The Dawn Of Donkey Kong And Mario

It seems like every kid that I know is obsessed with Mario and Donkey Kong.  My niece, my nephew, and the kids that my friends have all share the same interest in the little Italian plumber and the lumbering gorilla.  I get it, of course, because I remember when those particular Nintendo characters first took the world by storm way back in 1981.

The version of Donkey Kong we had was made by Coleco and could be played on the Atari Video Computer System and the Sears Video Arcade.  This game was very, very primitive.

I think Mario has been popular for so many years because kids feel like they actually participate in his adventures.

Are you ready to play Donkey Kong?  There's a bit of prep work you need to do first.

You need access to a really old TV to play this game.  It is OK if the TV is a black and white set.

Familiarize yourself with the game controls.  Be careful not to break them when you get frustrated.

I'd like to mention here that there was actually a Donkey Kong Cereal sold around this time (It had "Crunchy Barrels of Fun For Breakfast").  It was tasty (kind of like Cap'n Crunch)---and healthy (nothing says "nutrition" like frosted pieces of cereal shaped like barrels).

The levels in the game all looked very similar.

Donkey Kong was so popular that a spin-off called "Donkey Kong Jr." debuted in 1982.  Donkey Kong had to save his son from Mario (the villain in this game).  Yes, there was a Donkey Kong Jr. Cereal, too (it had marshmallow fruit pieces).

I no longer have the game system to play this version of Donkey Kong, but the Game Cartridge and Instructions somehow survived.

By 1983, Donkey Kong, Mario and Donkey Kong Jr. starred in the animated TV series "Saturday Supercade" on CBS.

For more fun, check out Q*bert and Saturday Supercade.

Of course, everyone knows that Donkey Kong and Mario went on to star in many popular Nintendo games, including "Chiropractor Mario" and "Donkey Kong's Frozen Banana Cart Race."

What If The Mario Bros. Took Over Universal's Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls?

In June 2004, I visited a Universal Studios Store at an Outlet Mall in Orlando, Florida, very close to Walt Disney World. I had never been to Universal's Islands of Adventure park, and did not visit on this particular trip. I did manage to find some great souvenirs on sale, and I picked up this PVC figure representing Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls flume ride (no, I did not pay $5 for this figure).

On November 13, 2009, I finally got to Universal's Islands of Adventures. This was the last day of a week-long trip to Orlando. The Marriott Orlando World Center hotel had a special Universal ticket option: A one day, two parks ticket good after 2PM. After visiting CityWalk, and eating at the Hard Rock Cafe, the adventure finally began at Islands of Adventure.

The first stop was Marvel Super Hero Island for the Hulk rollercoaster and The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (my favorite Universal attraction). The next stop was Toon Lagoon!

I quickly made my way to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. The parks were not very busy that day, but I was trying to experience as much as I could in a short amount of time.



That's me briskly walking past the other visitors. The weather in Orlando had been all over the place that week. It had been very warm and also quite cold. On this day, it was kind of chilly.

On this ride, Dudley Do-Right and his sidekick, Horse, must chase down villain Snidely Whiplash, who has kidnapped damsel-in-distress Nell.

I had been warned that I'd get really wet on this attraction. I got drenched right away.


In case you didn't get soaked earlier in the ride, the final drop will take care of that.



Yikes--that water is cold!!


I was in the front seat, so I stopped the big splash from hitting the rest of the people in the boat.

Universal is no stranger to re-theming or changing major attractions. One (fan) suggestion I had read online for Islands of Adventure that makes sense to me involves Toon Lagoon changing to a video game/Nintendo theme.

A Mario Bros. Plumbers theme for Ripsaw Falls seems like a great idea to me. Mario and Luigi are very popular with kids today (and of course, their parents know the characters, too). It doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to swap out Dudley, Horse, Nell and Snidely for Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and King Bowser.

Don't get me wrong, I had a good time at Toon Lagoon and enjoyed Ripsaw Falls. I think it's OK if people aren't that familiar with Dudley Do-Right. Ripsaw Falls is great fun.

Still, there's lots of possibilities with the Nintendo characters. I have no idea how much money has been spent by my own family members on Mario stuff for kids---but I'm sure it's a big chunk of change.