Guest writer TPW takes us on a journey through the brand-new Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios in Hollywood. How does the latest in immersive lands compare to everything else in North America?
Hello! Theme Park Wizard here and for three days in a row I have gone to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood (USH) and I am going to give you my comprehensive review on the land!
Super Nintendo World officially opens on February 17th, 2023 but some days until then the land will be open for technical rehearsals which is called a soft opening. I believe the best way to break this review down is to go through each activity in separate sections so as Mario would say Let’s A Go! (Note: This land at least initially will be operating on a Virtual Line system to access the land because it is small, so make sure to get tp USH early and as soon as you get into the parking lot the app will allow you to reserve a timeslot for that day.)
Immersion
Walking through the warp pipe is quite the breathtaking experience. The reveal into the mushroom kingdom is really a sight to behold especially if you are a Mario fan. The land has tons and tons of easter eggs scattered about from various Mario games and it is a real treat to go and find them all. Not only are you nearly completely immersed in the land, but you are surrounded by the Nintendo Music and sounds from the game. The land has two areas of shade with mushroom trees providing the shade and several toadstools for guests to sit on. The land is two stories which helps block out sightlines (more on that later) and has many moving animatronics from various Mario games such as Thwomps, Piranha Plants, Koopa Troopas and more!
Toadstool Cafe
The land’s only place to eat is at Toadstool Cafe located inside the massive red and white mushroom at the back of the land. Not only is this the best themed restaurant at USH, but in my opinion it is one of the best themed restaurants at any theme park. This restaurant is a mix of quick service and table service as you order as you would in a quick service, but then they assign you a table and they bring your food to you. My group got the Mario Burger and the Power Up spaghetti and for dessert we shared a taramouse. Everything was very good and my party members said their burger was the best burger they have ever had at a theme park. The spaghetti was good as well and the taramouse melted in my mouth.
Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge
After you fill up on some good food, you will probably want to go ride the land’s only attraction which is Mario Kart. Quick note, Mario Kart at least initially will not be accepting Universal Express, only VIP groups can use the Express lane right now. Alrighty, back to the queue of the attraction. The queue for the ride is very impressive and again I’d wager it is the best themed queue at USH. Nearly every inch except for the upper level outdoor part is themed to different games of the Mario universe. The extended queue is themed to Yoshi’s Island and Mario Galaxy. Then you go outdoors under some lightly themed racing tarps and into Bowser’s Castle. Once inside the castle you see a massive statue of Bowser that greets you into his home. Wrapping around the statue, you explore various rooms of the castle which have hundreds of easter eggs to the games such as Paper Mario and more! You also see a photo of Princess Peach on Bowser’s throne. Working your way through the queue, you head into the factory where you see Bowser is making Bob-ombs and other various items to prepare for the upcoming race. Then you move into the first of two pre shows that will explain what is going to happen in the ride. The team member will direct you to look at the screen because it will teach you how to put on the helmet and how to play the game. The problem here is that both rooms (which do nearly the same thing) have no audio so you don’t know when the presentation is starting and therefore if you miss it because you’re having a conversation or looking at your phone you may not know how to play the game. Hopefully Universal will add audio in the future. The helmet itself is very easy to put on and snaps right on your head. There is a knob in the back to adjust the helmet and make it looser or tighter. You then proceed to the loading station and board your race kart.
Once inside your vehicle you can tap your Power Up band ($40) if you have one to collect coins and achievements throughout the ride. If you do not have a band the ride is just as fun! The Augmented Reality (AR) goggles are in compartments on the vehicles. They easily snap on to your helmet and then away you go to the big race! I will link a video to the POV without AR if you want spoilers but until then let me tell you how fun this ride really is. This ride has several scenes each themed to a level of the games including the ghost mansion levels, underwater levels and a grand finale of rainbow road! Your goal during this ride is to beat Team Bowser in the race and to do that you must get 100 coins by the time the race is over. It is very easy to play the game, your head is your aim and there are two buttons on the steering wheel that you use to shoot your shells. You don’t have an infinite amount of shells, you will run out and they will auto reload after a few seconds. The AR is crystal clear the best I have ever seen and I was never a big fan of 3D or VR type attractions. This ride is a mix of Midway Mania and any fantasyland dark ride. It is not fast (that is coming next year with the rumored 70+ mph Fast and Furious coaster) but through AR and wind effects it makes it feel like you are going fast and overall I think this will be a big win for fans and for Universal.
Land Interactivity
Super Nintendo World is the most interactive land on the planet. It truly is incredible how much of this land has objects to touch or games to play. It is truly enhanced if you purchase a power up band from one of the several ATM’s they have in the front or in the land’s gift store the 1UP Factory. If you do not care about coins or the final boss battle with Bowser Junior then only one person in your party needs a band as every game besides one is multiplayer and you only need the band to activate the game. There are three mini games and then the exclusive, if you have a band and three keys, fourth mini game which is the boss battle with Bowser Junior. Besides the games there are multiple POW and Question Blocks to hit and gather points and achievements. Scattered about throughout the land are “M”’s embedded into the wall and when you tap them different nintendo characters appear in 8 bit form and those are stamps you can collect. There are a total of 128 stamps to collect throughout the land. In Toad’s Cafe you can collect two presents by tapping your band and winning a random prize. In the USH app there is a separate Super Nintendo World app and in that app you can create a username and sync your power up band so all your points and stamps can be found there. If your phone is dead or you simply just don’t want to use it, there are leaderboards in the land where you can tap your band and see all the same stats you would in the app. There are multiple achievements you can get as well in the app such as doing various things on Mario Kart or the mini games or even looking through the AR binoculars on the second level of the land. Each game is very fun and is a nice workout and is easily mastered with teamwork.
Character Meet And Greets
As of right now, you can only meet Mario, Luigi, and Peach. Toad will not be in the land at least initially. The characters are so advanced it is pretty amazing. They blink and talk to you which is super cool. Peach meets outside her grotto and Mario and Luigi meet in the center of the land.
Constructive Criticism
This land is very very fun and is 95% amazing in my honest opinion. Die hard theme park fans and some guests may notice some not so great things within the land. I do think the pre-shows in Mario Kart should have audio and hope Universal adds it in eventually. Due to recent inclement weather in Southern California it seems the paint over the restrooms has started to stain a bit, but with a good dry spell coming I am sure USH will address that before the big grand opening. Online some fans have been aggressively complaining about sightline issues within the land, particularly on the second level and those are hard to obstruct mainly because USH is a two story theme park and also has a few skyscrapers behind it. Maybe in the future Universal will address those particularly with the rumored Donkey Kong Country expansion that is supposed to open in 2025. All in all, I think this land is very fun, the best land at USH and I think it will be a huge hit when it opens to the public on February 17th, 2023. If you liked this article and are interested in visiting, check out my Youtube channel Theme Park Wizard for a comprehensive tips and tricks video that will be coming out the week this land officially opens to the public.
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