Just got home! I'll post a review of Mario Kart in the review thread, but the land was nothing short of spectacular! Work told me they don't need me until tomorrow so I spent the rest of the day absorbing what I could. Did the two games that were open but didn't get to do the Bowser Jr Challenge (Piranha game was closed). Here are some takeaways:
-Everyone was having a nuclear meltdown over the tarps but I thought they were fine. I joked that we would focus more on the block lines in the backdrop a few weeks ago, but ironically I found that to be far more annoying than the tarps. Like, they really can't do anything about it?
-It was a little annoying seeing the tall Comcast building loom over Mount Beanpole, but there's only so much you can do. Otherwise, the land was super immersive with everything towering above you.
-How do you get up to the binoculars? There seemed to be no way to get up there unless you have VIP for MK? I didn't see any other way up there unless the Mario Kart queue forced you that way.
-Still want my Koopa Calzones! Please!
-The queue area once you get inside Bowser's Castle was nowhere near as long as I expected. When I got home and watched Japan's POV for comparison, I noticed the queue had similar rooms, but they were patted with a lot more wide open rooms for overflow. Here they made the interior queue more lean and made the elements that would've been used for Yoshi's Adventure as part of the extended queue. Speaking of the overflow, I saw the screen in the screens in the stairway, but they were never used? Guess it was frozen during softs? But I prefer this queue setup over Japan's.
How was the burger, btw? Is it unique from the other burgers in the park or kinda the same?
At least for now, this burger was different! Probably the best burger in the park! It tasted like a higher-quality Burger King burger. It's not the greatest burger ever, but it was pretty good for theme park fare. Garlic knots were good and that tiramisu was delicious! They didn't have the short rib available so I may try that during previews. Hope the quality stays the same because it's probably my favorite eatery in the park outside of Jurassic Cafe!
Also the service was different from the other restaurants at the park. You make a reservation with your phone number, then they will text you when it's time to enter. Once your reservation is called, you go inside, wait in a short-ish line, then place your order. They give you a electronic device (Like the Habit if you've eaten there), and they assign you a table to sit at. They then bring your food to you when it's ready.