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Universal Studios Japan (USJ) Discussion Thread

p. 45: Donkey Kong Country announced for 2024!

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God! I'm really itching to plan a weekend trip to USJ in the next month or so, but every TR I see from this park lately has 3+ hour waits for everything. Sure there is EP, but I can't be bothered spending the money to go when I know I'll get 1 ride on JPFD and have to also battle horrendous crowds. Yikes!

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^Honestly it's a park where you will always have to accept most rides are 1 and done, 2 on a couple at the most if you plan your day smart, get there early and stay until the end as well as using the express pass and some single rider lines (although they can be just as busy). It amazes me how much busier each year gets, they add rides which increase the overall capacity but the attendance skyrockets with it. My first trip I went I got fast-pass 7 at opening. The next year, sold out before park opened and I skipped Harry Potter Land not wanting to fight crowds and looking at these TR's it seems far busier even now. Even just adding backwards trains made the lines were insane and still are.

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It was a holiday Monday (spring equinox) but the crowds in the preceding weeks were supposedly even higher due to spring breaks. And Jaws was down the previous week as well, further reducing park capacity, so I wanted to wait it out. When Minions opens, that will surely help, as it's a double theatre (old BTTF), but yeah, that park needs a lot more people-eaters! Nintendo World will help (3 attractions) but I think it will drive crowds further.

 

My plan of attack worked pretty well...it went like this:

 

- bought Express 4 passes (Flying Dino, Hollywood Dream, Backdraft and Jaws) ahead of time...which was good, as all EPs were sold out prior to park opening

- arrived an hour before posted opening

- entered at 7:50 am (40 min before posted opening)

- ran to Harry Potter and rode Forbidden Journey - ~30 min wait

- rode Jaws on standby - ~25 min wait

- rode Flying Dino using Express Pass - 10 min wait

- Spiderman standby - 130 min wait (posted was 150)

- T23D standby - 30 min wait

- Backdraft standby - 10 min wait (didn't need the EPs)

- Hollywood Dream via EP - 10 min wait

- Jurassic Park standby - 30 min wait

- Jaws via EP - 5 min wait

- Forbidden Journey (had to get a HP land timed entry ticket earlier in the day to get back into the land) - standby with 30 min wait

 

I had my wife and two kids, so this was not in ride warrior mode. We watched streetmosphere shows, strolled the kids' area, shopped, and ate lunch at Finnegan's (table service), plus the wand show (I was chosen!) and playing with wand magic in Hogsmeade.

 

So it's still possible to get a lot done despite the crowds, but I think an Express Pass - even a cheaper 4-ride one - will make the day so much better.

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God! I'm really itching to plan a weekend trip to USJ in the next month or so, but every TR I see from this park lately has 3+ hour waits for everything. Sure there is EP, but I can't be bothered spending the money to go when I know I'll get 1 ride on JPFD and have to also battle horrendous crowds. Yikes!

 

If you can't be bothered to spend the money on some sort of EP then you really shouldn't go. You'll have a much worse time and miss out on stuff.

 

The park is busy most of the time now, skip two dinners out and invest in the passes!

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God! I'm really itching to plan a weekend trip to USJ in the next month or so, but every TR I see from this park lately has 3+ hour waits for everything. Sure there is EP, but I can't be bothered spending the money to go when I know I'll get 1 ride on JPFD and have to also battle horrendous crowds. Yikes!

 

If you can't be bothered to spend the money on some sort of EP then you really shouldn't go. You'll have a much worse time and miss out on stuff.

 

The park is busy most of the time now, skip two dinners out and invest in the passes!

 

Quoted for truth. I bought passes and don't think I could've done nearly anything without them! Wonderful park though - You can still enjoy the park even when it's crowded!

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It was a holiday Monday (spring equinox) but the crowds in the preceding weeks were supposedly even higher due to spring breaks.

 

So it's still possible to get a lot done despite the crowds, but I think an Express Pass - even a cheaper 4-ride one - will make the day so much better.

 

Great trip report and plan of attack vistaway! Visiting USJ for the first time in May.

 

I’m planning to go May Wed 10 or Thurs 11 and hoping to get EPs from the Japanese version of the USJ website as soon I arrive in Japan (Apr 27). Going for the EP 4 (HP, Flying Dino, Spidey, Jaws) but also interested in the Evangelion XR ride. Anyone know if they’ll be sold out by then and if I should try and get EPs sooner?

 

Expecting crowds to be the usual craziness, even though Golden Week will be over and school is back on… My travel buddy isn’t the biggest ride person – any hope in heck I can get rides on Backdrop, HP, and JP without EPs or a 3hour wait? Still planning on getting there early and EPs but a guy can dream…

 

Anyone confirm if Flying Dino actually has a single rider line now? I’d love to get on it more than my solitary EP turn and not have to wait 3hrs…too naïve?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Anyone confirm if Flying Dino actually has a single rider line now? I’d love to get on it more than my solitary EP turn and not have to wait 3hrs…too naïve?

 

It's always had one, although I've heard it gets packed too to the point where you'll only save 20-30 mins off the normal wait. So if the line was 3 hours expect to wait over 2 hours even for single rider.

