Summary
A now-deleted social media post has fans guessing thatThe Legend of Zeldacould be finally getting its own theme park attraction after years of speculation. When the first Super Nintendo World location opened at Universal Studios Japan back in 2021, it was primarily focused on the Big N’s flagshipSuper Mario Bros.franchise, but it would soon start introducing interactive rides and attractions based on its other properties. A few months after the Japanese park went live, Nintendo announced that there would be aDonkey Kong-themed expansion coming in spring 2024, with an American version being added to the upcoming Universal Studios Orlando exhibit in 2025.
Of course,Super Mario Bros.andDonkey Kongare just the tip of the Nintendo iceberg, and there have been multiple rumors ofSuper Nintendo World adding attractionsbased on major franchises likeThe Legend of ZeldaandPokemonover the years since the park was first announced. In 2020, insiders claimed that Universal Orlando was planning to replace its existing Lost Continent attraction with an area themed afterThe Legend of Zelda, but this was eventually abandoned in favor of the currentMarioandDonkey Kong-themed attractions. However, a recent report claims that theZeldaplans are being revived, and parts of Lost Continent were closed back in May.
A now-deleted video shared on a Universal Studios employeeInstagramaccount appears to showLegend of Zeldaseries producer Eiji Aonuma and franchise creator Shigeru Miyamoto wearing safety gear at a construction site, as reported on byGamesRadar. While the official context was lost alongside the video itself, those who saw it and have since shared screenshots on social media claim that it was taken at Universal Studios Orlando’s upcoming Epic Universe expansion - which will be the site of the park’s Super Nintendo World attraction that is set to open next summer.
While this photo could be for anything, the presence of Aonuma and Miyamoto seems to suggest this photo depicts construction for the often-rumoredLegend of Zeldaexhibit. The previously mentioned 2020 report claimed that some of the previously-plannedZeldaattractions could have included some sort of theater-style show featuring rows of seats that could be shifted and moved on cue and aPirates of the Caribbean-style waterride where boats would be lifted into the air and flown around.
These ideas, or at least modified versions of them, could yet be realized at Universal Studios Orlando’s upcoming Epic Universe expansion, assuming that the photo of Eiji Aonuma and Shigeru Miyamoto is indeed the pair overseeing work on aLegend of Zeldatheme park attraction. Nothing concrete has been verified at this point, so fans eager to experience the thrills of Hyrule in a theme park setting will have to stay tuned for more official developments. In the meantime, Super Nintendo World is set to open at Universal Studios Orlando in Orlando, Florida in the summer of 2025.
