Announced as opening this summer, the Illumination Villain-Con Minion Blast attraction, which is replacing the former Shrek 4-D, appears to be nearing completion, at least on the outside.

Meanwhile, the nearby Minion Cafe, replacing the former Monsters Cafe, still has a bit more ways to go, again, at least when it comes to what is visible on the outside.

These two projects will not be the only elements of the newly named “Minion Land” for the front section of Universal Studios Florida, as additional small shops, an Illumination character meet and greet area, and more are expected for this new land.

Let’s check in on the progress from around the area in today’s photo and video update. See the quick video below for additional views!

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Across from the new Minions attraction, the original Minion Mayhem ride is receiving facade work. The brickwork along the entrance to this ride are being freshened up ahead of the new attraction opening nearby this summer. As a result, much of the entry is behind scrims and scaffolding at this time.

Across the way, it appears that the exterior for the new Minion Blast attraction is complete, including the entry arch.

This attraction is expected to take guests through a moving pathway, where they can fire interactive blasters at targets to earn points. Universal has not yet revealed an opening date, only saying that the new attraction will be opening this summer.

The front and sides of the soundstage have been covered in banners, promoting the Villain-Con event, which is where the story for the attraction takes place. Multiple villains from all of the Despicable Me and Minions films can be seen on these many colorful banners.

Smaller posters are along the front of the soundstage, but all are covered, except one. This poster appears to have the name Balthazar Bratt, Trey Parker’s character from Despicable Me 3.

The exit gift shop for this new attraction is placed directly across from the exit shop for Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem. That shop was named “Super Silly Stuff,” but the name for this new gift shop appears to be “Evil Stuff” to go along with the Villain theming.

Next door to the new Minion Blast attraction will be the new Minion Cafe, which appears to be themed as a city block, with multiple building facades along the wall across from Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and the Music Plaza Stage area.

At the back of the cafe building, we are expecting a sweet shop and a character meet and greet space. The character meet and greet space is rumored to feature characters from multiple Illumination franchises, and will be about where the former Shrek and Donkey meet and greet location was originally located. The new awning being constructed in this area may be for this meet and greet space.

On the corner of the building, it is rumored that a sweet shop named “Bake My Day” is being built. This will match a sweet shop by the same name in Universal Studios Beijing. Compare the roof line for what is being constructed now, in the next photo, to the existing shop in Beijing, in the following photo.

As part of this construction, the backside of the Transformers ride building has been painted bright aqua, as can be seen behind the cafe in these photos.

The facades along the long side of the future Minion Cafe are behind scrims and scaffolding, but some brickwork is being done.

The Minion Cafe’s entrance will be in the same spot as the former Monsters Cafe entrance, as seen in the next photo.

Near the future entrance to the Minion Cafe, the snack stand in this area has been surrounded by additional work walls featuring Minions characters, and this stand has seen partial demolition.

Permits for the overall project list a popcorn stand being built that will be named “Pop A Nana,” which is a banana-flavored popcorn stand in the Minions area of Universal Studios Japan. It is possible that this may be what the work on this kiosk is for.

A trademark for the term “Freeze Ray Pops” for theme park snacks was recently filed by the company, which may also be related to future offerings in this area.

That’s all for now, but check out our last story about this attraction for more official and rumored details for Villain-Con Minion Blast. And stay tuned for more details and construction updates for the Minion Land area as they happen!

Subscribe to the news feed or enter your email address below to never miss an update. Original Photos: Alicia Stella | Other Images as Captioned

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