A rock-solid list of our dream Nintendo-themed attractions for Universal Orlando! Are you listening, Universal?! Make these happen! – gallery by Adam McCabe

It’s dangerous to vacation alone – take this! I don’t think there’s a kid (or kid at-heart) who didn’t burst with glee when Universal Studios announced their collaboration with Nintendo on fully-licensed theme park attractions. With that news, we’ve dreamed up our top-10 Nintendo-themed attractions that we’d like to see Universal pump out. Some are a little over-the top, but what Nintendo game isn’t? The sky’s the limit, and we’re ready to let our nerd flags fly! Read on, Nintendophiles! – Adam McCabe
“Luigi’s Mansion: Spirit Scramble” Imagine a setting like Disney’s Haunted Mansion, only infested with the colorfully crazy ghosts and ghouls from the Luigi’s Mansion games! Like Men In Black: Alien Attack, guests will get into carts equipped with their own Poltergust (the vacuum our green plumber uses to suck up the ghosts) and then compete to see who captures the most! Of course, we’ll see Luigi getting into all kinds of trouble throughout the experience and the environment would be playful enough to not scare the little ones. C’mon – who wouldn’t want a Luigi’s Mansion dark ride?
“The Pokemon Experience” All I want (have ever wanted?) is a forest with a path that winds in many different directions where I will be able to walk around with my own Pokédex and catalog true-to-life Pokemon scurrying around me. Maybe even the opportunity to catch them. At the end of the path, there can be a battle arena where kids can pit their own Pokemon against other kids’ creatures using screens to choose attacks and which Pokemon to send out. There could even be a green-screen photo opportunity for kids to pose with their caught Pokemon! AH! If Nintendo/Universal made this happen, I would spend a good 24 hours crying happy tears into a Pikachu plush doll.
“Super Mario Bros. Smash Spectacular!” I think it would be pretty great if Mario had his own “castle show” in front of a beautiful and colorful large-scale model of Princess Peach’s castle. Mario and all the citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom (that’s us) have been invited to celebrate the Princess’ birthday. Yoshi, Toad, Luigi, Mario, Donkey Kong: The gang’s all there. Then, just when Peach is about to blow out the candles on her suspiciously massive cake, Bowser (King Koopa himself) busts out of the top and captures our damsel in distress. Here’s where we get into some cutting-edge stuff: From there, the castle-stage opens up to reveal a stunt-like platforming game setup where our heroes need to help each other beat Bowser’s various zany family members in a live-action stunt spectacular!
“Metroid Morph Ball Gyro-Coaster” There have been rumblings in the coaster community (is that a thing?) about gyroscopic seats in a roller coaster. Basically, you’re sitting in the middle of a ball, on a winding track, at the complete mercy of gravity. See where I’m going with this? Metroid’s leading lady’s signature move is her ability to transform into a “morph ball” to squeeze into small spaces and ride wiggly tracks like a *pause* ROLLER COASTER. So, let’s put guests in a gyro-coaster seat and have them soar through an indoor space-station setting with appearances from Samus herself and even her arch nemesis, Ridley. It’ll be Universal’s own Space Mountain (with a twist), and guests will love it.
“Mario Kart: Mega Circuit” A massive, simulator-esque game of Mario Kart. Guests will get into their own cart similar to the Simpsons Ride, but with dedicated screens (per-room). One guest will be the Driver, another guest will be the “Saboteur” (shoots the powerups and weapons), and everybody else is along for the ride. Families can decide who does what during a quick briefing beforehand. Similar to Star Tours, the tracks will be randomized so there’s a new experience every time you play. Guests will face off in grand races against other families, as well as artificial-intelligence opponents like Mario, Link and Wario (to name a few). Fun, right?! And it’s totally doable with modern technology.
“Star Fox: Arial Assault” This would essentially be Star Tours with Star Fox. Problem? Didn’t think so. Guests would get into a new model Arwing used specifically for transport, and then be sucked into a galactic adventure with Fox, Falco, Slippy and crew. Hell, Slippy could even be the one piloting your transport and we can have a nice little underdog story going on in the background of the action. Experiences would be random, and guests would be whisked off to classic planets for iconic battles. We might even get to dive into the depths with the Blue Marine or conduct a land mission with the Landmaster. In the end, our heroes would come face-to-face with the evil Andross and be commended for their bravery by General Pepper on the Great Fox. You’ll walk in a tourist, and walk out the newest recruit to the the Star Fox team!
“Mario Party Live!” What’s better than a live-action Mario Party?! Kids will have a chance to rock out and dance with their favorite characters in front of a live stage, as well as compete for cool Nintendo-themed prizes in “mini-games” that a charismatic host will set up. Maybe Bowser himself will make an appearance to try and foil plans to add a little “plot” into the mix. Games and prizes would be themed around multiple Nintendo titles, and parents will get to watch their kids make fools of themselves on-stage! Everybody wins!
“Donkey Kong Country Jungle Jam” Imagine a series of climbable nets and ladders in a jungle setting (much like Shamu’s Happy Harbor, or the Jurassic Park play area at IOA). Kids will get to climb around and play fun little water games with their friends, and surrounding it would be a family-friendly mine-cart coaster around the outside of the area. Maybe even get a floating-barrel water ride and stompable floor panels for Funky Kong to play some crazy tunes. It would be an adventure spot worthy of the Kong family!
“F-Zero: Big Blue” The concept is simple: Make one of the fastest, most beautiful tracks in any racing game into one of the fastest, most beautiful roller coasters on the planet. That’s it. Just put us in a cart that looks like Captain Falcon’s iconic Blue Falcon, put speakers behind our heads (like the Rip Ride Rocket), and blast us out of a cannon like the Incredible Hulk coaster. Surround the tracks with brilliant waterfalls and insane dives, and have zipping race car sounds pump through the speakers along with classic F-Zero tunes. People would LOSE. THEIR. DAMN. MINDS. Want to switch things up? Give is three laps around the thing like a racing game, and have the coaster veer off into different tracks each time. My blood’s pumping just thinking about it!
“The Legend of Zelda: Adventure Through Time” In an experience very much like Transformers or Spider-Man, guests will get into a caravan you’re told is transporting precious cargo to Hyrule castle. We begin crossing the sprawling Hyrule field as the classic theme music plays (nostalgia overload) just as the caravan is attacked by moblins and none other than Ganandorf himself – he’s holding what looks like some sort of time device. In a shocking twist, our villain reveals that your caravan is transporting the one and only Princess Zelda. Just as the baddie is about to take the princess, our hero Link (silent, of course) rides in, knocking the time device from Ganon’s hands, sending our caravan spiraling into a time vortex. What ensues is a wild journey through all generations of the Zelda timeline (Wind Waker, 8-bit, Skyward Sword, etc.) as Ganon (in all forms, even piggy) is hot on your trail. The ride concludes with Link taking down Ganondorf once and for all using the pieces of the Triforce. Our hero ushers the princess safely to Hyrule castle on the back of his horse, Epona – the two give a final wave as we see three fairies (representing the goddesses) fly into the sunset. Ride, over.