Univeral Studios Osaka - All your Questions answered




This week we have a review of Universal Studios Osaka from a reader S.K who in in her early 20's and has been to Universal Studios Osaka many times as an Annual Pass holder for 10 years. She has also regularly visited Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea. Her responses are below:

Do you have a strategy to see everything in the park? Do you race to the Harry Potter rides first thing or do you do something different??
Yes, We have a routine on this. We go to park before it opens and run to Harry Potter when the gate is open. Normally you can ride on Harry Potter and Forbidden Journey with 30 minutes of waiting time or less. And normally we go to Harry Potter again directly after the first ride since we can re-ride again within about 45 minutes. We never go to Harry Potter later in the daytime since you normally have to wait for 2 - 3 hours.  After that we enjoy walking the "village" of Harry Potter world and go to the other rides.




Can you please comment on the following rides at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (WWoHP) in Osaka

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
This is a ride where four people can sit together. The 3K4D ride (a ultra high definition ride that moves in real time) is super cool. We were surprised at the quality when we rode for the first time. I feel like I was flying in the Harry world. It is well themed! The ride moves hard to right and left and to front and back (it doesn’t rotate). So if you get motion sickness easily, it might be hard for you to enjoy this attraction. I think there is a height limitation, so small kids might not be able to ride on this also. I think this ride is suitable for all the family (if the child meets the minimum height requirement). As four people can sit together, the whole family can enjoy the ride together and share the experience. (The Spiderman ride also allows four people to sit together in line and is also a favourite ride)

Flight of the Hippogriff
I never tried! I think this is more of a child's ride.


Are there good areas to eat? Bargain places? Things to try? 
For food, you can't take food from outside with you (But a lot of people do secretly). We usually eat at Universal town which is next to the park. (It is similar to Disneyland town in Shanghai). My sister and I would eat at a restaurant in the town and then go back to the park again.
  
Did you try Butterbeer? Yes. I tried Butterbeer! It was okay for me, but not my favourite. My sister liked it much more.  A lot of people make 'fake beards' with the white bubble. You can take funny instagram photos too.

What are some of the fun shops to visit at WWoHP?
I will say "Honeydukes. The shop sells sweets such as candy or frog chocolates. Bertie Bott's Every-Flavour beans is also quite popular, which are beans with normal and "disgusting" taste. It is a good souvenir. There are lines to enter this shop when there are many customers.


Did you buy a magical interactive wand at Olivanders? They have this in Orlando Florida, do they have this in Japan?
These interactive wands are a new experience in the park. I have never seen or bought any. The new wands allow you to cast spells all around Hogsmeade. You can buy the wand at Ollivanders shop in Hogsmeade.

What are the lines like? Apparently the lines are shorter near closing time?? Have noticed you can ride Single Rider for Harry Potter rides, but you will miss some of the pre-ride entertainment.
Can you recommend??
The lines become much shorter near closing times, but not as short as early morning. And it depends on the popularity of a ride. If you choose a "not so popular" ride it takes about only 15 minutes to go.  But you can't expect short times for popular rides such as Harry Potter or Hollywood Dream the ride. (I can't ride Hollywood Dream the Ride since I have a fear of heights!). Hollywood dream the ride seems to be popular at night probably as the night view from the ride is beautiful.

Oh yes, If you ride Single Rider for Harry Potter, you will skip walking into the castle. The number of people entering the castle are managed by cast, thus, not many people are walking with you. So I recommend you to go with the normal line unless Single Rider has short waiting time.

Do you need to know Japanese to go on the rides?
You don't need to know Japanese much. But you might want to ask some questions such as where the ride is.... Unfortunately, most Japanese can't speak English or hesitate to speak because of shyness or lack of confidence. But they will try to help you using body languages, maps, or phones. I recommend you to talk to young people not old people since young people received English education for at least 6 years in Japan.

Are there  fireworks over the castle.  Worth watching? -or a good idea to sneak in a few more rides??
That is good question. There are fireworks but not over the castle. For my sister and I, we don't go to Universal Studios Japan when they have fireworks as there are too many people! Fireworks are only at times of the year that have special celebrations like New Years Eve. And we like to go on rides more. But I think it depends on the person. If you have a child who can't ride on rides because of the height, watching fireworks might be good! And couples also like to watch the fireworks! It is quite romantic. (But I have never done that!)

What do you think is the best ride in Universal Studios?
My sister and I really like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Space Fantasy the ride. We like Harry Potter since we feel as if we are in the world of "Harry Potter." The 3D is quite cool.  We are not big fans of Harry Potter but we like the ride a lot. So if you like Harry Potter, you will really like it. However, one of my best friends became sick due to motion sickness. The ride is not fast though.

Space Fantasy ride is not so popular compared to other famous rides. My sister especially like this ride. It rotates super fast. The ride goes in in dark room with a lot of glittering stars.  We ride on this at least three times a day.

When we were small, we liked Sesame Street 4D Magic which is not a ride – it is  more like "play". I think there are no limitation in regards to height.

When I used to go with my whole family, we always watched University Monsters live rock and roll show. (This is not ride either!) This is a musical and there are super crazy fans of this show. This show exhibits only a few times a day so you have to check the time and go early to save seats. (https://www.usj.co.jp/e/attraction/monster_live.html)

Many thanks to S.K for her review of Universal Studios Osaka. More reviews of Harry Potter and Universal Studio's can be found below:
 

Universal Studios Singapore

Universal Studios L.A


Other reviews by S.K include Shanghai Disneyland

We are also now on Facebook. Follow us on Facebook @Theme Park Travel Guide


Until next week,

KJ

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This Website is neither endorsed nor affiliated with any Disney Park or Universal Studios park worldwide. This website is unofficial. To avoid disappointment please always check the official websites for current details of rides etc.  Please read my full Disclaimer here.

Location: Osaka, Osaka Prefecture, Japan

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