The 2023 opening of Super Nintendo World[a] at Universal Studios Hollywood has been nothing less than epic. “Wahoo!!” Entry into this special part of the theme park has given fans the ultimate opportunity to live out their favorite Super Mario ™ adventure. Fans of the video game and its characters can immerse themselves in this themed environment to experience the racing world of Mario and his pals, tour Bowser’s Castle, dine at the Toadstool Café and load up on merchandise at the 1-UP Factory ™. Super Nintendo World[a] invites visitors into a colorful, larger-than-life environment with character fog effects and lots of sensory stimulation to add a sense of realism to the experience.
Our Koolfog team took a holiday field trip for a day of fun at Universal Studios Hollywood and to see some of our hard work up close and personal. While Koolfog misting fans and mist systems are located throughout the park for cooling purposes, many attractions including Super Nintendo World[a] showcase fog effects to add depth, dimension, and a sense of authenticity to interactive journeys, shows and rides around the park.
Within the famed Mushroom Kingdom, Universal Creative teams’ vision comes to life welcoming guests to explore and play. At Mario Kart™: Bowser’s Challenge, riders put on special goggles for a virtual technology, augmented reality, experience that puts them “in” the game as they race through Mario Kart ™ courses alongside familiar characters, including Luigi and Princess Peach. In keeping with the popular video game, riders (can, also, buy a bracelet to unlock additional features around the land) zoom around mushrooms, shoot turtles and dodge devouring venus fly trap flowering plants as they collect coveted coins.
First Impressions & Out-Takes from The Team: “Let’s Go!”
- “Wow!!. They (Universal Creative) nailed it!
- “The world is striking and authentically designed…the colors reflect the colors of the game.”
- “Intricately and so cleanly executed. The sense of scale is interesting. It really is immersive in that you feel you are “small” and in a world that is larger than life.’
- “The intensity of stimulation the land provides is astounding. There are lots of things going on, lots of movement…things really come to life.”
- “Super Nintendo World[a] has a high energy vibe that encourages silly fun and all smiles.”
- “Even guests that are not familiar with the Mario™ video game will think it is cool. It is so detailed and such high quality…the workmanship so impressive. It is completely designed inside and out with the intention of putting you close to the action that it is so realistic that it envelops you into this cartoon-type land.”
- “Thwomp’s fog effect definitely makes a difference in the visual impact of the character’s movement.”
A highlight for our team was seeing Thwomp in action in a real life-size land outside of their reference in playing the video game. Thwomps, at times referred to as Thwomp Traps, are giant stone faces appearing in the Mario ™ video game’s Mushroom Kingdom and in different areas of Bowser’s Castle. Thwomp intermittently descends to guard the entry to Mario’s famed domain. As Thwomp fiercely hits the ground in protect mode, dust and debris seems to kick up a cloud.
To bring this character to life within Universal’s Super Nintendo World, members of our Koolfog team collaborated with Universal Creative to, as one of our engineers described as “to process design plans and establish connectivity to Koolfog mist pump system to control panels so that Thwomp would have a fog effect to signify motion”. In application, “our programming and controls are triggered by a Universal signal so that a plume of fog represents the dust explosion when Thwomp slams to the ground.” This forceful landing is visually demonstrated by a hidden fog system that is time activated to synchronize with Thwomp’s sentinel duties. Thwomp is designed to go up and down cyclically every six seconds with a with “grinding stone” sound effect (likened to two sandstone slabs rubbing together) as it rises, and a rumbling type of sound as it goes down. The resulting fog effect adds a touch of realism to the visual interaction as it represents the character come to life. Our Koolfog Universal field trips are a highly anticipated event for our team and this time, Super Nintendo World
