Universal Studios Hollywood has revealed a first look at its Mario Kart ride. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is coming to the Super Nintendo World expansion opening in early 2023.
“Put on the special goggles and battle Team Bowser on iconic Mario Kart courses alongside Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach,” Universal Studios Hollywood said Thursday. “Collect coins and throw shells to win the Golden Cup on the world’s first interactive Mario Kart ride.”
Video footage of the ride posted by the Universal Studios’ Twitter account shows Mario Kart-esque vehicles with item launchers on the side, sitting under a series of iconic green pipes as guests tap their interactive wrist bands on the center of the steering wheel at the start of the ride.
It looks as though guests will ride through some areas that are physically kitted out with a Mario Kart theme, including piranha plants, chain chomps and hanging chains from Bowser’s castle, before reaching screens that show tracks from Mario Kart. Guests will then race along those tracks while facing the screens as their ride vehicle moves in simulation.
A Wednesday report on WDW News Today also showed aerial photos of the construction on Bowser’s Castle.
Super Nintendo World opened in Universal Studios Japan in March 2021, with a Donkey Kong expansion already planned to launch in 2024. A third Super Nintendo World was slated to open at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida, in 2023, but construction delays pushed back its opening to 2025.