From the moment she walked through the green warp pipe into Universal Studios Hollywood’s Super Nintendo World, Ashlei Hartford felt transported back to her childhood video games.
“I was blown away by the level of detail,” said the 36-year-old Glendale, California, resident and lifelong Mario fan. “It felt like you were inside of a game.”
Universal Studios Hollywood’s new land, featuring characters from the Japanese video game company Nintendo’s Mario franchise, officially opened Feb. 17 after weeks of previews and fan anticipation.
As West Coast fans flock to the Mushroom Kingdom, Orlando’s theme park community and industry analysts nationwide are watching its first weeks to know what to expect when Orlando’s Super Nintendo World opens with Epic Universe, Universal Orlando’s third theme park, in 2025.
The California attraction is Universal’s first Super Nintendo World to open in the United States and a scaled-back version of Universal Studios Japan’s land in Osaka, which debuted in March 2021. Hollywood’s area includes the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge augmented reality ride, Toadstool Cafe restaurant, mini-games and a souvenir shop.
Universal has said little about Orlando’s Super Nintendo World, the only land it has confirmed for Epic Universe. It is rumored to be the most similar to Japan’s, which will have three rides after a Donkey Kong expansion opens in 2024.
Theme park analyst Dennis Speigel said all signs point to success for Orlando’s location. The Hollywood land’s opening went “exceptionally well,” with “smiles from ear to ear by everyone.”
Nintendo is one of the brands that analysts “see come into development in a park every 10, 15 years that has the bandwidth, the breadth and the depth to be really successful,” said Speigel, CEO of International Theme Park Services.
At the Hollywood land’s opening, Universal Parks & Resorts Chairman and CEO Mark Woodbury called Super Nintendo World’s arrival at Epic Universe “the worst-kept secret in history.” Executives confirmed Epic Universe would include the land during a January 2020 earnings call.
In that announcement, former NBCUniversal Chairman Steve Burke said Universal was betting on Nintendo being “the next big thing on the horizon” for its theme parks, like the introduction of Harry Potter areas were in 2010.
Universal’s annual revenue grew 41% that year thanks to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — Hogsmeade. The Orlando resort’s attendance grew by more than 20%, or 2 million visitors, year-over-year in the land’s first six months.
Its success spurred Universal to open other versions of the realm at its parks in Hollywood, Japan and China and open a second Harry Potter area, Diagon Alley, at the Universal Studios Florida park in 2014.
The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on tourism makes it difficult to estimate how much Universal Studios Japan has benefitted from its Nintendo land so far. Parent company Comcast said the park has contributed to record-setting division revenue in recent quarters.
The Japanese theme park’s attendance increased by nearly 600,000 visitors to 5.5 million in 2021, even with continued COVID capacity restrictions, the Themed Entertainment Association’s 2021 global attractions attendance report showed. Its pre-pandemic 2019 attendance was 14.5 million.
The report said Japan’s Super Nintendo World “received very positive reviews and is expected to continue to be a major draw for the park.”
Speigel said he doubts Nintendo will pack Potter’s power but it will still strongly resonate with guests. Potter had “the biggest impact we’ve ever seen in the industry,” he said.
“When you look at how long Nintendo has been around versus Harry Potter, the numbers would tell you that Harry would still reign supreme,” he said. “But I think (Nintendo)’s going to be a grand slam home run.”
Like Potter, Nintendo appeals to guests of all ages, said Carissa Baker, who teaches theme park and attraction management at the University of Central Florida.
Universal’s similar global expansions with the brands show it recognizes the staying power of both, she said. The company plans to build another Super Nintendo World at its Singapore park, which does not have a Harry Potter land.
“I don’t think there are as many properties that can hit all these different markets at once the way that a Nintendo or a Harry Potter can,” she said.
And Universal knows people will pay. The company has created interactive add-ons with both lands that encourage guests to spend more for bonus experiences, Speigel said.
Harry Potter fans wave $63 wands to trigger automated window displays in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Nintendo buffs don $40 Power-Up wristbands to rack up points at mini-games scattered throughout the Mushroom Kingdom and can sync the bands with their Nintendo Switch consoles back home.
Baker and Speigel predict Orlando’s Super Nintendo World will be the busiest of the three lands because the Orlando theme parks attract more international visitors than Hollywood or Japan, particularly from South America.
“People are going to come from around the world to experience all the [Epic Universe] lands, I’m sure, but I know that Super Nintendo Land will be a particular draw,” Baker said.
Getting two thumbs up
Guy Selga, a Disneyland writer for Touring Plans, has visited both the Japan and Hollywood Nintendo lands and documented his trips for the vacation planning site.
He said he prefers the Japanese version because it “feels more complete” with its additional attraction, omnimover ride Yoshi’s Adventure, and is larger. Epic Universe’s land will be a hit with its interactive games, family-friendly rides and detailed theming, he said.
“I definitely experienced people getting as excited walking through the warp pipe and seeing the land for the first time than I did in Galaxy’s Edge, where people would go and see the Millennium Falcon for the first time,” he said, referencing Disney’s Star Wars area.
“At this point, the Super Mario Brothers franchise is ingrained in pop culture — it’s up there,” Selga continued. “I think people are going to be just as excited about this as the rest of the mega [intellectual properties].”
San Diego resident Sarah Thatcher visited the Hollywood park’s Super Nintendo World with her family during a passholder preview event last month.
Thatcher, 34, grew up with the Mario games and raised her sons, 13 and 12, with them too. They did not stop smiling at the nods to the series scattered around the land, including costumed performers talking with the game characters’ voices.
“It’s the little details that really make the park,” she said.
Thatcher said she appreciated that the interactive elements allowed her family to enjoy them together. A few times, she borrowed her sons’ Power-Up bands for a turn racking up points and virtual rewards.
Everything was accessible for her eldest son, who uses a wheelchair, she added. Her only concern was the land got crowded during busy passholder previews. But even with that, she is looking forward to her next visit.
“I told my husband, ‘I’m going to have to take some extra shifts because we have to do this again,’” Thatcher said.
Hartford has returned to Hollywood’s Super Nintendo World several times since her first visit. A former Florida resident who frequented Universal Orlando, she said she is excited to see Epic Universe’s larger-scale version.
“Orlando will probably be the main attraction in the United States if you’re planning to see Super Nintendo World,” she said. “(Hollywood’s) is just a portion of Nintendo World. When you go to Orlando once that officially opens, you’re getting the full experience as you would in Japan.”
