Universal's Epic Universe to debut SUPER NINTENDO WORLD with iconic Nintendo games

May 02, 2024 in "Universal Orlando Resort"

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Universal Epic Universe – SUPER NINTENDO WORLD concept art

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Posted: Thursday May 2, 2024 8:30am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Universal Orlando has today revealed official details about SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Epic Universe, which will feature attractions, dining, shopping, and interactive experiences inspired by the Super Mario franchise and – for the first time in the U.S. – Donkey Kong Country.

Developed in partnership between Universal Creative and Nintendo, the land combines iconic Nintendo characters with Universal's theme park experiences to deliver a multi-sensory environment where guests can experience the fun and adventure of Nintendo games in a whole new way.

SUPER NINTENDO WORLD will debut at Universal Orlando Resort in 2025 as one of five worlds at the all-new Universal Epic Universe theme park, which will open in Orlando.

ENTER THE ICONIC GREEN PIPE

It all begins when guests enter the portal to SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, which will transport them through the iconic green pipe into the immersive land. As guests emerge from the pipe, vibrant scenery and exciting kinetic energy surround them as they are greeted by the familiar sights and sounds that they've experienced on their Nintendo game consoles – from the towering Mt. Beanpole and majestic Peach's Castle to swaying Piranha Plants, pacing Goombas, spinning coins, Blocks and more. Inside SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, guests will be able to explore Super Mario Land – where they'll enjoy adventures alongside Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and other characters; and Donkey Kong Country – where they'll encounter thrills featuring Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and other members of the Kong family.

SUPER MARIO LAND

The colorful landscapes of the Mushroom Kingdom come to life in Super Mario Land, where guests can experience:

Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge: Guests are invited to join Team Mario and battle Team Bowser for the Golden Cup in this groundbreaking attraction that fuses augmented reality, projection mapping technology and elaborate environments to bring the fun of the Mario Kart video game series to life in a ride-through experience.

Mario Kart

Guests up for the challenge will enter through Bowser's Castle – where they'll wind its corridors and get a glimpse of Bowser's deceptive plans to stack the odds in his favor – before boarding their kart and heading to the starting line. Then, guests steer through a variety of Mario Kart courses – collecting coins, tossing shells at Team Bowser, dodging obstacles, and more – as they join their favorite characters and compete to help Team Mario win the race.

Yoshi's Adventure: The Yoshi's Adventure attraction will make its U.S. debut when SUPER NINTENDO WORLD opens at Universal Epic Universe. On this family-friendly ride, guests of all ages will enjoy breathtaking views of Super Mario Land as they join Yoshis and travel through Mushroom Kingdom landscapes in search of glowing eggs – encountering many familiar characters along the way.

Yoshi's Adventure

Toadstool Cafe: At Toadstool Cafe, guests can enjoy a variety of tasty dishes inspired by the world of Super Mario and its characters, including Mario and Luigi-themed burgers, Super Mushroom Soup, Piranha Plant Caprese, Fire Flower Spaghetti and Meatballs and so much more. Guests will also get glimpses of several Toads cooking up culinary creations through various virtual windows as they dine inside the restaurant.

Toadstool Cafe

Yoshi's Snack Island and Turbo Boost Treats: Guests can also pick up treats, snacks and beverages at these walk-up dining locations.

1-UP Factory and Mario Motors: Guests can shop for souvenirs, apparel, toys and more inspired by their favorite Super Mario characters and adventures within these retail locations.

Meet and Greets: Guests can meet, greet and interact with Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Toad throughout various areas in Super Mario Land.

Meet and Greet

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY

Donkey Kong Country Overview

At the edge of Super Mario Land, guests will discover an entrance that leads them to Donkey Kong Country, where they'll explore the lush, tropical landscape from the video game series, complete with tall trees, waterfalls, landmarks such as The Golden Temple and more. Here, guests can enjoy:

Mine-Cart Madness: Guests will hop into a mine cart and careen through the jungle to help Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong protect the coveted golden banana on this first-of-its-kind family coaster. Utilizing an unprecedented ride system, innovative technology and a unique coaster design, Mine-Cart Madness will send riders on a thrilling adventure where they will experience the jaw-dropping maneuvers that they've seen Donkey Kong and the mine carts perform in the video games – including getting blasted out of a barrel, seemingly jumping over gaps as they speed along a rickety track, and so much more.

