It is true for the Wii U in any case. Wii U motherboard (maybe CPU) and driveboard are "married to each other" – no doubt about this.@iVirtualPlays : The Wii Mini's DVD drive does not accept the GameCube discs and from what I remember about the Mini's drive is that it's encrypted and linked to the console it's in. Not sure if that was just a rumor or fact though, since that means you can't even swap a drive that is broken! But since I have three of them I do plan on finding out myself
If I remember that correctly… I think DeadlyFoez hooked up a WODE to a Wii Mini (although it required modification since the cable is different) for trying out various things before Bluebomb existed. That worked. I'm not sure if the WODE passes through the original drive.