Nickelodeon’s iconic whiz kid, Jimmy Neutron, was a show that I embarrassingly admit that I faithfully watched as a kid. Looking back, I feel like an idiot because of the pure stupidity featured in the show and just how annoying the main characters were. After a very long and happy hiatus from viewing the series, I ultimately had to seize my hiatus to experience this attraction. So was it worth it? Partially.
Nestled right at the front of the park, this was the first attraction I experienced since it is located right next to the main entrance. One thing I definitely can’t praise the ride on is it’s exterior. The building honestly is just an eyesore in my opinion. Nonetheless, lines weren’t all that bad, 15 minutes or so, but again I was visiting Universal when crowds were pretty light so I don’t know what they’re like on normal days. During the wait, various clips from Nicktoons streamed from many monitors, reminding me exactly why I stopped watching Nickelodeon.
Well, the attraction begins with a pre-show that establishes the ride’s uninspired and very corny plot- an evil alien has come to steal one of Jimmy’s rockets in order to duplicate it, and it turn enslave the Earth. Couldn’t a better, more inspired plot be created than that? Eventually, guests enter the theater where they can choose from the motion-simulating seats or stationary seats. Obviously I chose the motion seats because they just make attractions much more immersive. However, I found the seats to be really uncomfortable, especially during some of the scenes during the film, which I’ll detail in a bit.
5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Blast Off! Led by Jimmy, we pursue the evil aliens on a chaotic race through various Nicktoons such as Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob, and the Fairly OddParents. Around every corner was a different Nicktoon who contributed their zany humor into the attraction to enhance the experience and add some kid-friendly humor to the ride (as opposed to the Simpsons’ far superior, adult humor). All of the motion is very well synched to the film and the film’s quality is excellent, but some of the motions were bumpy and uncomfortable at times, namely the horrid chicken dance, which could have just been omitted from the attraction. Nonetheless, the film is decent and pretty long.
So how is it? It’s really a mixed bag. Some parts I definitely praise the attraction for such as the visuals and motion coordination, but there are some glaring negatives, namely the bumpy motion and some annoying Nicktoons, that hold this attraction back. Kids definitely will enjoy this one, but for most, this attraction is passable since Universal just has so many far superior attractions that are far more worthy of your time. Still, Jimmy Neutron is a decent attraction that is better than the Hannah Barabara attraction it replaced.
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