“We Lost Shrek for THIS!?” Fans Revolt Against New Minions Ride

*This article contains spoilers for Universal’s Villain-Con Minion Blast *

Minnion’s Land is now open at Universal Orlando, and we love all of the new additions. Bake My Day and Minion Cafe are so good; honestly, if we had to lose Classic Monster Cafe, this is the next best thing (actually, it may just be better)! We also lost Shrek 4D in the process but the replacement (Villain-Con)? Many are not sure they’d say it was worth it.

Credit: Universal

Villain-Con Minion Blast is the land’s brand-new ride, and many fans feel it leaves a lot to be desired. In case you missed it, Villain-Con is based on the Despicable Me franchise and serves as a convention for supervillains from around the world to come together and put evil on display. Now you can join in the mayhem – the ride is currently undergoing technical rehearsals (soft open), which means guests can experience the attraction before it officially opens. Guests have flocked to the ride to see what it’s all about and the result? It’s lacking.

Here's a look at the indoor part of the Villain-Con Minion Blast queue. pic.twitter.com/sLLXpMmDl3

— Ashley Carter (@AshleyLCarter1) July 15, 2023

A thread recently surfaced on Reddit ride where u/FunkoPopsandStuff wondered if they were the only ones who found the ride underwhelming. They are not, as it turns out. Many seemed to find the ride cheap, and some even were hesitant to call it a ride since there’s no seating in the ride. You read that right. Villain-Con is a stand-up experience, which is totally what you want when you’ve been walking around a theme park all day long, right?

The ride is being touted as “groundbreaking” and “one of a kind,” but it is actually deceptively simple. It’s essentially laser tag on a moving walkway. Think Magic Kingdom’s Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin meets the walkway yfrom Universal’s parking garage- that’s Villain-Con. It isn’t that the ride is bad per se. It’s just not good.

Credit: Universal

Guests are given a laser blaster, the E-Liminator X. Shortly after, guests step onto a moving walkway, and the ride begins. Each guest is assigned a dot on the walkway, and you aren’t allowed to move from your dot. Moving off the dot disables your gun. During the ride, you progress through a series of rooms and use your blaster to hit on-screen targets. It’s fun but hard to see what you’re shooting.

Later, you’ll be able.to sync your Universal App on your phone to your gun and get your scores, but this functionality is currently not operational. We wonder what, if any, provisions are made for kids who don’t have smartphones other than the small display on the gun that shows your score. It would be nice if parents could sync their own gun and their child’s, but currently, we cannot say whether that’s the plan or not since this portion of the experience hasn’t launched yet.

Credit: Universal

The idea of not strapping guests into a vehicle so that they really feel immersed in the convention aspect shines through, but the execution feels rushed. The rushed feel of the ride isn’t surprising, considering the record time in which it was built. Add to that the fact that they converted a theater for the attraction, and you can see why it’s not exactly getting rave reviews.

Many on Reddit defended the ride as a placeholder or a filler ride- simply something somewhat entertaining to do to disperse crowds. This is a fair assessment, but we had higher hopes. While Villain-Con Minion Blast isn’t going to be on anyone’s favorite ride, it’s definitely worth doing. Don’t go into it expecting much, and you’ll be less disappointed than those first few riders who had no idea what to expect.