Universal Studios Delays Donkey Kong Country Expansion

The Super Nintendo World expansion has been delayed until later this year.

Universal Studios Japan has announced that its long-awaited expansion to Super Nintendo World has been delayed. The expansion will be based on Nintendo’s Donkey Kong Country series, adding new attractions and characters based on the video games. While the DKC area has seen a lot of progress over the last few months, it seems that it will be missing its spring 2024 opening, and will now be arriving in late 2024, instead. Universal Studios announced the delay on the park’s official Twitter account, but no reason has been revealed for the decision. 

“Donkey Kong Country, which was previously scheduled to open in spring 2024, has been changed to late 2024,” the translated Tweet reads. “We apologize for any inconvenience caused to those who have been waiting.” 

What Can We Expect from Donkey Kong Country at Universal Studios?

The major highlight of the Super Nintendo World expansion is a roller coaster ride based on the mine cart areas that have appeared throughout the Donkey Kong Country series. Those locations have been a staple of the video games since 1994, where they’ve caused players both joy and a lot of frustration! In a great nod to the games, the coaster will include segments where the carts appear to jump over broken tracks. The Donkey Kong Country area will include nods to several characters from the games, including DK, Diddy, Dixie, Funky, and the villain Tiki Tong. 

When Super Nintendo World first opened in Japan and then California, it only featured content based on the Super Mario franchise (alongside a few nods to Pikmin). The Donkey Kong expansion is set to open first in Universal Studios Japan, and the current plan is that it will be part of the Universal Epic Universe theme park, which is set to open in Orlando in 2025. 

The Future of Super Nintendo World

With the DKC expansion pushed back several months, Nintendo fans visiting Universal Studios Japan will just have to settle for attractions like the current Mario Kart ride. At this time, we don’t know what will come next for Super Nintendo World, but there have been rumors suggesting that content based on The Legend of Zelda will follow. Zelda has been one of Nintendo’s most popular franchises since the ’80s, and that popularity has only grown over the last few years thanks to Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom. A live-action Zelda movie is currently in the works, and while we probably shouldn’t expect any content in Universal based on that Sony production, it would make a lot of sense to feature characters and content based on the video games. Whatever comes next, Nintendo fans should have a lot more to enjoy at Universal parks in the coming years. 

Are you looking forward to the Donkey Kong Country expansion? What Nintendo series would you like to see featured at Universal parks? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]