Do You Need A Reservation For Super Nintendo World At Universal Studios Hollywood?

Super Nintendo World is a new, highly anticipated themed area located inside the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park.

To enter the world you will need to have admission to the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park (either with a ticket or an annual pass).

However, this only guarantees you entry into Universal Studios Hollywood and does not guarantee that you’ll be able to enter Super Nintendo World.

Universal Studios Hollywood is only using a virtual reservation system once Super Nintendo World reaches capacity. However, entry with a virtual reservation is not guaranteed. Instead, to guarantee entry into Super Nintendo World we recommend purchasing a Super Nintendo World early access ticket.

These tickets are currently the most affordable way for guests to guarantee entry into Super Nintendo World. However they are not the only method of either guaranteed entry or potential entry into the world.

Super Nintendo World Early Access Tickets

Super Nintendo World early access tickets are an add-on to theme park admission and are currently the only way to guarantee entry into Super Nintendo World.

These tickets require you to have either a park ticket or an annual pass with entry into Universal Studios Hollywood for the same day in which you select your Super Nintendo World early access and can not be used independently.

Tickets cost between $20 and $25 depending on the exact date of your visit and can be purchased from the Universal Studios Hollywood website.

Super Nintendo World early access tickets can be purchased individually (if you’re an annual pass holder or have already purchased park tickets) or alongside your park tickets (as one single transaction).

The ticket allows you to enter Super Nintendo World one hour prior to the scheduled opening of Universal Studios Hollywood for that date.

Meaning that if Universal Studios Hollywood is set to open at 10am you’ll be able to enter the park and walk down to Super Nintendo World from 9am with your early admission ticket – again you’ll also need Universal Studios Hollywood park admission for the same day.

VIP Experience Tickets

The VIP Experience is an expert guided tour around Universal Studios Hollywood that comes with;

• 1-Day park admission
• VIP gourmet meal
• Complimentary Valet Parking
• Light snacks and refreshments
• Unlimited (per day) express access to each ride, attraction, and seated show

According to the Universal Studios Hollywood website, VIP Experience guests will have reservation free entry into Super Nintendo World once per day when reservations are required to enter the world.

It’s also assumed (but has not been confirmed) given the terms and conditions of the VIP Experience that this would also give you an Express Pass to the only ride within Super Nintendo World, Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge (something that the standard Express Pass does not provide).

It’s worth noting that a VIP Experience entrance to the ride has been built just inside the ride’s entrance. However, it’s not yet confirmed whether this will be in use from the park’s official opening date, or later in the year.

Tickets for the VIP Experience are roughly $250 more than general admission and are (at least in our opinion) so much more than just entry into Super Nintendo World.

As such, we wouldn’t recommend these tickets purely for visiting Super Nintendo World and instead would only recommend the VIP Experience for those looking for an all-rounded experience of everything (and more) that the Universal Studios Hollywood park as a whole has to offer.

Express Passes

According to the Universal Studios Hollywood website, and the latest terms and conditions printed on an Express Pass ticket, guests with an Express Pass for Universal Studios Hollywood will have reservation-free entry into Super Nintendo World once per day.

However, it’s worth noting that Express Pass privileges do not work on Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge as per the latest terms and conditions provided on the Universal Studios Hollywood website.

Given this, we would only recommend upgrading from general park admission to an Express Pass if you’re looking to skip-the-line at all the other rides and attractions within Universal Studios Hollywood.

Otherwise, we’d recommend general admission alongside the exclusive Super Nintendo World early access tickets since it works out cheaper.

Platinum Pass Holders

As per the terms and conditions currently shown on the Universal Studios Hollywood website platinum annual pass holders are able to enter Super Nintendo World once per day after 3pm when reservations are required to enter the world.

However, it’s worth noting that the post-3pm Express Pass privileges do not work on the new Mario Kart: Bowsers Challenge ride.

This may make upgrading from a silver, gold or California resident annual pass worthwhile for those looking to experience Super Nintendo World during every visit to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Other Ways To Visit Super Nintendo World With General Park Admission

If you don’t have the extra budget for upgrades then there are some other ways you can attempt to visit Super Nintendo World with your general Universal Studios Hollywood park admission tickets or a silver / gold annual pass.

However, unlike those noted above, entry into Super Nintendo World using these methods does not guarantee you entry into this area of the park.

As a result, if you’re a super fan of Nintendo, or more specifically the Mario franchise then we’d recommend the $20 to $25 early entry ticket as noted above.

Be At The Park When It Opens

The easiest way to try and gain entry into Super Nintendo World without paying for upgrades is to be at the park when it opens.

However, keep in mind that Super Nintendo World will already be open (since it’s opening one hour early for those with early admission tickets).

As such, if Universal Studios Hollywood manages to sell all of the early admission tickets then it’s likely that capacity for the area will be reached before Universal Studios Hollywood opens to general admission – and therefore entry into Super Nintendo World will automatically move into the ‘virtual reservation’ system (noted below).

If you do decide to go this route, then based on our experience we’d recommend arriving at the park at least two hours before the park’s schedule opening time.

This gives you enough time to park your car (where applicable), walk through CityWalk and head through security.

You’re then usually allowed to scan your ticket and enter the park roughly 30 to 45 minutes prior to the park’s opening but held at Starbucks until the staff members are given the all-clear.

Based on our experience, depending on the day this can happen at the ‘official opening time’ or up to 15 minutes prior to the ‘official opening time’.

It seems to depend on the crowd levels at that time, and whether or not all the staff members are in place at various rides and points across the park.

From there you’ll need to walk through the park, past Springfield (home of The Simpsons) and down the mountain of escalators to the lower lot.

Super Nintendo World is situated to the left of the Transformers Ride and is just about as far from the Universal Studios Hollywood park entrance as you can get.

Join The Virtual Line For Super Nintendo World

Once Super Nintendo World reaches capacity (not confirmed but we estimate this to be around 3,000 guests) entry into the area for general admission park guests will be done using a Virtual Line system.

To register for the Virtual Line you will need to be physically inside Universal Studios Hollywood (meaning you sadly can’t reserve slots from home or your hotel room).

Spaces will be available based on different time slots throughout the day. However, you will be alerted should space within Super Nintendo World become available at an earlier time.

If all the Virtual Line spaces to Super Nintendo World have gone when you check then be sure to check back throughout the day as more spaces may become available depending on the real-time crowd levels.