As the Super Nintendo World theme parks at Universal Studios continue to expand, adding a roller coaster into the mix feels imminent – here’s what I think that could look like.
While I’m undoubtedly a roller coaster enthusiast and thrillseeker who greatly prefers large, exciting roller coasters to parks that focus on family rides and theming, there can certainly be exceptions to the rule.
My wife and I learned that for ourselves in January 2024 during a trip to Southern California, which included visits to both Six Flags Magic Mountain and Universal Studios Hollywood. While the former is perhaps my favorite amusement park in the country, the latter isn’t exactly a hotbed for thrill rides – focusing much more on high-budget effects and theming throughout the park.
Though I wasn’t exactly blown away during my first visit to the park in March 2013, the relatively recent addition of Super Nintendo World to the property made it a must-see for the lifelong Mario fan in me.
Upon arrival, I was blown away with the attention to detail and immersiveness the Super Nintendo World area brings to fans of all ages – whether they have memories of the NES in their living room or were just playing Mario Kart on their Switch during the drive over.
While we didn’t acquire wristbands to fully explore the area, we did make our way towards the two primary attractions at the time – the Toadstool Cafe and Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge, the area’s signature ride.
A wildly impressive and absorbing ride for all ages, the attraction contains a litany of Mario Kart references throughout while placing riders entirely in the Mushroom Kingdom world for the duration of the ride, blurring the lines between video games and reality while riders are inside.
Yet I couldn’t help but think that the area was missing a roller coaster, with one theming opportunity feeling too good to be passed up for future development.
While a jungle-themed Donkey Kong coaster has opened at the Super Nintendo World in Japan, designers could head in a different direction by placing the spotlight on Mario’s greenclad brother and his own smash hit franchise, Luigi’s Mansion.
Initially introduced to gamers as a launch title for the GameCube in November 2001, Luigi’s Mansion has gone on to inspire a series of its own, including sequels Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (2013) and Luigi’s Mansion 3 (2019).
Although I’m only fully familiar with the original game, the three titles give a variety of thematic inspiration, ranging from the large, haunted mansion that serves as the setting for the first game to the spooky, dilapidated hotel where Luigi carries out his mission in the most recent title.
Either way, the series feels tailor-made for an indoor roller coaster, one that could perhaps serve as Universal’s haunted spin on the wildly successful Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster operated by Disney at Hollywood Studios in Florida – which underwent a major theming change earlier this year.
While the enthusiast in me would certainly love this ride to be a launched roller coaster with several inversions, a coaster themed after a video game series predominantly aimed towards children should at least be somewhat reflective of that – though a coaster should also serve as a logical step up from the leisurely Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge.
Although this is a delicate balance to strike that’s rarely found at a Six Flags-owned park, Disney and Universal have a history of doing a fantastic job with sprinkling in some thrilling elements into rides that are still meant for the entire family.
Disney has shown off their penchant for the family thrill ride with Tron Lightcycle Power Run at Magic Kingdom, which reaches speeds of nearly 60 miles per hour while riders experience up to 4 G-force, as well as Expedition Everest, a staple at Animal Kingdom that remains the tallest roller coaster at any Disney theme park.
Similarly, Universal has a track record for this as well, with Revenge of the Mummy and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, mixing in several high-speed moments while holding back on anything that would keep a lot of the more casual guests off of the ride.
An indoor Luigi’s Mansion-themed coaster could likely include many of those same elements – enough to keep things thrilling enough for a seasoned rider to have a good time. While it’d be far-fetched to advocate for any MaxxForce-caliber launches at a family theme park, launches similar to the speeds reached on Tron along with one or two inversions could greatly aid in setting this potential ride apart.
Yet even setting the ride itself aside, the choices for theming both within the ride’s queue and the coaster itself feel limitless. Although one would reasonably expect references to the entire series at some points throughout the ride, it also feels like a slam dunk to simply build a “Luigi’s Mansion” that includes much of the queue and the coaster itself – carrying guests through different parts of the mansion in a dimly-lit area before the coaster winds riders through the rest of the structure.
The coaster could also include some elements that are typically seen in shoot-em-up dark rides, particularly including some of the pop-up ghosts that are a notable feature of the first game when Luigi is standing alone in the dark. This also offers ample opportunity to add elements that interact directly with the ride – something brake runs and multiple launches could assist with to make the coaster feel more interactive.
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but a coaster of this caliber would quickly become the signature attraction of the Super Nintendo World area of the park and would be a highlight of the entire property itself.
Spearheaded by a recognizable character with broad appeal to adults and children alike, a Luigi’s Mansion-themed coaster would truly make Super Nintendo World feel like a complete mini theme park in and of itself, while taking the series full circle to bring the spotlight back on Luigi as well.
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