Nintendo partnering with Universal to make attractions.

[Brer Oswald]

Everyone's opinions seem spot on. Amazing technology but you take a risk not showcasing what people love about the IP. Just like Fast & Furious, if you're going to make a ride based off an racing IP you should probably add some speed. As someone mentioned, maybe this should have been a Super Mario Ride instead and they could have made a more thrilling Mario Kart ride.

But otherwise, it seems like a very fun ride & a ride Universal Parks could really use just like Hagrid, Yoshi & Secret Life of Pets. I'm glad to see actual sets used & not screens everywhere. That haunted mansion & library room were amazing. This seems closer to MIB than TSMM since we're not just sitting in-front of a screen.

I think the mistake was making Mario Kart the main ride. I think a “Super Mario” ride should’ve been more thrilling, and somewhat up to par with the Harry Potter ride in terms of scale.

Keep the Mario Kart ride as the more interactive experience for the kids.

Mario Kart had way too much on its shoulders, and way too much to live up to. They essentially made a spin-off game the main attraction.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I think it would be very wise of them to revise their plans for the Florida version. Another major Mario attraction could go a long way. Maybe put THAT in Peach’s Castle (instead of making it the entrance, which is just kind of weird).

 

[BubbaisSleep]

I think it would be very wise of them to revise their plans for the Florida version. Another major Mario attraction could go a long way. Maybe put THAT in Peach’s Castle (instead of making it the entrance, which is just kind of weird).

I really would love a Luigi's Mansion, especially since Disney is shying away from horror unfortunately.

 

[Brer Oswald]

I really would love a Luigi's Mansion, especially since Disney is shying away from horror unfortunately.

Have you seen the newer Luigi’s Mansion games? They are about the farthest thing from horror you can get.

 

[BubbaisSleep]

Have you seen the newer Luigi’s Mansion games? They are about the farthest thing from horror you can get.

No I haven't but that's a bummer. I feel like a Luigi Mansion game would have been the ride to choose for being "interactive" as well.

 

[Brer Oswald]

No I haven't but that's a bummer. I feel like a Luigi Mansion game would have been the ride to choose for being "interactive" as well.

It definitely would have. But I can’t imagine a Mario Kart ride without AR items. Long before they announced the Universal land, I imagined a Mario Kart Ride with AR items. Granted, it would’ve been supplemental to the main Mario ride, but I still think Mario Kart needs to have that interactivity to be Mario Kart.

 

[SplashJacket]

Not the route that I would have expected when making a Mario Kart ride, but looks like a very solid attraction. It doesn't appear to belong in the best in the world category but still looks like a solid E-Ticket.

 

[mickEblu]

Inversely I haven't been on Rise or Hagrid's, but maybe also those?

FOP is maybe not everyone's cup of tea since it mostly isn't practical, but it's definitely the best at what it is. I think a lot of people would call it a slam dunk, but I'm sure there are some who wouldn't.

Shanghai POTC is pretty hard to not classify as a slam dunk. Not that there isn't minor things to criticize, but if you consider Indy or RSR mostly slam dunks you really wouldn't disagree.

No joke I completely forgot about ROTR when I wrote that post. As impressive as ROTR is I don’t personally consider it a slam dunk. There is too much of a disconnect for me between the extreme stimuli around us and the slow pace of the vehicles.

 

[Quinnmac000]

Remember who Universal answer to...this is what Nintendo wanted.

 

[Brer Oswald]

Remember who Universal answer to...this is what Nintendo wanted.

Not only that, but it’s from an era of Nintendo different from that of today. It was at the end of the Wii U era.

 

[Stripes]

It definitely would have. But I can’t imagine a Mario Kart ride without AR items. Long before they announced the Universal land, I imagined a Mario Kart Ride with AR items. Granted, it would’ve been supplemental to the main Mario ride, but I still think Mario Kart needs to have that interactivity to be Mario Kart.

I wish they would've implemented the AR like the DCA Spider-Man ride vehicles with a large pane of glass (window shield) at the front of the ride vehicle.

Projecting onto a massive pane of glass instead of a small rectangle that isn't completely enveloping makes much more sense for a controlled environment like a ride, so you don't encounter this problem:

Spoiler

Also, to prevent the headset from overheating in some cases, you have to lower the quality of the projection resulting in a blurry picture.

