After a six month delay, Universal Studios Japan’s Donkey Kong Country themed Super Nintendo World expansion finally has an opening date. It’ll be barrel-blasting open its doors from 11th December, and if you’re curious to see what’s in store, you can now watch Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto take a tour of the area, with a brief pause to bonk on some bongo drums.
A Donkey Kong themed expansion to Universal’s Super Nintendo World theme park area was officially announced in September 2021, just months after the opening of its main Mushroom Kingdom-themed area (although it had been spotted on mock-ups long before). At the time, Universal teased it would feature “interactive experiences and themed merchandise and food”, alongside a new coaster – and we’ve now had our best look yet at the finished thing.
Miyamoto toured the Donkey Kong Country expansion in special ten-minute-long Nintendo Direct, beginning by whisking players through the warp pipe toward the now unsealed warp pipe toward the rear of the Mushroom Kingdom. As park visitors navigate its length, its red brick war transitions to rocks before the pipe opens out into a jungle-themed area of swaying palms, wooden shacks, and even Donkey Kong’s iconic treehouse. And looming over the whole area is its centrepiece, the new Golden Temple housing a new coaster ride.
Before all that, Miyamoto spent some time showing off some of its (admittedly not especially enthralling) other elements, including the Jungle Beat Shakes shop where visitors can buy hotdogs and other assorted food; Funky’s Flay ‘n’ Buy, where are range of Donkey Kong themed merchandise can be purchased, plus Donkey Kong’s Treehouse, where patrons can grab their Donkey Kong photos ops. Additionally, there’s a three-player bongo-themed rhythm game where players must follow along to blinking lights in order to rouse Rambi the rhinoceros from his slumber inside a crate. “If there isn’t a place to play bongo drums,” Eurogamer’s Tom Phillips wrote back in 2021, “I’ll be disappointed.” His dreams have come true.
Elsewhere, Universal’s Donkey Kong Country area utilises the Power Band system seen in the Mushroom Kingdom part of the park, and band wearers can explore their surroundings in search of Donkey Kong’s iconic letter blocks, collecting in the Universal app. All of which finally took Miyamoto to the towering Golden Temple, where – as detailed by a couple of Cranky Kong and Sqawks animatronics – visitors can ride its Mine Cart Madness coaster in a bid to help protect the Golden Banana from Tiki Kong.
Unfortunately, today’s Nintendo Direct didn’t show much of the coaster at all, but we do know – thanks to various theme park fan sites over the years – it features a unique ride system designed to give riders the illusion their carts are leaping over sections of broken track, while the real track is concealed below.
You can take a virtual tour of Universal Studios Japan’s new Donkey Kong Country expansion in video above, and those able to attend in person can do some from 11th December this year. Alternatively, the area will be included as part of Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in Florida, which opens on 22nd May 2025.
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