Donkey Kong Country

Super Nintendo World’s Mushroom Kingdom at USJ was enlarged by 70% to also become home since 2024, December 11, to Kongo Island in the Donkey Kong Country area. After Mario and Luigi, Donkey Kong is the latest Nintendo character to have a dedicated theme park 🎡.

A tunnel near Yoshi’s Snack Island’s counter at the back of Mario’s park gives access to this new mini-world. Donkey Kong Country is fully included in the admission ticket to the Super Nintendo World. Within the Universal Studios grounds, both are considered as the same land, even though the decor significantly changes to represent the gorilla’s golden jungle, which mainly encompasses:

• A cabin in the trees where Donkey Kong lives;
• The Golden Temple, where you’ll find the Mine Cart Madness; and,
• Funky Kong’s crashed plane ✈️, also serving as a souvenir shop.

The alleys of the park are lined with palm trees, wooden barrels and bunches of bananas. The decors are detailed and high enough to allow a complete immersion, in the continuity of Mario’s area. A tower of Hogwarts castle 🏯 from the neighboring Harry Potter land can still be seen from the tropical jungle, but it unexpectedly adds another layer of immersion.

Mine Cart Madness: Mario Park’s funniest ride

The Donkey Kong Country area has 1 main ride called Mine Cart Madness, that consists in a thrilling cart ride, in the same spirit as the Donkey Kong video games. This family-friendly roller-coaster provides a feeling of speed and a few original sensations along the way, such as:

• (Light) Sprays of water;
• A fake cart derail and accident with another cart; or,
• The impression of flying for a few seconds.

Launched from a barrel, you start to chase the Tiki Tak Tribe to retrieve the gold banana they have stolen. Mine Cart Madness is truly a thrilling ride, especially compared to the 2 others in Mario’s area, that rather rely on the game’s interactivity, but it is toned down enough to remain kids-friendly (minimum size for the ride is 107cm).

The only drawback is the ride’s duration, only 2 minutes. Taking into account the actual waiting time, that can last up to more than 2 hours on a weekday, even during the park’s slowest business periods (granted we visited a few weeks after the area’s opening), purchasing the Express Pass no-queue ticket and booking a time slot for Mine Cart Madness is advantageous. It also guarantees access to Super Nintendo World and a manageable waiting time for this new attraction with a likely long-lasting popularity. Another option is to stand in the single visitors’ line and hope to fill in an empty seat on a 4-passengers cart.

Purchasing tickets in advance on the Japanese official website is almost impossible from overseas, but we recommend partner sites, such as:

• Keikaku (in French, no account required); or,
• Klook (in English, account required).

Other games and animations

At the entrance of the area, we recommend trying:

• DK Bongos, a life-size rhythm game with drums, inspired from the Donkey Konga games. Assisted by the staff, players hit the drums following the music rhythm to lure Rambi the rhinoceros out from his box; then,
• Meet and greet Donkey Kong in the flesh (and hair!) who poses in front of his cabin and his banana hoard. Visitors can take picture with him as well.

The Power-Up Band, designed to be used in Mario’s park to collect coins and unlock a hidden world, can also be used in the Donkey Kong area, but only to collect the letters K-O-N-G hidden in the decor, without offering additional game or real additional quest.

At the occasion of Donkey Kong Country’s inauguration, 2 new Power-Up Bands branded with the gorilla are on sale, costing ¥4,900 (~US$34.38) each.

Lastly, this new world has its own exclusive souvenirs, with the classical merchandising sporting the gorilla’s portrait (soft toys, hats, headbands, key-rings, etc.) and a few themed snacks like a hot dog looking like a mine cart, or a generous banana-based iced dessert. We recommend the sundae since it comes in a DK mug cup to bring back home for an additional ¥700 (~US$4.91).

The 2 Mario and Donkey Kong worlds complement each other and are enjoyable regardless of one’s interest or knowledge in the respective Nintendo video game franchises. The park retains a friendly atmosphere despite the crowd, and the decors are equally beautiful in the daytime and at night. The only complaint is on the affordability side: the spending add up quickly throughout the day for souvenirs, connected bracelets and food, making a trip to the Nintendo Park very costly, even though it is certainly not specific to this new area.

On a side note, in the United States, Universal Orlando’s Super Nintendo World, whose inauguration is scheduled on May 22, 2025, will also include a Donkey Kong Country right from its opening.