Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
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Overview
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is an indoor motion simulator that recruits you into Gru’s latest scheme: turning ordinary humans into Minions.
After entering Gru’s home and laboratory, you’re put through Minion training with Margo, Edith and Agnes. Unsurprisingly, things don’t go entirely according to plan, leading to a frantic animated adventure involving launches, falls, explosions and considerably more Minion-related chaos than the training programme probably intended.
The moving version uses rows of simulator seats that tilt and jolt in time with the enormous screen, creating the impression of accelerating, falling and flying even though the attraction doesn’t physically travel along a track.
There is also a stationary version of the experience. Guests who cannot or don’t want to use the moving simulator can watch from fixed seating immediately beside the ride area, and wheelchair users can remain in their wheelchair.
The minimum height for the moving simulator is 40 inches / 102 cm. Children under 40 inches can still experience the attraction using the stationary seating.
Queue Details
The queue takes you through Gru’s home and laboratory before reaching the main pre-show and simulator theatre.
The first part of the queue is outdoors but undercover. The route is flat, with fans providing some airflow in warmer weather.
The queue then moves indoors through a second waiting area before reaching the final pre-show room. Video screens are used throughout the queue, with subtitles provided on the video content.
Wheelchair users are directed into designated rows/positions in both the second waiting area and the final pre-show area.
The floor in the final pre-show area vibrates slightly as part of the experience.
The rear rows of the simulator theatre involve steps. If you need a step-free route or seating position, tell a Team Member before entering the ride theatre so they can direct you appropriately.
Guests using an ECV or other powered mobility device need to change to a standard manual wheelchair before continuing through the attraction queue. If you need to remain in a mobility device for the attraction, the stationary viewing position can accommodate a standard wheelchair.
Transfer Info
Guests who can transfer use the standard simulator seating inside the main theatre.
The standard seats are mounted on a moving platform that tilts and moves in sync with the film, creating the sensation of rapid acceleration, climbing, stopping and diving.
Guests who cannot transfer can remain in a standard manual wheelchair and experience the attraction from a stationary position directly beside the moving simulator seating.
The wheelchair position does not move with the simulator platform. You still experience the same film, sound, lighting and wider theatre effects, but you do not receive the physical tilting and motion of the standard seats.
This makes the wheelchair position a genuinely different physical experience rather than simply a different way of boarding the same ride system.
Guests who use an ECV need to transfer into a standard manual wheelchair if they want to remain in a mobility device for the stationary viewing position.
A modified ride vehicle is also available to assist guests who are able to transfer into the simulator seating but need additional help getting into position.
The rear seating rows involve steps, so tell a Team Member before entering the theatre if you need a step-free seating position or additional time to get into place.
If you are unsure whether the moving simulator seat or stationary wheelchair position is the better option for you, speak to a Team Member before entering the theatre.
Sensory Experience
What do these sensory tags mean?
- Flashing Lights
- Flashing, strobing or rapidly pulsing light effects are used.
- Fog/Smoke
- Theatrical fog, smoke or similar atmospheric effects are present.
- Motion Simulator
- A moving seat or platform is synchronised with filmed or projected motion.
- Sudden Movement
- The ride vehicle, seat or platform makes abrupt starts, stops, jolts or changes of direction.
- Vibration
- Noticeable shaking or vibration is deliberately transmitted through the seat, platform or vehicle.
- Wind/Air Effects
- Deliberate blasts of air or wind effects can be felt by guests.
Sensory experiences vary between people. These tags describe elements that may be present, not how strongly any individual guest will experience them.
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem is colourful and funny, but the moving version is a surprisingly active simulator experience.
The final pre-show room has a lightly vibrating floor before you enter the simulator theatre.
The simulator seats tilt, jolt and change direction quickly to match an animated high-speed chase. The screen creates the sensation of climbing, diving, falling and suddenly accelerating even though the ride remains inside one theatre.
Some movements are deliberately abrupt, including sudden stops and changes in direction.
The attraction uses strobe effects, laser-style lighting and theatrical fog. There are also loud noises and sudden sound effects associated with the action on screen.
The film contains rapidly moving imagery that fills a large part of your vision. Because the physical movement is synchronised with that image, the combination can be significant for guests who experience motion sickness.
The stationary viewing option removes the simulator’s physical tilting and jolting, but the large moving images, sound, lighting and other environmental effects remain part of the surrounding attraction.
The story also includes cartoon explosions, crashes, falls and Minions getting knocked around. It’s deliberately silly rather than realistic, but there’s a lot happening visually and audibly throughout.
Practical Tips
If you need a step-free seating position, need to remain in a wheelchair, need extra time to get into position or have another specific boarding requirement, explain this clearly to a Team Member before entering the theatre. Once guests are being loaded, changing the seating arrangement can be more difficult and may delay boarding.
The stationary position is also useful for anyone who wants to experience the film without the physical simulator movement, including guests who are particularly prone to motion sickness.
Closed captioning is available within the ride vehicle, so ask a Team Member before boarding if you need it.
Service animals can accompany guests in the stationary position, where there is more floor space than in the moving simulator seating.
If the attraction is busy, Universal Express can significantly reduce the amount of time spent in the queue before reaching the pre-show and theatre.
Gru’s plan is to turn you into a Minion. Considering the paperwork involved in becoming one officially, the simulator is probably still the quicker route.
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