I did so much research before going to Japan, but number one request from my little one was to see Super Nintendo World. I wanted to make this happen, also because I really wanted to see it!
I bought my tickets off Klook for Tuesday, May 21st. I decided to purchase in advance guaranteed timed entry to SNW, because I didn't want to run the risk of not getting in. I am also an anxious person when it comes to timing things, so just didn't want to added stress of "trying my luck" for early entry. Our timed entry was 2pm, which wasn't ideal, as we weren't getting Express Passes.
We left our place in Namba around 6:20 am and got to USJ around 6:50-7am ish. We were in line, just after the kiosks, so fairly close to the front. My husband thought it was ridiculous to arrive so early, since the park didn't officially open until 9am. Shortly after we arrived though, the line started to get really long behind us, and eventually got to a point where were couldn't see the back of the line anymore. The early entry ticket holders (lined up on the far left and right of the waiting area) got in around 7:45am, then regular ticket holders were allowed in at 8am. They ushered everyone through the main gates, checked our bags for prohibited items and discovered our empty coffee cans, which we had earlier that morning. They took the cans and threw them out for us, which was a bonus.
We decided to go straight to SNW. There were plenty of employees holding signs, asking everyone not to run, and more employees watching/waving as you went by and gently reminding the runners to walk. We briskly walked to SNW and got there quickly, and walked straight into SNW without timed entry. The whole time I was checking on the app for timed entry slots, just to see when they started, and it looked like they didn't start taking timed entry until the park "officially opened" at 9am.
We went straight to the Mario Kart ride, in Bowser's Castle. We already had a bracelet (only needed one for our child), but there was a line of people wanting to get one before entering. The wait said 40 minutes, but we waited for maybe 30 minutes. By the time we were done the ride, there was about 140 (?) minute wait already. We then went to the Yoshi ride, and waited about 40 minutes. It was a cute ride, and a great way to see SNW from above. You could see a tiny bit of the Donkey Kart section too. We then got a snack and a drink, did some mini games, and all of a sudden we had spent three hours in SNW. We didn't bother with Kinopio's Cafe as the line was massive and we didn't feel like waiting.
We next went to Jurassic Park, but both rides were closed. The dino show was fun though. Had lunch at the Jaws restaurant – which – word to the wise, the kid's meal was better than the adult meal! We should have just ordered three kid's meals and two beers, but that might look weird.
Next was Harry Potters world – no timed entry anymore! We walked right in, little one got to pet a Niffler (animatronic puppet thing), went in the shops and rode Flight of the Hippogriff (120 minute wait in the sun, which kinda sucked), then off to the Sesame Street/Hello Kitty Section. We rode the Hello Kitty muffin cups, Snoopy Ride, muffin cups again, and Sesame Street hot air balloon ride. We walked the boulevard, had a luigi pancake cheesecake snack, walked through NYC and old Hollywood, then went into Minions and rode the Freeze Ray ride and the Become A Minion VR ride (one of my favourites by far).
We were at the park from 7am to 7pm. I got another timed entry to SNW for 7pm because it was available on the app, but we didn't bother going since we were getting tired. My takeaways – the park is big, bring good shoes. If you don't have an express pass, arrive early to get on the rides you most want to ride first, food was decent and decently priced considering its an amusement park (beer was incredibly cheap and big cups!), souvenirs are expensive but cheaper than I expected (also, can be found outside of the park in Universal City) and just take it as it is! The longest wait we had was for the harry potter roller coaster, but we just chatted and waiting patiently..it really wasn't that bad. It was a week day, so the crowds were likely a lot better than a weekend, and it was after Golden Week.
Also a note – the employees of USJ are incredible! They were so engaging everywhere we went, 9 times of out 10 they would get on one knee to be eye level with our little and would always make comments about our shirts or hats or whatever else. The employees make that park magical 🙂
by Just_A_Noodle_Beast