When Nintendo first announced Super Nintendo World, many were curious about how the public at large would not only react to such a theme park but whether the park itself could gather the business that was required of it to maintain longevity. After all, this was the first true video game theme park in the world, so there were a lot of unknowns going into it. The global pandemic certainly didn’t help things in that regard. However, Nintendo pushed through alongside Universal Studios, and now, not only are they soon to have three parks across the US and Japan, but it’s about to get its first expansion!
As we covered before, Donkey Kong is the first Nintendo character to get an expansion within the park, and for those in Japan, the park will open on December 11th. However! As revealed on Twitter, some people are already getting to see what this expansion is like, as a preview event is going on for certain high-tiered members of the public!
One of the key elements of this preview event that even the video with Shigeru Miyamoto didn’t show before is the entrance to the Donkey Kong Country area. It’s nice, big, colorful, and easy to spot, ensuring that you can easily get from one part of the park to the other:
For those who didn’t watch the video, the Donkey Kong Country area features many of the same kinds of attractions that the Mario park had, just with a DK-theme. For example, you’ll see numerous landmarks and references to the Kong clan, including the “KONG” letters, some of the animal mounts that Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, and the others in the family have ridden, bananas, and more.
Plus, there are plenty of interactive games and events to enjoy, including playing the bongos, riding on the mine cart-themed roller coaster, and more!
As stated earlier, the Japanese park opening for the expansion will happen on December 11th, while the US opening will occur in May, when the “Epic Universe” opens up in Orlando. With DK’s park now done, the question will now be which Nintendo franchise gets the next park expansion.
Yes, there will be more park expansions, as that’s the true point of Super Nintendo World. The company wants to use it to highlight the many wondrous franchises the gaming giant has produced over the years.
With characters like Link and Zelda, the Pikmin, Team Star Fox and others to choose from, there are plenty of options for The Big N to craft memorable theme park experiences.
