By Charly SHELTON

For anyone who has ever wished they could travel down a Warp Pipe and into the fantastical world of Super Mario, Universal Studios Hollywood has a new experience for you. A new land, a new ride and a new restaurant bring this dream to life in Super Nintendo World, which opened recently to a massive and delighted crowd.

Last week, we talked about the land and the new restaurant, Toadstool Cafe. But the real Super Star (pun intended) of the land is the new attraction. Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is the one and only ride in the land, being the anchor of the whole experience. Guests enter a Warp Pipe and find themselves in an intensely immersive queue. From a Yoshi’s Story themed room to secret caves with Super Stars and giant mushrooms, up to a balcony walkway with fantastic views of Super Nintendo World below, before entering Bowser’s Castle.

Greeted by a gigantic statue of the King of the Koopas himself, guests can explore Bowser’s office and a Bob-omb factory before learning the rules of the race from Lakitu. Donning a Mario cap headband, guests board their racing kart vehicles in groups of four. In each seat is a visor that magnetically attaches to the Mario cap, allowing projections to come to life in augmented reality.

The ride vehicles set off on a racing course based on the worlds found in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and with a mix of screens, physical sets and AR, the video game comes to life. Each seat is equipped with a steering wheel and buttons to shoot shells at other racers, allowing each player to earn coins for their team. The aiming is unique in that the shells go where the viewer looks, as tracked by the AR visor. This gives full freedom to each rider, independent of the others in their vehicle. The grand finale, of course, is the classic Mario Kart course Rainbow Road. As a fan of the video games for more than 25 years, driving down Rainbow Road for real and hearing that iconic music is chill-inducing. It’s so immersive and so much fun, but the experience can’t be fully explained or understood without being there.

This attraction is among the most immersive and exciting in the park, and definitely the most interactive. The AR tech is groundbreaking, even if a little clunky to use. And whether you’re a long time fan of Mario Kart or just finding out about it now, the ride is immensely enjoyable.

Beyond the ride and restaurant, the land itself is an activity as well. Guests can get into the action with the new Power Up Band, which is a watch-like bracelet that can be purchased for $40 from the various shops of the park and used inside the land. Six different designs are available, based on many of the Super Mario Bros characters. The bands link to the Universal Studios Hollywood app and create a profile for the player. Then, by punching ? blocks or riding the Mario Kart attraction, guests can earn coins, achievement badges in the app, and bragging rights. Various “M” touchpoints are hidden throughout the land that can be tapped to activate secret hidden achievements in the real world, like finding the original 8-bit iterations of Mario, Luigi, Bowser and Peach which light up from seemingly innocuous walls. The bands can also be used at home as an Amiibo character upgrade on the Nintendo Switch.

Super Nintendo World has so much going on that it almost feels like it could be the majority of a day in the park. If you’re a local and haven’t been in a while, this is definitely worth a visit. And if you’re out of town and looking to come to Universal Studios Hollywood for the first time, you’ll want to add an additional day just to see this new land and not miss out on the rest of the park.

Super Nintendo World is open now. Expect high wait times on the attraction and restaurant, and be sure to arrive early to get a timed Virtual Line reservation in the USH app, which is required to gain entry to the land on busy days. For more information, visit UniversalStudiosHollywood.com.