Nintendo World suspends rides as ‘Goombas break free and fall onto track’

A stack of decorative Goomba characters at Japan’s Super Nintendo World fell over this week, narrowly missing guests.

The incident happened on Monday afternoon at the Osaka-based park’s Yoshi’s Adventure ride, Asahi Shumbun Digital reports.

The piece of scenery, which is shaped like four Super Mario Goomba enemies standing on top of each other in a stack, fell over and landed near the entrance to a tunnel on the ride.

The Goombas reportedly fell from a height of several metres but landed on a section of the ride that was inaccessible by guests, meaning nobody was hurt.

A video shared on social media shows four Super Nintendo World staff members struggling to lift up the statue, suggesting it’s heavy.

According to park management, some attractions in the park were suspended until the morning of the following day, so staff could perform checks to make sure everything else was safe.

Japan’s annual typhoon season traditionally peaks in August and September, and Asahi Shimbun Digital reports that Typhoon Lupit, the ninth typhoon of the year, was due to approach the Kansai region where Universal Studios Japan is located.

It’s not confirmed if winds caused the Goombas to fall, but the operating company is currently investigating the cause.

Further reading

5

The big review: Super Nintendo World

Super Nintendo World's wristband gamification is a triumph, but its rides can't quite live up to the polish of the park

Super Nintendo World officially opened in Osaka, Japan on March 18, and is due to open at Universal Studios’ Hollywood and Florida locations too, though the former looks likely to be the first US park to open, with construction already underway.

The Hollywood park has also started selling Super Nintendo World merchandise ahead of its opening, marking the first time theme park-related items have been available outside of Japan.

Meanwhile, at the Japan park, construction work has started on Super Nintendo World’s Donkey Kong expansion, which has yet to be officially confirmed despite being heavily reported on over several years.