Wednesday, August 9, 2023 - 01:01
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Minion Land, Universal

The confirmation is finally here, Universal has announced that the official grand opening of Minions Land and Villain-Con Minion Blast is Friday August 11, 2023.

Management Team Members, Executives and regular Team Members had the opportunity to test Villain-Con Minion Blast on July 12 and it then soft opened to guests on July 15, check out our full review, Villain-Con Minion Blast Isn't a Ride, But it Is Fun!

Villian Con Minion Blast, Universal
Image: Bioreconstruct

On June 20, Minion Land soft opened at Universal Studios Florida and there were instantly reports of it looks amazing! Apart from the headlining new attraction, Villain-Con Minion Blast where construction walls were still up, it appeared that the whole rest of the area has been open including the Minion Cafe, Bake My Day, Freeze Ray Pops, Pop-A-Nana, Marquee Dining Location and the Illumination Theater. 

 PCDev has posted a full tour video on YouTube which is embedded below. 

This new Minions cafe is highly themed giving you the feel that you are inside the Minions break room. It offers a range of entrees, kids option, deserts and speciality drinks. The vivid yellow tables and chairs certainly immerse you in the Minion world and the attention to detail can be seen everywhere.

Banana popcorn is indeed being offered at Pop-A-Nana and the blueberry and banana Minion Pop from Freeze Ray Pops is definitely a must for any Minion fan. At the Illumination Theater guests get to see the stars of Sing and of course the Minions! Let us know your thoughts on this newly opened land at Universal Studios Florida by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.

Minions Cafe, Universal
Image: Universal

If you want to check out the menu for Minions Cafe and prices, visit universalparksblog.com. There certainly looks to be a stellar line up of options available to guests. Let us know what you are most looking forward to in the comments below. We particularly like the sound of Mel’s Meatball Mountain, Uncle Dru’s Belly Fillin’ Pork Sandwich, Otto’s Noodle Bowl and Fluffy Unicorn Cupcake.

With progress being made at lightning speed we wonder if we will see the headlining attraction, Villain-Con Minion Blast, soft opening ready for the busy July 4th holiday. Still, nothing has been officially confirmed yet regarding Villain-Con Minion Blast but we hope to be able to bring you an update on this very soon.

Earlier this week, we brought you a photo update from Bioreconstruct of the finishing touches that have been put in place on the Minions Cafe. We absolutely love the attention to detail on the lettering which can be seen in the tweet below.

You can also see the exterior of Freeze Ray Pops in the tweet below from Alicia Stella which also looks completed and ready to open. The colors are so bright and vibrant and the whole area looks set to be a fantastic addition to Universal Studios Florida.

According to Screamscape, last week Villian-Con Minion Blast team members had the opportunity to test run this new attraction. This is certainly an exciting step forward in the journey towards opening.

The official gift shop for Villian-Con Minion Blast, 'Evil Stuff' also opened last week. It is decorated with a whole host of Minion statues and is stuffed full of Minions merchandise including clothes, bags, water bottles and cuddly Minion toys. For a full look, check out the walk-through video which has been posted to YouTube by Universal Parks News Today and is embedded below.

At the beginning of June we brought you the photo updates below from Bioreconstruct showing the work being done on the exteriors of the buildings including the Minions Cafe and Bake My Day bakery. Here is another photo showing work being done behind the construction walls.

Everything points to Universal gearing up for an opening very soon as the finishing touches are being put into place. We still await confirmation of an official opening date for the new Illuminations Minions Land which includes the headlining attraction Villian-Con Minion Blast and the Minions Cafe.

In a video posted from Rix Flix at the beginning of June, we can see how the new Illumination's Minion Land currently looks (time stamp 45 seconds). All construction fences are still up surrounding the new headlining attraction, Villian-Con Minion Blast and the Minions Cafe. As the summer is indeed now officially upon us, it is speculated that employee testing will begin very soon if it hasn't done so already.

Further photos were posted at the end of May on twitter by Bioreconstruct showing the progress that has been made and what the land currently looks like. These are embedded below. It is very exciting to see this new land coming to life at Universal Studios Florida and we shouldn't have too much longer to wait for an official opening date.

As you can see from the posts above, there is lots of work being done including painting, work on the exterior of the Minions Cafe and the finishing touches being put on the walls of Illumination Ave in the form of custom paintings. We are expecting the new sign which is currently in place but covered for the Minions Cafe up will be uncovered very soon. We will continue to update you on developments and will bring you the official opening date for the new Illumination's Minion Land when it is announced.

In an exciting tweet posted by Universal Orlando Resort a couple of weeks ago, we got to see new concept art of the exterior of the Minion's Cafe and the street which includes Bake My Day which will serve sweet treats and Pop-A-Nana which will have Freeze Ray Pops and sweet and savoury popcorn on offer.

Illumination's Villian-Con Minion Blast which will be the headlining attraction in this new land is also set to open this summer. It will see guests joining Belle Bottom, Jean Clawed and the rest of the Vicious 6 to "blast your way to supervillain stardom." You can see how this attraction currently looks including the vivid purple and orange colors from the tweet below posted by Bioreconstruct.

The current, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem will complete the line up in this new land which should quickly become a favorite area for families as well as all you other Minion fans out there.

Minons Villian-Con Blast, Universal
Image: Universal

 
Natalie SimView Profile

Co-founder of the site alongside her amazing Husband Nick who had the vision and inspiration to create Theme Park Tourist from scratch. Natalie has always been amazed by theme parks and thinks nothing beats walking around a Disney Park soaking up the sights, sounds and magical atmosphere hand in hand with the ones she loves.

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Comments

Submitted by Jamie Fisher (not verified) on Friday, June 24, 2022 - 14:48

This was my family’s favorite restaurant on the entire Universal property. I can’t tell you how sad I am about it leaving. My hope is that there will be multiple dining spots in the new Classic Monster land at Epic Universe. The best part of this restaurant was being able to choose which room you wanted to eat in that day.

Submitted by Lori (not verified) on Monday, June 20, 2022 - 23:45

I have just heard of this closing and am voting a resounding NO!! to the retheme. The Classic Monsters are one thing that has made Universal what it is and I implore Universal to reconsider. There are enough Minions. We need more Classic Monsters!

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