Villain-Con Minion Blast (General Discussion)

[Brian G.]

None of us are attacking the ride's quality, we're just questioning Universal's decision to stay mute on what is a very popular IP when their attendance is down this year.

Also, this is more of a D-ticket since it'll probably get a similar draw to Minion Mayhem (but lower waits since it has decent capacity)

I never said anything about the quality. My point is it's not an E-Ticket. The same way a movie studio would push the summer blockbuster a little bit more instead of another film.

This has always been the MO for Universal. Keep it tight to the chest until A) They have no choice or B) They're absolutely sure. They've done it for Mummy, Supercharged, Diagon... etc.

 

[Nico]

It's no Velocicoaster/Hagrid... but the Minion IP is a very powerful brand that can pull people into visiting, or at the least pull people from WDW for a day. When you have 9,000+ hotel rooms to fill and attendance dropping this year, ideally maybe you'd like to pull the Minions promotional lever?



None of us are attacking the ride's quality, we're just questioning Universal's decision to stay mute on what is a very popular IP when their attendance is down this year.

Also, this is more of a D-ticket since it'll probably get a similar draw to Minion Mayhem (but lower waits since it has decent capacity)

@UniversalRBLX I may have missed it so sorry if you’ve already said this. If you were Universal would you put out a statement and what would it say?

For me, a statement vs attendance bumps are two different things. I’m not sure how much would change if they put out a statement now, vs closer to open. Any bump would be due to locals. Obviously, I think they wish this was open sooner, but by multiple insider accounts, they have known it wasn’t going to for a while. Both Alicia and Joe have alluded to this. I’m all for spectulation, but I dunno how much there is to speculate with this one topic.

1. Does Universal wish this thing was working and open? Probably.
2. Will they announce when it’s opening in advance or day before? We don’t know, but this IS Universal.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I never said anything about the quality. My point is it's not an E-Ticket. The same way a movie studio would push the summer blockbuster a little bit more instead of another film.

This has always been the MO for Universal. Keep it tight to the chest until A) They have no choice or B) They're absolutely sure. They've done it for Mummy, Supercharged, Diagon... etc.

What other thing do they have to promote this year outside of special events? We're not getting anything substantial until next year with KidZone/Entertainment, and EU in 2025. Might as well take advantage of one of your most popular IPs this year while you can. Right now Velocicoaster seems to be getting all of the love in YouTube/promo ads.

While attraction delays are expected, it's surprising that they didn't really try to market some sort of Minion-themed campaign for the summer, even if only the land/cafe were ready. They knew pretty early on in the year that there was a softness in demand.

@UniversalRBLX I may have missed it so sorry if you’ve already said this. If you were Universal would you put out a statement and what would it say?

For me, a statement vs attendance bumps are two different things. I’m not sure how much would change if they put out a statement now, vs closer to open. Any bump would be due to locals. Obviously, I think they wish this was open sooner, but by multiple insider accounts, they have known it wasn’t going to for a while. Both Alicia and Joe have alluded to this. I’m all for spectulation, but I dunno how much there is to speculate with this one topic.

1. Does Universal with wish this thing was working and open? Probably.
2. Will they announce when it’s opening in advance or day before? We don’t know.

I've been pretty vocal about Universal's nature to not properly announce things in advance, only for them to never receive the public fanfare it should have deserved (Cinematic Celebration, Bourne, etc.) ultimately resulting in an unfortunate missed opportunity. They are also very bad (like any other company) at communicating things across the company. They are still showing Cinematic Celebration at the ticket booth TVs as an offering lol


Who knows, maybe they are following Disney's steps in writing off 2023 as a loss and focusing on 2024 with a major campaign. None of my comments are meant to be derogatory at Universal, just trying to elicit some conversation for a project that has gone quiet.

 

[Brian G.]

What other thing do they have to promote this year outside of special events? We're not getting anything substantial until next year with KidZone/Entertainment, and EU in 2025. Might as well take advantage of one of your most popular IPs this year while you can. Right now Velocicoaster seems to be getting all of the love in YouTube/promo ads.

