Before the coronavirus pandemic shut down large public gathering places, the Super Nintendo World theme park at Universal Studios Florida got a more concrete opening period for 2023. The Super Nintendo World park at Universal Studios Japan is much closer to being completed, and since the end of May, photos and videos have surfaced online showing off different aspects of its construction. Most recently that has included a video of fan-favorite Mario character Yoshi.
Much of the aesthetic for the Super Nintendo World park is taken from Mario's sidescrolling games, notable the New Super Mario Bros. series, and eagle-eyed fans have picked up on animatronic pieces like spinning gold coins being placed alongside cloud platforms and flagpoles. On June 19, a high-quality video from a different angle was uploaded by a Japanese YouTube account that shows Mario characters like a Thwomp, Goomba, Koopa, and of course the lovable mount dinosaur Yoshi running around a tree.
Though Yoshi looks incredibly detailed and cutely animated, he appears to be more of a visual attraction than anything visitors will be able to interact with. However, previously leaked exterior shots of the park taken by Japanese locals have also shown off different areas of the Super Mario-themed locale that will likely be open to explore, such as desert pyramids and Bowser's castle.
While the Super Nintendo World parks look more exciting with each passing day, it's unlikely fans of the video game giant will be able to experience them at full capacity for some time. Other theme parks like Disneyland are only just beginning to set up re-opening plans after long closures due to COVID-19, and Disney specifically has lost at least $1 billion in the time its parks have been closed.
In the meantime, other Super Mario-specific ventures will be more accessible to a general populace stuck at home. More has been revealed about the LEGO Super Mario sets that are coming out in August, including the fact that there will be at least eight expansion sets for the base package — one of which features Yoshi.
Super Nintendo World promises to be fun for fans of all ages all over the world, no matter when the world gains access to the parks. It seems like it's going to be very true to the kind of vision Nintendo has put across in all its ventures, so it should be interesting to see what characters join Yoshi on the roster going forward.