merch for the better part of two decades and same goes for Lost Continent as a whole,”said @DreamportProds. As @espionagevrJeff said, “Universal Orlando dropped the ball big time on the Poseidon‘s Fury shirts.” While the attraction hasn’t been as popular with Guests in the last few years, it still seems to have had a pretty solid fan base. As the last existing original attraction in Islands of Adventure, its closing signifies the end of an era for the Park as every attraction is now based on a Universal-owned IP or franchise.
The bigger issue is that even though both Universal and Disney are well aware of resellers, neither Park has taken strong enough measures to put a stop to it. Hopefully Universal will release another set of the commemorative shirts and either release offer more stock in the future or crack down on resellers however possible.
Do you think Universal suffers from a reseller problem? Let Inside the Magic know your thoughts in the comments below!