Villain-Con Minion Blast (General Discussion)

[graspthesun]

I love that the outdoor queue is gone. Should open the walkway up a bit. Also makes for some hidey-holes for scareactors.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

On the contrary-- USO actually IS a studio theme park and is used for filming. It is what it always was designed to be, a showcase of a variety of movie themed attractions all connected by an overarching studio theme. Unlike DHS which has evolved into nothing but a theme park, USO is utilized for outside productions.

I’m not in disagreement with the premise of your argument but surely you see the irony in the fact that the examples you linked were filmed in the elaborately themed part of the New York section, and had absolutely nothing to do with the soundstages the Despicable Me rides are in lol

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I'd prefer if the flats were 3D figures a la the Minions sign and I hope trees come to the area. Otherwise looks good and refreshed.

 

[salismetho]

I feel both things. On the one hand, this fits the theme, and is a nice refresh compared to what was here before. On the other hand it's strange to me that, to put it bluntly, just like with Minion Mayhem they have a far more elaborate facade planned for future iterations of this attraction. Just a shame that USF has to get held back like this once again

 

[Casper Gutman]

Taken as a “refresh” - It looks worse than it did as Shrek. It’s much more visually cluttered, the awning is significantly uglier, and the entry arch is very similar in size and aesthetic. (The Cafe looks a lot better then it used to).

The first Minions movie had an entire sequence at a Villain-Con in Orlando - it felt like the set up for an attraction. This uses none of that filmic inspiration. The convention hall in the film, if I recall correctly, was hidden beneath a shack, so a direct translation wasn’t possible, but it would have been funny (and made use of the sound stages size) to have the convention be badly hidden - maybe the entrance facade is “Ice Cream Stand that is Absolutely Not a Secret Passage to Villain-Con” and the entire huge structure is covered in comically awful attempts to hide it. Honestly, almost anything would be less lazy then this.

 

[TheUniC6]

It's a shame that the next Villain-Con installation will have a 10x better facade and exterior theming, isn't it?

VCMB is a small attraction and probably not that expensive to put together. Heck, if it weren't for all the supply chain issues, it could have very well been open last year. Which makes me wonder, if the reception is good, and Universal decides to port it to other parks like say USH and USJ what is the likelihood they could have those versions open in 2024? USH now has an off year in 2024 due to the F&F coaster being pushed back to 2025 and Japan is down three attractions when Spiderman closes in Jan 2024. Maybe this could be a filler attraction for those parks taking over the Walking Dead in USH and Backdraft in USJ.

 

[salismetho]

Which makes me wonder, if the reception is good, and Universal decides to port it to other parks like say USH and USJ what is the likelihood they could have those versions open in 2024?

0%

 

[TheUniC6]

0%

Maybe 2025? For USH even though this won't happen 2024 would be a great time to do a new DWT film. USJ is sitting pretty next year however with DK to make up for the loss of Spiderman along with the recently confirmed to be dead Backdraft and T23D.

 

[Rhian]

I don't know how I feel for sure about the cutouts. I get the idea though looking at it installed like that somehow seems 'off'. It would've been nice if instead of the cut-outs we got a different costumed character villain stand next to their poster throughout the day but I imagine that's what the meet-n-greet will do (sort of like Transformers)? On that train of thought the cut-outs look like they were perfect for the concept art as stand-ins for actual costume characters.

The rest of the "mini-ion land" looks amazing and I really like the pop of color where it was rather drab.



Might be weird to focus on but I really like the print quality on the posters. It shows up really well in the photos so in person they're probably fantastic.

 

[TheUniC6]

I don't know how I feel for sure about the cutouts. I get the idea though looking at it installed like that somehow seems 'off'. It would've been nice if instead of the cut-outs we got a different costumed character villain stand next to their poster throughout the day but I imagine that's what the meet-n-greet will do (sort of like Transformers)? On that train of thought the cut-outs look like they were perfect for the concept art as stand-ins for actual costume characters.

The rest of the "mini-ion land" looks amazing and I really like the pop of color where it was rather drab.



Might be weird to focus on but I really like the print quality on the posters. It shows up really well in the photos so in person they're probably fantastic.

Looking at the exterior of the ride and you can see the entrance into "Evil Stuff" is right where the entrance into the second Shrek preshow used to be. And next to it is an authorized personnel door. With the second Shrek theater that was open prior to Shrek closing for good in early 2022 being converted into that black box for HHN houses, maybe this could be either an entry or exit point for that flex space? And the fact that walls are down makes me think the attraction testing is going decently. Maybe they will make a July opening?

 

[OLSinFLA]

I’m not in disagreement with the premise of your argument but surely you see the irony in the fact that the examples you linked were filmed in the elaborately themed part of the New York section, and had absolutely nothing to do with the soundstages the Despicable Me rides are in lol

If you showed the interior of the soundstage it wouldn't look like one -- it would be a set. But the soundstages are used for productions - "David Makes Man" was filmed there recently.

