What Is The Truth Of The Pizza Moon To Go Box Controversy At Epic Universe? A Saga

Controversy among theme park fans is nothing new. I write frequently about fans upset that a favorite ride is closing or frustrated that the final version of a new attraction doesn’t look as cool as the concept art did. But sometimes the controversy gets a little ridiculous. The most recent controversy has been focused on the world’s newest theme park, Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe. No, not any of Epic Universe's amazing rides, its pizza boxes, or lack thereof.

If you already know what I’m talking about, you’re already shaking your head in disbelief. If you don’t, you’re a very lucky human being. Needless to say, if you thought adult theme park fans were embarrassing before, get ready for it all to go to another level. As a member of the Theme Park Twittersphere put it…

Ok, Professor Leisure. Challenge Accepted.

Epic Universe’s Pizza Moon Didn’t Have Pizza Boxes

This bizarre controversy started last week when a story and a related Twitter post from Universal Parks News Today stated that Pizza Moon, the pizza place found in Celestial Park at Epic Universe and de facto best theme park pizza in Orlando following the closure of the iconic PizzeRizzo, was “dine-in only” and that the restaurant had no boxes for leftover pizza. What’s more, they would not allow guests to take their pizza outside at all.

The story claimed that to-go boxes at Pizza Moon had previously been offered, but a quick look at social media shows a lot of people asking for boxes to exist as early as the week after Epic Universe opened to the general public. So, this has been the restaurant's policy from early on, if not the very beginning.

To-go boxes are a pretty standard part of pizza restaurants, and they’re usually available in any restaurant in theme parks as well, so the lack of them was certainly odd. This is especially the case considering Epic Universe has the Helios Grand Hotel attached to it, and some might want to take pizza back to their rooms.

Pizza Moon Now Has Pizza Boxes

But our long national nightmare is now over, because a post from Orlando Informer, as seen in the post above, confirms that as of at least June 24, pizza boxes are available at Pizza Moon. It also specifies that the boxes were “manufactured prior to the park opening.”

This is where things get increasingly controversial, and also silly, as the “manufactured prior to the park opening” comment would seem to be specifically meant to make it clear that the existence of boxes today has nothing to do with any articles last week. Those responsible for the article are, of course, claiming credit for having brought boxes to Pizza Moon by drawing attention to the issue.

If we take the Orlando Informer statement at face value, then it seems boxes were made earlier, and simply not available for some unclear reason. I reached out to Universal Orlando Resort for comment, but have not heard back. I'll update this story if that changes.

Even if we assume boxes weren’t in production until later, a lot of people were asking for boxes on social media, and one assumes a lot more were doing it in person, so it’s possible those requests, and not a single news article, were responsible for getting boxes made. Or maybe it was an angry Twitter post. Does it actually matter?

The good news for all involved is that now, for whatever reason, you can get a pizza box at Pizza Moon. The bad news is you now know the saga of Pizza Moon’s pizza boxes. I am so, so sorry.