While attraction delays are expected, it's surprising that they didn't really try to market some sort of Minion-themed campaign for the summer, even if only the land/cafe were ready. They knew pretty early on in the year that there was a softness in demand.


I've been pretty vocal about Universal's nature to not properly announce things in advance, only for them to never receive the public fanfare it should have deserved (Cinematic Celebration, Bourne, etc.) ultimately resulting in an unfortunate missed opportunity. They are also very bad (like any other company) at communicating things across the company. They are still showing Cinematic Celebration at the ticket booth TVs as an offering lol


Who knows, maybe they are following Disney's steps in writing off 2023 as a loss and focusing on 2024 with a major campaign. None of my comments are meant to be derogatory at Universal, just trying to elicit some conversation for a project that has gone quiet.

yes, run a campaign to set expectations for a ride that hasn’t opened and land that isn’t officially open that just started softs…

 

[Nico]

What other thing do they have to promote this year outside of special events? We're not getting anything substantial until next year with KidZone/Entertainment, and EU in 2025. Might as well take advantage of one of your most popular IPs this year while you can. Right now Velocicoaster seems to be getting all of the love in YouTube/promo ads.

While attraction delays are expected, it's surprising that they didn't really try to market some sort of Minion-themed campaign for the summer, even if only the land/cafe were ready. They knew pretty early on in the year that there was a softness in demand.


I've been pretty vocal about Universal's nature to not properly announce things in advance, only for them to never receive the public fanfare it should have deserved (Cinematic Celebration, Bourne, etc.) ultimately resulting in an unfortunate missed opportunity. They are also very bad (like any other company) at communicating things across the company. They are still showing Cinematic Celebration at the ticket booth TVs as an offering lol


Who knows, maybe they are following Disney's steps in writing off 2023 as a loss and focusing on 2024 with a major campaign. None of my comments are meant to be derogatory at Universal, just trying to elicit some conversation for a project that has gone quiet.

Ya I think Universal’s marketing strategy as a whole can be a whole conversation, and possibly a thread. Especially as we move closer to Epic.

I think as it stands, they haven’t “technically” missed any public facing deadlines. I think the backlash to that would be stronger than this. So in some ways, they planned the smarter play.

I’ve been pretty vocal that this attraction, and to a similar degree, Kidzone, for me are more rooted in operational decisions. Having a big colorful kid friendly front of park when people come in for Epic. Similarly, an updated Kidzone will combat the “not for kids” identity, as well as improve the “show” of the park. You can see this is important to Univseral with other updates like the food booths, concrete work, library facade and turnstiles. 2024 is where they seem to want attendance with the parade and new night time show.

Also, if only Universal was having a soft summer, I think the lack of marketing so far could have been an interesting issue to parse out. But Disney and Orlando overall are all relatively soft. The parks aren’t just dealing with national economic changes, but huge state political issues too. “Come see the Minions. Sorry about Florida.” isn’t the best marketing strategy.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Also, if only Universal was having a soft summer, I think the lack of marketing so far could have been an interesting issue to parse out. But Disney and Orlando overall are all relatively soft. The parks aren’t just dealing with national economic changes, but huge state political issues too. “Come see the Minions. Sorry about Florida.” isn’t the best marketing strategy.

I don't think politics is keeping people out as much, we all expected a decline in attendance as a result of revenge travel ending... but I thought they would try to counter that with the Minions. Disney relied on the power of Frozen IP to keep that park alive during the DHS overhaul.

 

[SpatulaShack]

I truly love these forums but I'm seeing a ton of excuses being thrown around here akin to what I used to see on the WDWMagic boards 10 years ago. When anyone would say the slightest negative thing about something in the parks there would be the usual suspects chiming in to defend the company at all costs while gaslighting anyone who asked reasonable questions.

No one thinks this is the end of the world that the attraction has been slightly delayed (so far) but normal discussion and/or frustration with lack of communication regarding opening is standard practice on forums dedicated to theme parks. Not all of us live in Florida and many of us need to make plans several months in advance. I'm one of those people.

