Toward the end of 2023, it was revealed that a Donkey Kong expansion would be making its way to Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Japan. Now, thanks to some keen investigation from CoasterTalk (thanks, Gizmodo), some more information has been discovered regarding the site's new rollercoaster ride.
The ride, which is based on the mine cart segments of classic Donkey Kong Country games, is designed to send passengers flying into the air, simulating moments in which Donkey Kong would leap over broken rails in-game. To achieve this, the ride is operated via a hidden track, which holds the cart in the air to make it look like it's running on a visible track.
So essentially, when the cart jumps over the broken rails, it's still being held secure via the hidden track below. So no, there will be no free-falling in Super Nintendo World's new ride; that's a lawsuit just waiting to happen.
CoasterTalk itself has created a digital render of how the ride would look based on the tech involved, which you can see in more detail via the above video (mind the language barrier, though).
It looks pretty cool, and it's admittedly a great way of accurately simulating the cart rides from the games. Time will tell if it's due to make its way over to the Hollywood site in addition to Osaka, since the park has one been open to the public since February, 2023. Still, it's something we'd certainly love to see.