Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast: An inside look at Universal Studios' new ride
Everyone usually wants to be the hero. What about trying out for the role of the villain?
Illumination's Villain-Con Minion is officially set to make its debut to the general public on Friday, Aug. 11 at Universal Orlando, giving guests the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the "Minions" universe.
The attraction is a part of the park's brand-new area "Minion Land" which was built in partnership with Illumination to expand on the theming from the "Minion" franchise from the animated film "Despicable Me." The section is also debuting on Aug. 11 with the ride.
“We are thrilled to officially welcome our guests to the all-new Minion Land,” Karen Irwin, President &COO of Universal Orlando Resort, said in a statement. “This immersive and captivating new addition to our destination was brought to life in a partnership with our colleagues at Illumination and puts our guests into the heart, and villainous minds, of this diabolically fun franchise. This rich new environment has so much for all our guests to enjoy.”
Here's everything to know about the first-of-its-kind attraction from the ride's own developers before you attempt to join one of the most notorious villain groups ever.
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What is Illumination's Villain-Con Minion?
Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast is described by Univeral Orlando officials as a one-of-a-kind shooting game attraction, with Universal seeking to blend immersive sets, interactive game-based technology, custom animation, and an original storyline.
Blastguests can blast their way to "supervillain stardom." This attraction puts guests’ villainous skills to the test to see if they have what it takes to become a member of the Vicious 6 – a notorious group of supervillains from the hit film, “Minions: The Rise of Gru."
"I'm excited, the team is excited, Illumination's excited. This is a really unique attraction that we've never done before. For us, we're going to be looking to understand how people receive the attraction," Director of Immersive Experiences for NBCUniversal Victor Lugo told USA Today about the debut of the new ride. "We're excited about people sharing scores and competing and trying to be that sixth member."
He elaborated that this was the first time he or his team had ever done anything like this in their careers, so it added another layer of excitement.
What is the plot of the attraction?
Remember a little villain convention from the “Minions: The Rise of Gru?" Super fans of the movie will instantly recognize the Villain-Con name.
To play, guests will be attending Villain-Con, "the biggest criminal convention on the planet" and compete to become the newest member of The Vicious 6 from "Minions: The Rise of Gru." Riding on a moving pathway, guests will get an interactive blaster and embark on their adventure through immersive environments, interacting with villains and minions along the way. To show their nefariousness, players will have to blast at items to gain points.
"Join Illumination's Minions, Belle Bottom, Jean Clawed, and the rest of the Vicious 6 at Villain-Con as you blast your way to supervillain stardom," Universal Orlando's description reads online. "Use your E-Liminator X blaster and test your skill in this fun, interactive attraction."
Who are in the Vicious 6?
Along the pathway, guests will encounter each member of the Vicious 6, voiced by the original cast from the film, in a setting inspired by their character:
Belle Bottom (voiced by Taraji P. Henson) - the cool, confident leader of the Vicious 6, in a groovy disco
Stronghold (voiced by Danny Trejo) - named after his giant iron hands – in a museum filled with tons of fragile and priceless art just waiting to be destroyed
Nun-Chuck (voiced by Lucy Lawless) - a fierce warrior with prized nunchucks who will travel aboard her flying organs, she challenges guests to create musical mayhem
Jean Clawed (voiced by Jean-Claude Van Damme) – outfitted with a giant mechanical lobster claw – in an evil, underwater lair filled with hidden loot and robotic sea creatures
Svengeance (voiced by Dolph Lundgren) - the roller-skating champion with spiked skates, in a floating roller derby filled with blimps, jumbotrons, and speed-skating robots
What kind of ride is Illumination's Villain-Con Minion?
The ride system is a moving walkway, similar to a baggage conveyor belt that you find at the airport or even those found in Universal's own parking areas.
"We wanted to create something that allows people free play and by free play, I just mean completely untethered. So we spent a lot of time coming up with this idea of an untethered blaster and the thought was that we surround you and fully immerse you in a way that allows you to determine what you want to look at and what you want to blast."
Lugo said this first thought turned into the idea for the moving walkway, which allowed guests to be an individual and create their own strategies.
What was the process of designing this ride?
"There was a ton of input from Illumination, so when we thought 'Let's go ahead and expand the space and bring more Minion joy to the area,' we were thinking how can we be complementary to the interaction," Lugo recalled. " (Minion Mayhem) takes you on a fantastic ride, so we're thinking 'Why don't we create something here that's gonna challenge people in a way that brings play?' "
He shared that it was Illumination's idea to bring the Vicious 6 back to Orlando.
Once the idea was fully in motion, Associate Project Manager Carson Luter told USA Today that they get handed the concept and get to work. He shared the different phases of the project.
"What we start with is like a concept phase, So we get all our people on board that are going to actually build everything, design it. We started doing the demolition. For instance, we had to do a bunch of demolition and retrofit for this space for the new attraction, a new facility."
From there, he said they entered their construction phase and then transitioned into a design phase. He was tasked with the media and game design, working closely with Illumination on the new gaming content seen on the attraction.
What details will super fans point out?
For those super fans out there, there are a lot of details you're sure to pick up on.
"There are a lot of really classic weapons in there that you can use … the freeze ray is something that you can finally use. You saw it in the movie, you can blast fart grenades into the screen and cause the minions to go crazy," Lugo said. "There are a lot of others, also a lot of collectibles."
Want to enhance your gameplay for Illumination's Villain-Con Minion?
Villain-Con Minion Blast is also the first Universal Orlando attraction to feature a connected gameplay experience via The Official Universal Orlando ResortApp. By syncing your blaster to the app with just a tap, you can take your game to an entirely new level by
Tracking your scores
Embark on special missions within the attraction
Unlock evil perks and extra powerful blasts to help gain more points
Earn digital collectibles
The more guests play and the higher the score, the more perks and bragging rights they’ll earn. Lugo said their teams had been working on this feature for a few years, believing it was complementary to the ride and the movies.
Who can ride the new attraction?
The ride is meant for everyone and has no height requirement, only asking that those under 48 inches have supervision.
What did Illumination's Villain-Con Minion replace?
Theme park fanatics and animation cinephiles have mourned the loss of Shrek 4-D, a show that followed characters from the movie Shrek as they try to stop the ghost of Lord Farquaad from capturing Princess Fiona. The attraction ran for 19 years since its opening in 2003.
It said it was all 'ogre' in January of 2022, closing down to make way for the new Minion Land attraction.
What does this week mean to those who helped create this attraction?
Both Lugo and Luter said selling the final product has been worthwhile after working on the project. Luter especially applauded the collaboration between their team and Illumination over the past two years, soon growing tight bond.
"I was meeting them all the time, I got to know them very well," Luter shared. "I now know this property inside and out because I can name every minion. I can name every villain just from working with them. It was super cool."
For Lugo, it meant a lot for him to see patrons come off the attraction and smile, he says.
"This is really meant to be an attraction for all ages and families, to see those families come together and talk about it. Then talk about how they want to get back on and have the banter between parents and kids … It brings a lot of joy to me."
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Minion Land Universal Illumination's Villain-Con Minion Blast: a look
