Just want to do a separate post for our USJ experience. Saturday July 22, 2023. Family of 4 with one elementary and one junior high kid. 35deg+ day!
Overall our big goal was Nintendo World. We’ve been wanting to go every since it was announced. We’re not huge gamers but we do regularly play with our Switches (myself and both kids). Harry Potter Wizarding world was the next priority, then Jurassic Park.
We bought tickets through Klook, which gave us QR codes for the gate. I just could not bring myself to buy Express Passes. So expensive. I knew a Saturday, middle of summer was going to be swamped but I just could not more than double our cost for the day.
On our USJ day, we were prepped. Bought some combini breakfast and snacks. The plan was to arrive at least an hour before opening, eat breakfast in line and try to bring a bit of food in despite their website saying you can’t. Our plan was also to maybe get in before Nintendo World started timed entry, so that we could get in and use our timed entry for Harry Potter.
The train there made me pretty nervous. It was packed and it was only a bit after 7AM. Upon arrival, my fears were realized and an ocean of people and queues were already there. We got there around 730 (opening was 830). As noted in many videos, it appears they were starting to let people in an hour early. So we wolfed down our breakfast and drank our drinks to prepare.
One tip: the part of the app that allows you to link your ticket is a bit buried but it’s there! I found it literally 15min before getting in. You have to go to Profile, Timed Entry Ticket, Register Park Park passes.
The bag check was letting in all sorts of food. We could have brought a keg and a 5 course roast dinner if we wanted. They just say you can’t eat it in the park, knowing full well everybody was going to eat it in the park.
Timed entry for Nintendo World started literally 5min before we were able to swipe in! Dang so our primary plan was shot. I got a time entry for 830, and got to Nintendo World at about 810 and they let us in anyway. Nintendo World was PACKED. It was just absolutely crazy in there. But we got in line for Mario Kart ASAP. The immersive queue was great. We snaked through what seemed like 10km of queue but we were always visually entertained. Lots to see in the queue. We waited for about 45min. The ride was great. The AR gear worked well and it was definitely a worthy experience.
We did not get the power bands. And glad we didn’t. There were so many line ups to use them everywhere. Too many people taking up time just taking their instagrams; it was incredibly annoying. We didn’t bother with the Yoshi ride but hung out to see everything in the land. It’s pretty small. We lined up for about 20-30min so my son could get one of those souvenir Power Block drink holders.
Then we left to see if we could get into Harry Potter. To our surprise, there was no trouble getting in! Some of the butter beer lines were a mile long. We went straight for the Forbidden Journey. You have to lock up your stuff but they give you free lockers. The ride was great. I think everybody liked it more than the Mario Kart ride. Again, the immersive queue was also great. We went to the Flight of the Hippogriff next but honestly it is super lame. The ride is like 30 seconds. Just skip it. We saw one of the live shows while there. It was interesting to see that it was in both Japanese and English.
It was off to Jurassic Park for the Jurassic Park the Ride. It is definitely an aging ride. No immersive queue. The animatronics are a bit lame. But I enjoyed it. And nice to have a light splash on a hot day. My daughter really wanted to do the Flying Dinosaur but we just could not stomach our elementary child going on that one.
The Waterworld show was a big highlight for us. It was awesome. First, we sat in the soak zone and boy did they deliver! We were completely soaked. The cast really do their best to completely soak you there. It’s not just splash from the show; they purposely spray/pour water on you so be prepared! Even those outside the soak zone got pretty wet so don’t think you’ll leave dry. If your phone/camera can’t get wet, put it in a ziplock!
We then went for the Minion Mayhem. Another motion simulator ride. It was fun but not better than the HP one. The technology is pretty impressive here as the way they built the pods, you feel like you’re the only vehicle in there even though there are a dozen others around you.
The Spiderman Ride was next. Again, obviously aging and it’s of the older comic book spiderman and not the recent movies. It was fun but I’m sure they’ll replace it soon.
Had to do the Jaws ride even though I don’t remember the movie at all. It was fun but certainly not a must do.
My wife took the kids on the Backdrop roller coaster. I can’t stomach that stuff. They seemed to have enjoyed it.
We bought barely any food there. A few drinks. The Mario and Luigi hat pancakes. The smoked chicken legs in Jurassic were a big hit with the kids and a relative good deal. There were also places to fill your bottles with water.
Overall, this was all we wanted to do at USJ! I was pleasantly shocked that we got to everything we wanted on a summer Saturday without an Express Pass. No wait was more than an hour (even though some quoted >60m). We did all we wanted to do before 5PM so we left. USJ is so much smaller than a place like Disneyland, so definitely doable in a day. But overall I think we got really lucky. It was really not as packed as we thought it’d be. Maybe people were avoiding the heat?
10 comments
Universal Studios Japan
Aw man, you guys could have child swapped for Flying Dinosaur!! That’s a really fantastic rollercoaster. It’s funny you can’t stomach the rollercoasters, because I can absolutely not stomach Forbidden Journey or any of the simulators. Man, those make me want to puke right away even with medication. 😵💫
Spider-Man is being closed for good this winter! I love that ride and it’s meant to be comic book-y rather than the current Marvel IP, but it still exists in both parks in the US and is quite a beloved ride!
Thanks for writing this up. I wasn’t able to justify express pass so we are just getting regular ol tickets.
Thanks for the write up. I’ve seen a number of “USJ is a little lame” “don’t waste your time at USJ if you’ve gone to the ones in the US”, but it lacks further detail. Hmmm if it weren’t for the fact that HHN is happening when I go I would have dropped this from my itinerary per your report. I’ve been to both parks in the US, and I could take or leave Nintendo World.
Cheers for the write-up! I’m hoping a Monday in mid-October is less busy and hot for my party’s sake. Sounds like I’ll be able to avoid getting Express Pass myself, based on your experience.
We went to USJ for Halloween (dressed up of course) the year Mario world opened…and that was our 4th time going.
Im surprised by these comments saying it isn’t worth a go because it is something my friends and our spouses love doing together. It never seems to get old. Maybe it’s because we’ve lived in japan and go back twice a year for family.
(and Jaws is an absolute must for us! Hah)
Thank you for the write up! We’re going at the end of next month but did wind up buying the express passes. Glad to hear we can still probably get on rides the pass isn’t for.
Glad to hear things worked out well for you! If I may ask some questions…How early do the local trains run? Like what is the earliest we might be able to hop on the train to go wait in line? We weren’t able to secure timed entry ahead of time which has us pretty stressed because we don’t wanna miss SNW, but did opt for the 15-min early entry with our tickets. Was there a separate line for this?
Happy to hear you had fun in USJ! I went to USJ earlier this year and had a fucking blast (also because Wizarding World is on my bucket list).
Seconded on flight on the hippogriff 🤣 I was expecting something closer to Forbidden Journey but lord it was so underwhelming compared to FJ
I understand everyone’s financial situation is different, but purchasing the express pass turned out to be a great decision. While it is an extra cost, it’s still quite a bargain compared to Disney admission prices (in the US). The time we saved lining up for must-do rides such as Mario Kart and Flying Iinosaur was immense. It was also great knowing we can jsut stroll into Nintendo World without worrying.