Universal Epic Universe Unveils Super Nintendo World

Theme Parks

Get ready to ride with Mario and Luigi. Today, Universal Orlando Resort released a video teasing another “world” in its upcoming Epic Universe, Super Nintendo World. After entering through a green pipe (which is perfect), guests will find that Super Nintendo World is divided into two sections, Super Mario Land and Donkey Kong Country. Each will have rides and attractions based on their specific IPs; Super Mario Land is adorned with constantly moving figures and set pieces to mimic the energy of the games and will feature a ride based on Mario Kart called Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, as well as a slower ride for little kids called Yoshi’s Adventure. Donkey Kong Country is similarly alive, with beating drums and waterfalls flowing in the background. Only one ride is shown in the video, a roller coaster called Mine Cart Madness. You can see the Super Nintendo World teaser below:

I like the look of this one more than the How to Train Your Dragon world, but that might be because I actually played these games. Super Nintendo World looks fun and imaginative, and you can tell the designers went to great lengths to capture the feel of these games. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge looks wild with AR headsets (which, of course, look like Mario hats) and incredible graphics, essentially putting you in a Mario Kart race with the video game characters. And while a lot of the visuals are based on later Mario games, which makes sense because the graphics are better and easier to realize, I’m glad there are some nods to the old NES games, like that image of the 8-bit King Koopa that pops up on a rock. There isn’t as much to Donkey Kong Country yet, but I’m sure more will be revealed as the park gets closer to opening (and it’s understandable why they concentrated on Mario first). The roller coaster looks cool, especially whatever it is they’re doing to simulate you flying through the air on a runaway mine cart. I’m curious to see what the food looks like; my guess would be mushrooms and turtle soup for Super Mario Land and bananas and coconuts for Donkey Kong Country – plus, like, pizza and fries or whatever. Universal is really going all out for the Epic Universe, and the enthusiasm of the designers is infectious, both from their commentary on the park and the clear love they put into their work. Now, bring on the Universal Monsters.