Mine Cart Madness

POWER-UP BANDS

Guests can level up their fun in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD by purchasing a Power-Up Band, a wearable for their wrist that allows them to enhance their play throughout Super Mario Land and Donkey Kong Country. With the Power-Up Band, guests can collect digital coins by punching Blocks and playing interactive activities, collect digital stamps on attractions, earn digital keys to unlock an exclusive showdown against Bowser Jr., and discover other hidden surprises. Guests can also access Leaderboard screens in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD to see where they rank amongst fellow guests.

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BrianLo10 hours ago

I didn't know they were making a live action How to train your Dragon. Certainly fortuitous timing.

UNCgolf15 hours ago

Yeah, that's why I added the "if maintained and functioning properly" disclaimer.

JoeCamel15 hours ago

And Spidey just got another TEA award at IAAPA, amazing for an "old" ride

drkarcher2216 hours ago

River Adventure can get moved back up when they finally get around to fixing all the Dino’s and scenes that just don’t work anymore

SplashJacket18 hours ago

Yeah, the FJ screen domes have aged really poorly. Also think part of the issue is screens often direct your focus towards some time of specific action or event whereas non-screen scenes have a less focused attention, leading to more diversity of experience and thus increased re-ride ability, because the moments perceived are different each time. Thankfully, I think Universal realizes this, and thus the premiere dark rides here are done right.

UNCgolf18 hours ago

I personally think screen heavy attractions suffer from this in general. It's happened to Flight of Passage for me too -- I still like FoP, but I honestly find NRJ more enjoyable now. I'm sure it varies from person to person, but there's something about being in a physical environment that feels different/less replicable than watching something happen on a screen. Attractions like Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Spaceship Earth haven't lost any of their appeal to me compared to ones like FoP and Spiderman. FJ and Spiderman are both obviously more than just screens (unlike FoP) but they're still a major part of the experience.

SplashJacket19 hours ago

Spider-Man and FJ were both super high on my list when I first experienced them but now they’re no where near the top. It is interesting that both have fallen so much in comparison to other attractions like Indy or RSR. Perhaps because both focused more on technology? I don’t think the Epic premiere attractions will suffer the same fate, but we’ll see

UNCgolf19 hours ago

Forbidden Journey wasn't even the best ride at Islands of Adventure when it opened -- both Spiderman (which I'm also nowhere near as high on as other people) and Jurassic Park River Adventure were (and are) better, at least when maintained and functioning properly. FJ has more impressive technology for sure, but it doesn't really use it very well.

sonoma1521 hours ago

It's still my third favorite dark ride of all time, right behind Spiderman and Tower of Terror!

TalkToEthan1 day ago

Could you elaborate on that below as I’m not understanding what you mean—— I must be missing an obvious point you’re making. Thanks thanks

SplashJacket1 day ago

Look at what opened 15 years after Indy opened and then look at what opened 15 years after FJ opened. Not exactly a similar slate

DarkMetroid5671 day ago

Oh yeah, it’s still very good, especially the physical set dark ride portions. But the “#1 best ride ever” talk didn’t last long.

ToTBellHop1 day ago

He does look at that dragon the same way Nala looks at Simba during “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?”

drkarcher221 day ago

“and the Time Room – which is overflowing with a variety of Time-Turners and unique timekeeping devices.” This would imply that we would be going into the department of mysteries, the room where the time turners are kept is in the department. They get destroyed in the final battle in Order of the Phoenix. Presumably because the author was tired of people pointing out how pretty much every single plot in the series could be solved with them. Oh, Fudge doesn’t believe Voldemort is back, well just have him send an Auror back to Little Hangleton at the time Harry says Voldemort returned to check the validity of his claims. Even if they can’t interfere in what happened they’d still have clear proof that he returned and knowledge of his plans and the names of the Death Eaters in his inner circle, but that’s enough overthinking a book. The ride looks incredible, I love that we’re getting in queue animatronics in multiple rides with Ministry, DK and Monsters. (Along with potentially more depending on how they do the fortune teller for Curse of the Wolf, although I’d assume that will be done with a screen like Bill in the Gringotts line)