Super Nintendo World opens on February 17 in Universal Studios Hollywood and we got the full details on how the Mario Kart ride works. Comicbook.com was a part of a preview tour with Universal Creative vice president Jon Corfino and he told us all about Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge. There are four people to a cart and each rider will have a pair of visors that allow them to see action in AR. There are physical elements to the ride, and don’t worry, they actually move around. But, the visors help personalize the experience for each individual rider.
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As you look around, you’ll see the characters driving in the foreground and background. They’ll turn into video monitors like tunnels and come out at other points. It’s all very high tech. But, the coolest part of the visors would have to be the throwing mechanism. Any Mario Kart veteran knows that you can toss items at your friends and foes over the course of a race. The Bowser’s Challenge ride is no different. However, you’ll have to keep your head on a swivel to get the highest scores.
“Universal designed the whole experience. What you’re look at is entirely next level. It is an actual moving ride, you will go through a series of environments where there is video mapping. There are LED screens, there is physical animation, and there is special effect,” Corfino explained. “How you manage to get all of that seamlessly together and make it feel like it’s one thing? That’s really the art of the whole thing. You’re going to see Super Mario with a green light over your right shoulder. Hoppingoff into space, he goes into the LED screen and the light follows him all the way through.”
“We’re going to learn about the visors that you see right here. The next room teaches us how to throw,” he said of using the popular items from MarioKart during races. “That is really visualized, you put on your goggles and whatever direction you look, that’s the direction you’re going to throw your shells in. It doesn’t matter if you’re turning this way or that way, your shells will go where your head is aiming.”
“The buttons in the ride will help you select the items,” Corfino added. “I can tell you, I’ve had people come up to me the first time and say, ‘I didn’t do that well.’ The next time you do it, you get better at it. Just like the game, it’s no different!”
As an added bonus, the points from your Mario Kart runs end up logged on your Power-Up band which interacts with other parts of the Super Nintendo World park. So, there’s even more secrets waiting to be revealed.
Are you going to ride the Mario Kart ride first thing on your visit? Let us know down in the comments!
