As Super Nintendo World has opened in Japan, the US parks are still in development due to pandemic delays. Since opening day, Super Nintendo World has seen great success and has become quite popular, though construction over near the Mario-themed location seems to suggest that an upgrade is coming soon. After concept art for the expansion showed up online, fans are thinking the framework seen in photographs suggests that a Donkey Kong expansion is what's being built.
Even with the concept art that was found, and the fact that the amusement park has a shut tunnel that looks to be Donkey Kong-themed, Nintendo has yet to announce a DK expansion. Development of the addition to the park has been happening for a while, with dataminers even finding assets in the official app for it. Even without an official reveal, too many things add up and it seems the expansion is already being built.
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Photos taken by @PUSJJJJ and @Hibirobo_Disney shared on Twitter reveal steel beams and cranes building something just to the side of Super Nintendo World. While the lack of any official word avoids a confirmation, the palm tree background that's already been installed matches the concept art exactly. Fans looking closer can see the trees get cut off exactly where the art shows a temple with a waterfall, so it seems the setting is a bit too perfect for it to not be the Donkey Kong world expansion.
The photos also seem to imply that they're specifically starting with that temple, as the cranes are on the far-most side of the park just behind Hogwarts Castle from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Not too much can be seen of the construction yet, but it's only the base so far. The most telling thing is definitely the palm tree signage surrounding it.
It's curious as to why Nintendo's allowed so much of the park to be built without so much of an announcement. With the concept art, datamined Donkey Kong assets, and now the construction, the expansion seems to be all but confirmed. It could be possible Nintendo's waiting to announce the expansion once the US parks finally get to open for themselves.
Even with the DK park and attractions being built, overseas fans can't go to Japan to experience it for themselves anytime soon regardless, as the country's borders are still shut due to the pandemic. Hopefully, once the Donkey Kong expansion is officially open for some monkey business, Super Nintendo World will be open stateside as well.
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