If you’re a fan of Super Mario Brothers and immersive theme park experiences, you’re in for a treat! At Super Nintendo World in Universal Studios Hollywood, enter through the warp pipe into your own Super Mario Bro game! The innovative Power Up Band Games amplify the fun and make this immersive land a must-visit destination.
In this article, we’ll take you on a journey through the magical realm of Super Nintendo World, focusing on the incredible Power Up Band Games that elevate the excitement to a whole new level. If you’re in the beginning stages of planning your next theme park vacation and need additional help or are looking for discounted theme park tickets, check out our trusted travel partner The Park Prodigy
What is a Power Up Band?
The Power Up Band is a slap bracelet available for purchase at Universal Studios Hollywood. The power-up band is designed to enhance your experience within Super Nintendo World, an immersive theme park area based on popular Nintendo video game franchises. When guests wear the Power Up Band, you can connect it to the Universal Studios App, allowing you to engage in various interactive activities and challenges throughout the land.
This article will focus on the Super Nintendo World Interactive Gameplay, the Power Up Band enables visitors to participate in interactive gameplay elements scattered throughout Super Nintendo World. This might involve solving puzzles, collecting virtual items, or teaming up with other visitors for cooperative challenges.
How much are Power Up Bands?
Unfortunately, Mario power up bands are not free. They are available for purchase in Super Nintendo World for $40 plus tax. You do not have to charge them and can bring them back to Super Nintendo World time and time again! The bands also come with a paper guide to the land.
There are currently seven designs available to choose from:
- Mario Band
- Luigi Band
- Yoshi Band
- Princess Peach Band
- Toad band
- Daisy Band
- Golden Power-Up Band (special release for Super Nintendo World one-year anniversary celebration)
Related Post: Complete Guide to Super Nintendo World
Super Nintendo World Challenges
Beyond riding Mario Kart: Browsers Challenge and eating the scrumptious eats of Toadstool Cafe, the power-up games allow guests to be fully immersed in the mushroom kingdom! In your power-up band box, you will find a map of challenge locations. You can also find these on the Universal Studios Hollywood app.
Below is a map of Super Nintendo World you can find on the Universal App that highlights where you can play these power-up games.
Ranking Super Nintendo World Key Challenges
4. Goomba Crazy Crank 1 player
If you have a lot of upper body strength this one is for you! You tap your band and spin the crank as fast as you can to knock off the Goomba. This game wasn’t our favorite but was a pretty easy victory.
TPT Tip from Kurt – if you compete in this challenge more than once, the crank levels up and becomes harder each time you do it! I guess it’s a good way of getting an arm workout on your Universal Studios Hollywood day!
3. Thwomp Panel Panic 1-3 players
This game was…interesting. It’s an indoor challenge where the objective is to transform all the blocks into a single color. Be cautious! Certain boxes with arrows have the ability to influence nearby ones. Use this to your advantage in this timed activity. A single band can serve multiple players so we had our 4 players all working together.
2. Koopa Troopa POWer Punch 1 player
This game revolves around precision timing. A turtle shell moves horizontally through a pipe, and your task is to punch the box at the precise moment in its path. This triggers the illumination of other Pow boxes and propels the shell upward through a vertical pipe.
1. Piranha Plant Nap Mishap 1 to 4 players
Get ready to sweat for this one! Your goal: deactivate all the red alarm clocks by giving them a good punch before time runs out. In our experience, we had a group of 4 so we divided and conquered the area. We completed the challenge but it wasn’t too easy! Overall, trying to beat the clock and working together was fun.
Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown: up to 12 players
After completing 3 (of the 4) possible challenges and thus collecting 3 keys, you can enter Bowser’s Castle to play Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown! Guests will use their wristbands to unlock the challenge door, where they collect coins. To participate, a Power-Up Band and three virtual keys are mandatory, and one band allows four players to join the challenge.
The mission: recover Princess Peach’s stolen golden mushroom from Bowser Jr. Pay close attention to the instructional video for this engaging full-body game:
- Swap: Utilize your arms to swap away Bob-ombs.
- Duck: Be alert for objects approaching from the sides. When Bullet Bills approach, duck to avoid being shrunk down, making the game more challenging.
- Jump: Leap up and punch? boxes to acquire power-ups and increase in size. These power-ups come in handy if the Bullet Bills pose a threat.
- Swing: With a Fire Flower, swing your arms to throw fireballs.
At the game’s conclusion, each player with a band receives a total coin count. This challenge was the longest wait that we experienced out of the power-up games. We waited about 20 minutes but think it was worth it because we really enjoyed playing all together!
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Is a Power-Up Band Worth it?
$40 is a steep price tag for an interactive bracelet that can only be used in Super Nintendo World. If you or anyone in your party is a big Super Nintendo fan, this price may be worth it, even if just visiting for a day. In our experience, we found that without the power-up band, we probably would have spent half the time we did in Super Nintendo World.
Of course, you can ride Mario Kart, eat at Toadstool Cafe, and meet your favorite characters like Toad and Mario but without that power up band, that’s about it! So if you’re planning to spend most of your day in Super Nintendo World, the band may be necessary. Not only can you play key challenges with the band but also collect coins around the land by hitting power-up boxes. You can also reveal secret images with the band. Overall, it makes you feel immersed in the Mushroom Kingdom.
We would suggest just buying 1 for your party (if you are a family of 4 or less) since you can let up to 4 guests play each challenge. This would be a good way to save money on power up bands!
Personally, being a frequent visitor to Universal Orlando, I wasn’t sure if purchasing a power-up band Universal Hollywood would be worth it for me. The good news is that you can use the power up band at Universal’s new theme park, Epic Universe when it opens in 2025! I’m glad I purchased it, and don’t regret it.
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Nintendo World Hollywood Power Up Band FAQ
How Much are the Power Up Bands?
Power up band price is $40 before tax. It is a fun way to experience the immersive Nintendo World by playing key challenges, revealing hidden images, and collecting coins.
Where to Buy Power Up Bands Universal Studios Hollywood?
Power-Up Bands are available for purchase in Super Nintendo World Hollywood. You can purchase them in the 1-UP Factory and power-up band kiosks. They are available in Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Toad, and Daisy styles.
What do the Power-Up Bands do at Universal Studios Hollywood?
Utilize your Mario Power-Up Band to gather digital stamps and coins, accomplish Key Challenges, monitor your score on the Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge ride, and enjoy additional features in the immersive, Super Nintendo World.
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