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Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown at Universal Epic Universe

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What is Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown?

Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood
Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood

Equipped with a Power-Up Band and your three keys from key challenges (more on this below), you’re ready to tackle the boss battle against Bowser Jr. and reclaim the Golden Mushroom. This virtual reality experience, currently available in Hollywood and Osaka’s SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, involves ducking, jumping, and swatting in small groups as you confront Bowser Jr. and his flying Clown Car. Victory not only earns you additional coins but also bragging rights on the leaderboards.

There’s a backstory that wraps the whole thing together, including all those prerequisite interactive Key Challenges: Bowser Jr. stole the Golden Mushroom, locked it away (in the little castle next to his father’s), and divided up all the keys that unlock his fortress among his various minions throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. This explains why visitors need to help Princess Peach hunt down the digital items first before being able to engage in the shadow showdown.

Where is Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown located? 

In SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, which is in Universal Epic Universe

Opening Date

May 22, 2025

How do I access Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown?

Power-Up Bands from Super Nintendo World inside Universal Studios Hollywood
Power-Up Bands from SUPER NINTENDO WORLD inside Universal Studios Hollywood

The ultimate accessory for a day at SUPER NINTENDO WORLD is the Power-Up Band. Similar to Volcano Bay’s TapuTapu, this wearable device tracks your points from punch blocks and various activities throughout this video game haven. Players can also view their scores and see how they rank against other visitors on leaderboards scattered around the area.

Goomba Crazy Crank in Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood
Goomba Crazy Crank in SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Universal Studios Hollywood

To access Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown, collect three keys by completing tasks reminiscent of those in a round of Mario Party. Here’s a list of all five of those Key Challenges that we have seen in the existing lands:

  • Goomba Crazy Crank – knock the Goomba off the roller by spinning the crank as fast as possible
  • Koopa Troopa POWer Punch – hit a POW block to knock a turtle shell up a warp pipe, thereby taking out a passing Koopa Troopa 
  • Piranha Plant Nap Mishap – turn off all the ringing alarm clocks before Petey Piranha wakes up
  • Bob-omb Kaboom Room – solve the coin puzzle before the Bomb-omb goes off 
  • Thwomp Panel Panic – flip every blue question-mark-block panel to a yellow exclamation-point-block one (in the right order) before the Thwomp strikes

Once three activities are completed and a digital key has been successfully obtained, proceed to Bowser Jr. Shadow Showdown for the ultimate challenge. 

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