Universal Orlando Resort is set to open a new Minions Land at Universal Studios Florida this summer. The centerpiece of the land will be the brand new attraction Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast. But there's going to be a lot more coming, including several new dining locations that will have everything from soup and sandwiches to banana-flavored popcorn. Yes, banana-flavored popcorn
A lot of the new information surrounding Minion Land that Universal Orlando Resort did release today concerns the various food offerings, and they all sound pretty incredible. The Minion Cafe will be the centerpiece eatery, with different themed rooms, The Kitchen, The Breakroom, and the Dining Room, where guests can sit and enjoy their food. It sounds a lot like the Toadstool Cafe from the new Super Nintendo World in California One item of note is the Steak and Cheese Ray Sandwich, which appears to have potato chips that are cut to look like banana peels.
And speaking of bananas. If you like bananas, then banana-flavored popcorn will be available at the Pop-A-Nana popcorn stand. Yes, it sounds weird as hell, but it's been available at Universal Studios Japan for some time and I've been told by people who I'm fairly certain are not insane that it's actually quite delicious.
Baked treats will be available at the Bake My Day shop, and popsicles and other cool treats, sure to be a hit in the Florida sun, will be on offer at Freeze Ray Pops.
Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast
Officially, there's a lot that we don't know about what the new attraction is or how it will work, but one thing that we did know is that it's actually not a ride. We knew that Minion Blast was going to be a competitive shooting-style attraction, in the vein of Men in Black: Alien Attack, but last year rumors that had been going around were confirmed that rather than using a traditional ride vehicle, guests will stand on a moving walkway.
This morning's info from Universal Orlando didn't give us much in the way of new details regarding Minion Blast, but it did provide a piece of art that shows a couple of kids holding the plastic blasters while standing on a moving walkway.
The story will see guests attending Villain-Con and competing to see if they have what it takes to join The Vicious 6, the group of supervillains from Minions: The Rise of Gru. The attraction will combine screen technology with physical sets which should be fun, as most rides of this type either use one or the other.
The decision to move away from a traditional ride vehicle may seem minor but it has the potential to really add to the fun of an attraction like Minion Blast. Guests will just have a freedom of movement that they're not used to having on a theme park attraction. One assumes there will be some barriers to prevent guests from crashing into each other, but even being able to freely spin around will be nice.
The final new element of the Minion Land will be the Illumination Theater, which will be home to character meet-and-greet opportunities. In addition to the expected Minions characters, like Gru and his family, guests will also get to meet several characters from the Sing franchise, who will be making their Universal Orlando debut.
Minion Blast will replace the popular Shrek 4-D theater that closed in January 2022. It's just one of several popular and long-served attractions that have been wrapping up their time at Universal Orlando Resort. Most recently the Poseidon's Fury attraction closed, what will replace that has yet to be announced.
