Highlights
- Donkey Kong theme park expansion delayed to late 2024, disappointing many fans eagerly anticipating the ride.
- Early footage highlights faithful recreation of DK Country in Super Nintendo World, including minecart rollercoaster.
- Delay likely for safety reasons, with no news on expansion’s availability in other Universal Studios locations.
Universal Studios Japan announced that the opening of Super Nintendo World’s upcoming Donkey Kong Country-themed expansion has been delayed. Nintendo officially opened the theme park in 2021, recreating the experience of the Super Mario Bros. video games in real-life. A few years later, Universal Studios announced a new Donkey Kong Country-themed expansion, with it being the second Nintendo IP to be represented at the park.
Earlier this month, early footage of Super Nintendo World’s Donkey Kong Expansion was posted online, giving fans a brief look at the theme park’s newest addition. The footage gives fans an overhead look of the park, where it replicates the atmosphere and levels of modern Donkey Kong Country games like Returns and Tropical Freeze, along with the depiction of the Kong Kingdom in the Super Mario Bros. Movie. This expansion was a greatly anticipated part of the park that many were hoping to go to, with it set to open later in Spring 2024. With April almost over, Universal Studios has announced the opening of this portion of the park has been delayed.
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In a new tweet on the official Universal Studios Japan Twitter account, it has announced the opening has been pushed back to “late 2024.” The notice doesn’t give a clear reason why the opening of the Donkey Kong Country Expansion had been delayed, but the account confirmed that more details about its opening will be given at a later date.
Donkey Kong Country Expansion Delayed at USJ
The early footage provided at the start of April showed the park’s newest attraction seemed to be mostly complete. Alongside the lush jungle and ancient stone temple set pieces, the footage also showed off a rollercoaster that fans can ride. This rollercoaster is based on the minecart levels from Donkey Kong Country, where fans ride in a minecart on a set of rails, jumping over gaps and even “blasting” out of a cannon barrel. The footage even showed some test rides being conducted as the cart ran along the course.
It’s a little strange to hear a delay when the attraction looked close to completion, though it’s likely this delay was made to ensure that riders will safely be able to enjoy the ride and no accidents occur at the park when it becomes available to the public. This hasn’t been the only Nintendo-related attraction to have its opening set back, as the Nintendo Museum’s opening was delayed as well, missing its initial end of March date to possibly the end of April. There is currently no word about whether this Donkey Kong expansion will be built in other Universal Studio locations like Hollywood or Orlando yet, either.
