Super Nintendo World Gets a Teaser, Mario Kart Ride Confirmed

Universal Studios Japan has officially begun work on their Nintendo-themed park, Super Nintendo World in Osaka, Japan. The park is expected to be finished by 2020, just in time with the Tokyo Summer Olympics. To celebrate the occasion, the park held a groundbreaking ceremony and released a decidedly Japanese teaser.

Utilizing a mix of CGI Mario characters and world with real-life tourists, the teaser ends up coming across as what one might expect from a Japanese Space Jam. In it, we see a warp pipe used as a gate, as well as large-scale versions of Bowser’s and Princess Peach’s castles. These are also rendered, so we won’t know exactly what they’ll look like until more construction is completed.

Along with the teaser comes the announcement that the highly anticipated Mario Kart ride is definitely happening: “One centerpiece of Super Nintendo World will be the revolutionary Mario Kart experience—a new kind of attraction that takes theme park entertainment to entirely new levels,” said Mark Woodbury, President of Universal Creative and Vice Chairman Universal Parks & Resorts, in a statement. Though details on the attraction are scarce, it would seem that fans will be able to zip along tracks exactly like in the popular game series. Hopefully there will be fewer instances of lightning and mushroom ingestion, but maybe that could be all part of the fun.

The entire park is said to have been built with the same kind of money and attention that went into the Wizarding World of Harry Potter over at Universal Orlando. Honestly, we’re a little surprised it’s taken so long for this idea to come to fruition. Mario and friends have been popular for decades.

Check out the zany teaser above and learn more about Super Nintendo World here.