Super Nintendo World Hollywood Now Open For Technical Rehearsals

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Super Nintendo World Mario Flag
Image: Universal Studios Hollywood

Surprise! Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood is now open! Technically. Like many other theme parks, the new park is going through a “soft opening”, so it’s not officially open as such; rather, it’s available to members of the public but with the discretion that entry may be limited at any time and guest numbers may be capped.

Members of the Universal park-themed website Inside Universal have managed to get inside the park, which “opened” yesterday ahead of the proper launch on 17th February.

Parks often have “technical rehearsals” like this to test some of the attractions with an actual audience. Not every single area of Super Nintendo World is finished or open during this period, but according to Inside Universal, “Mario Kart: Bowser Challenge, Toadstool Cafe, 1-Up Factory, and interactive elements are all open during technical rehearsals, but may close at any time”.

Most of us at NL are dying to visit, so this is making us a teeny bit jealous, but we’ll have to live through the magic of Inside Universal’s visit. The website has been sharing clips and photos of the visit over on Twitter, and here’s a selection:

Inside Universal isn’t the only outlet that managed to get in for the soft launch — Trip planning company Touring Plans also shared some of their experiences over on Twitter.

There are some fabulous photos of the delicious-looking food at Toadstool Cafe as well as the hidden stamps that you can find in the park. It looks like a magical, interactive wonderland. And we know it rarely gets that cold over on the west coast of America, but we’re sure the people in the Mario and Luigi costumes are nice and toasty!

It really looks like Universal has captured the essence of the Mario game and combined the interactivity of a video game with the excitement of a theme park. We’ve still got a lot of gold coins to save up before we can even attempt to get tickets.

Don’t forget, press previews have been gradually going up over the past few weeks. We grabbed a few videos the other day which showcase the inside of the park some more, so why not take a look at those, too: