When Universal Studios brought Super Nintendo World to their Studios Themepark in Osaka Japan, it was an unqualified success. Crowds flocked to the world and supercharged the park attendance for months after opening. With this success, a US location was all but assured, and already in the pipeline if truth be told, and despite delays in opening due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Super Nintendo World opened at Universal Studios in February 2023.
The Launch coincided with the release of the new Super Mario Bros. Movie, which took over $ 1 billion at the box office and guests poured into the new land. We recently got our first look at this epic new location and have put together our full guide on what to expect on your visit to Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood.
For the die-hard Nintendo fan, the World is a dream come true, but for those outside the Nintendo Bubble, it is hard to appreciate the devotion and passion true Nintendo fans have for their franchise. However, the land is filled with Iconic imagery and Mario is one of the most well-known video game franchises in the world. There are very few of us who have never picked up and controller and at least blasted a few laps of Mario Kart. The Mario world is so pervasive most people recognize many of the worlds and characters without even realizing it.
So the New World at Universal Studios offers something for all guests and has become a must-see part of the Universal Studios experience, consuming large parts of your day and even the whole day for those really into exploring and collecting the virtual collectibles dotted around the land.
What is Super Nintendo World?
The land has been designed to transport people in the Video Game world of Mario in a way we have not really seen before (outside of Universal Studio’s Japan). Guests enter the world the only way imaginable, through a Green Warp Pipe, and enter the blocky 8-bit world of Super Mario Bros, through Princess Peaches Castle.
The Area has high walls and is completely immersive with little clue to any kind of world outside. Everything is Blocky and Mario based. Moving platforms, Phirana plants, Question-Mark boxes, Koopa Turtles, Mushrooms, Gumbas, and a fantastic 8-bit soundtrack. There are recognizable characters all around including, Toad, Yoshi, Thwomp, and Pokey, with Bob-Ombs and Chain Chomps inside Bowsers Castle.
The Imposing Castle takes center stage with Toadsool CAfe, and Princess Peaches Casle other prominent landmarks. The Castle is the location of Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge, The Toadstool Cafe is the Dining location in the Land with a Large 1-up Merchandise Store.
The constant “ba-ding” of coins rings out around the whole place and people take turns smashing the Boxes with their Power-up bands, more on those later.
Overall it’s a really immersive and fun action for Mario and it’s pretty much a dream come true but on the whole, we really think more could have been done with the location.
Where is Super Nintendo World Located?
The Land is located in the Lower Lot, head down the huge Escalator and through the lot, past Jurraic World, the Mummy Ride, and towards Transpformwer. Take a left and head into the Warp Pipe. The world is pretty hidden, not in a hard-to-find way, but in so much as you can’t see it from the outside, making the Wrp Pipe even more powerful.
The Space for the Land is pretty small, and while thinking it’s really cool, a stinging thought of “Is this it” does jump to mind. It’s much smaller than Hogsmede up in the upper lot, and overall feels pretty cramped and busy despite the Virtual Queue and 3-hour Mario Kart Queue.
Universal Studios is really limited in space and will never really be the fully-fledged theme park experience, always hampered by a compromise between Themepark and the trillion-dollar Film Studios. Super Nintendo World was squeezed into a small corner of the PArk and really feels as much. Even with only this small footprint, they still had to demolish several Soundstages and encroach on actual Film Studio acreage to build the world.
This fairly small footprint does help with the feeling you are in a separate world though one that is more 8-bit in nature than anywhere else in the world.
How To Get Into Super Nintendo World?
Surprisingly it’s not that easy. Capacity is quite limited and while the Land is new demand is far outstretching Supply. Due to this incredible demand, Universal is running a Reservation System to enter the World. You can’t just walk up and enter the land.
Reservations for the Land are made via the Universal App. You need to be in the park to make reservations. Simply open up the App, Select Virtual Lines, and choose the Super Nintendo World Option. Add how many people are in your party and then book the most suitable time. If Super Nintendo Land does not appear, there is no reservation System in place.
You can now head off and do whatever you want. Remember, you need to be in the park but not down at the actual Land Entry. So check the app as soon as you enter the PArk. Once your Reservation time arrives, you will receive a notification in case you forget, head down to the lower lot, scan the QR code and you are in.
