Is Universal Studios worth it for a solo traveller?

41 comments

1. I wasted a day in Osaka going to USJ. I just don’t think I’m an amusement park guy anymore. Mario Land was ok but it was a lot smaller than I thought and really busy. I’d say enjoy the actual city and Nara.

2. I mean walking around solo at a theme park is no different than walking around solo anywhere else to be honest.

   When you ride the rides you can’t even really communicate with the person next to you while you’re being whipped around upside down or having loud audio and visuals shoved in your face.

   These attractions have single rider lines which in theory should be faster than the main lines: https://www.usj.co.jp/web/en/us/attractions/how-to-fun

   And like any theme park it is going to be overpriced in some aspects. That’s just the nature of a theme park and I don’t think anyone should be surprised at that.

   It really just comes down to what you like? If you like what they have to offer like Nintendo World or any of their other rides then you’ll enjoy yourself. If you don’t care for anything then you might be disappointed.

   However if you in general already don’t enjoy theme parks then you might be bored if none of the rides interest you. However I think Universal Japan is my favorite Universal park and I’ve been to 3 of them.

   Also one day or even a half a day is plenty for Nara.

3. Considering the entrance ticket is not too pricey (compared to us/European parks), you can just go for the morning to enjoy Super Nintendo Land if your heart is set on it, and leave in the early afternoon to do other stuff. It depends on your budget and what you really want to do. I found the park to be very enjoyable and in June, crowds were very bearable. However yes if you are not a theme park person, you could get bored quickly if you don’t join any activities.
   And yes inside merch and food are quite pricey indeed.
   As for being a solo traveler, as someone who works in a theme park and has been traveling solo in some others, it won’t be weird at all, solo travelers are very common !!
   Enjoy Japan!

4. If you’re a fan of super Mario, I’d say go for it. The fact that you are solo allows you to queue up in the “singles” line so you can get through the lines faster. The super Mario part is just so cool – feels like you are really in the video game and I feel that the Japanese employees totally get into it and make it super fun. Have a great time!

5. If we’re not interested in rides, is it still worth visiting the park? We’re a couple of young seniors 🙂

6. I went to USJ by myself and enjoyed it immensely. I didn’t stay for the whole day because I finished what I wanted to do early on, but I bought express passes so that really helped with cutting out wait times. I know there’s a lot of anime rides/shows but I didn’t bother with them because I don’t really watch any animes. If you like theme parks and thrill rides, I’d say go for it. I loved The Flying Dinosaur, The Spider-Man ride, and the rides at Super Nintendo World. I think it was nice to check out since it’s different from the Hollywood one (although they recently opened Nintendo World here and I have yet to go despite living nearby :p).

7. I was recently in Japan with two kids and opted to go to Nara and Himeiji instead. I have no regrets.

8. Universal studios isn’t even worth it for a family.

9. USJ and Tokyo Disney parks are definitely better value than their US counterparts. If you enjoy parks with relatively less crowds, it’s definitely worth it.

10. When I was in Nara, I opened the tourist map I had to get my bearings. A deer approached me and proceeded to try and eat the map right out of my hands. I wrestled about half of it away and escaped. I don’t think Yoshi does that… 10/10 would battle a deer again.

11. We spent 2 days in Osaka and it wasn’t enough time because I loved that city and all it had to offer. As an American, I could just go to universal studios here (albeit at a more expensive price). I would spend your time enjoying the city. Though if you do go to Osaka Bay, the aquarium is worth a visit.

12. I’m not much of a theme park person either. So, I think it’s a waste of money, especially if you are from the US. It’s essentially the exactly same park as the one in the US with Japanese language. If you want a theme park experience, you could go to Disney Sea which has different rides, but again it will all be in Japanese.

    The Osaka Aquarium is nice for Japan, but compared to what you could see in other countries, it’s nothing special.

13. I enjoyed it quite a bit due to the attractions they had there limited time when I went in 2017. They had a Evangelion VR ride, attack on titan (with attack titan) and godzilla 4d movie, monster hunter attraction with a prize, and I liked the Harry Potter part alot. Those alone were so worth it

14. I was there by myself in January and had a good time.

    I don’t really go for rides though, I just like how amusement parks are designed.

15. I’ll try to be as objective as possible!

    Im in Osaka with my partner right now. We went to USJ yesterday from 8:00 till 21:00. We dont go to themeparks a lot but we can really appreciate this kind of high entertainment (4d and interactive experiences). We went to the Mario area at 16:00 and we did everything you could do with the bracelet. It’s not awkward at all for someone fo be there by him/herself. Me and my partner also did single lines when they were available (youre not talking during attractions anyway).

    If youre a big Mario fan i would say its worth, so much thought and detail has gone into the park. If you want to do everything there is to offer it will take up half a day. Just be ready to wait in lines and check out how to secure yourself an area pass to get in beforehand (we went straight to the area at 8:00 and got a pass for 16:00).

