Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge (UOR) - Reviews, Photos, & Media

[Brian G.]

This is a review thread for Mario Kart: Bowser's Challenge.

Please keep general discussion to a minimum.

WARNING: There will be Spoilers!

 

[darkridelover]

I think this will probably be the least liked attraction in the park. The queue is amazing. But the physical sets and the AR compete for your attention rather than compliment each other. I can see the gamified experience they we're going for but the execution I don't think stuck the landing.

Maybe this was just my experience but it took me half the ride just to figure out what I was supposed to do.

 

[mccgavin]

Maybe this was just my experience but it took me half the ride just to figure out what I was supposed to do.

Just out of curiosity, was the pre-show/instructions running when you went on the ride? I know they skip it in Hollywood when the line is a walk-on, and it's a lot less clear what to do for first-time riders if they bypass it.

 

[darkridelover]

Just out of curiosity, was the pre-show/instructions running when you went on the ride? I know they skip it in Hollywood when the line is a walk-on, and it's a lot less clear what to do for first-time riders if they bypass it.

Yes, they stopped us in the preshow room. And there was a video presentation without sound about how the controls work.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

I think this will probably be the least liked attraction in the park. The queue is amazing. But the physical sets and the AR compete for your attention rather than compliment each other. I can see the gamified experience they we're going for but the execution I don't think stuck the landing.

Maybe this was just my experience but it took me half the ride just to figure out what I was supposed to do.

To me, this = re-rideability as it definitely takes a ride to get it.
I think least liked is tough when the target is kids and families and already know they have a blast riding this multiple times from USH.
But i can also absolutely see the other side of this, with people being either discouraged or turned off by it and not want to do it again.
Mileage may vary!

 

[saint.piss]

WOW. The portal for Super Nintendo World looks incredible.

Spoiler: Portal spoilers for the other lands

Edit: i meant to post this in the Super Nintendo world thread my bad lol

 

[rabbitsmoon]

I'm heading to Epic soon, but finally got a chance to ride this last weekend at USH and I loved it!

In some ways it reminded me of the Virtual Boy (which my mom so kindly rented for us from Blockbuster for a weekend in the 90s). You wear a clunky visor and the visuals don't always work, but kudos to them for taking the big swing.

The gameplay was as good as I've ever experienced in a ride. I thought doing it in Hollywood would make me want to skip it in Florida, but instead it's made me want to re-ride and beat my last score. I understand folks who wished for more speed and less interactivity, but knowing Nintendo and their history, I also understand why they pushed for this.

The line is super funny too! Besides Kart, my favorite Mario games have always been the RPGs, and they translated the humor you see in those really well.

 

[Mad Dog]

Who would have thought...Two and a half months old thread.....and only 7 comments on Mario Kart....Yes, its been open in Japan and USH....but c'mon.....only 7 comments....There's B/C attractions that do better than that

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

Who would have thought...Two and a half months old thread.....and only 7 comments on Mario Kart....Yes, its been open in Japan and USH....but c'mon.....only 7 comments....There's B/C attractions that do better than that

Not a huge surprise to me. A lot of us have probably been to USH or USJ in the intervening time, or have already litigated their opinions on the attraction when the initial POVs came out.

 

[rabbitsmoon]

Maybe it's cause I knew I'd be at Epic a month later to look at it all again, but I don't get the critique about the AR visuals competing with the set design.

To be fair, I have no discipline and am not a great gamer, but I would simply blow through my shells too quickly, then look at the scenery until another box showed up.

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Not a huge surprise to me. A lot of us have probably been to USH or USJ in the intervening time, or have already litigated their opinions on the attraction when the initial POVs came out.

This. I still think it's a pretty solid ride, and single rider was usually dead later in the day during my trip a couple weeks ago.

 

[OrlLover]

Who would have thought...Two and a half months old thread.....and only 7 comments on Mario Kart....Yes, its been open in Japan and USH....but c'mon.....only 7 comments....There's B/C attractions that do better than that

Consequence of having everything at your fingertips.

Social media spoils a lot of things and plus it’s already open in two parks.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

Thinking more about this ride, I think one of the reasons for the overall lukewarm reception (thoughts on speed/gameplay aside) is the lack of narrative cohesion. In the best of the best dark rides, there’s usually some sort of story that you’re guided through by characters that speak, either directly or indirectly, to the riders. Even Donkey Kong has some semblance of a story set up in the queue. I don’t think there was any way for Universal to fix this given the IP…but to me it makes the ride feel a little less consequential than other dark rides of the same scale.

 

[HalfGlass]

Thinking more about this ride, I think one of the reasons for the overall lukewarm reception (thoughts on speed/gameplay aside) is the lack of narrative cohesion. In the best of the best dark rides, there’s usually some sort of story that you’re guided through by characters that speak, either directly or indirectly, to the riders. Even Donkey Kong has some semblance of a story set up in the queue. I don’t think there was any way for Universal to fix this given the IP…but to me it makes the ride feel a little less consequential than other dark rides of the same scale.

I actually thought this too and never articulated it. The pre show alone is just odd. You just hear the mushroom guy being all like “ahhh” “ah ah” “yeahhh”.

I think if the ride was more thrilling it would be forgiven, since it would feel like you’re racing instead of being in a shooting gallery. But you need some context if the ride leans more into the show elements.

 

[Mad Dog]

Betting Nintendo put up some barriers to Universal Creative on what they could do, putting game playing aspects over ride thrill/entertainment. Maybe that's a reason more Nintendo projects kind of slowed down in development. Nintendo might be hard to work with. ...Just a guess on my part.

 

[Brian G.]

I actually thought this too and never articulated it. The pre show alone is just odd. You just hear the mushroom guy being all like “ahhh” “ah ah” “yeahhh”.

I think if the ride was more thrilling it would be forgiven, since it would feel like you’re racing instead of being in a shooting gallery. But you need some context if the ride leans more into the show elements.

He has a name, and it’s Lakitu!