| Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast | |
|---|---|
.svg) | |
 | |
| Universal Studios Florida | |
| Area | Production Central |
| Status | Removed |
| Soft opening date | April 4, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-04-04) |
| Opening date | April 11, 2003; 22 years ago (2003-04-11) |
| Closing date | August 18, 2011; 14 years ago (2011-08-18) |
| Replaced | The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera (1990–2002) |
| Replaced by | Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (Minion Land on Illumination Ave) |
| Ride statistics | |
| Attraction type | Simulator ride |
| Manufacturer | Intamin |
| Designer | Universal Creative O Entertainment (except for the other Nicktoon characters designs) DNA Productions Nickelodeon Animation Studio Totally Fun Company |
| Theme | Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and otherNicktoons |
| Duration | 8 minutes |
| Height restriction | 40 in (102 cm) |
| Safety Restraints | Lap Bars |
| Ride Host | Jimmy Neutron |
 Universal Express was available | |
 Single rider line was available | |
 Wheelchair accessible | |
 Closed captioning available | |
Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast was asimulator ride atUniversal Studios Florida that replacedThe Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera based on the 2001 movieJimmy Neutron: Boy Genius and it is set to take place after the events of the film. The storyline revolves around Ooblar, (brother to King Goobot who is an arch-enemy of Jimmy's) from the Yolkian planet that has stolen Jimmy's newest rocket creation, theMark IV. Jimmy, along with his best friend Carl and robot dog, Goddard, invite the audience to give chase in other rockets through the worlds andsound stages of theNicktoons.
On March 14, 2011, Universal announced that the attraction would begin operating on a seasonal schedule starting on April 1, 2011, and would operate for limited amounts of time throughout the spring and summer seasons before it closed completely on August 18, 2011.[1] Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast was replaced byDespicable Me Minion Mayhem on July 2, 2012, which became part ofMinion Land on Illumination Ave.[2]
While in the queue line, TV screens that played various videos that the guests could watch. These included the rules of the attraction (given by a Nicktoons character), clips from various Nicktoon shows, Nickelodeon IDs, and a sneak peek preview of the ride via clips from theoriginalJimmy Neutron movie. For the final months of the ride's operation, some of the Nicktoons clips would be swapped out with music videos for currently airing Nickelodeon shows such asVictorious andBig Time Rush.
After a Universal Studios crew member directs riders into a briefing room,Jimmy Neutron welcomes the riders and, with help fromCarl Wheezer, unveils his newest invention: theMark IV rocket. Shortly afterwards,Ooblar breaks into the lab so he can return Carl's teddy bear. Next, he plays a recording from his brother,King Goobot, who tells Jimmy he plans to duplicate the rocket for his armies which will allow him to enslave the earth, Ooblar then claims theMark IV in the name of Yolkus, grabs the remote for it, and flies off. Quickly, Jimmy announces that he and Carl will follow Ooblar in theirMark II rocket, while the riders will follow in the original (and slightly unpredictable)Mark I rockets. He assures everyone that he will safely pilot the riders by remote, right before it shorts circuits and causes a black-out, ending the pre-show with the lab doors opening and a crew member ushering the riders into the rockets and delivering safety instructions.
Carl nervously counts down from 10 for the launch to begin the ride, but Jimmy interrupts him by starting the rockets and leaving the lab. They chase for Ooblar through the sound stages, passing various Nicktoons characters along the way. Ooblar leads them first throughHillwood then to theRugrats' home during a birthday party, with theMark I rockets almost running intoAngelica by accident. However, Goddard pulls her out of the way just in time using his robot claw. They leave the soundstage and make way forFairy World, whereCosmo offers Carl his wand as assistance. The dumbstruck Carl accidentally poofs Ooblar away soWanda poofs the rockets (and their passengers) to the Yolkian planet, sending the rockets crashing through the planet's capital city. The chase ends with Jimmy, Carl, and the riders trapped in King Goobot's throne room, where they are confronted byPoultra. They barely escape after Poultra's breath fries Ooblar and destroys theMark IV, when the engines on theMark II andMark I rockets fail, so Carl, using Cosmo's wand, poofs everyone (Yolkians excluded) back to Earth, where they plummet intoBikini Bottom.SpongeBob, mistaking theMark II for a jellyfish, ensnares Jimmy in his jellyfishing net, blinding the pilot and sending everyone crashing through downtown, ending with theMark II andMark I rockets going through a drain pipe leading back to Jimmy's lab. Just when everyone thinks they're safe, King Goobot barges in, trapping Jimmy and using the pilot remote to make the ride vehicles do the chicken dance. Carl, realizing that he still has Cosmo's wand, sends out a laser blast that flies over the riders and cracks the king. The ride ends with Carl poofing up a bunch of llamas and Jimmy wishing everyone farewell. Then, the door with the large letter "N" closes, ending the ride, and the attendants congratulate the riders on a job well done.
