Are you excited for Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast? Universal Orlando’s newest attraction is described as a handheld blaster challenge on a moving walkway in which guest compete to become the newest member of the Vicious 6. It is scheduled to officially open later this summer, but Universal Orlando Annual Passholders will get a chance to experience the attraction early.

Minion Blast Annual Passholder Previews

Universal Orlando Resort has confirmed via Facebook that annual passholder previews will occur for Villain-Con Minion Blast before the attraction officially opens to all guests.

While a date has not yet been provided, APs are being asked to “stay tuned” for an exclusive access opportunity. Check out our honest review of this new experience below to prepare:

The resort will be celebrating its passholders from August 15 through September 30, 2023. During this time, guests with an annual pass will have access to exclusive merchandise, menu items, discounts, and other opportunities. Details have yet to be announced. Last summer, we got an exclusive Revenge of the Mummy magnet during Passholder Appreciation Days.

Universal Orlando Passholder Night is also arriving at Islands of Adventure August 26 — stay tuned for more registration information on this event as details arrive.

Villain-Con Minion Blast

Minion Blast was developed in partnership between Universal’s award-winning creative team and the filmmakers from Illumination. This interactive blaster game experience invites guests to compete against each other in hopes to join the franchise’s most dastardly supervillains, the Vicious 6.

The attraction utilizes screen technology, gaming interactivity, and physical sets to create a unique, game-based adventure. Guests put their villainous skills to the test in immersive environments.

The story behind the attraction is that guests are visiting Villain-Con, the biggest criminal convention on the planet, which has set itself up at Universal Studios Florida. At Villain-Con, guests take part in a competition to see if they have what it takes to become the newest member of the Vicious 6. Guests grab an interactive blaster and step onto a motion-based pathway to start blasting.

The walkway moves through several scenes where they earn points by shooting at a variety of items, causing as much destruction as possible. They can track their points across multiple rides thanks to the Universal Orlando Resort app.

Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast is taking the place of the now-defunct Shrek 4D attraction at Universal Studios Florida. You can take a final look at Shrek 4D before the closure in our post here and the closing night crowds in our post here.

Construction walls were recently removed from around the new attraction’s entrance earlier this week, amid Team Member testing. It is now open to guests during technical rehearsals.

During this technical rehearsal period, the ride may not operate for the full day and some elements of the attraction “may not be available as our evil scientists work out all the glitches.”

The Express entrance is not available during technical rehearsals.

At the moment, no photo or video is allowed in the queue or on the attraction itself, but stay tuned for the latest as this new experience introduces itself to guests for the first time.

Minion Land at Universal Studios Florida

Minion Land has taken over most of Production Central, transforming it into Illumination Avenue. Minion Café has replaced the former Universal Studios’ Classic Monsters Cafe, and is joined by Bake My Day, Freeze Ray Pops, and Pop-A-Nana. You can take our full tour of Minion Café and check out all of the Bake My Day merchandise and treats. Read our Minion Land food reviews, too:

• REVIEW: We Ate EVERYTHING on the Menu at the New Minion Café in Universal Studios Florida
• REVIEW: Bake My Day in Minion Land at Universal Studios – Banana Swiss Roll, Cupcakes, S’mores, Cake Pops, and Macarons
• REVIEW: Beat the Heat with Freeze Ray Pops in Minion Land at Universal Studios Florida
• REVIEW: Pop-A-Nana Opens With Banana Popcorn at Minion Land in Universal Studios Florida

The attractions are the pre-existing Despicable Me Minion Mayhem and upcoming Villain-Con Minion Blast. The façade of Despicable Me Minion Mayhem was recently refurbished.

The Minions and other Illumination characters have meet-and-greets outside Illumination Theater.

The back of the Transformers: The Ride show building has been painted teal blue to match the new land.

An entirely different Minion Land also exists at Universal Studios Beijing. However, at Universal Studios Japan, Minion Park is yet another separate land, with a clone under construction at Universal Studios Singapore. A different version of Minion Café exists at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Will you be visiting Universal Studios Florida to experience Villain-Con Minion Blast soon? Let us know in the comments.

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