A month ago, we looked at the best times to ride Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry and avoid a 254-minute wait. With such a positive reaction to that post and the waits around Epic not subsiding, we decided to look at other attractions with long waits around the park. This post will look at our collected wait time data from Epic Universe and determine the best times to ride Mario Kart without waiting hours.

What is Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge?

Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge is the Super Headliner dark ride attraction for Super Nintendo World in Epic Universe. Guests join Team Mario and crew in a real-life Mario Kart race to beat Team Bowser and win the Universal Cup. Mario Kart uses cutting-edge augmented reality technology to add virtual characters to real-life sets of the attraction. While on the ride, guests launch green shells at Team Bowser baddies and follow on-screen turning guides to earn coins – earn 100 coins per person on the vehicle and win!

Why You Should Ride Mario Kart

We love the interactive aspect of Mario Kart, combined with amazing sets. We find the ability to aim by looking at where to shoot shells is easier to navigate than identifying our laser dot among dozens of others in Men in Black or Buzz Lightyear. The sets are so good they’re well worth your time riding to see them, even if you don’t want to play the game or wear the AR visor. Mario Kart is a great ride for anyone who can handle some mild spins, projection mapping visuals, theatrical fog, and strobe lights.

Why Are There Long Waits?

Mario Kart is an extremely popular attraction at Epic Universe. Nintendo is one of the biggest draws of the park, and as the headlining ride, it receives the most attention. Mario Kart is also one of the few attractions indoors, making it one of the few rides open during rainstorms, further extending waits during the middle of the day. And finally, Mario Kart’s advanced technology shuts the ride down for restarts over the day, making the lines longer.

Best Times to Ride

Ok enough preamble, let’s get to why you’re all here. We analyzed months’ worth of wait time data from Universal Orlando and submitted by our amazing readers, and have discovered some trends. The first trend we saw was for Early Park Admission. Many guests will head to Mario Kart at the start of EPA, but not later in the hour, exclusive access as most of those guests head to Donkey Kong Minecart Madness or Harry Potter and the Battle at the Ministry. This means that if you have Early Park Admission, our suggestion is to get in line the last 15 minutes of Early Park Admission to avoid the longest lines in the day.

The next best time to ride Mario Kart is the last two hours the park is open. At this time, guests are exiting the worlds and entering Celestial Park to ride its rides at night and have dinner. If you couldn’t catch Mario Kart during Early Park Admission, then this is the second-best time to experience the ride.

Don’t have EPA and don’t want to wait for the end of the day? Then take our advice for Early Park Admission and apply it to regular park entry! Most guests entering the park at the posted opening are going to two rides: Mario Kart or Ministry. But after the initial rush, most guests arriving later decide to skip those rides and ride the attractions in Celestial Park, see the two stage shows, or see the smaller attractions in Berk. So instead of zigging when everyone else zags, visit Mario Kart an hour after general park admission at 11:00 am.

TouringPlans Touring Tips

⭐️ Wait till the last 15 minutes of Early Park Admission to ride if you have access to EPA.

⭐️ Ride after the first rush of guests at the official park opening and get in line at 11:00 a.m.

⭐️ Waits hover around an hour to 90 minutes for the rest of the day.

⭐️ Wait times plummet during the last two hours the park is open.

Have you ridden Mario Kart Bowser’s Challenge? When do you like to take on Bowser? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!