The eagerly anticipated Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood opens to the public on February 17, 2023, but annual passholders had the opportunity to come preview the land before its official opening. Here’s a recap of my preview experience.
Besides being an annual passholder, you also had to register for a 2-hour timeslot. These went very quickly, but Luke and I managed to snag one for January 29, 2023 at 4pm.
As recommended in the confirmation email, we arrived early to check-in and receive our blue-colored wristbands to enter the land. Check-in was just outside the entrance of the park and was super quick and easy. Once we scanned our passes, we headed down to the lower level where Super Nintendo World is located.
Since it was still too early to enter the land, we had lunch with some friends who had just finished up their 12-2pm timeslot. They warned us it was super crowded and they spent most of their 2 hours waiting in the Mario Kart line and that we most likely wouldn’t get a chance to do both the ride and eat at Toadstool Cafe.
After lunch, we saw a huge line already forming to enter SNW for the 4pm timeslot. We decided to join ourselves and finally made it to the iconic green pipe entrance around 4:15pm. Yes, you heard that right.
You enter Super Nintendo World via a huge green pipe!
But before we went in, we, of course, had to take some photos out front to commemorate this special occasion!
When you enter the green pipe, you’ll hear that classic pipe sound as well as music from the games. Then you’ll go through a tunnel of dazzling lights that will then transport you inside of Peach’s Castle. This was so neat and made me feel like I had literally stepped into the video games.
Take note of Peach’s Golden Mushroom and the message Bowser Jr leaves on the door – he’s stolen it and it’s up to you to retrieve it! More on that later though-
Once you exit the castle, you’ll step into…
THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM
I know I JUST said this, but you REALLY will feel like you just stepped into a video game! The world is SO immersive and feels alive with so many moving parts. It’s not a huge area, but they really use the space well. Oh and the colors! I just loved all the bright, vibrant colors that really pop and remind you of those classic games.
After the initial wave of awe and amazement settled a bit, I realized just how many people there were and it was hard not to feel a bit overwhelmed. There were lots of lines and I wasn’t sure what they were all for.
First thing I did was go to one of the kiosks to purchase a Power-Up band. You can buy these also at the 1-Up Factory and various locations outside the land in Universal as well as CityWalk, but the kiosk seemed the most fun way to do it. It was very simple and bonus, there was no line.
There are six styles inspired by different Mario characters to choose from and each band costs $43.80 (after tax) and annual passholder discounts do NOT apply. Yoshi is my favorite so I had to go with him!
Quick tip: There’s a map of the land inside the packaging. Do not do what I did and accidentally throw it away!
After I connected my band to the Universal app, you best believe I started hitting as many block as I could find! It is SO satisfying to hear THAT sound!
I also got my first look at Mario and Luigi, who looked AMAZING – did you know they blink and TALK?? So cool, but their meet and greet line had been capped so my meeting of the famous brothers would have to wait another day.
Around 4:40pm, with a posted 240 minute wait time (that couldn’t be right?), we got in line for…
MARIO KART: BOWSER’S CHALLENGE
Like the main land, you enter the ride initially through a green pipe. Inside, you can go straight ahead for the regular standby line (and ADR line) or turn right for the Single Rider line. Luke and I are ALL about Single Rider lines, but since this was our first time on the ride, we wanted to do it together and experience the full queue.
The line was so long that we started in the extended queue room which is an extension of the Yoshi’s Island theming. Next, we entered an underground cave room with lots of glowing crystals and even stars! Eventually, you make your way up and outside where you’ll see the entrance to Bowser’s Castle as well as an incredible view of the entire land.
There is SO much to see inside Bowser’s Castle! So many Easter eggs and little details, I wanted to just stop and look at everything. Unfortunately, with such a long line, we had to keep moving pretty quickly. Once you pass a bunch of the Mario Kart trophies, you’ll enter Bowser’s Library where you’ll see his throne that holds a framed photo of Princess Peach.
Next room is the Factory where you’ll see lots of Bob-ombs and Bullet Bills.