Remember this is ONLY for entry to the Land, you are still going to have to queue for the Attractions and Bowsers Challenge, and have separate Dining reservations for Toadstool Cafe.
VIP and Express Pass holders will get one entry to the land without a reservation, however, ONLY VIP can skip the Queue for Bowsers Challenge.
We tend to find, later on in the day Demand drops and the reservation system is removed allowing free access to the land, but there will still be large queues for Bowsers Challenge right up until the park closes. On quiet days there may not be a reservation system in place, but always check when you arrive as it pays to have your name down as soon as possible.
Super Nintendo World Attractions
While there are several things to see and do in the Land, there is on;y one real attraction. This is the hotly anticipated and largely disappointing Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge
Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge
We really did not get along with this ride at all. After hours of queueing (Not really we were VIP) the overall experience of the ride was terrible. The Dark Ride elements are actually really good, but not something you want to spend 2-3 hours queueing for. If you are big Nintendo and Mario fans then the models are really cool, but it is just basic dark ride theming and nothing to get overly excited about.
The big news here is the AR headsets that are designed to overlay characters onto the actual world and allow you to do battle with the opposing team. But it really does not work and the two worlds, the AR and Real, are completely separate. You either play a pretty awful game on a small field-of-view screen or pay attention to the world around you. You can’t do both and you largely miss the ride trying to fire Koopa shells at some 8-bit characters floating in front of your eyes.
It’s possibly the most disappointing ride experience we have had, and we have done a lot of rides.
Read more in our full review here: ⭐⭐ – 2 Stars
Things to Do at Super Nintendo World
While the most popular thing to do in the land is to stand for 2-3 hours in a queue for Mario Kart, at least you get to do this inside Bowsers Castle, there are several other sites and attractions on offer.
Power-Up Bands
The main other attraction is the Mini-Games that are dotted around the World. In order to participate in these you need a power-up band, and in case you hadn’t guessed this is the latest in a long line of theme-part add-ons that come at an extra cost.
Power-Up bands cost $40 each and come in a variety of styles based off characters – Mario, Luigi, Toad, Yoshi, Princess Peach, or Princess Daisy. The styles are almost purely cosmetic so choose whichever you prefer. On occasion, special edition styles are released, but not as often as with other add-ons such as these but we imagine in the future more and more specials will be released in order to get people to re-buy.
The Power-Up bands have various functions in the Land. You can collect Coins from the various coin boxes dotted around the world. Punching them MArio Style to a satisfying “ba-ding” as many times as you can in a short time. You can tap into Mario Kart: Bowsers Cahllenge to keep a record of your score. Receive an enhanced experience when meeting the Characters, and you can keep track of your score and others in the Universal App.
However, the main reason to buy a band is to play the Mini Games.
Mini Games
There are 4 Key Challenges dotted around the Super Nintendo World. These are short Mini Games that require some basic action to pass the challenge and collect a Key.
Goomba Crazy Crank
Crank the Wheel to stop the Goomba from getting to you.
Koopa Troopa POWer Punch
Time the POW box to fire a Koopa Shell up to hit a power-up box.
Piranha Plant Nap Mishap
Run around silencing Alarm clocks with a tap to stop the Piranha Plant from waking up.
Thwomp Panel Panic
A pretty hard game actually where you have to tap a series of panels in a certain order to turn the whole large panel blue or yellow.
Boss Battle: Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown
If you pass three of the Mini-Games (and you have to try pretty hard to fail) you get to play the Boss Battle, Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown. This is located in the Castle and has an amazing queue line as you wait for your showdown with Bowser.
This is a Digital game where your Shadow is digitized on the screen and you control this to bash away enemies and dodge various dangers. It’s a lot of fun and if you succeed you earn the Golden Mushroom and have effectively completed Super Nintendo World.
Overall there is a lot of little secret things and collectible to find around the world. The headline stuff can be knocked out in 20-30 mins and can feel disappointing, but there are so many little easter eggs and surprises if you spend time exploring the world and taping everything you can find. These all link to your app and sync as collectibles and place you on leaderboards of the day and all time.
If you are the kind of person whole like collecting and hunting things out this is going to be really addictive!
1-Up Factory Store
Obviously, it would not be a themepark land if you could not buy some merchandise and souvenirs for your Visit. Also, Mario World and Nintendo are the perfect fit for various Stuffed Toys, Teshirst Hoodies, collectibles, and costumes.