    Nara is a great place to go if you love japanese history. 1 day is definitely enough to go to Nara Park and see the important surrounding shrines. Its all very close to each other.

    At the end of the day it depends on you prefering a day of buzzling/crowded amusement vs. cultural, historical amusement i guess.

16. If you’ve been to the duo park in Florida (Universal and Island of Adventure) then no not really.

    There’s solo queues except for the one with Demo Slayer in it. When I went I did the half price ticket for 1-close. If it’s raining DON’T GO IN AT ALL, the roller coasters will be closed and you will end up wasting valuable time

17. If you aren’t a theme park person, I wouldn’t go. I AM a major theme park person and USJ is crazy packed and can be overwhelming.

18. Check out USJ to check the box. Nothing is weird about a guy in his 30s walking by himself. You don’t need to spend the whole day there either. You could get a half day pass which is like the afternoon until it closes. You could make a loop around the park and visit all the shops. SNW is a timed entry right now so you would have to get a pass and wait for your time to show up anyway. If you like rides, you could do single rider which is way quicker than if you went with 2 people cause they usually wait 45+ mins. I told my son to enjoy the rides as it only took <10 mins. I don’t know what country you are from but US theme parks are way overpriced. I actually bought a lot of stuff in Japan because the yen is weak. 11 years ago it was 72yen to $1usd. I was just there couple of months ago it was like 135yen to $1. I felt like a king. Needless to say I bought plenty of souvenirs for the fam.

19. Definitely don’t waste a single day out of 2 in Universal Studios. Nara is a much better choice.

20. I was always worried that Nara would be overated. But after visiting the park with the deer, and the temple within it with the giant Buddha. I must say it’s been the highlight of my trip so far.

    Will note I haven’t been to Universal Studios yet to compare.

21. why not both? since tickets for the nintendo section are times you can plan for that to be later or earlier in the day and go to Nara the other part of the day.

22. I skipped it myself not being a theme park person, but also I was getting a bit tired of the crowds and being in lines often. Plus it isn’t cheap for something I might not enjoy.

    Nara is definitely a doable one day trip since it’s not far from either Kyoto or Osaka. Depend since you actually want to see something there might be worth it for you.

23. I went solo in December and don’t really recommend it. Mario Land was a bit of a disappointment personally and you’re better off adventuring around the city. Everyone there is with friends / family / significant others so it’s a bit lonely to wander around alone. I second a lot of other advice in this thread that you should see Nara! Really fun city and there’s a really amazing Buddha statue there

24. Super Nintendo world looks cool, but it’s not very fun. The rides are slow and you can do a lot of the activities without paying extra to buy the wristband. It was a let down for sure, but there are plenty of great photo ops if you’re in to that!

25. If you want to go to USJ then do it! Personally I’d do Tokyo Disneyland over Universal but if you’re a fan of Nintendo then I’d definitely recommend going to USJ. Both parks are expensive though as they’re owned by major companies but I find that Tokyo Disneyland is a bit cheaper and worth more than Universal. Also don’t worry about standing out. I’ve seen hundreds of solo travels at theme parks. Including me!

    If you don’t want to do theme parks at all, I’d recommend checking out the Nintendo store in Shibuya for some exclusive Mario stuff. Again, still expensive for the merchandise but worth it. But if you want a more chill experience than going to a major theme park, definitely do something like Nara for the deer or the aquarium.

26. It’s never awkward for a solo person to go into a theme park and nobody really pays attention to it. Super Nintendo World is a fantastic visit for video game nerds and there’s lot of merch and themed food to buy. If you like Monster Hunter, there are also a good amount of MH merch and attractions too. But I don’t know if it’s worth going if you are just visiting those locations in the park. If you have the money though, then for sure go for it for like first half of the day and then head off by the afternoon.

27. Hello OP! I went to Universal Studios alone in February on a 2 day ticket. The main motivation was because of the Wizarding World – it’s been on my bucket list for years and this trip was a birthday present to myself.

    I didn’t manage to go to the Nintendo area then, mostly because it was on timed entry and the tickets were sold out really fast. On both days! 😭

    I spent my first day mainly in HP, took the forbidden journey twice. Lines were long, and I went in Feb, the time of the year when tourist numbers are “low”.

    But my visit coincided with the Jujutsu Kaisen collab too, so there was also an extra thing to see + eat. I spent my second day taking as many rides as I could, being a single rider is great, the line is EXTREMELY short. (Fyi Forbidden journey doesn’t have a single rider line) I think I took almost all the rides except for the wet ones, because it’s winter and I’m not about to freeze my ass off lol.

    As a solo traveller, USJ is pretty worth it. But it also depends on what you want to see. This trip was a birthday present to myself so I decided to go for two days just to really enjoy myself 🙂

28. I don’t understand going to a theme park while on international travel. Focus on the things that are one off local experiences. There are thousands of places I would go in Japan before I would opt for any theme park.