How can this ride simultaneously be nothing but a "stop-gap C-Ticket attraction" while also being so incredibly innovative they can't get it to function? Also if it was planned as a way to have something to promote between Velocicoaster and the Kidzone redo wouldn't it also matter when it opens so that promotion can occur? Some people seem to think there is nothing worth marketing here in the first place so it doesn't even matter when it opens? All of these things can't be true at the same time.

Are we seriously claiming they greenlit an attraction before computer processing power was capable of pulling off the basic idea? That's pretty absurd no? And if that were true, someone made a terrible decision greenlighting it in the first place.

 

[Brian G.]

I truly love these forums but I'm seeing a ton of excuses being thrown around here akin to what I used to see on the WDWMagic boards 10 years ago. When anyone would say the slightest negative thing about something in the parks there would be the usual suspects chiming in to defend the company at all costs while gaslighting anyone who asked reasonable questions.

No one thinks this is the end of the world that the attraction has been slightly delayed (so far) but normal discussion and/or frustration with lack of communication regarding opening is standard practice on forums dedicated to theme parks. Not all of us live in Florida and many of us need to make plans several months in advance. I'm one of those people.

How can this ride simultaneously be nothing but a "stop-gap C-Ticket attraction" while also being so incredibly innovative they can't get it to function? Also if it was planned as a way to have something to promote between Velocicoaster and the Kidzone redo wouldn't it also matter when it opens so that promotion can occur? Some people seem to think there is nothing worth marketing here in the first place so it doesn't even matter when it opens? All of these things can't be true at the same time.

Are we seriously claiming they greenlit an attraction before computer processing power was capable of pulling off the basic idea? That's pretty absurd no? And if that were true, someone made a terrible decision greenlighting it in the first place.

Cmon dude…. This is getting pretty exhausting.

 

[Tbad556]

I genuinely don’t really get the issue tbh. The ride is still being worked on. It’s still summer. There’s currently nothing to promote/exact date ready to be given. I have my own gripes with Universal and their marketing team (see: me calling the escape room their Galactic Starcruiser and a marketing failure just yesterday), but some of these complaints are just odd and premature.

No one thinks this is the end of the world that the attraction has been slightly delayed (so far) but normal discussion and/or frustration with lack of communication regarding opening is standard practice on forums dedicated to theme parks. Not all of us live in Florida and many of us need to make plans several months in advance. I'm one of those people.

As a person that doesn’t live in Florida, why would you want them to guesstimate an opening date just to allow you to plan if they themselves aren’t positive it’ll be ready by that date? Would you rather they pull a date out and force out a half-baked, unfinished product? I mean, no one wanted to touch Brian’s comment on how it seemed illogical to run a campaign for an unfinished product.

Also, it hasn’t been delayed? We’re only one full week into summer as people keep stating and no change in date has been stated anywhere.

How can this ride simultaneously be nothing but a "stop-gap C-Ticket attraction" while also being so incredibly innovative they can't get it to function? Also if it was planned as a way to have something to promote between Velocicoaster and the Kidzone redo wouldn't it also matter when it opens so that promotion can occur? Some people seem to think there is nothing worth marketing here in the first place so it doesn't even matter when it opens? All of these things can't be true at the same time.

Non E-tickets can still be innovative and take time to perfect… No one really thinks Navi River Journey is an E-Ticket, but the main animatronic is still an incredibly technologically advanced piece of equipment that took time to get it fully functional.

Yes, it will indeed have to open before Kidzone to be a good stopgap in between. Last I checked, Kidzone is still dirt though which means this still has quite a time advantage on it.

Are we seriously claiming they greenlit an attraction before computer processing power was capable of pulling off the basic idea? That's pretty absurd no? And if that were true, someone made a terrible decision greenlighting it in the first place.

No? No one has claimed that at all? That’s genuinely not what Alicia’s post said.

 

[Jake S]

we booked a family trip to orlando in november for mid-march before an opening date for tron was announced. a month before we left for our trip, it was announced tron would open shortly after our trip ended. sometimes, that's how the cookie crumbles. I really don't get all the consternation about this. they'll announce an opening date for this attraction when they have one ... and people will or will not book vacations accordingly.

 

[Andysol]

The last 36 hrs on this thread… yeesh.

