Super Nintendo World is set to open at Universal Studios Hollywood in early 2023. Universal announced the opening date for the Nintendo-themed attraction on Thursday, which is a more firm launch window than has been previously given.
To commemorate the announcement of Super Nintendo World’s stateside opening date, Universal Studios posted a few pictures and a video of the signature ride, Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. The ride is an AR-on-rails experience where guests put on AR glasses shaped like Mario’s hat and ride in a four-seat Mario Kart-style go-kart in a race to beat Team Bowser.
The ride is like Men in Black: Alien Attack, but with a few differences. As riders drive through various landscapes inspired by the tracks in the Mario Kart series, they have to collect Coins and throw Koopa Shells at members of Bowser’s team, which results in different outcomes every time they go on the ride. And with AR involved, Mario, Princess Peach, Yoshi, and other characters will be jumping up and down on the projector screens, along with moving sets lined up on the track.
Universal Studios Hollywood will be the first Super Nintendo World location in the U.S. The land and all of its attractions will be designed in the same way as in Universal Studios Japan, where it first opened its doors last year after numerous delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Super Nintendo World is also expected to open at Epic Universe, an expansion of Universal Studios Orlando, a few years after its Hollywood counterpart. Epic Universe was supposed to open next year, but according to the Orlando Sentinel, pandemic-related delays pushed its opening date back to 2025, and Super Nintendo World with it.
