UniversalParksBlog News for June 11th, 2023
This week in UniversalParksBlog News: Evil Stuff.
You heard me.
Evil Stuff Opens
Everything Pretzel
Okay, make all the Florida Man and Florida Governor jokes you like here, but what I’m about to say next is true.
Universal Studios Florida just opened its newest store, and its name is…Evil Stuff.
I should probably add the context that it’s the main gift store for Minion Land.
Snowballs
So, this isn’t proof of any of those conspiracy theories that one family member is always trying to tell you. It’s a real thing.
At Evil Stuff, you find a stunningly thorough line of Minions/Despicable Me merchandise.
Now, Universal Studios has to pay for the upcoming Illumination’s Villain Con: Minion Blast somehow. As such, you shouldn’t expect any of it to be cheap.
Presuming you don’t mind paying $80+ for a backpack, you’ll love everything on sale here. It’s a Minions fan’s dream come true.
Yellow colors and big eyes seemingly surround you as Kevin and the crew try to sell you something overpriced that has bananas on it.
Actually, the yellow color of the Minions themselves isn’t as popular here as the burnt orange for Villain-Con.
That logo and the mask are wildly popular products, and you’ll find a surprising number of Vicious 6 references as well.
Basically, anyone who has ever appeared in a Despicable Me franchise film probably has a product on sale here.
In fact, some of the statues here represent Minions posing as memorable villains/characters from the movies. It’s a clever touch.
I will say that the storm isn’t that big, but it’s got a Freeze Ray. What else would we need?
Other Changes at Minion Land
Please remember that every Tuesday is Park Day at UniversalParksBlog. We have at least one reporter on site that day.
During their visits, our ace photographers are capturing all the details as Universal readies Minion Land for its grand opening.
On our most recent trip, we spotted the new signage for this themed land.
Also, we’ve taken note of several other changes like the giant ILLUMINATION sign that will highlight this area.
While we haven’t seen it happen yet, this sign will light up the night once Minion Land opens. It’s pretty snazzy.
A snack shop call Bake My Day will become your best friend when you need a quick bite of something sweet.
The roof of the store now features a giant pink cupcake with a Minion on top. Please don’t eat the Minion.
The Bank of Evil is also coming along nicely. One of the only things you can see right now other than the name of the place is Mobile Pickup.
That sign isn’t even for the Bank of Evil but Minion Café instead. Since the skyline here is threadbare, the two naturally seem to go together, though.
Photo: Universal
I love the idea of Minions mobile ordering cash, though. It would fit in perfectly with some of the gags from the original Despicable Me.
Anyway, Minion Café has a placeholder sign right now that looks like blue packing tape rather than anything useful.
Photo: Universal
One day soon, Universal will hoist the real sign. At that point, Minion Land as a whole will be nearly ready to open to the public.
We still don’t know the official opening date yet, but we’re into summer now. So, it really could be anytime now!
Universal Miscellany
Folks, they can’t all be winners.
I say this because Universal Orlando Resort caught lightning in a bottle when it offered a photo op with the Super Mario Bros. van earlier this year.
Also, Universal Studios Hollywood was sporting some of the clothing from Cocaine Bear, which somehow matters every bit as much to me.
Photo: Universal
Lately, Universal has understandably switched to Fast & Furious offerings in honor of Fast X.
Why is that a problem? As a Movieweb article recently noted (in the headline!), “Fast X domestic box office is close to a disaster for the franchise.”
Photo: Universal
That person is absolutely correct. Universal has a dying franchise on its hands, which makes the decision to replace the Mario van with a turbo-charged car weird.
Now, Universal Studios Hollywood is showing Fast X costumes, which is kinda like showing the worn game jerseys for a team that finished last in the division.
Nobody wants this. Or another Fast & Furious movie this decade.
At Universal’s Islands of Adventure, our intrepid reporters noticed a change.
Park workers have removed the last vestiges of Poseidon’s Fury’s signage.
Someone visiting for the first time would have no idea what came here.
These people will probably wonder about all the impressive landmarks, though.
Universal REALLY needs to do something with this space…and quickly!
Nothing is happening at all right now, though, which is frustrating.
Finally, a weird thing just happened. Apple recently revealed the Vision Pro, a new augmented reality digital headset.
Around the same time, the company announced the purchase of Mira. Who is that?
Image: Apple
Mira designed the VR headsets for Universal’s Mario Kart games. Should you take anything from that?
I’d say not yet, but stay tuned…
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