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Let's a-go! Super Nintendo World theme park sets 2023 opening at Universal Studios Hollywood
Fans of Mario, Peach, and Yoshi won't have to wait long to get their Nintendo fix!
Wa-hoo! Yippee! Wa-ha! American fans of Mario, Yoshi, Princess Peach, Luigi, Toad, and the rest of the Mushroom Kingdom crew now have major cause for celebration. The domestic iteration of Super Nintendo World will finally open its castle drawbridge at Universal Studios Hollywood (located in Los Angeles, California) next year, the amusement park announced Thursday.
To celebrate the countdown to the highly-anticipated grand opening (no specific date has been given yet), the Feature Presentation gift shop will begin to offer a slew of Super Nintendo World products — from T-shirts to plush toys to big red hats boasting the famous "M" of the mustachioed Italian plumber in the blue overalls.
The original version of the gaming-inspired theme park debuted last year at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka with special guest appearances from both Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of the Super Mario Bros. franchise) and J.L. Bonnier (President and CEO of Universal Studios Japan).
"Super Nintendo World is the perfect blend of Nintendo games and theme park experiences, and brings the world of these incredibly popular games to life," Tom Williams, Chairman & CEO, Universal Parks & Resorts, said at the time. "This will surely amaze and delight not only fans of the park, but also Nintendo fans around the world. We look forward to sharing Super Nintendo World with our fans in Japan and bringing the experience to life at other Universal theme park destinations in the future."
While its central design is currently based on the colorful and vibrant locales of the Mario series, the sprawling Nintendo experience does have plans to tap into more of the company's iconic video game properties like Donkey Kong. In fact, an expansion based on the world inhabited by the barrel-throwing gorilla with the red tie is scheduled to bow at the Japanese park in 2024. Of course, the sky's the limit when you've also got The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, Pikmin, Star Fox, Kid Icarus, Earthbound, and more.
"Super Nintendo World creates a whole new level of theme park entertainment and has quickly become an exciting, must-do experience for our guests. We are thrilled to continue working with Nintendo as we fulfill our vision to bring their characters and stories to life," Bonnier said in a statement last September.
Universal Studios Orlando is also slated to open its own Super Nintendo World theme park (located within Epic Universe) in 2025.
An animated Mario film (in which Chris Pratt will voice Mario) is currently scheduled to hit theaters this December by way of Illumination Entertainment. Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Fred Armisen (Cranky Kong), Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek), and Sebastian Maniscalco (Spike) round out the cast.
Universal Studios Hollywood, Illumination Entertainment & SYFY WIRE are all owned by NBCUniversal
