Donkey Kong Country at Super Nintendo World Spreads Unbridled Joy in Epic Universe

It was late 2020 when Universal Studios Japan first let guests inside its Super Mario World area of the park, with rides and a slew of minigames based on the Super Mario franchise. Unlike most theme-park experiences, this one was about collecting coins and stamps, competing against fellow visitors, and aiming to top the leaderboard. A pared-down version opened at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2023, cementing the idea that Universal was continuing forward with the gamification of its theme parks. In May, the company’s newest theme park, Universal Epic Universe, will unveil its own Super Nintendo World–complete with a Donkey Kong Country section.

GameSpot was recently given the chance to tour Epic’s new Super Nintendo World and, of course, to play in it. While those who have visited Hollywood’s Super Nintendo World will find parts of this new Florida location familiar, the land has been completely redesigned and is much larger. Not only does the latest iteration bring in the Donkey Kong Country ride and mini-land that opened in Japan last December, but it also brings the beloved Yoshi’s Adventure dark ride. More importantly, though, it brings new challenges and ways to play in the land–and more coins to earn.

The rides

The standout of the new land is the Donkey Kong Country rollercoaster, Minecart-Madness. Imagine blazing through one of the minecart levels from the video game franchise. That’s what you’re getting with Minecart-Madness, which is not a traditional rollercoaster. Instead, it’s made to simulate the feeling of being in a minecart that jumps from track to track as it avoids peril at all costs.

If you were lucky enough to visit Universal Studios Japan since the ride’s opening, you know it’s a unique experience. In fact, the creatives at Universal Studios essentially had to invent a new type of ride to properly simulate the feeling of being in a minecart. That said, it adds an excellent thrill to Super Nintendo World, which was, thus far, all dark-ride attractions (style of theme park ride that sends riders through a series of animated sets aboard different types of ride vehicles).

If you’re not a fan of rollercoasters, though, there’s plenty for you to ride. Like every version of the land, Orlando features the Super Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride, which is meant to simulate the world of Mario Kart. You walk through Bowser’s castle, see how he created his various minions and monsters, and then strap in for a race against some of the best drivers in the Mushroom Kingdom via the use of augmented-reality goggles.

The other ride in the land, which is not in the Hollywood version, is the aforementioned Yoshi’s Adventure ride, which is aimed at a much younger audience. On it, you basically ride on Yoshi’s back through a series of themed settings. There’s not much to it, other than it’s a very pleasant and relaxing ride.

The games

The games are where Super Nintendo World shines, though. If you read our coverage of Super Nintendo World back when it opened at Universal Studios Hollywood, you know about collecting coins and stamps to ultimately access a boss fight against Bowser Jr. However, that’s not overtly explained within the land, so it’s up to the guests to explore and find ways to earn coins using the Power Up Bands. Given they cost over $40, it’s a good thing Universal continues adding stuff to do with them.

With the addition of Yoshi’s Adventure and Minecart-Madness, there’s plenty more to do with them. For instance, there are several Yoshi eggs hidden in the Yoshi’s Adventure ride. To obtain the golden-egg stamp, you’ll have to find them all and push the appropriate button on your ride vehicle to have it tallied to your overall Super Nintendo World score.

As for the Donkey Kong Country area, there are a few ways to earn coins, and they have mostly been pulled directly from the games. The best minigame in this section requires you to find the giant letters that spell out Kong littered throughout the land. In the games, the Kong letters have given extra lives, unlocked special levels, or even been used as save points. In the Donkey Kong Country land, they earn a stamp and coins to help propel you to the top of the leaderboards. Additionally, there is a banana slot machine located in the area that simply takes a swipe of your Power Up Band to activate. You could earn anything from stacks of bananas to extra life balloons. What you collect determines how many coins get added to your overall score.

There are also hidden puzzle pieces to find, several boxes with hidden Donkey Kong logos on them to scan, a golden banana at the climax of Minecart-Madness, and a game based on Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat. Yes, they turned the 2005 GameCube game, which came with a bongo drum peripheral, into a theme-park experience–complete with massive drums to drum along with and collect coins. Honestly, this might be the coolest game Super Nintendo World has to offer, as who actually expected a tribute to a GameCube title?

As you might expect, you can also earn extra coins from repeat rides of any of the attractions. If you’re looking to top the leaderboard, though, keep line times in mind.

The theming

This is, arguably, the most important thing at play here, especially in the Donkey Kong Country section. After all, Yoshi’s Adventure easily fits into the Super Mario Land section of the park. Walking into Donkey Kong Country, as someone who first played this franchise back on the Super Nintendo, was as incredible as the first time I wandered into Super Mario Land.

The area is built to look like you are entering a Donkey Kong Country game, from the music and the design right down to the banana-flavored treats and the Donkey Kong meet and greet. It’s hard to properly explain the feeling of being inside of a video game you grew up playing, but it’s like no other.

That, of course, can also be viewed as a downside. After traversing all Donkey Kong Country had to offer, I wanted more. Isle of Berk, the How to Train Your Dragon section of Epic Universe, is so massive–it’s the largest land in the park–and that’s what I wanted for Super Nintendo World, if only to make way for even more Donkey Kong. The Mario section of the land has plenty of room and stretches out in every direction when you walk in. I want that feeling for Donkey Kong Country, which is a fraction of the size of the expansive Mario section. After all, the franchise is alive and well with a new Switch 2 title, Donkey Kong Bananza, on the way. Maybe they could eventually expand to include more character meet-and-greets or even another ride. Where can I meet Cranky Kong?

Then again, maybe they could also extend into a new franchise under the Nintendo umbrella. Where is our Legend of Zelda land and ride?

Regardless, Donkey Kong Country meets the hype and, in most cases, exceeds it. It establishes Epic Universe as the home of North America’s definitive Super Nintendo World (sorry, Hollywood) and creates even more ways to play and win. Plus, the banana-flavored DK Crush Sunday, served in a giant waffle cone inside of a collectible DK barrel mug–if you pay for the upcharge–is pretty delicious.

Orlando’s Super Nintendo World, and Epic Universe as a whole, opens to the public on May 22. In addition to Super Nintendo World and Isle of Berk, the park boasts original lands and rides based on the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and the Dark Universe of Universal Monsters.