My wife and I live in San Diego. At around 11:30 am yesterday, we decided to spontaneously chance the drive up to USH for a shot at Super Nintendo World and were not disappointed. No traffic there or back (huzzah), we parked near the front gate at around 1:30pm, bought tickets and had a virtual return time booked for 1:30pm - 2:30pm upon entering the park. Magic.
The land, was fine. It felt smaller than I had anticipated but there was hardly any crowd while we were there. Since comparisons to the mouse are inevitable, I'd say Galaxy's Edge is better built in terms of immersion (some of the sightlines in SNW are rough and some show elements are already showing wear despite the land not being officially opened yet) but SNW wins in terms of kinetic energy and land interactivity. Unlike GE, SNW's app is actually fun and even when I'm not in the parks I find myself opening it to look at other player's/team scores and plan my next goals/achievement stamps. The land is also leagues better than whatever Avenger's Campus is pretending to be. I love that the collecting of items/keys all leading up to a confrontation with Bowser Jr. felt like a second attraction in itself. One other thing I appreciated, is that you don't need to buy a band to battle Bowser Jr., the TMs were more than willing to let folks in to experience the fight without one, meaning they aren't putting that experience behind a paywall. One minor gripe I had with the land was a lack of quick drink/snack options within it. At one point I got really thirsty and realized there were no snack carts to grab say, a bottled water, etc. and couldn't even find a drinking fountain. It'd be nice if they'd roll a themed cart or two out when the walkways aren't so busy because when that happened, I realized my only options were to either A) wait in line at Toadstool's again, B) leave the land and not come back in or C) get over it.
The food, was good. Not much to say here other than I really enjoyed my meal and the theming of the restaurant in general. We ordered a bit of everything except for the garlic knots (they were out) and my favorite was the Fire Flower pasta. Yummy meatballs, mushrooms, cheese wafer and a spicy sauce. I really like spicy food so I would have liked the level turned up a notch but understand this would probably make the plate inedible to most, so I get it. It was still really good. Peach's cupcake was a bit much for me, maybe it's meant to be shared. The Mt. Beanpole cake was better for a single person, I think. Signature drink was good, but it was filled with so many extras (3 kinds of popping boba, manjo jellies, ice), that I feel like there wasn't enough "drink" to last the meal. Bummed I didn't get to try the knots. Next time.
The ride, was fun and better than I expected. I kept my expectations low after the mixed reviews of the original. We got to ride it twice (60 minute wait the first time, 20 minute wait the second). Thankfully we had done our research before riding, too, as I could see how the control scheme might confuse a newcomer on their first ride. But, I had a lot of fun. Once you understand how everything works, what your goals are, etc., it's really a blast and has a very high re-rideability rate with all the little secrets and goals the app tasks you with completing. I also understand why they went with the slower, dark-ride system after experiencing it myself. Nintendo/Universal had a choice to make; do they play it safe with a more traditional kind of coaster which people are likely expecting, or do they try something riskier? A coaster would have been a hit but the park already has one (with a rumored second on the way) and would prevent a significant portion of their target audience from even being able to ride the one attraction the land has. I think they built a very "Nintendo" ride. It's an attempt at something new and innovative (which they often do with their games and consoles), and is also something accessible for the entire family to have fun and play together. The AR wasn't "perfect" 100% of the time since it doesn't completely cover your entire range of vision but it never once worked so poorly that we couldn't win or couldn't understand what was happening. It was also, obviously, much better in person than any video online could try to convey. If I had to take any points away from it, it would be that the ride has a habit of coming to a complete stop at a couple of show scenes towards the end when they aren't loading/unloading fast enough. Zones ahead of you will get filled and as a result, your car will stop but the AR scene around you will continue regardless, which kind of sucked. Additionally, the speed of the ride is fine because there's so much going on around you normally but coming to a complete stop really kills the momentum completely, when it happens. We also rode twice and only on the second ride thru did my Power band actually successfully connect and record my score on the attraction (which was a bummer because I lost all my work for that first ride through).
I don't have much to say about the merch. It was about what you'd expect. Lots of plushies, tees, etc.. I purchased some pins featuring the various Mario Kart cups and a T-shirt with some Boos on it. It would be nice to see them offer some items related to the actual video game systems and games in the future. Maybe some special Switch/game carrying cases with the land logo on it, that sort of thing. Oh! -and I forgot to mention that your Power band doubles as amiibo when you get home. Which is awesome, even if it's only for six of the most generic character choices. It really adds a bit of value to the bands outside the parks, unlike Magic bands which just kind of sit there, awaiting your next trip.
Overall, I think Universal has a winner on their hands here. It's small, sure. The sightlines are rough and some elements of the land are even already showing wear and tear. But at the end of the day, the land and it's ride are a ton of run and what food they do offer is yummy. It sort of took me back to being a kid and experiencing/playing in Toontown. But it's for everyone and there's so, so much more to do. The difficulty of the challenges in the land even increases as you do them multiple times! I could easily spend an entire day just in this one area collecting stamps/achievements to increase my score.