My Spoiler-Free Review of Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast

 

Minion Land is now open at Universal Studios Florida! The possible highlight of the rethemed area is a brand new ride, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast. It replaced Shrek 4-D, which closed in January.

While the official opening date for Minion Land was August 11, I had a chance to preview Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast. Here is my review, without giving anything away.

I’ll start off with a warning. Even though at the ride’s entrance it looks like you’ll wait indoors, a lot of the queue is outside. Keep an eye on the Wait Times, because even though there is some shade it will still be a hot wait!

Once the queue moves indoors it’s a lot of fun. The idea is that you’re at a convention that centers around villains, aka Villain-Con. I’ve attended a fair amount of conventions and there were a lot of details that Universal got right! The line moved quickly, so I didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked.

To play the “blast” part of Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast, you’ll need a weapon. There are large Blasters on a wall, just pick up one with a shining light. You can somehow pair the Blaster with the Universal Orlando Resort App. There was a Team Member on the side who helped me to do this. It didn’t make a difference at the end of the game, I couldn’t get a score in the app or any other type of feedback from the game. I am not a fan of the Universal App, and apparently it wasn’t a fan of mine when I rode Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast.

After you have your Blaster and have listened to the instructions, it’s time to ride. There are no seats on Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast. Instead, a Team Member will assign you a dot to stand on. Stay on that dot in order for your blasts to count.

The hits were color and shape coded, and it was easy enough to figure out which one was mine. I just pointed down, fired, and looked at the color and shape. There are two strengths in the shots. One trigger is unlimited, but the stronger one isn’t. Most people in my group just kept using the unlimited shot.

The floor winds through different scenes, and you blast away as you stand on your dot. Move off your dot and your hits won’t count. Honestly, the dots are too close together, if I turned I would always lower the Blaster because otherwise I would have physically hit one of the other players with it.

There are several scenes that you’ll blast through. The final one was my favorite, ride it and you’ll probably agree. When you finish Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast you’ll step carefully off of the moving sidewalk, return your Blaster, and exit into the Evil Stuff gift shop.

I’m glad that I had a chance to preview Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast. It’s a cute ride, and I really enjoyed the indoor queue. That said, I’m not going to go out of my way to ride again. If the Wait Time is low I might, but Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast is not near the top of my Universal Orlando Resort must-do list.