Toy Wizards Review: Hot Wheels Mario Kart Rainbow Road Raceway Set

Advertisements

Toy Wizards would like to thank Mattel for providing us with a sample of the Hot Wheels Mario Kart Rainbow Road Raceway Set in exchange for this review. Preorders via Target have sold out, but this item is shipping to stores this month. Hopefully all fans can find a set of their own on the shelves!

One interesting thing about this set– when we received word about it originally, the MSRP was $119.99 on Target’s site. I personally thought that price was sufficiently expensive, but apparently Hot Wheels and Target did not agree because the price on the Target site now reads $139.99. Oof to the max power.

That said, this toy is a big boy. There is over eight feet of track here and you definitely need somewhere to display it. Fortunately, my eight year old son (who is a huge Mario fan and loves toy cars) was a very willing volunteer and therefore this massive set is now housed in his room until further notice.

Assembly wasn’t too bad here– it definitely takes an adult (one who is not me and groans at the notion of putting things together), but overall it took about 15 minutes to get this beauty set up. It also has two battery compartments for the start of the race and the end of the race components that make sounds, so be prepared with six AAA batteries.

This set comes with two Mario Kart Hot Wheels cars– Mario himself and a set-exclusive King Boo, which is very cool. My son already had several other races ready to go, so he was able to get this set going with five racers, which is the maximum number of racers you can set up on the tracks. Once your racers are set up, you turn on the two sound portions, press your start button, and then unlock the racers to watch them speed down the track. Additional racers are available at Target and Walmart for about $5 each.

The above vide clip shows the set in action. It’s fun, it’s exciting, and it is over very quickly. Overall, I think this is a very good playset. I think one more additional obstacle to slow down the racers would be nice, because the race is just super speedy and quick to the finish. That said, my kids adore this set and my nephew came over yesterday and lost his mind playing with it. I know it will be a hit for play dates as well. It is good for the literal “Push the button and watch them zoom” gameplay, or slowed-down imaginary play where you control the racers and give them a story as you twist and turn them around the track.

And as for us adults who grew up playing Mario Kart, it is amazing to see Rainbow Road come to life. I always loved these car racing sets and because of the size and scale, my family only set ours up on the billiard table during the holiday season. Mario collectors and Hot Wheels lovers alike will definitely enjoy this set.

I give the Hot Wheels Mario Kart Rainbow Road Raceway Track Set 4.5 out of 5 Wizard Stars. I think the MSRP is a little high and one more obstacle would be nice but what we are given here works beautifully, sounds awesome, and is really lots and lots of fun.