Universal Studios Nintendo Land Early Entry
Universal Studios Hollywood recently debuted the first Nintendo Land stateside where park visitors can meet characters from the Nintendo video game landscape like the Super Mario Brother and Princess Peach. There are four interactive challenges spread through out the land which provide keys for successfully completing but a purchase of power band is required in order to collect the keys won in these challenges. A power band cost $40 at the time of this article and are themed around different characters like Mario, Toad, and Yoshi. Once three keys are collected from the challenges (Yes, you can complete the same challenge again to gain more keys) then visitors unlock access to a final challenge that provides a golden peach for winning. Visitor’s can also ride the debut Mario Kart attraction which can be thought of as a slower ride version of the video game but includes an interactive augmented reality headset allowing riders to battle the video game characters in an effort to accrue more coins. The land also includes a restaurant called Toadstool Café where diners can feast on Nintendo themed fare. A version of Nintendo Land has already been open in the Universal Studios theme park located in Osaka, Japan. The Japanese version is larger and includes an additional Yoshi attraction that is geared to younger visitor’s. The Nintendo Land in Japan is currently undergoing an expansion opening in 2024 that is set to include a Donkey Kong themed area with a roller coaster based on Donkey Kong.
Crowds at Early Entry
Crowds during regular hours
At Universal Studios Hollywood, there is a ticket add-on that includes early entry to the park and to Nintendo Land starting an hour before park opening ranging in cost from $20 - $25. The higher cost seems to apply to weekends, holidays, and targeted busy periods which we went on a Sunday and ended up paying an additional $25 each to see what the early entry was all about. That day the park opened at 8 a.m. so we planned on getting to the parking area around 6:30 a.m. to allow for the long walk and escalator adventure needed to make your way to the Nintendo area of the park. By the time we had made it to the first escalator to head down the hill, it was around 6:50 a.m. and the staff shared with us that they were already allowing early entry visitor’s into the area so planning an even earlier arrival to the park may get you some additional Nintendo Land time than just one hour on offer. When we finally made it to the entry of Nintendo Land there were very few people entering which allowed for us to take photos at the entrance without need to wait in a line or other having visitor’s milling around in the background of the pictures. We then made our way through the entry pipe into an empty land where lines for the challenges were non existent as the other early entry guests were streamlining for the Mario Kart ride which was already operating.
So to answer the question if paying the additional money for the early entry was worth it, then yes it was because visiting the Nintendo area was our main reason for visiting that day. We were able to complete all the challenges, the bonus challenge, and ride Mario Kart three times in that hour span with barely any wait for any of it. I would even go as far to say that skipping the extra cost on an Express Pass and only buying the Nintendo Land Early Entry was a better way since most of park crowd hung around the area surrounding Nintendo Land leaving the line waits for attractions in other areas of the park quite short. The only thing we missed during that time was eating at Toadstool Café which goes from zero wait during early entry to a never ending line during regular park hours that you cannot join unless it it your designated time on the return ticket you needed to get from a staff member earlier in the day. Lesson Learned: eat at Toadstool Café during early entry if want to experience it without a miserable wait.