29. I went to Nara in the super early hours where no touriest was around. It was a double edged sword.

    1. It felt so peacefuland feeding the deer senbei is very magical.
    2. When i ran out of senbei, lots of deers started chasing me and since there was no one around, no one was there to helped me.

30. As someone close to your age who also doesn’t like theme parks very much, I would recommend Nara over Universal Studios.

    I did not go to USJ, but I did go to Nara and loved it. The temple grounds are huge and filled with deer. The hot mochi at nakatanidou was awesome to have on the way from the JR station to the temple area.

    Plus, you can wrap up Nara during the day before dinner and have time to eat something good in Osaka before your 2 days are up. As a foodie, one of my biggest regrets was not trying more restaurants in Osaka. Missing out on USJ was not.

31. Yes definitely, I went by myself last year and it was great. I actually ended up getting on most of the roller coaster rides done on the first day, so I can kind of attest it would get a bit stale on the second day. This is cause Your queue time will be significantly faster since you’ll be going in the solo line so you’ll be able to get most things done in a day. Word of advice for Super Nintendo world, arrive a hour or half hour before opening. They always open before the official time, get early access to Nintendo world and go on the rides inside asap. If you get in a later time slot, you could be waiting 2 hours in line just for one of the rides in super Nintendo world. If you do that, you can essentially get most things done in a day since you don’t have to wait for people. Especially if you have the express pass.

32. I really liked Universal Studios. They have a lot of single-riders queues. And some fun rides.

33. Hey I’ll be there first week of October and wanna go. I’ll be turning 40 so hey I know how you feel.

    What dates are you going? I’d definitely walk around with you.

34. I was there alone as a 38 y/o guy and it was absolutely no worry. To the contrary, some attractions have queues for single people that are quicker, e.g. the Mario Kart one.

35. > I’m just wondering if it would be awkward for a 30 year old guy wandering around by himself in an amusement park

    I think that really depends on you. I’ve been to DisneyLand, DisneySea, and USJ on my own and, while I’d certainly would have appreciated some company, it wasn’t like awkward at all. The crowds are so big you easily get lost among them. Also the staff at USJ are super nice, they will randomly greet you or complement you, which made me feel very welcome there. Loved how hyped some of them were lol.

    That said, sounds like you don’t have an Express Pass, so if you want a chance to get into Super Nintendo World your best shot is to get there early, like 7 am early. USJ sometimes opens before their official open time, if you manage to get in you’ll be allowed right into Nintendo without a Timed Entry Ticket. Weekdays are best, of course, particularly Tuesdays to Thursdays.

    I had a great time at Super Nintendo World and personally think it was very much worth it. If you do get in before 9am go straight to Mario Kart and you’ll probably complete the park in a couple hours, leaving you with plenty of time to see other attractions or leave the park and still go to Nara.

    Good luck and have fun!

36. I skipped out on it and went to the aquarium instead, totally worth

37. I’m actually planning to go solo to USJ at the beginning of next month and don’t have any problems with it at all! I’m not even a roller coaster person and I plan to go just to check out the food and merch because there will be a one piece event going on! But it depends on what you like so if you’re into that it might be worth it, at least for me it is! 🙂

38. Lines are going to be wayyy faster as a solo. Harry Potter area is awesome. Go if you don’t mind waiting in line by yourself. Japan actually is very accommodating to people who do things on their own be it at restaurants, parks, movies, etc. I say go for the experience as I did.

39. I’m 38 and went alone. I had an awesome day and spent the whole day there. I really took my time to appreciate all the details, play all the mini games in Nintendo Land, check out the rest of the park and such.

    Ultimately everyone here will have an opinion based on THEIR likes and dislikes, but it’s your trip and you should do what you really want to do. Have fun either way!

40. It is absolutely worth imo, went there last month solo and it was one of the happiest days of my life, i went there with little sleep so was i got tired pretending fast, but nevertheless it was an enjoyable experience.

41. I am currently on holiday in Japan and have been to both Nara and the universal studios. I am not much of a theme park lover myself, though as a gamer I really enjoyed super Nintendo world – for what it was. It’s not big by any means and the only real game that many people could enjoy is playing mario kart with ar glasses, but the rest of that part of the park is just for the looks. There is a bracelet that costs ¥4000 that unlocks some minigames around the area (like hitting at the right time some block/hitting every “?” block around the area) but sincerely it was mostly aimed at kids and I didn’t think it was worth it. So I think Nara is much better hands down. It’s one of those places that just amazes you and you will have much more fun playing around with deers and even feeding them. It also doesn’t cost much, less than ¥1000 two way ticket by the train from Osaka and also there are 2 very interesting temples, one deep in the forest that is literally full of stone lanterns covered in moss and with deers wandering with you that will make you feel like in a forgotten forest.
    I really suggest Nara and visiting both the Todaiji temple (around ¥500, ¥1000 if you also visit the small museum) and the kasuga taisha shrine (this is the one deep in the forest).