The first real, on-ride POV video of Donkey Kong Mine Cart Madness has dropped. It's not official, and - frankly - it's tough to watch. That's too bad, because Universal could have made a better first impression with this highly anticipated attraction.
Here is the video, which presumably was made during previews when the park has been trying to enforce a "no photos or video" rule.
I totally understand when parks want to keep people from recording attractions. But it's up to the parks to screen passengers aggressively for phones and cameras rather than just operating under an honor system - because experience has shown that rarely holds.
The person who uploaded the video did not correct for the camera orientation. And the video seems to have been shot with a concealed, chest-mounted camera, which is a bad angle to see the much-hyped track jump effect on the ride. In fact, much of the ride's decor and visual narrative is lost with a chest-mounted camera.
Which brings me to my pitch. Please just allow those of us who record ride videos for a living to do our job. It's not a safety issue when a park works with media professionals to document a ride. A safe, well-record POV of Mine Cart Madness exists, since Universal showed a tease of it during its opening-date announcement video.
Either release that official POV, or hold a media preview where invited content creators are allowed to film POVs using safe, approved equipment. Plenty of parks do this, and that allows fans to see great POVs that show off what a new ride has to offer. Otherwise, it's a race among untrained, ill-equipped visitors to post the first, often-unflattering POVs.
I am sure that at some point, we well get a POV video of Mine Cart Madness that shows the ride in a better light. But first impressions matter, and I feel bad for the team at Universal Creative whose work is not getting the public introduction around the world that it deserved.
Donkey Kong Country and its Mine Cart Madness roller coaster open officially in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan on December 11. The new ride and land open in the United States as part of Universal Epic Universe in Orlando on May 22, 2025.
* * *
For assistance in planning a complete Universal Orlando vacation, including discounts on bundled Epic Universe tickets and on-site hotel stays, please contact our partner for a free, no-obligation vacation quote.
To keep up to date with more theme park news, please sign up for Theme Park Insider's weekly newsletter.
Way to gatekeep
@fattyackin - I think you're spot on in that this appears very similar to 7DMT. Each of these coasters has a gimmick (7DMT with its swinging cars and DK with the track jumping), but I worry that as with the 7DMT swinging (or lack thereof) that DK's eye candy just won't be as impressive as we want it to be. I hope I'm wrong, because this is a super clever concept and a ride system innovation that could deliver some unique applications, but I really worry that it will end up being a glorified kiddie coaster like 7DMT.
I do totally agree with Robert about parks allowing unauthorized POVs to proliferate without something more "professional" from the park itself or one of its media partners. There's no doubt Universal has an on-ride POV, and likely had a schedule to release it on a pre-ordained schedule. However, they should have been prepared for this inevitability and been ready to release their own, superior, POV so whomever filmed this one from capturing all of the views. By allowing this POV to circulate without competition, it will only embolden others to attempt to do their own on-ride POVs, which will result in parks having to get even more strict in terms of frisking guests getting on rides and attractions.
As with so many things in society, it only takes one moron to ruin it for everyone.
Given the near impossibility of keeping anything 'secret' anymore in the age of online posting isn't it surely time all parks simply allowed anyone to take POV films at any time (subject to obvious safety limits)?
@David - I would agree, but there are inherent safety concerns with people trying to film with handheld equipment or poorly tethered cameras that can become dangerous projectiles that could injure other guests or cause damage to attractions.
I do like what United Parks does in allowing guests to bring in their own Go-Pro cameras that they can have inspected at guest services at the beginning of the day and then utilize on all attractions. The only issue is that guests can get the impression that all cameras are acceptable when they see someone using a Go-Pro on a ride, and will then try to do the same without going through the inspection process. It then turns the ride ops into the "bad guys" when they have to tell guests they have to get their equipment inspected before use, or not bothering or uncomfortable telling guests to get the inspection, making the process moot.
There are just too many things that can go wrong with guests trying to film on-ride, especially on more dynamic/thrilling attractions, and parks cannot afford the consequences of a guest losing their grip on a cell phone during a ride that then strikes another guest or damages a ride that causes a catastrophic failure.
You must be registered and logged in to submit a comment.
Despite the poor video quality, this seems to be a really fun and solid family coaster in the same ballpark as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. I was hoping for a longer section of this ride set in an interior setting but all in all it looks like what I was expecting, which is a good thing.