Today's the day — Super Nintendo World in Hollywood is officially open to the public. We've seen plenty of press previews ahead of the park's opening today, 17th February, but the father of Mario himself, Shigeru Miyamoto, has made the trip over to the West coast of America to attend the grand opening.

Appearing on-stage during the event (in the time-stamped video above), which took place on Wednesday night, Miyamoto charmed the audience — with stars of the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Movie and other famous faces in attendance. Miyamoto was introduced by CEO of Universal Parks & Resorts Mark Woodbury and surrounded by Mario, Luigi, and Peach mascots.

After saying hello to the crowd (and those of us who caught the live stream over on Universal's YouTube Wednesday night PST), Miyamoto — sporting a Super Nintendo World t-shirt — shared his feelings about the opening, saying that "I'm very excited to be here [with Mark Woodbury and Tom Mehrmann of Universal]".

Miyamoto was full of thanks for the grand opening of the park, from the people who worked on his vision to the many of us at home:

"Thank you for the close partnership that made this land possible and for the shared vision of creating something new, unique, and unprecedented. And to all of the Nintendo fans who made this possible, thank you.

We are now in a momentous occasion for both Nintendo and Universal as we open the very first Super Nintendo World in the US, and I am overjoyed to be able to celebrate this moment together with all of you."

The park, which features a mario Kart Augmented Reality ride, the Toadstool Cafe, and tons and tons of interactive elements with Goombas, power blocks, and more, has been open for press and test runs for the past month, but paying visitors will now be able to experience the magic of Super Nintendo World.

Continuing his speech, Miyamoto amusingly conversed with the mascots on-stage, concerned that Bowser might be making an appearance. But once he knew he was safe, he moved onto reflecting on the development of the park:

"From the moment we began working on this project, our goal has been to bring the Mushroom Kingdom to reality for all fans of all ages around the world, and with the introduction of this land in hot Universal Studios Hollywood, I believe that even more people will be able to experience the world of Mario in a truly interactive and very immersive way."

Miyamoto wants fans to uncover the "secrets" and "surprises" in the park, some of which we've already seen sneak peeks at during the promotional period. With the interactive Power-Up Bands being an important part of the park, we'd love to think there's some kind of reward for seeking them out.

Ending with a "good luck" and hoping people are as excited as he's been to attend, the park is declared officially open with a explosive fireworks display.

We're sure there will be plenty of insights, photos, and videos from excited attendees over the coming weeks, so keep an eye out for them! In the meantime, let us know if you'll be attending the park in the comments!

[source youtube.com, via youtube.com]