Of course we were at Epic Universe to see the Harry Potter world but we had a wonderful time on our generous press tour of the other worlds in the new theme park: Isle of Berk, Dark Universe, and Super Nintendo World, as well as the central Celestial Park area, which is every bit as delightful as the franchise themed worlds.
Since this Leaky correspondent is not a video game player, I confess to being completely ignorant of everything in and about Super Nintendo World. But, just as I love seeing the Harry Potter world brought to life so I can immerse myself inside of it — an emotional experience, especially inside the British Ministry of Magic, which truly feels like you are in the real Ministry — I can imagine how much fans of the Nintendo video game world delight in seeing it brought out of the screen and into a tactile world they can enter and touch.
I cannot offer much useful commentary on this world. In fact, an employee of the merch store had to explain to me that the “L” and “M” stood for Luigi and Mario, the main characters in the game. Instead of a written review, which would not be fair given my lack of expertise on the subject,I will offer a photo essay, which fans of the game will understand and be able to interpret for themselves.
One of the Celestian residents of Celestial Park welcomed the media to the opening of the Super Nintendo World Portal. The umbrellas were for shelter from the Florida midday sun. The opening celebration included colourful confetti that landed everywhere.…including on the sound equipment.Was there any plan to clean it up?You bet there was. A battalion of sweepers went into action.Including this happy fellow with his giant vacuum cleaner. I think I need one of those for the cat litter in my house…“Here We Go!” is the inscription on the Super Nintendo World portal.Inside the portal to another world, this one full of toadstools and a couple of guys called Mario and Luigi.First look inside Super Mario World.Looks like a cross between Legos and a Dr. Seuss book, but I’m not sure where the Venus Fly Trap with the markings of a toadstool comes in…??? I echo the question marks. What’s in here? A gamescape come to life to delight its fans.Fake flowers next to real ones is an odd concept, but I guess they fit with the blend of fantasy and reality. The mini roses around the park are a nice touch.There’s a castle! Hogwarts it ain’t.Through the inner mini portal to Donkey Kong CountryThe featured drink in Super Mario World is a tropical float with banana and pineapple flavoured soft serve ice cream, pineapple soda, a waffle bowl (sorta like a boat in the ice cream float), sprinkles, toffee pieces, and, for some reason, caramel popcorn on top. I nearly fell into a sugar coma just looking at it.They were generously giving out full-size samples of the DK Crush Float, in souvenir mugs, but I could not bring myself to try it. I did manage to photograph one that another media rep was holding. He is also failing to look enthusiastic about trying it.But the queue was lengthy. Apparently, some people thought diabetes-in-a-cup sounded tasty. In fairness, if it were something that decadent but chocolate, I might have joined them.More food and beverage was available in the ominously named Toadstool Cafe. They do know that you can’t eat toadstools, right? I’m sure they do and these are fine. Yeah, just fine, but, uh, you go first.Inside of the Toadstool Cafe.The roller coaster in Super Nintendo World is Mind Cart Madness. Some people criticised it as a little rough and bumpy. Happily, I did not find that to be the case and enjoyed the ride. The illusion of the track disappearing and the water parts are particularly thrilling, although it is a small family coaster, not a big, scary one.Mine Cart Madness has a tropical theme with a water fall.As usual, Universal has their merch game on strong in Super Mario World.These little vampire dots are actually sort of cute in a weird way.Yoshi is what, a lizard? He is clearly important because he gets an entire merch section.There are duelling Luigi and Mario sections, so you can take your pick or choose something from each.Are these little mushroom-headed babies cousins of Mandrakes? Would Professor Sprout have these growing in one of the Hogwarts greenhouses?Character plushies.And puppets too.Looks like the WAGs are getting their merch moment as well.
Thus concludes our tour of Super Mario Land. If you are a fan of the game, you will get a lot more out of this world than I was able to do. There is a power-up wrist band that enables you to get additional points as you play interactive games, and another, very slow, ride for the wee ones, called Yoshi’s Adventure.
