Mario Kart blurs the boundaries between game and reality | How Your Favorite Ride Was Made

July 30, 2024 5 AM PT

Mario Kart: Bowser’s Challenge is a triumphant creation where the tactile and the imaginary, built sets and the animated world, all spring to life on a track-driven ride that blurs the boundaries between game and reality.

Los Angeles Times amusement park aficionado Todd Martens brings you a new series, breaking down his favorite amusement park rides in Southern California and pulling the curtain back on how they were made, what they mean to the park and why you cannot miss them.

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Todd Martens

Todd Martens is a features columnist at the Los Angeles Times who writes about theme parks and West Coast Experiences, among other topics. Martens joined the Los Angeles Times in 2007 and has covered a mix of interactive entertainment as its game critic and pop music as a reporter and editor. Previously, he reported on the music business for Billboard Magazine. Martens has contributed to numerous books, including “The Big Lebowski: An Illustrated, Annotated History of the Greatest Cult Film of All Time.” He continues to torture himself by rooting for the Chicago Cubs and, while he likes dogs, he is more of a cat person.

Mark E. Potts

A native of Enid, Okla., Mark E. Potts graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a master’s degree in broadcast journalism.