Today, Universal Destinations & Experiences, a unit of Comcast NBCUniversal, reveals more details about Super Nintendo World, coming to Universal Epic Universe in 2025. Guests can step into a world of beloved Nintendo Characters, featuring Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toad and, for the first time in the U.S., Donkey Kong. The themed land opened at Universal Studios Japan in 2021 and Universal Studios Hollywood in 2023 to rave consumer and critical reviews.
Next year, Super Nintendo World will debut at Universal Orlando Resort as one of five immersive, imaginative new realms to explore in the Universal Epic Universe park. Developed in partnership by Universal Creative and Nintendo, the colorful adventure begins as guest traverse Super Mario‘s iconic green pipe to ender Super Nintendo World, surrounding them with scenes and sounds familiar from classic Nintendo games — from the towering Mt. Beanpole and majestic Peach’s Castle to swaying Piranha Plants, pacing Goombas, spinning coins, ? Blocks and more.
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 compelling ride-through experience.
- 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 delightful Yoshi’s Adventure attraction will make its U.S. debut when Super Mario 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.
- 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.
- Yoshi’s Snack Island and Turbo Boost Treats: Guests can also pick up delicious 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.
Donkey Kong Country
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.
- A selection of tropical menu and merchandise offerings in the middle of the jungle — all inspired by the Donkey Kong Country video game franchise and its characters.
- More details will be shared in the coming months.
Guests can level up their fun in Super Nintendo World with the purchase of 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.
Super Nintendo World at Epic Universe will be Universal Destinations and Experiences’ third installment of the immersive land. Universal D&E previously detailed another Epic zone, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, also coming in 2025.
Inspired by the critically acclaimed, blockbuster DreamWorks Animation franchise, Isle of Berk invites guests of all ages to soar with dragons in a colorful, fully-alive world filled with Viking adventures, full of the heart, humor and epic scale of the films. The park promises this land will encompass “one of the most breathtaking environments Universal has ever created.” Attractions include:
- Hiccup’s Wing Gliders – Family thrill coaster.
- The Untrainable Dragon – Live show, inspired by “Untrainable” at Universal Beijing Resort.
- Fyre Drill – Team water cannon competition, featuring Ruffnut and Tuffnut.
- Dragon Racer’s Rally – Individually controlled “dragon-riding trainers” reaching up to 67 feet in the air.
- Viking Training Camp – Interactive kids’ adventure-play camp, featuring an agility course.
- Meet Hiccup and Toothless – Photo op. (Guests may also encounter other familiar Vikings and dragons around the Isle.)
- Food & Shopping:
- Mead Hall
- Spit Fyre Grill
- Hooligan’s Grog & Gruel
- Viking Traders
- How to Treat Your Dragon
- Hiccup’s Workshop
- Toothless’ Treasures
The How to Train Your Dragon zone is in addition to the highly anticipated DreamWorks Land, due to open this summer at Universal Orlando Resort. This expansive area will feature dedicated lands inspired by a few of DreamWorks Animation’s most popular franchises:
Shrek
- Shrek’s Swamp Meet -Featuring Shrek, Princess Fiona & Donkey, outside Shrek’s cottage.
- Shrek’s Swamp for Little Ogres – Slides, wet play area and playground — plus Shrek’s outhouse.
- Mama Luna Feline Fiesta – Interactive experience inspired by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
- King Harold’s Swamp Symphony – Guests create music with a choir of frog ribbits controlled by interactive lily pads.
- Swamp Snacks – Including Shrekzel, Far Far A Waffle, Frozen Ogre and more.
Trolls
- Trolls Trollercoaster – Caterbus family coaster.
- Poppy’s Playground – Play area full of bouncing and climbing structures, in the shade of a 20-foot mushroom.
- Trolls Treats – Ice cream kiosk shaped like Poppy’s boombox, featuring flavors like Poppy-licious Pink (pink lemonade) and BroZone Berry (huckleberry).
- High Five Hideaway – Retail location hosted by Cloud Guy, featuring the latest merch from Shrek, Trolls, Kung Fu Panda, Gabby’s Dollhouse and more.
Kung Fu Panda
- Po’s Kung Fu Training Camp – Play area (wet and dry) inspired by Panda Village, featuring water cannons, giant fans, interactive gong, baby pandas and Mr. Ping’s noodle bowl merry-go-round.
- Po Live! – Digital interactive meet-and-greet with the Dragon Warrior.
Visitors can also enjoy the DreamWorks Imagination Celebration, a multisensory party adventure combining pop songs, energetic dancing and advanced technology in the new DreamWorks Theater; and the DreamWorks Character Zone meet and greet area.