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Anyone confirm if Flying Dino actually has a single rider line now? I’d love to get on it more than my solitary EP turn and not have to wait 3hrs…too naïve?

 

It's always had one, although I've heard it gets packed too to the point where you'll only save 20-30 mins off the normal wait. So if the line was 3 hours expect to wait over 2 hours even for single rider.

 

When I was in the park in July 2016, I went to the ride straight after park opening. I managed to get two rides in less than 30 minutes via the single rider queue while the main queue was already over an hour. Later on, I got another ride with a queue of approximately 45 minutes while the main queue was well over 2 hours, maybe even 3. It is difficult to estimate since, in my experience on that day, Universal Japan often tends to show a wait time on the signs far longer than the actual wait time, but the single riders line should spare you some time.

 

Of course this is only my experience, maybe I was just lucky. On the same day though, I waited almost one hour in the single riders queue for Hollywood Dream, a little under the main queue wait time.

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Also, be prepared, that single rider lines work a little different if you are a westerner (and possibly if you're asian as well!).

 

We have noticed that the ride ops will ask the group you would be paired with if it's 'ok' for a single rider to ride with them. I've never seen the polite Japanese say no, but I'm sure it does happen. The single rider concept definitely doesn't seem to work as well in Japan as it does in the US.

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Anyone know if they’ll be sold out by then and if I should try and get EPs sooner?

 

Yes, they probably will. When I was there, all EPs other than the least-popular ride combination were sold out an hour before park opening. I got mine online a few weeks in advance (there are a few legit authorized sellers, such as Klook or Voyagin).

 

Dino had a single rider line when I was there, but as Garet mentioned, the quoted wait is not much less than the normal queue. Dino single rider was still nearly 3 hours when I was there. But I did find that USJ over-quotes their wait times. Still, single rider is not a magic bullet to skip queues there.

 

However, May 10 and 11 are forecast to be super-quiet days according to http://www15.plala.or.jp/gcap/usj/. So you should be able to get everything done in your plan with just an EP-4, I think.

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  • 1 month later...
Ooh, pretty.

 

So, is this gonna be an actual structure for the section, or is it temporary? I know some parks that make a big deal out of breaking ground for a new thing, so is this it?

Considering it is taking the exact structure as a stage would, I think it's temporary. Are they doing another announcement soon? I'm sure someone can elaborate.

 

Edit: It's a stage taking place in one of their parking lots.

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I'm going to the park in late September and I have a question or two. I plan on leaving Tokyo in the morning and getting down later Sunday morning/ early afternoon and spend the rest of the day at the park and do a full day at the park on Monday. Would Express be necessary?

Also, I am looking at hotels and the Park Front Hotel with the Art Deco theming looks pretty good, but are there any other hotels in the area that I should look at?

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Thanks for the update!

 

Now I'm doubling down on my prediction that what you see is a playable game that can be downloaded while at the park in addition to being a real physical environment.

 

Levels might be:

Peach's Castle

Blocks and Vines

Pyramid Desert

Tall Mountain

Ice Cave

Bowser's Castle

 

You might have to actually go to each of those locations to play that level.

 

The first time I went to USJ I really didn't want to go but somebody literally cried when I said I didn't. The second time I went I would have rather done something else, but I went in order to spend more time with my good friend. Next time I'm in Japan I actually want to go because of this and there probably won't be anybody to go with.

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"SUPER NINTENDO WORLD ™" which reproduces the popular character and game world of Nintendo is the first in the world to universal studio Japan Japan.

 

"SUPER NINTENDO WORLD ™" has become a huge complex area of two layers with multiple attractions, shops, restaurants , etc. That "Mario Kart" also includes the creativity of Universal Studios, which has delivered numerous entertainment to the world, Using the world's most advanced technology, it will appear as an attraction that overturns the common sense of theme parks.

 

Just entering the world of Nintendo games with body, we will deliver a park experience that can passion.

img_kv.thumb.jpg.d43c53e69b440357cb5cda309428b8bb.jpg

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Announcement Ceremonies from Universal Studio Japan's Facebook Page

[super Nintendo world ™] 2020 in front of the Tokyo Olympics to open and finally start!

The construction started today in the construction of the construction and construction of the series of the " Super Mario Bros " the super mario bros the world of " Super Mario bros And it has been announced that the "Mario Kart" is an attraction in the world of the world's most advanced technology and that the theme of the theme park! http://usj.eng.mg/1aabf #USJ

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After reading this article where Shigeru Miyamoto says that preparations are in place for the Nintendo Switch to interact with Super Nintendo World, I'm tripling down on my bet that the entire land is also the world of a playable Mario game that can be downloaded and played while waiting in line.

 

http://nintendoeverything.com/miyamoto-on-super-nintendo-world-possible-switch-interactivity-non-mario-representation-more/

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I'd love to see a ride version of Mario Kart that isn't just a simulator.

Agreed. Something like Radiator Springs Racers would be awesome.

 

I'd love to see a ride version of Mario Kart that isn't just a simulator.

Unless perhaps it was Flight of Passage style.

 

I agree with both of these comments (especially the former).

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