Minions are big but this expansion does minuscule more for their marketing than their previous minion marketing.

All this area is is a value add that’s going to sell a lot of expensive popsicles, snacks, food and drinks that they otherwise wouldn’t have. And they have an additional store to sell more merch.

The ride is a place filler. Not an attendance driver. When it opens truly doesn’t matter. At all. Not one iota.

 

[Cup_Of_Coffee]

I hope they open softs today just to F with this thread

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

I think we can expect both this year and next to be lower attendance than ‘22. Then ‘25…boom (KoW for no unforeseen catastrophe).

 

[TheCodeMan95]

I'm gonna be honest, Universal was probably more concerned with getting Minion Cafe open vs Villain Con.

Minion Cafe seems to be printing money at this point.

 

[Nico]

I truly love these forums but I'm seeing a ton of excuses being thrown around here akin to what I used to see on the WDWMagic boards 10 years ago. When anyone would say the slightest negative thing about something in the parks there would be the usual suspects chiming in to defend the company at all costs while gaslighting anyone who asked reasonable questions.

No one thinks this is the end of the world that the attraction has been slightly delayed (so far) but normal discussion and/or frustration with lack of communication regarding opening is standard practice on forums dedicated to theme parks. Not all of us live in Florida and many of us need to make plans several months in advance. I'm one of those people.

How can this ride simultaneously be nothing but a "stop-gap C-Ticket attraction" while also being so incredibly innovative they can't get it to function? Also if it was planned as a way to have something to promote between Velocicoaster and the Kidzone redo wouldn't it also matter when it opens so that promotion can occur? Some people seem to think there is nothing worth marketing here in the first place so it doesn't even matter when it opens? All of these things can't be true at the same time.

Are we seriously claiming they greenlit an attraction before computer processing power was capable of pulling off the basic idea? That's pretty absurd no? And if that were true, someone made a terrible decision greenlighting it in the first place.

@SpatulaShack I agree, if I was trying to book a trip around Villain-Con opening I’d be frustrated. When are you trying to go?

I am really hoping they don’t do this same pattern around EU’s opening. I’m not confident with how they will market that park yet.

But yesterday, the thread went from opening in July, then August, then November (with a rational that Universal would pull a Disney and move the opening for financial reasons). When I read that, I thought, this conversation is going beyond speculation and rumors. To me that gets more into “sky is falling” territory which makes reading/getting updates from the thread a bit harder.

I am sorry if any of my posts made you feel gaslit.

 

[Mad Dog]

I'm gonna be honest, Universal was probably more concerned with getting Minion Cafe open vs Villain Con.

Minion Cafe seems to be printing money at this point.

I'm looking at this the same way. The food area is the star. The sneaky opening is so similar to the very successful Springfield food areas opening that it's like deja vu. The ride should be OK, but it's not a D/E vacation traffic increase attraction.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

I'm gonna be honest, Universal was probably more concerned with getting Minion Cafe open vs Villain Con.

Minion Cafe seems to be printing money at this point.

minion cafe was behind until it wasn’t. Not a planned thing just how it happened.

 

[Nico]

Nick reminded me that we have a thread about Universal’s Announcement strategy already. Happy to continue this discussion over there about Villain-Con, EU, Kidzone, or any other on going projects.

Here it is: Universal Lack of Announcements Thread

 

[JungleSkip]

Also, if only Universal was having a soft summer, I think the lack of marketing so far could have been an interesting issue to parse out. But Disney and Orlando overall are all relatively soft. The parks aren’t just dealing with national economic changes, but huge state political issues too. “Come see the Minions. Sorry about Florida.” isn’t the best marketing strategy.

Things are "soft" in Orlando only in relation to post-COVID travel, something that was never going to be a new normal.

We're seeing a reversion to the mean, not a cratering of theme park visitation

 

[Mad Dog]

The reversion to the mean is a good thing, for guests. Universal isn't presently built, capacity wise, to handle those 11 million plus per park crowds. Even with the lesser 2023 attendance, lines at USF are still historically long. The parks are a ,more enjoyable experience at the 8 to 9 million park level, especially with so much stuff down at the parks right now.