Epic Universe construction update: Funky Kong’s plane flies into Donkey Kong Country
Funky Kong’s plane and the Yoshi’s Adventure ride marquee are among the latest additions at the Epic Universe construction site in Orlando.
Funky Kong flies into Epic Universe
Construction workers have begun assembling a stationary plane belonging to Funky Kong at the construction site of Donkey Kong Country in the new Epic Universe theme park. The area will be part of Super Nintendo World when Epic Universe opens at Universal Orlando in 2025.
Aerial photographer bioreconstruct captured images on July 12, 2024 of Funky Kong’s plane in progress.
Nintendo describes Funky Kong as “Donkey Kong’s bodacious buddy”, saying, “When Funky Kong surfs into action, not even spikes can slow him down! This fun-loving Kong helps his friends get their paws on cool items — and in the past, he’s helped them travel in style, too. Sweeeeet!”
As seen in Universal’s virtual fly-through video of Super Nintendo World, Funky Kong’s plane will be the centerpiece fixture of Funky’s Fly ‘n’ Buy, presumable a souvenir stand. The plane will stand to guests’ right as they enter Donkey Kong Country from the adjacent Super Mario Land (aka Mushroom Kingdom). Together, both areas will comprise Super Nintendo World.
Mine-Cart Madness in Donkey Kong Country
Elsewhere in Donkey Kong Country, as bioreconstruct spotted earlier, the ride vehicles for the Mine-Cart Madness roller coaster are on the tracks. At the time bioreconstruct captured the images below, the vehicles were stationary. Construction teams continue to layer the theming around the ride with newly added rockwork.
Hey, what’s that?! Banana!
Construction workers also continue to make progress on the theming elements of one of the ride’s “track-jumping” moments. Look closely and you’ll see the real track is in disguise as a bottom layer, underneath the fake, “broken” track.
A hut, drums, and various other structures populate the area as Donkey Kong Country barrels its way toward Epic Universe’s ever-approaching grand opening in 2025.
Yoshi’s Adventure
Next door in Super Mario Land, contractors installed the marquee for Yoshi’s Adventure, a slow-moving, elevated ride providing views of Mushroom Kingdom.
Workers are busy adding props along the ride path. The covered ride vehicles are Yoshis, previously seen uncovered.
Throughout Super Mario Land, workers are filling the area with colorful items and character statuettes.
Super Nintendo World
Take a gander at Super Nintendo World as a whole! The large building will house an indoor “Mario Kart” attraction.
Hear artists from Universal Creative discuss the vision behind Super Nintendo World:
Versions of Super Nintendo World are already open at Universal Studios Japan and Universal Studios Hollywood.
Epic Universe opens in 2025
In addition to Super Nintendo World, Epic Universe will contain Celestial Park, Dark Universe, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk, and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic. Tap/click any of the logos below to discover the details of each world.
Universal Orlando guests can get a sneak peek of Epic Universe by stopping by the park’s Preview Center at Universal CityWalk. Inside, they’ll find a huge scale model of the entire park, plus merchandise connected to each of the park’s worlds. Take a look in our video tour:
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