After the ride, the guests went into a play area/store known as Nickstuff. There, the guests played interactive games and saw exhibits fromNickelodeon Studios' history as well as shop for Nickelodeon merchandise. There was also a character meet and greet with SpongeBob and an interactive television camera that guests played with. In the attraction's earlier days, Jimmy Neutron made character appearances with SpongeBob. Music from different Nickelodeon shows plus Nickelodeon channel identification spots were played while the guests played or shopped.
In June 2008, the signs from older Nickelodeon shows were taken away and were replaced with signs from newer Nickelodeon shows such asThe Naked Brothers Band andiCarly, due toNickelodeon Studios closing in 2005.
The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was one of Universal Studios Florida's original attractions, opening with the park on June 7, 1990. In 1998, Universal officials noticed that the ride had lost a large percentage of its operating capacity, most likely due to declining interest in the featuredHanna-Barbera cartoons, and they secretly began work on a new attraction to replace it with which would be based on more recent cartoons rather than older animation. Universal then brought up the idea of opening aNickelodeon themedsimulator ride.
In the early 2000s, a contract was granted withViacom andNickelodeon to replace "Hanna-Barbera" with a simulator ride titled "The Nicktoon Blast". In 2001, it was decided the newestNicktoon characterJimmy Neutron would host the ride, and it was secretly greenlit as "Jimmy Neutron Adventure". Production on the ride film and conceptual art of the new look for the ride was done in 2001 through very early 2003.
On May 19, 2002, Universal officially confirmed that they would not renew their contract for the Hanna-Barbera ride and that it would be replaced by "Jimmy Neutron Adventure" (renamed to "Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast" by January 2003) in Spring 2003.[3] They had also announced the replacement ofAlfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies withShrek 4-D on the same day.
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Unlike the ride film of "The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" which Universal had co-produced withHanna-Barbera Productions, the ride film of Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast was created solely byNickelodeon Animation Studio withViacom Productions as the distributor, and the only involvement which Universal Studios had in production of the ride film was an appearance of the Universal logo on the character Ooblar's hat during the pre-show portion. However, Mario Kamberg, Allen Battino andTrey Stokes, who designed the ride film for "Hanna-Barbera", also signed on to take part in the animation of the Nicktoon Blast ride film. The reason for which "Hanna-Barbera" needed a contract as well despite Universal still in ownership of the ride film was due to the fact that Universal did not own the characters and needed a license to use them at their theme parks.
"The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera" closed on October 20, 2002, and construction began almost immediately afterwards. The rebuilding of "Hanna-Barbera" into "Jimmy Neutron" lasted 5 months and two weeks, currently the second shortest ride turn around inUniversal Orlando Resort's history behind the change fromEarthquake: The Big One toDisaster! The attraction started previews in late March 2003 known as "Technical Reheasals". The ride was officially opened by Universal Orlando on April 11.
On March 14, 2011, Universal Orlando released this statement via their Facebook page:
On April 1, we will close Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast and immediately begin work on an all-new experience based on an amazing concept. The new attraction is just one of many exciting things planned for the next couple of years. Meanwhile, Boy Genius fans will be excited to know that the attraction will re-open for limited periods during the spring and summer before closing permanently on August 18.
— Universal OrlandoFacebook page
The attraction began operating only during peak seasons on April 1, 2011. It remained operating in the seasonal schedule until closing on August 18. On May 19, 2011, Universal Orlando officially announced that theDespicable Me Minion Mayhem would be based on the movie franchiseDespicable Me and was opened in July 2012.[2] As of 2025, while there are no Nickelodeon attractions currently operating at the Universal Studios theme parks, Universal Orlando still sells merchandise and offer meet and greets with characters from Nickelodeon franchises such asSpongeBob SquarePants,Dora the Explorer, andGo, Diego, Go!
The website Orlando Rocks gave a positive review stating "Move over Hanna! This ride is wonderful".[5]
The ride received a 7 out of 10 rating on the website Theme Park Insider.[6] On IMDB, it received a 6 out of 10 star rating. Comparingly, the Hanna-Barbera ride received an 8 out of 10 rating.
