Captain Cacao’s delightful debut at Epic Universe: a must-do character meet and greet
Universal Orlando is rolling out another super-sweet character to coincide with the first anniversary of its Epic Universe park, and the debut of the fabled – and super-cuddly – Captain Cacao is all set for May 22. Here we share the history of this character and where to meet him inside Universal Epic Universe.
The character appearance of Captain Cacao, a chocolate bear and resident of the Moonship Chocolates & Celestial Sweets shop in the classy retail plaza at the front of the park, is finally here. Fans have eagerly hoped for an in-park experience since he was first mentioned back in March 2025 as one of the foundational characters of the Celestial Park hub of Epic Universe.
The news came via the Universal Orlando Instagram account on May 18, which revealed, “The marshmallow stars have aligned. Captain Cacao has arrived and is ready to meet you at Universal Epic Universe! Be sure to find the Captain in Celestial Park starting May 22nd.”
From Universal Orlando
There is an additional note that “Character appearance subject to change,” but we fully expect the Captain to be highly visible as Epic Universe begins its second year.
Captain Cacao’s history
The loveable plush bear was originally highlighted in one of Attraction Magazine’s preview stories ahead of the park’s opening last year, as well as in a Discover Universal blog in August 2025, which revealed the creative team behind the all-new original characters for the Celestial Park area.
And, while the chocolates and other candies of the Moonship shop are a tasty treat for Epic guests, the plush Captain Cacao has been just as eagerly sought after by the park’s fanbase. With the character himself making personal appearances, fan enthusiasm for the chocolate bear has gone into overdrive.
From Universal Orlando
In response to the Instagram post, one fan replied, “Now I have to rush to Epic Universe to meet him!” While another added, “OMG is this for real?! I’ve been hoping for more Captain Cacao presence, and I CANNOT WAIT to meet him!”
When Universal first unveiled the Celestial Park section of Epic Universe, it came with a full array of essential back-stories as well as original characters to add to the eye-catching designs. Captain Cacao was revealed as the face of Moonship Chocolates & Celestial Sweets, which was itself designed to look like a moonship, the marshmallow airship Joei de Ganache.
View this beautiful shop in our YouTube video below.
Celestial Park legend explains that the moonship belongs to Maya of the Skies, who travels the cosmos in search of the most delicious candies and confections to bring back to the Epic Universe hub area. Maya met Captain Cacao and the two quickly became best friends, with the bear offering to be her navigator for all her future travels.
Visitors to the magnificent candy store should note the three doors on one wall of the shop, the first of which is for Maya, the second, smaller one for Captain Cacao, and a really small third door for M.L., or Major Lolli, who helps to keep the moonship spick and span.
Meet and greet location
There is no word from Universal as to exactly where visitors will be able to meet Captain Cacao and have photos taken with him.
During a team member event on May 18, 2026, at Epic Universe, Captain Cacao made a surprise appearance for his first-ever meet and greet. Team members lined up for hours to meet this plushy pal in real life, and the reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
“I love that characters like Figment, the Orange Bird, and now Captain Cacao prove that original theme park characters are insanely popular with guests,” commented @Skeletondance0o on X (formerly Twitter).
During that preview, Captain Cacao arrived through one of the main backstage gates of Celestial Park and toddled over to a designated outcove along the main pathway between Super Nintendo World and Dark Universe.
A stop inside Moonship Chocolates & Celestial Sweets shows the beautifully presented array of macarons, chocolates, truffles, fudge, cupcakes, cake pops, and Captain Cacao-shaped chocolate sugar cookies, plus chocolate and caramel-dipped apples. And, from the moment guests step inside, they are hailed as “explorers,” as team members play an active role in immersing guests in the Celestial Park narrative. They are liable to share stories of Maya and Captain Cacao, as well as add in fun facts about the ingredients and recipes from their travels.
From May 22, that will now include Captain Cacao himself, and we fully expect sales of the plush version of the Captain to once again be a hot souvenir item this summer!
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