It’s-a me, Mario! For gamers of all ages, Mario, Luigi, Bowzer and Princess Peach are icons and the stars of a multitude of video games, from the original Super Mario to the first RPG and everything in between. So when Universal Studios Japan announced the construction of their new Nintendo Theme Park, Mario fans everywhere were overjoyed to learn that the park would feature a ‘real life’ Mario Kart ride.

The ride is set to run on a rail, and is intended for two players. One of the riders controls drift while the other’s task is to control power-ups and weapons. Cool your jets though – Japan’s Super Nintendo World park isn’t scheduled to open until somewhere in 2020, so you’ll have plenty of time to secure flights to Japan and get those VIP tickets.

You can watch a 30 seconds or so video about the new park here, although it really doesn’t offer any specifics about the park or the rides. Other than the real life Mario Kart ride, the park is said to be home to Bowser’s and Peach’s castles (from what we understand, they are neighbors, which might explain how easy it is for the horned mean guy to kidnap the hapless princess time and time again).

It is rumored that Universal Studios Orlando and Hollywood are scheduled to introduce Super Mario World attractions as well, which means that you might not have to dish out all that money to travel to Japan after all. We expect the park template to be the same across the board, so you might be Mario Karting close to home sooner than you’d expect.

So while you wait for your favorite theme park – and ride! – to open, you might as well check out the latest Mario game: Super Mario Odyssey, a sandbox-style game that has the famous plumber interact with environments from the real world. Real life Mario Kart, simulated real situations for a video game hero? We feel a theme here….Anyway, you can learn more about the new game and watch a video here.

How exciting is all this? Very much so, in our humble opinion. Stay tuned for updates on Japan’s first Super Mario World theme park, and on the new rides and attractions likely to sprout in Orlando and Hollywood in the not near enough future.

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