Yoshi's Storybook Voyage

The first thing to note is that each and every square inch of the attraction moving forward is completely decked out in the Yoshi's Island colored pencil aesthetic. This means all the rock work in the cave, while carved to be large-scale and naturalistic, will look like something out of a coloring book. Within the cave, guests wind through two chambers which include hidden Shy Guys and bats which set the stage for the adventure to come.

The most notable element of the cave section of the queue is a transitional tunnel where the path passes directly along the flume of the main ride, giving guests a face-to-face encounter with folks already on the attraction. After this tunnel, we hit the loading area which acts as a simple dock at the edge of the cave system. You can see boats floating into the first "outdoors" dark ride scene and the lighting gives a feel of sunlight shining through the cave walls.

Leaving the cave loading area, we emerge into a large area of grassy plains simulating the first area of the game. There are many different cliff edges that feature scenes of Shy Guys and different colored Yoshis going after each other. Poochy, the beloved pet dog of the Yoshis can be seen happily barking and running back and forth on a hill incline.

In every room there's a story beat of Baby Mario in peril. In the first instance we see the blue, ski-mask wearing Bandits carrying the baby off with a yellow Yoshi chasing after it. A smiling face dandelion reveals itself to be the crafty Dizzy Dandy enemy and chases after a red Yoshi on another cliff, while a Piranha Plant watches the scene from a pipe.

The rotund, Tweedle-like "Burt" enemies also leap from each other from the flume level of the room. Shy Guys on stilts also perilously tower over us. Towards the end of the room, large, cotton-ball like Fuzzies hit the water and trigger projection-mapped visual distortions in the lagoon the flume is floating through. The flower like Eggo-Dil can be seen at the surface of the flume, once again all smiles before he shoots is petals in all directions via a projection mapping effect that also results in a water splash.

Heading into a cave, guests round a corner and pass the section of queue overlooking the flume before going deeper into the caverns. The main room is one open chamber. On the upper levels, Shy Guys with lanterns on their heads go about different mining activities as chaos happens around them.

Baby Mario has grabbed ahold of the chain of a Chain Chomp, who is tunneling its way through the game's yellow dirt as a purple Yoshi tries to throw eggs after it, clearing its own section of yellow dirt. Another "Incoming Chomp" jump-scares the guests from the other side as they watch the chase.

In between the level of guests and the upper levels with the miner Shy Guys is a collection of different Lantern Ghosts which appear as lantern carrying rock creatures similar in scale to the Shy Guys. Little Skull Mousers can also be seen scurrying along the surface of the caves. The final set piece of the room is a pool of bubbling lava that a large Red Blargg jumps out of.

To the surprise of guests, a 40-foot drop then takes place where we escape directly under the Blarrg. This is the only drop in the ride and divides the show building into two layers. The drop is in between the scale and thrill level of Pirates and Splash Mountain. Once at the bottom of the waterfall, guests find themselves floating along a lake.

A Blargg-like Nep-Enut made entirely out of water emerges to block our path, and we can also see Baby Mario floating in its watery stomach. An orange Yoshi fires an egg and frees the infant, clearing our path in the process. Besides a couple circling Paratroopas and a Spray Fish that pops out of the water to deliver the most soaking moment of the attraction, the lake is by and large the smallest area of the attraction and mostly serves as a transitioning point between the drop and the true second half.

Heading further down the flume, the lake winds up in one of the most famous levels of the game and the only room designed primarily upon a single level. Welcome to Monkey Island! Naturally, the weirdly non-Donkey Kong style primates have kidnapped Baby Mario and a panicked Pink Yoshi is running along the jungle riverbanks to save him.

In addition to the large amount of simple monkey AAs in the room, this area is also home to the famous tribal spear wielding Shy Guys who try to block the paths of both us and the Yoshi.

A yellow colored Wild Ptooie Piranha Plant spits needle balls at the boat (simulated as air blasts timed with a water splash). On a cliff ledge the slow but intimidating boss Hookbill the Koopa walks back and forth staking his territory. Another boss, the room-filling Naval Piranha Plant twists its thorn covered vines all over the majority of the scene.

Going down a small dip under the thorns, guests find themselves in the middle of a Blizzard for the penultimate room of the attraction. We see Baby Mario sliding down the side of a ski slope with an aqua blue skiing yoshi pursuing him, but wiping out and turning into a snowball.

The blizzard takes place on the outskirts of Bowser Jr.'s castle, connecting the final two set pieces. After the skiing Yoshi wipes out, we can see Kamek's Toadies flying away with Baby Mario towards the castle. To get to our final destination we must first pass one last army of parka-wearing Shy Guys who descend on us with a barrage of "snowballs" that splash into the water.

Upon heading through the castle gates, we are immediately hit with a jumpscare by none other than Roger, the Potted Ghost hiding in a flower pot. After this encounter our boats board an elevator lift similar to the ones used on Sea World's "Infinity Falls" raft ride and ascend to the ground level of the show building. The next room is pitch black except for the occasional projection mapped Boo or hidden cowering Shy Guy.

Floating through the transitioning tunnel, guests reach the last chamber of the attraction and see an AA of Bowser Jr. on an outdoor ledge of the castle, with Baby Mario dangling precariously over the side. The series trademark green Yoshi comes rushing in, the most fluid and advanced AA in the ride and essentially an evolution of the Olaf/Hondo style walking AA. Yoshi fires an egg at Bowser Jr. which makes him fall over the side of the castle, then quickly grabs Baby Mario and lifts him to safety with his tongue.

The danger isn't over, as a room-filled "Big Bowser Jr." AA fills the space between the ledge and the screen simulating the night sky, all because of Kamek making his first and only appearance resurrecting the brat with his magic. Yoshi appears helpless, when suddenly two storks from either side swoop down and attack Bowser Jr., shrinking him back down to baby form and putting an end to his reign of terror once and for all. In the last scene of the attraction, a heart-warming ending sees all the multi-colored Yoshis saying goodbye to Baby Mario as the Stork carries him home.