It's not perfect, but it's good fun and it's my favorite Nintendo ride on offer at Epic Universe.
It is rougher, definitely the roughest thing I experienced all day, but not enough to jar me too bad like it did some others here, which I just count myself lucky for.
The track jumping gimmick sells a lot better off of the ride than on it, and doesn't work especially well when facing more vertical, but that's also why a few of the show scenes and characters happen at those drop moments. When the effect really works, it's very cool. I think having a bounce element to the cars would've sold that platformer / jumping feeling even more, but this is already a crazy mechanism to make it all work, so I can't complain.
This thing looks incredible as a bystander in the land. That jump over the spikes to the left side is so incredibly cool and energizing, and the entire ride gives a tiny, tiny land a ton of kinetic energy that sells the entire concept. They really utilize their limited space, and show off just about everything they needed to from the source material. And shoutout to the Blue Pikmin being so prominent at the Splashdown section!
I need to re-ride to get a grasp on my thoughts on the Rocket Barrel. It's been a dream to use one since playing DK Mountain on Mario Kart: Double Dash!! for Gamecube, and among everything else this ride does, it didn't make the biggest impression. The scene that honestly sticks in my head the most was the Mine section to the left where you jump from track section to track section, timing it right to avoid spikes and dodging attacks from Mole Miners. That's the closest it gets to the actual usual Mine Kart Madness levels and I think effects are at their strongest during it. It really feels like the forbidden first-person / VR camera angle we were never allowed to see in all of these DKC games haha!
The animatronics are simple but all very fun. It's very cool to see a game with a great artstyle like DKCR brought to life in this way. I'm not even a huge fan of the character, but seeing a Tiki Tong figure so prominent in a Universal attraction is wild to me. SNW wasn't able to represent all of the deep cut characters I would've wanted personally, but I can't deny that they got to quite a few that I did not expect! Yoshi's Adventure has a few other characters like that, I'll save those thoughts for that thread though. Seeing one of the Screaming Pillars in real life after more than a decade of avoiding them in DKC and Mario Kart 7+8 was a really cool visual too! The queue is cute and the aesthetics definitely fit the interior of a DKCR temple. Cranky and Squawks weren't operating when I went; but they were still a nice surprise! Just wish we could've seen my beloved King K. Rool or the Kremlings in some small way!
The music also does a ton to energize all of the Nintendo rides in the park. These tunes are all incredible and iconic, and are built to keep their luster after countless deaths and repeated attempts to beat a level. Mine Kart Madness is no exception. The drums of DK Jungle Groove throughout the land gives it all such an incredible energy, and the use of Gear Getaway on the ride is perfect. The big band energy is palpable and somehow fits the act of manically jumping between broken minecart tracks with a gang of apes shockingly well.
This ride isn't perfect, but it captures what I wanted out of the Nintendo / Universal partnership. Inventive and exhilarating show effects and ride systems; immersive and practical sets, scenes and animatronics; and a love and respect for the property and medium. I'd say the entirety of SNW captures the final point, but Mario Kart doesn't quite capture the "practical" desire, and Yoshi's doesn't capture the exhilaration. This is just right.
And honestly it was just surreal to be on the thing at all. I've gushed and rambled and ranted excitedly to countless people about this patent since around 2017, about 8 years ago; It was just wild to finally, actually ride it after all of that. So strange to put all of Epic Universe in the "Happened" category after it being "Will Happen" for so, so long.
Definitely would love to ride again to get a better feel for it.