Bananas found around Universal Studios Orlando were hinting that the theme park will use the soon-to-be demolished Shrek 4-D location for a new Minions attraction. Now the bananas have materialized into flat-out promotion with Minion stickers adorning the walls around the demolition.
Lots of layers here. pic.twitter.com/5AJmEqiFRU
— Universal Orlando Resort (@UniversalORL) January 10, 2022
Minion-themed construction walls now surround the just-closed Shrek 4D attraction. @UniversalORL pic.twitter.com/csV4Wn9yyX
— Inside Universal (@insideuniversal) January 10, 2022
It’s sad to see Shrek go, even if the Minions are more popular now. A great quote from Robert Niles of Theme Park Insider can sum up the special quality Shrek could have brought but never fully did:
I reviewed Shrek 4-D’s Hollywood opening for the Los Angeles Times. (The link remains available!) I noted that “(t)he original ‘Shrek’ ridiculed the shallowness of Disney’s animated fairy tales and the sterility of its theme parks. Shrek 4-D doesn’t directly attack Disney’s parks, but it does land its punch by being far more entertaining than anything a Disney park has opened in years.
Donkey, meanwhile, will continue to do meet and greets at Universal Studios. It’s just a shame a once-great franchise was wiped out by a number of lackluster sequels following Shrek 2. Maybe one day the Dreamworks-produced film series will be dusted off and what is old will become new once more. After all, it was a lot of fun spending time with an ogre in his swamp.
Still, Universal has been on an amazing tear lately, doing tremendous work with new attractions. Their Life of Pets ride made our list for top new attractions in 2021. There’s little doubt the new MInions experience will be fantastic.
So what do you think? Are you excited for a new Minions attraction? Let us know in the comments below!