 

[WillWrambles]

Remember who Universal answer to...this is what Nintendo wanted.

CURSE YOU VERY-BRIEF-DARK-AGE NINTENDO!!!!!!!! THE PLATYPUS!

 

[Absimilliard]

I watched the Mario Kart ride video with and without AR and its fascinating how we jumped from the flawed and short lived Animaux du Futur at the Futuroscope in France. The original version ran one year, from 2008 to 2009. Then, a second version opened in 2009 and closed in 2012, replaced by a toilet ride. The Time Travelling Machine use the Raving Rabbids IP from Ubisoft and toilet ride? Yes, the ride seat is having you sit on a porcelain throne.

Back to Animaux du Futur, it was an interesting premise, but the implementation and IP didn't work and AR on rides has been dormant since. Mario Kart looks great and both Super Nintendo World address a complaint fans have been having. Universal need slower rides and less screens! They build an Animatronic omnimover attraction and they built a new twist on interactive dark ride using sets with AR to enhance them. Fans? Both rides look bad and Mario Kart is too slow!

 

[BubbaisSleep]

The same channel also released videos of the interactive elements in the land. I know they've been leaked but I've been waiting for an official video.

Wow this land is amazing. Universal does one thing right & that's bringing life to all corners of their land. I really wished Pandora & Galaxy's Edge didn't cheap out on fully fleshing their lands & adding movement/interactive elements. Like both Harry Potter lands, I could easily spend a few hours inside SNL it seems.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Mario Kart had way too much on its shoulders, and way too much to live up to. They essentially made a spin-off game the main attraction.

To be fair, Mario Kart is a bigger franchise than the main series in terms of the average units sold per release.

 

[Brer Oswald]

The same channel also released videos of the interactive elements in the land. I know they've been leaked but I've been waiting for an official video.

Wow this land is amazing. Universal does one thing right & that's bringing life to all corners of their land. I really wished Pandora & Galaxy's Edge didn't cheap out on fully fleshing their lands & adding movement/interactive elements. Like both Harry Potter lands, I could easily spend a few hours inside SNL it seems.

I often say Universal is the best at building lands and Disney is (was?) the best at building attractions.

To be fair, Mario Kart is a bigger franchise than the main series in terms of the average units sold per release.

While true, the main series is no slouch. It’s also hard to tell a story with Mario Kart. You expect chaotic competitive multiplayer, not a hybrid of that and competitively taking down Bowser. Imagine if they had made two main attractions. One where you’re racing others on a Mario Kart track, throwing items. Another where you use power ups to take on bosses as you travel across familiar locales, on your way to save the Princess. The pressure is then taken off of Mario Kart.

The problem with the current offerings is that, while Mario Kart is probably a good experience, it isn’t the best ride ever, and Yoshi isn’t taking any pressure off of it. The Yoshi ride is trying to appeal to a niche (Yoshi’s Island fans) while incorporating unfitting elements from other Mario games, and barely lasts a few minutes. Yoshi is the problem.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

It should go through the track three times like in the game (but faster, with the same run time), with different things happening each time.

 

[SplashJacket]

It should go through the track three times like in the game (but faster, with the same run time), with different things happening each time.

While a cool thought, I don’t think it would translate well to real world applications.

 

[Brer Oswald]

While a cool thought, I don’t think it would translate well to real world applications.

Not to mention, you have 7 different race tracks.

Mario Circuit(?), Piranha Plant Slide, Dolphin Shoals, Twisted Mansion, Cloudtop Cruise, Grumble Volcano, and N64 Rainbow Road

 

[BrianLo]

They build an Animatronic omnimover attraction and they built a new twist on interactive dark ride using sets with AR to enhance them. Fans? Both rides look bad and Mario Kart is too slow!

100 percent they do need slower rides - but why pick Mario Kart if you wanted to build a slow ride? That's the major disconnect here.

This is the second time Universal has picked a racing franchise and delivered a slow moving ride, which is just super odd.

Now I don't think that actually makes the ride bad, it's probably pretty enjoyable. It just doesn't really capture the IP they decided to go with correctly.


I won't hate on Yoshi though. It however is very basic. It probably qualifies as a B-ticket, which is usually just an attraction more for atmosphere than anything.