Super Nintendo Land

Super Nintendo Land opened in California on February 17th, and with the Mario movie releasing, the hype around it has increased lately. But how good is Super Nintendo Land?

Well, first thing to note is the main attraction itself: Bowser’s Challenge. It is a ride based on the hit game series Mario Kart that uses augmented reality goggles in combination with a moving vehicle. Riders press buttons on their steering wheel and look around in order to shoot shells at the Koopalings and Bowser. In order to win, players need to get 100 coins, which they earn by shooting the Koopalings and turning correctly. It is a fun ride to do more than once, but the wait time is way too long for it to be convenient, unless visitors have a VIP pass. The longest wait time I saw for it was three and a half hours.

Speaking of wait times, the wait times for the Bowser Jr. Challenge minigames were way too long and unmanaged. We waited in the Piranha Plant line for over an hour. The line was not even that long, it just took forever to move, due to what I assume to be horrible management. Same with the Koopa challenge line, it took about forty-five minutes to get through the line. Of course, the actual game itself takes about thirty seconds to complete. Visitors must complete three of the four minigames in order to challenge Bowser Jr in his tower. That also takes about a minute to complete, with ten minutes of waiting. I will not spoil the game, but it was fun.

Unfortunately, the restaurant was fully booked, so we did not get to eat at the Toadstool Cafe. However, I have heard that the food is not very good. Also, the stores with Mario merch were very congested, and the snack stand had a 30 person line. I did get to buy a cool shirt with Bowser Jr. on it though, along with a poster. But, the design inside of Super Nintendo Land was great. Plus, there are even Pikmin easter eggs.

For anyone interested in the Super Mario series, it is worth making a visit to Super Nintendo World. There is a big area to walk around in and explore, and guests with VIP passes can skip the Bowser’s Challenge line. Since I had the entire day to spend there, and did not mind waiting in line, except the Piranha Plant line, that was ridiculous, it was well worth visiting. The Bower’s Challenge ride was extremely fun, and I ended up doing it twice.