 

[Nick]

On the contrary-- USO actually IS a studio theme park and is used for filming. It is what it always was designed to be, a showcase of a variety of movie themed attractions all connected by an overarching studio theme. Unlike DHS which has evolved into nothing but a theme park, USO is utilized for outside productions.

It's still used for filming every once in awhile, but the theme of the rides built in recent years has nothing to do with the Studio theme. The additions over the past decade have only served to get rid of "Studio" theming actually. Fallon, F&F, Transformers, Fear Factor closure, etc all replaced or removed Studio theming. Also, the "Soundstage" buildings in question as a part of the Minion Land have never even been real soundstages.

Yes, there is a Studio next door to the park. There's also a Studio next door to IOA. The Studio being there doesn't mean that's the theme of the park. Just because "Studios" is in the park name means nothing Universal Studios is simply the name of the company's film branch. If "Studio" being in a park name meant anything then DHS is a Studio park. We know that's not true. Why is it so hard to accept for USF? To me it's plainly obvious.

 

[Alicia]

Me seeing pics yesterday but not online much: Cool! I can get a photo with Vector. I wasn’t expecting these, but works for the convention theme to get us excited about the villains.

Me catching up the forums: Oh, I guess I was supposed to hate it?

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Me seeing pics yesterday but not online much: Cool! I can get a photo with Vector. I wasn’t expecting these, but works for the convention theme to get us excited about the villains.

Me catching up the forums: Oh, I guess I was supposed to hate it?

Alicia you know if universal is adding any extra grass to the land?

 

[Alicia]

Alicia you know if universal is adding any extra grass to the land?

It’ll be good for touching?

 

[Jwhee]

It's still used for filming every once in awhile, but the theme of the rides built in recent years has nothing to do with the Studio theme. The additions over the past decade have only served to get rid of "Studio" theming actually. Fallon, F&F, Transformers, Fear Factor closure, etc all replaced or removed Studio theming. Also, the "Soundstage" buildings in question as a part of the Minion Land have never even been real soundstages.

Yes, there is a Studio next door to the park. There's also a Studio next door to IOA. The Studio being there doesn't mean that's the theme of the park. Just because "Studios" is in the park name means nothing Universal Studios is simply the name of the company's film branch. If "Studio" being in a park name meant anything then DHS is a Studio park. We know that's not true. Why is it so hard to accept for USF? To me it's plainly obvious.

Fallon is quite literally themed to a TV studio.. Today Cafe also has that studio theme to it
and now VCMB is themed to a sound stage

So it appears the studio theme, while dwindled down, is not totally dead

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Fallon is quite literally themed to a TV studio.. Today Cafe also has that studio theme to it
and now VCMB is themed to a sound stage

So it appears the studio theme, while dwindled down, is not totally dead

And as I've pointed out in the past, the entrance area is still themed as a movie studio with the camera gear store (Universal Photos), props (lost and found), VIP (guest relations), etc. I'm all for redoing the entrance but lets not pretend it isn't a MASSIVE project that would take most of a year to complete and cost a ton of money only to add... nothing new. We are attaching a lot of expectations and hopes on a small C ticket attraction.

 

[Nick]

Fallon is quite literally themed to a TV studio.. Today Cafe also has that studio theme to it
and now VCMB is themed to a sound stage

So it appears the studio theme, while dwindled down, is not totally dead

Fallon is themed after his New York audience Studio, bc that’s the only logical way to start any Fallon ride. It’s not like the ride is teaching you about how TV is made. It’s just a simulator like Minion Mayhem themed to The Tonight Show.

And they made an ugly soundstage building look great as a part of that ride being built, something that’s not happening here. Everything they did during that is what people are calling for here. An actual facade being built at least on the side facing Illumination Ave. There was plenty of room had they actually put a little money towards the part of the building above the awning and not just a bunch of cheap banners.

And as I've pointed out in the past, the entrance area is still themed as a movie studio with the camera gear store (Universal Photos), props (lost and found), VIP (guest relations), etc. I'm all for redoing the entrance but let’s not pretend it isn't a MASSIVE project that would take most of a year to complete and cost a ton of money only to add... nothing new. We are attaching a lot of expectations and hopes on a small C ticket attraction.

The front of Hollywood Studios is still themed with very similar movie studio camera gear, the inside of muppets store and Sci-Fi Dine in are still themed to Soundstages (although I do wish they would fully theme the outside of Sci-Fi - the “soundstage”). No one’s asking to get rid of that stuff at either park.

 

[Brian G.]

We’re really splitting hairs here about the Studios aspect.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

The front of Hollywood Studios is still themed with very similar movie studio camera gear, the inside of muppets store and Sci-Fi Dine in are still themed to Soundstages (although I do wish they would fully theme the outside of Sci-Fi - the “soundstage”). No one’s asking to get rid of that stuff at either park.

Nick you know that’s not the theme of DHS, it’s Sunset Blvd and classic Hollywood.