Ever since Universal Parks and Resorts and Nintendo announced a partnership to bring the game company’s characters and games to a theme park setting, fans have been excited. Unfortunately, at this point you have to travel to Universal Studios Japan to experience Super Nintendo World because that’s the only park that has it up and running. The good news is that’s about to change, and even sooner than we thought, because Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood will open to the public February 17, 2023.
We knew that Super Nintendo World was eyeing an early 2023 grand opening, but that could have technically been any time in the first half of the year. One popular rumor was that USH would open the land on March 10. Aka MAR10 Day, but the land will have been open for nearly a month by then. It’s also almost two months before the opening of the highly anticipated Super Mario Bros. Movie. Universal Studios Hollywood released a new video alongside the announcement and it's got me pumped.
The Southern California theme park scene is going to be absolutely exploding in the first few months of 2023. Disneyland Resort had already announced the opening of Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway just a couple weeks earlier, on January 27. Disneyland will also see the return of the Magic Happens parade one week after Super Nintendo World opens, on February 24, and the reimagined Mickey's Toontown will see it's grand opening on March 8.
Super Nintendo World will open with Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge as its main attraction. The ride inspired by the popular Nintendo racing game will put guests in ride vehicles but also in a set of AR goggles that will enhance the ride experience.
Guests will also be able to become part of the world of Mario and Luigi via special Power Up Bands, which sync up with the Universal Studios Hollywood app and allow users to collect digital coins just like Mario. There are also four Key Challenges inside the lands which guests can do. Collecting all four keys opens up a special boss battle with Bowser Jr.
A theme park land isn’t complete without themed food, and Super Nintendo World will have that in the form of the Toadstool Cafe. The 1-UP Factory will also be available for purchasing all the Mario branded merchandise you can carry.
This is the biggest new addition to Universal Studios Hollywood in years. The theme park simply doesn’t have the size of others. Several old soundstages had to be torn down simply to make enough room for the land. The one major benefit of that is that, unlike many cases when a new theme park attraction means replacing an old one, USH fans aren’t losing anything here, just gaining more to see and do
Super Nintendo World is the one confirmed part of Universal Orlando Resort’s Epic Universe. Unfortunately, that park won’t be opening until 2025, so if you need your Nintendo fix outside the games Universal Studios Hollywood is the place you’ll have to go for the next couple years.
