10 Easter Eggs and References in the New Holiday Tribute Store at Universal Studios Florida
With Holiday festivities officially set to kick off on Friday, November 21 at Universal Orlando Resort, the Holiday Tribute Store opened a day early for Universal Orlando Annual Passholders. And of course, in addition to a large collection of must-have holiday merchandise, the store is also packed full Easter eggs, references and nods to Universal lore.
Let's take a look at 10 Easter eggs featured in this year's Holiday Tribute Store:
Gerg: The Movie
Of course, the Tirbute Store is once again filled with references to and images of both Earl the Squirrel and Gerg the Llama, as both have gone from subtle references to holiday icons for Universal Studios Florida in recent years. So I wouldn't include simple appearances from them in a list of Easter eggs. However, a reference to "Gerg: The Movie" in a newspaper clipping is worth mentioning. We are one step closer to Earl and Gerg becoming actual animated characters.
Jurassic Park and Jaws
Universal loves to leave us subtle nods to their classic movies in the Tribute Stores and this year is no exception. The first room in the new store is a toy shop, with tons to look at. And on one of the shelves, just before entering the next room, you can find dinosaur and shark toys, clearly references to Jurassic Park and Jaws.
Bigfoot
Universal also loves to leave nods to Tribute Stores past. Not too far from the dinosaur and shark toys, you might just spot Bigfoot himself. This would be a nod to this year's Mardi Gras Tribute store, which was themed as a cryptid museum.
Mega Video
Continuing with the theme of references to Tribute Stores past, posters can be found around the new store that mention decor being sponsored by Mega Video. This is a nod to last year's Summer Tribute store, which lived to see the end of 2024, in this same location. It was themed to an old video store/arcade/movie theater.
In fact, the old store's mascot - Mr. Tape - can also be found donning a Santa hat and holding a candy cane.
And, in probably the most subtle nod in the whole store, some of the familiar carpet from the arcade portion of the store lives on as well.
Universal Monsters
While there are more nutcrackers around this new store than I cared to count, there are definitely some that stand out. Most notably, are a couple that resemble classic Universal Monsters. Gillman and Frankenstein's monster are both prominently featured.
Dark Universe
And while we're on the topic of Universal Monsters, it looks like Earl made a visit to Epic Universe recently. Photos around a section of the store depict Earl collecting nutcrackers from his various adventures. One of these photos, shows him finding the aforementioned Frankenstein's monster nutcracker in Dark Universe at the newest Universal park.
Defying Gravity
On Earl and Gerg's wall of nutcrackers, you can see one that is hanging upside down, with the caption "Look Ma! No Gravity!" written next to it. The nutcracker also happens to be a witch. And with the Wicked Experience open just down the street from the Tribute Store, it doesn't take much to figure this one out. This little reference will likely be, dare I say, popular.
Volcano Bay
Next to a vacation-ready nutcracker, you can spot a drawing of a familiar Easter Island statue, just like the ones found at Universal Volcano Bay right next door. An Easter Island Easer egg? Is that allowed?
More Jurassic Park
Seriously, there are a lot of nutcrackers in this store. Some of them are references to Jurassic Park. In fact, many of them were featured in Earl's March of the Nutcrackers, a scavenger hunt featuring these giant holiday icons hidden around both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Islands of Adventure. Several of these were found in the Jurassic Park section of Islands of Adventure and now you can find them in this store.
Year Established
We'll end on a simple one. Heading into the final section (yes, the one with all the nutcrackers), you will find a sign welcoming you to Earl & Gerg's Nutcracker Lodge and Emporium & Museum & Car Wash (pick a lane, guys). The sign also says the, um, business was established in 1990. That would be a reference to the year in which Universal Studios Florida opened.
The Holidays at Universal Orlando run from November 21 through January 4, 2026.