The highly anticipated day to visit Universal Studios Japan (USJ) had arrived – or more accurately, the day to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which happened to be eat Universal Studios. The alarm went off at 5:30am to give us time for breakfast before leaving the apartment by 6:15am to arrive at the Universal Studios train station by 7am. We had purchased the special entry option as part of our tickets which allowed us to enter at 7:30am with the park opening at 8am.
We arrived at USJ by 7:05am and were fifth in line at the special entry line. Already there were 100 or more people lining up at the main entry plus multiple lines forming at the ticket booths to purchase entry tickets. We got a map of the park to review while waiting and Lewis started to plan out our day.
7:30 came quickly enough and the special entry door opens and we were lead in……. to the gift shop! Here in the gift shop we can wait, looking into the park, until the door opens at 8am. What??? Reading the fine print again it now is clear that special entry doors opening at 7:30am isn’t actually early access to the park as you would expect, just a special entry door that opens at 7:30 and we still enter at 8:00am along with everyone else. Everyone else in the line was equally confused. But not a total waste of money, as it did mean we are fifth in our line and will be quick to enter at 8am.
Putting the frustration aside, we adjusted our days schedule back 30 mins, with Simon to purchase the Express Pass on entry while the rest would head to Harry Potter World.
By 9am we are all having a great time, with wands purchased from Olivanders, Butter Beer has been bought and consumed from the Three Broomsticks, new hoodies have been purchased for the relevant houses – Lewis is Ravenclaw and Carter is Hufflepuff – and we are ready to go on the Harry Potter 3D ride – with only a 20min waiting line.
Highlights of Harry Potter World include the tour of Hogwarts Castle which features the moving and talking picture frames, the magic spells/tricks that can be performed using the wands, and Lewis being called to participate in the live show. We also had an early lunch at the Three Broomsticks. Ordering the famous Great Feast.
After our initial fix of Harry Potter world we head out to the rest of the USJ park. First visiting Wonderland, which is a mix of Sesame Street, Snoopy and Hello Kitty where we enjoy some rides, car driving and start eating some of the sweets purchased from Honeydukes. USJ was still celebrating Halloween, as was hundreds of visitors who have dressed up in a broad variety of costumes. The Japanese sure seem to make the most of an opportunity to dress up.
We then toured Amity Island and went on the Jaws ride, which we survived but finished a little wet – which was fine as it was a beautiful warm day. If that wasn’t enough to get our hearts racing Tryphena and Simon reluctantly went on the Flying Dinosaur ride. A roller coaster where you are dangling almost in a lying position. It is frightfully fast, with Tryphena keeping her eyes closed for most of it! Here is the video (excuse the language – that is Tryphena swearing!). The express passes paid off as the normal wait was 160 minutes. And as the kids passed on this ride, it meant Simon could ride it again!
By now we were having Harry Potter withdrawals, so back we went back for some more Butter Beer and rides. This was followed by another trip back into the non-Harry Potter section and onto the Minion ride. Where we were zapped into Minions and bounce around in the minion world.
With evening approaching it was time to head back to Harry Potter world to see the light show displayed on Hogwarts castle and another round of casting magic spells with the wands. And a few more souvenirs. The Japanese interest in key rings has been caught by the boys, and their collection on their backpacks is quickly growing.
By 8pm we have had our fix and brave the streets in Universal Studios – which has been converted to a Halloween zone with roaming zombies equipped with chainsaws and all – and get back to the train station and head back to the apartment.
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