Super Nintendo World With Mario Kart Ride To Open February 2021 At Universal Studios Japan—Here's What We Know

Super Nintendo World Japan will open on February 4, 2021, at Universal Studios Japan, Osaka, as new details of the Mario Kart ride emerge.

Originally, the theme park area was intended to open before the 2020 Olympic Games, which were due to begin in July of this year but have been postponed until July 2021.

Now, the Universal Studios Japan theme park has announced that Super Nintendo World will open to the public in February. Additionally, a new look at the park has revealed more details of the interactive Mario Kart ride, Bowser's Castle, a Yoshi-themed ride, and more.

"At the heart of the castle lies the world's first-ever Mario Kart theme park ride based on the Mario Kart series of games, which have sold over 150 Million units," Thomas Geraghty, Global Executive Producer for Mario Kart, said in a news release.

"Universal Creative has partnered with Nintendo to bring a real-life racing adventure to Universal Studios Japan with Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge! Guests will put on their headset which takes them through the Mario Kart universe to experience never-ending excitement and thrills."

Set inside Bowser's Castle is Koopa's Challenge—the Mario Kart-themed ride—in which guests will ride on a four-player kart, each with its own steering wheel and an AR headset shaped like Mario's hat. The ride will be on rails so riders won't be able to drive freely around the course.

However, there are two tracks, allowing karts to race alongside each other. Riders will also get to use power-up items from boxes in some capacity, using AR technology.

Another ride set to open is Yoshi's Adventure, in which guests climb on Yoshi's back and following Captain toad on a treasure hunt. They will have to find three colored eggs that lead the way to the Golden Egg as they enjoy a view of the Mushroom Kingdom from Mount Beanpole.

As well as the themed rides, guests can take part in an immersive challenge with the purchase of a Power-Up band for ¥3,200 ($30). Guests can use the band to collect virtual coins, check their ranking, collect stamps, and take part in interactive games.

One game challenges guests to retrieve the Golden Mushroom, stolen by Bowser Jr. With the power-up band, guests will work their way through the games to collect three keys before battling with Bowser Jr.

Following the opening at Universal Studios Japan, Super Nintendo World is set to open at Universal Studios Orlando in 2023, before eventually opening at Universal Studios in California and Singapore.