The 1-up factory is stuffed with things that any Nintendo fan will go crazy for. Stuffed Marios and Luigis, Bowsers, Goombas, and Koopas, tons of cold Ts and Tops, and Marios Onesies are just a selection of what is available in his really cool shop.
Dining at Super Nintendo World – Toadstool Cafe
There is on;y one Dining option in this pretty small land. While other areas of the Park have various options, the only place to get something to eat in Super Nintendo World is in the Toadstool Cafe.
This is fantastically themed and you can see Toad himself preparing your meal (Digitally) as you wait at various mushroom tables. It really is super cute inside and well worth checking out even if you just want a snack. Infact the snacks are really the best options.
The main food options are the Mario or Luigi Burger, a Bacon and Mushroom topped Beef Burger, or a Grilled Chicken Burger with Green Peppers, both served with Truffle Fries. Or opt for the Bowser’s Fireball Challenge, a 1lb Spicy Meatball with Bowsers Pastry Face! There are a couple of fancy Salads that look super cute and Piranha Plant Caprese Is one of the coolest presentations we have seen!
We loved the Toadstool Cheesy Garlic Knots are really cute, and again for dessert, you have to see the ? Block Tiramisu which is just so well thought out. The Super Star Lemon Squash is filled with Boabo balls and cool little Jelly Stars.
Overall we think the Cafe is incredibly well presented and thought out. The food is not amazing from a culinary perspective but everything is so well presented and thought out, it’s really well one and we loved the experience. One of the best parts of Super Nintendo land.
However this means access to the Cafe can be pretty tricky, When Super Nintendo World is operating a Virtual line you are likely to need to join a waitlist to even get into the Cafe, and this can be problematic if you are queueing for Bowsers Challenge too.
The best option is often to Dine elsewhere and come back later in the day when things have died down and the Cafe is often Walk-in.
Characters at Super Nintendo World
The Final highlight of the Land is the Character Meet and Greets. At various times of the Day Mario and Luigi are rolled out to greet the fans. And this leads to some of the largest queues of the day, apart from Bowser’s Challenge.
As well at the Bros., there is also the chance to meet Princess Peach. These are all MAsked characters as you might expect from Computer Game Characters which means they can keep rolling the characters out all day so everyone gets their photo.
If you wear your Power-Up Band then you may get some cool interaction with the Characters as they will have access to your scores throughout the day. So if you have done very well, or very badly they may reference this. This means it pays to have your meet and greets after you have done stuff otherwise, they will have nothing to reference.
Overall
While Super Nintendo World is small it’s really well put together and does feel pretty immersive. There is a whole lot going on and while initial impressions can feel a little “Is This It?” once you start digging down and exploring it properly there is something going on in just about every little corner of the World.
To fully appreciate this you are going to need a Power-Up Band, which is pretty underhand of Universal. You have already paid your entry fee, you should not need to pay more. Take the Wizarding World of Harry Poter. If you choose to Buy a Wand, you have a cool memento and can unlock the fund spell spots around Hogsmeade, but if you choose not to you still get 90+% of the experience, without a power-up bad you are missing a lot of the world!
Really the only big letdown for us was the ride. The queues were just abhorrent and while these should drop, it’s not a ride we would queue for at all. A major disappointment and we think the area really needs another attraction. But with hugely limited space, we do wonder if that will be incoming!
Overall we kind of think the Super Nintendo World has just about missed the mark, we can absolutely see what they were trying to do and overall it’s still really cool and Nintendo fans will love it. But we think it could have been so much more. And honestly, if you are not a big fan of the Plumbers, there is not much to like at all.
What is beyond doubt though is how utterly popular the land is. We have not seen Universla this busy since they opened Hogsmeade. It was absolutely rammed on a rainy Monday in early June. far from peak season or time, so there is little doubt the gamble has paid off regardless of our reservations.
Have Your Say
Have you been to Super Nintendo World YET? How did you find the experience? Were you big Nintendo fans, or just casual Mario players? Did you grab a Power-Up Band? Did you get the three keys? Or maybe you just came for the Toadstool Cafe. Whatever your thoughts just let us know in the comments below, we love hearing from you. And if you have any questions about your upcoming visit just fire away in the comments and we will do our best to answer.