Then you’ll enter the first of two pre-show rooms. The first has a bunch of screens like you’re in a control room. They’ll instruct you how to put on your visor headsets. The second will teach you how to play the game/ride. It also has a display of various characters’ iconic racing gear and props like Mario’s Tanooki suit!
Finally, you will pick up your visor headset! Then you just head down to the loading room and get into your car.
When it is your turn, you’ll get in, tap your Power-Up band if you have one on the steering wheel, and put on your AR goggles that are in the lap bar – then its time to race!!
The ride is unlike any other! It moves along a track through various rooms and scenes, combining the use of physical objects, screens, and AR. It is a lot and can be overwhelming, especially on your first time. I was torn between wanting to score as high as possible and wanting to take in everything. The ride ends with Rainbow Road before revealing whether you as Team Mario or Team Bowser won.
It was almost 7pm and dark out by the time we got off the ride. So luckily, not the stated 4-hour wait, but we were in line nearly 2 and a half hours. Since it was long past 6pm, when our 2-hour timeslot was supposed to end, we weren’t quite sure if we would be immediately directed toward the exit once we got off or what would happen next. However, it seemed like because we were the last timeslot, they let us stay till close. We also saw other wristband colors so they might’ve opened it up to earlier guests as well in the evening.
By evening, there were very few guests compared to when we first entered. I think the cold sent many home early.
After exiting through the 1-Up Factory gift shop, we took advantage of the nearly empty land. We put ourselves down for a reservation at Toadstool Cafe and, while we waited to be called, decided it was time to retrieve Peach’s stolen Golden Mushroom! To face off against Bowser Jr and win it back, you must first collect at least 3 golden keys from the 4 mini games. These are: Goomba Crazy Crank, Piranha Plant Nap Mishap, Thwomp Panel Panic, and Koopa Troopa POWer Punch. Some were more fun than others and had varying degrees of difficulty. After you retrieve the golden keys, you can “unlock” Bowser Jr’s Shadow Showdown. For this final boss battle, your shadow is projected onto a screen and, using your actual movements, you can defeat Bowser Jr by swatting away Bob-ombs, dodging Bullet Bills, and throwing fireballs. Be careful though because if you get hit, you can shrink – but luckily, if you jump and punch a mushroom, you can grow back even bigger! This was such a cool and unique game – even though I scored terribly this first round, I still had so much fun!
Of course, I had to do some exploring and find more block to punch – give me all the coins!! Once I had my fill, our reservation was called and we were ready to end our day at…
TOADSTOOL CAFE
We checked in and were one of the last guests before they closed the restaurant doors. While you wait in line inside, you’ll see screens with the menu items as well as Chef Toad himself! Even with our reservation, we still waited a little over half an hour in line before we could order. We decided to share the Luigi Burger ($16.99) and a Super Star Lemon Squash ($8) drink. Passholder discounts do apply. Your drinks are given at the ordering counter then you are guided by an employee to your table.
The dining room is SO CUTE and incredibly well themed.
Our burger came out in about 20 minutes and we DEVOURED it. Yes, we were super hungry, but it was also super yummy. I loved dipping the burger and truffle fries in the pesto sauce and the green pepper added such a refreshing taste to the burger. I would definitely get both of these items again. After finishing our meal, we finally said goodbye to Super Nintendo World, leaving the land just before 10pm.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
Wow, what a day!! I am so, so grateful they let Passholders preview the land before it opens to the public. If I thought it was super busy today, I can only imagine what the crowds will be like once it officially opens (although I hear there will be a reservation system in place then). I am extremely impressed with the theming of the land and all the different interactive activities and components. Mario Kart is a ride I can see myself never getting sick of and wanting to ride any and every chance I get – same goes for the Shadow Showdown! Toadstool Cafe is definitely one of the best themed restaurants in the park alongside The Three Broomsticks with excellent food presentation.
I had an overall amazing experience with the only downsides being: not getting to do a meet and greet and the wait times at Toadstool Cafe seemed a bit longer than other Universal restaurants. Fortunately, those are things that I believe can be remedied in the future! In short, Super Nintendo World gets two big thumbs up from me!
Are you planning to visit Super Nintendo World?
