A report from Yahoo Japan states that Universal Studios Japan is finalizing the plans to open the first of the Nintendo attractions coming to the Universal Studios theme parks, and the target is to open the new area in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Edit: See post #4
This matches up with earlier rumors that stated that Nintendo areas were coming to three of Universal's theme parks (Japan, Florida and Hollywood) by 2020. According to the rumors, all three areas are set to be anchored by a Mario Kart attraction, and rumors of a Donkey Kong mine cart coaster are abound.
As for Universal Studios in Hollywood and Florida, the same rumors state that the Hollywood version will be smaller due to the limited space available, while the Florida version may be the largest of them all.
In Hollywood the Nintendo area is said to placed in the "lower lot" section of the park, near the Jurassic Park, Mummy and Transformers attractions.
(The question mark I placed is where backstage areas are located and may be the site of the Nintendo area based on my own guesswork)
In Florida the Nintendo area is said to take over the "Kidzone" portion of the Studio park. The Woody Woodpecker coaster may be re-themed to fit to a Nintendo IP, but everything else including the E.T ride is said to be on the chopping block.
I made an error regarding the Japan park. The Yahoo report does not claim the Nintendo area will replace Back to the Future and Backdraft, but rather it will claim backstage areas at the northeast corner of the park, near the park entrance.
The construction budget for the area according to the report is around $400 million. For comparison, the Harry Potter area in Florida cost about $256 million.
After some more digging I uncovered further rumors about what could appear in the respective parks. All these are just speculation and none may come to fruition.
[] A Mario Kart attraction as mentioned before. Said to be using a new "trackless" system similar to the technology Disney uses on some of their own attractions.
(Mystic Manor at Hong Kong Disneyland)
[] An interactive Zelda attraction. No idea on what it entails.
[] A Donkey Kong mine cart coaster as also mentioned before. Universal is supposedly revisiting an old concept they had for the Jurassic Park area at the Islands of Adventure in Florida (a wooden coaster themed around a raptor chase) and applying it to the Nintendo land.
(Imagine these trains with a Donkey Kong mine cart overlay)
[] An attraction that would make use of many Nintendo IPs at once, may or may not be connected to the Mario Kart ride.
According to the newest issue of Mainichi Shibun, the boss of Universal Studios Japan says that the Mario area will "exceed" the Harry Potter section and that many Nintendo IPs other than Mario are being considered. It's repeated that the Nintendo area will be ready by the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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Topic: First Nintendo attractions at Universal Studios set to open by 2020
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