Super Nintendo World (UOR) - General Discussion Thread

[DOOMBOT]

Wanted to make certain of a few things before I put this all out there - but from what I have heard, the issues seem to be based in the money invested towards brand new costumes (different from the builds for Hollywood and Japan) that pretty instantly started having maintenance and performer health-related problems.

There have allegedly been many attempted fixes to make these new costumes work, and each had similar breakdowns and resulted in consistently bad performing conditions. Mario, Luigi, and Peach are far from a vacation to portray at Epic, but at the very least, they can go out for short periods and allow the performers enough ability to effectively act as directed. Toad and DK specifically were incredibly difficult, cumbersome, and prone to malfunction.

You can see the different builds just by comparing USJ DK and USH Toad, to Epic DK and Toad below.

---

USJ DK VS Epic DK ... the differences here are very obvious. The costume is very heavy.
The changes seem to be made in an effort to make a more expressive and animated character than USJ's DK model, including a less bulky body plan, smaller head with wider eyes, and a more clear "thumbs up" hand mold.



Notice Epic DK's non-primary arm resting on the costume leg for support, rather than being posed or at his side. That's heavy in practice. Performers have to conserve energy where they can when working with characters like Donkey Kong.

USH Toad VS Epic Toad 1 & 2 ... These differences are a lot more subtle, but look closely and you can find many.
Shape of the cap, size of the red dots, the height of his chest, the dimensions of his vest and face, and the way his pants are affixed to his body.



USH Toad is far more maneuverable and AFAIK less prone to malfunction. Epic Toad is considerably more 'squat'. Anyone I've heard work with them at EU has described them as "difficult", to say the least.

There continue to be active efforts to bring back these character M&G experiences, but it seems like the more time spent trying to fix these busted pieces, the more time these characters will be MIA for Epic Universe guests. I hope to see them return very soon.

 

[Pacific]

Sometimes I think in the shower:
“There’s a Nintendo themed land within 3 (soon to be 4) Universal Parks across the globe, and not one of them has a single AA of Mario”

Probably the best thing to come out of Super Nintendo World for me:

 

[Alicia]

There’s a Nintendo themed land within 3 (soon to be 4) Universal Parks across the globe, and not one of them has a single AA of Mario

Excuse meeeeee

 

[DOOMBOT]

Excuse meeeeee

View attachment 30562

It is genuinely pretty funny that Poochy and Conkdor got animatronics before Luigi or Bowser haha.

 

[Magic-Man]

Is the Toadstool Cafe here better than the one at Universal Hollywood? I thought the food at Hollywood's version was just okay, if it's the same here I probably won't bother making a reservation.

 

[dxwwf3]

Is the Toadstool Cafe here better than the one at Universal Hollywood? I thought the food at Hollywood's version was just okay, if it's the same here I probably won't bother making a reservation.

I can't speak to that, but I can say that the mushroom soup and Pizza dish aren't nearly as good in Orlando as they are in Osaka. Way better at USJ than in Epic.

 

[Touchdown]

It’s ok but between your other choices in Epic not one that’s on the top of my list. I did enjoy the meatball red shell calzone as a snack at the Yoshi place though.

 

[Magic-Man]

It’s ok but between your other choices in Epic not one that’s on the top of my list. I did enjoy the meatball red shell calzone as a snack at the Yoshi place though.

Yeah the only reason I'm debating it is because I'm a big Nintendo guy. I'll probably stick to the snack stands instead for Nintendo and go elsewhere in the park for big meals.

 

[Mike S]

Yeah the only reason I'm debating it is because I'm a big Nintendo guy. I'll probably stick to the snack stands instead for Nintendo and go elsewhere in the park for big meals.

The adventure kids meal is pretty filling and you also get some toys.

DON’T JUDGE ME!!!!!!!

 

[kingcooger]

Has the DK coaster been more reliable out in Osaka?

I feel like I never hear that version talked about it mentioned when issues with Orlando’s version come up

 

[DOOMBOT]

Heard. I'm curious, what is the optimal Mario Kart ride in your opinion then? I agree with some of your sentiments and think the best elements of the ride are the physical, non-AR bits that bring it to life as a dark ride. I also don't disagree that it could've been expanded on. It just feels like the medium for Mario Kart is either game or race in order to fit the vibe appropriately and race would prevent any of the dark ride elements from really shining.

Shrek, on the other hand, I feel could easily fit dozens of different dark ride variants no problem as the world allows for it more.

Unless you're just saying a Mario ride, not Mario Kart, in which case, touche.

Haha now you've done it. Get ready for a big one

If I was thrown onto the project and given full creative control, here's a few considerations.

