Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem

Entrance to the ride, modeled after Gru's house.

## Ride Details

### Area

Production Central (currently)Minion Land on Illumination Avenue (Summer 2023-onward)

### Featured Characters

Gru
Margo
Edith
Agnes
Minions

### Height Requirement

40 in (102 cm)

***Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem*** is a 3D simulator ride located in the Production Central area of Universal Studios Florida. It replaced *Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast*, and *The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera*. It is based on the 2010 film *Despicable Me*, and set between the events of the original film and its 2013 sequel *Despicable Me 2*. The ride features guests volunteering as recruits to become Minions for series protagonist, Gru. The ride is also available at Universal Studios Hollywood, Universal Studios Japan, and Universal Studios Beijing, though there are various differences at each park. An additional clone of the ride is set to be opened at Universal Studios Singapore.

## History

In March 2011, Universal announced that *Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast* would close later that year in August in preparation for a new attraction. On May 19 that same year, *Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem* was announced as its replacement, along with *The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man* being closed next door to receive new projection and HD video effects.

*Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem* officially opened on July 2, 2012, though its associated gift shop, Super Silly Stuff, opened two months prior in May.

In July of 2019, Universal removed the 3D glasses from this ride, turning it into a 2D ride.

## Background

### Queue and Preshow

*Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem* is set between the events of the first and second films in the franchise of the same name. The franchise's protagonist, Gru, is recruiting volunteers as new Minions to help with various errands.

Guests enter the attraction through a mock-up design of Gru's house, where they are shown various videos of how to be a Minion, as well as information on Gru and his adopted daughters, Margo, Edith, and Agnes. Eventually, the guests enter the living room, where Gru greets them and prepares them for their recruitment training, and encourages guests to take a pair of Minion Goggles (3D glasses), developed by his assistant Dr. Nefario. Gru also includes a safety reel featuring the Minions on how to use the goggles. The preshow also includes some joke instructions such as if guests have only one or more than two eyes, or if they do not know how to put on the goggles.

Guests then enter a laboratory for a second preshow where Gru welcomes the guests and, after scanning them, accuses some of them of bad hygiene, going as far as showing them on camera. He also takes time to explains that the guests will be able to become Minions with the help of a Minion Gun, which was also developed by Dr. Nefario. Much to Gru's dismay, several Minions and his daughters frequently interrupt the recruitment speech. This includes Agnes trying to give Gru a gift. When the girls attempt to tell the guests that Gru won't hurt them or fire his fart gun at them, he intentionally proves them wrong by firing it anyway. Unfortunately, the gun instead blasts a scent of bananas, which causes the two Minions present to start licking the windows that the characters are standing at. After numerous attempts of begging from the girls, Gru is eventually convinced to let them train the new recruits.

### Ride Experience

Once the preshow concludes, guests are led to their seats, where employees offer assistance to those with any difficulties. Margo, Edith, and Agnes appear on a hovercraft in front of the riders, as the Minion-Ray zaps the guests, with a panel on the ride vehicles indicating that the guests are now Minions. The guests run through an obstacle course filled with Minions, many of which the guests run into and push past, all while the girls watch from their hovercraft. The obstacle course features giant fly-swatters, a cactus, and water hoses. When passing the water hose, a mist effect fills the theater.

Once through the obstacle course, the guests are launched to another area, where they are instructed to work with the other Minions to create a body bridge to get to the other side. However, Edith taunts the Minions with a banana, distracting them, and causing the bridge to collapse. The guests land in a restricted area, where a terrified Gru sees the chaos occurring from a monitor. While in the restricted area, multiple explosives begin to detonate, causing Agnes to lose her gift to Gru, but she manages to grab it before coming in contact with a nearby saw blade. Gru arrives to rescue the girls and the guests, only to get hit and sent off-screen by some of the background machinery.

All three girls and the guests then find themselves in the anti-gravity trash compactor room, where Agnes once again loses her gift. Despite the inevitable danger, she attempts to go after it. Although she does, she is nearly crushed by a compactor before Gru arrives and stops the compactor with a pipe. In a final attempt to protect the girls, Gru uses his own strength to keep another compactor from crushing the girls, which causes the room to shut down. A group of Minions form a barrier to catch Gru's family and the guests.

With everyone finally safe from harm, Gru opens Agnes' gift to find she made a small doll of him. An overjoyed Gru takes the girls and the guests to a special room that appears to be based on the amusement park where they first bonded as a family. The guests get caught up in some of the rides, which are being rode by other Minions. Once the riders reunite with Gru and the girls, Gru congratulates them on their training. However, a rocket from the restricted area flies into the Minion Gun, which fires at the guests, turning them back to humans. The ride concludes with Gru requesting the next group of volunteers.

Once exiting the theater, guests enter a dance party with the Minions, where *Boogie Fever* is heard playing. A meet-and-greet with one of Gru's Minions can also be found here, right before guests enter the Super Silly Stuff gift shop.

## Trivia

* Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, Elsie Fisher, and Pierre Coffin all returned to voice their respective characters for the ride.
* Since the ride takes place after the events of the first film, it's not made clear why Gru needs more Minions working for him, as he retired from villainy to spend time with his daughters. In addition, he speaks in the preshow as if he is recruiting team members for another evil scheme.
* Due to the second and third films (as well as the spin-off films featuring the Minions) not being released at the time of the ride's opening, no mention of major characters from the sequels such as Lucy, is made in the ride.
	+ However, Gru's twin brother Dru, who first appeared in *Despicable Me 3*, occasionally makes meet-and-greet appearances at the park. The Minions can also sometimes be seen wearing their prison outfits from the same film.
	+ Gru's wife, Lucy, who first appeared in the second film, also made an appearance in Universal's Holiday Parade.
	+ The closest to the follow-ups being acknowledged was when the dance party was updated to be themed around *Minions: The Rise of Gru* around the time of the film's release.
* The entrance to the ride is a recreation of Gru's house as seen in the films. Unlike Universal Studios Hollywood, the entrance doesn't feature the neighboring houses from the neighborhood that Gru lives in.
* Interestingly, Universal Studios Florida is the only park with this ride that is not featured in an area based on the *Despicable Me* film series.
* Dr. Nefario, who was voiced by Russell Brand in the films, appears in the pre-show safety video about how the Minion Goggles were designed, but he does not speak.
* Employees working at this ride are dressed in lab coats similar to that of Dr. Nefario.
* The Japan version uses instead the motion simulator similar to Back to the Future and The Simpsons Ride since the Terminator Ride is still operating in the park