In my head, an optimal Mario Kart ride is:

---

Spoiler: Accessible

#1. Accessible to as many people as possible, meaning limited / optional AR and an easy motion profile. Super Mario and Mario Kart are widely known for being easy to jump in and play, whether you're incredibly young or a senior that's never played a game before. No height requirement would be ideal.

Spoiler: Spectacle over gamification or thrill

#2. Primarily based around spectacle as opposed to thrill or gamification. The former cannot be accomplished given #1, and the latter inherently limits your demographic appeal unless you commit to an immediately understandable game system like a Blaster / Shooting Gallery attraction. A ride does not give you enough time for a non-gamer to get the hang of a complex game like this. Save that kind of design for the self-selecting Power-Up Band Challenges next door.

If someone self-selects to want to compete for points and throw Shells at opponent racers using the AR goggles, there can be extra gameplay to accommodate that, and rewards for Power-Up Band players accordingly, but it should only add to an already great non-AR attraction, not take away from the experience for those who opt out.

Even if AR is utilized however, I actually think a slower ride would help with the stuttery nature of the existing AR functionality, which generally works best with static scenes rather than moving ones, meaning a slower ride could hopefully mean less cluttered jittering from the effects across the screen.

Mario is an IP born from games, so making your theme park ride a game isn't special, it's the norm. And no doubt, any actual game is going to be far, far more enjoyable than anything you can cook up for your 4 minute attraction. Making a game that grandma can understand in 4 minutes with no prep time, and that a college kid can master on their 82nd run is incredibly difficult, and more than likely just ends up in both being disappointed for opposite reasons.

Spoiler: Prioritize PRACTICAL spectacle

#3. Working off of #2, that spectacle should be practical as much as possible. No show scenes, important transitions, or major characters should be exclusive to the AR functionality. If someone who gets motion sick easy wants to ride Mario Kart without the goggles, they should be able to do that without missing important show moments like the Rainbow Road reveal or Boom Boom on the airship.

As this ride couldn't be fast or physically thrilling to remain accessible, you would need to engage guests in some other way. Ideally, practical sets and figures would more than make up that difference.

Mario is an IP born from the screen, so making your theme park ride screen-based isn't special, it's the norm. It can be used for supplemental theming, or for effects that truly would not work without the use of screen-tech, but whenever you can get away with a motion figure or other practical effect, you should.

---

If you're given those few directives, a slow-moving ride primarily based around practical spectacle within the world of Super Mario / Mario Kart, there is so so much you can do.

Stuff like the practical Chain Chomp and Piranha Plants are the barest minimum. Why is the crowd of onlookers AR-exclusive? They couldn't build a few simple motion Koopas and Toads to fill those seats? Why are nearly all of the characters and bosses screen-based? As I said before, the land captures the look of these games perfectly within physical sets and motion figures. Just bring that energy inside here.

• Mario and Luigi animatronic / motion figures drifting their karts adjacent to us for a short moment, before drifting into a warp pipe themselves.
• Practical flying Boos, Magikoopas, Paratroopas bobbing up and down in certain scenes.
• A scene where the airship is shooting real Bullet Bills that look to be flying over past us.
• A Toad figure in a kart spinning out after hitting a Banana peel.
• A big physical Ty-Foo figure that appears to blow at you, sending you spinning a bit, while a fan blasts you with a big gust of air.
• Smaller and more numerous limited motion figures like Bob-Ombs and Mecha-Koopas like we see being produced in Bowser's Castle in the queue.
• Ending with a big Lava Bowser figure as the boss fight, into an equivalent non-AR Rainbow Road transition would be one of the coolest things across the entire resort imo.

These, among any other number of small and big practical effects to fill out the space. Make this thing look as dense as MiB: Alien Attack, mixed with the dynamic scenes of Forbidden Journey. Like a Small World-style Fantasyland dark ride in the world of Super Mario / Kart.

Mario Kart is just the easiest functional way to justify a ride vehicle and narrative beats within the world of Super Mario. We already aren't "racing" against the other Kart of guests, so just take it as a set of narrative beats for pacing purposes and work from there.

A Super Mario ride should take the constantly moving and energetic nature of Super Mario Land and highly concentrate it, and the same for a Mario Kart ride. These are both essentially the same series. Boom Boom and Pom Pom, Ty-Foos, and Fuzzies* aren't in Mario Kart 8, but they are in the SML Mario Kart ride. They are already not sticking to Mario Kart perfectly here, so just use the Mario Kart "big race" idea as a justification to go crazy with spectacle, rather than as a mandated checklist of gameplay beats to attempt to replicate.

*technically they were added in very late DLC for the switch port but you know what im saying