Japan 2023 Day 4: Universal Studios Japan (USJ)
DAY 4: 14 JUN 2023
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| Wizarding World of Harry Potter |
Time for theme park!
We bought the 1-day pass on Klook for S$86.
As USJ is famous for long ride wait times, we also splurged on the USJ express pass 4 which costs S$128 on Klook.
Our express pass came with timed entry to the latest attraction: Nintendo World!
We visited the park on Wednesday and it was open from 9am to 8pm.
Having read that the park may open earlier that the stipulated time, we arrived at around 8.30am.
We spotted a huge crowd even before arriving at the entrance and a rollercoaster ride was in operation!
To our surprise, we arrived at the bag check counter pretty fast despite the huge crowd and we entered the theme park in less than 15 minutes.
Our first ride was Hollywood Dream - The Ride.
I was originally disinterested in taking this ride because I hate drops!
However, after some persuasion and having seen the track in person, I decided to try it.
The ride wait time was about 40 minutes.
While waiting, I was either having thoughts of backing out from this experience or finding comfort in the short ride duration.
Eventually, I went ahead with the ride.
There were a few drops on this rollercoaster and they took longer than expected.
During the drops, I ran out of air while screaming and the drop was not over!
I was so relieved when the ride was over.
There was a backwards version for this rollercoaster but I refused to take that because I had to go through the same drops.
Anyway, our next ride was more suited for scaredy cats like me.
Doraemon Nobita's Sky Utopia!
If I am not mistaken, this ride replaced space fantasy.
We queued for about 75 minutes before it was our turn.
The ride was an indoor kids' rollercoaster and we had to put on VR goggles.
The ride and experience were really good, even Michelle said so.
After this ride, we headed to Amity Village for the Jaws ride!
My parents and I enjoyed the boat ride during our visit in 2018.
Michelle sat on the left end of the row while I sat between the both of them.
During the ride, there will be small explosions, fire and splashes by Jaws.
The first splash happened on the right of the boat so we were all safe!
We thought all was well as the ride was coming to an end.
However, the next splash happened on the left of the boat and particularly near Michelle.
In the end, she was drenched while I only had a few drops of water on me...because she was my shield.
It was still too early for lunch when we completed the ride.
As our timed entry for a ride at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was at 12.50pm,
we decided to next head to the Harry Potter area.
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| Magical Creatures Encounter |
There were shows ongoing when we entered!
I caught a glimpse of the magical creatures encounter and frog choir during our time there.
To maximise our time at the park, we went for the flight of hippogriff rollercoaster ride.
The wait time for this ride was longer than the forbidden journey ride.
It was a kids rollercoaster, my kind of ride.
It was about 11.30am when we completed the ride and it was the perfect time for lunch!
We had lunch at three broomsticks!
We managed to find a table outdoors with a nice view of the Hogwarts castle!
When dining there, do not miss out on the butterbeer!
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| Butterbeer |
After lunch, we made our way to the Forbidden Journey ride.
We utilised our express pass which saved us a fair bit of time!
This ride had two different queue segments.
After queuing the first segment, you will be handed a card with instructions and
brought to the locker area to secure all belongings.
Once done, you will return the card to the staff and proceed to queue at the next segment.
The card was a simple but smart way of ensuring that visitors who return to the lockers after their ride do not re-join the queue.
We had some time before our timed entry to Nintendo World.
We went to Ollivanders, Zonko's and the gift shop!
I was the only one who left the gift shop empty handed haha.
Anyway, it was time to head over to Nintendo World.
Our timed entry was at 2.10pm and when we entered the area, we were so amazed by the set up!
We briefly took photos before walking to queue for Mario Kart: Koopa's Challenge ride.
We had express pass for this ride and entry was at 2.30pm.
The ride was essentially a game where we could compete with each other and earn points.
After the ride, we hung around at the gift shop which had so many cutesy items!
There were so many head accessories and we tried on almost all the varieties available.
The staff were really friendly and comfortable with visitors trying them on even though we had no intention of purchasing.
There are two rides at Nintendo World and I thought we should try the other ride since we were there.
Yoshi's adventure was a kiddy ride around Nintendo World.
We queued for close to an hour before we got on the ride.
After Nintendo World, we headed to the Jujutsu Kaisen The Real 4-D show which was part of our express pass.
I had no clue what was going on and all I saw was the fights between the characters in the show.
Amanda had a good nap during the show despite having her seat jerk rather excessively and water spraying at her face.
She is the real sleeping beauty.
After the 4D ride, we headed over to the Spiderman ride which was similar to the Transformers ride in Universal Studios Singapore.
It was alright, nothing fantastic.
This was included in our express pass too and
we would have gone for the Jurassic Park ride if it was open.
Thereafter, I went for the Minions ride while the both of them took the flying dinosaur ride.
Initially, the both of them tried to convince me to join them for flying dinosaur.
However, this ride is way out of my league.
Thank goodness I didn't take it because the both of them said I would have fainted on the ride haha.
As for my Minions ride, I regretted queuing for it due to the unexpected 1.5 hours wait.
The many express pass visitors and pre-ride videos extended the wait time.
I should have explored other areas instead.
Nevertheless, I met up with the both of them after my ride.
I thought it would be nice to see the night view at Nintendo World.
So, I reserved the evening area timed entry slots on the USJ app for free.
It was nice to experience both day and night at Nintendo World!
It was time to say goodbye to the theme park.
We had so much fun but were tired from standing and walking all day.
Upon exiting the park, we spotted shake shack and we decided to get the Japan special Goma milkshake!
We then made our way back to Dotonbori with the intention of having Ichiran Ramen as it was one of the few restaurants open after 9pm.
To our horror, the staff informed us that it will take at least 1.5 hours to get a table.
We abandoned the plan immediately and settled for a yakisoba stall nearby.
Amanda and I shared 6 takoyakis and they were so soft and yummy!
And that's it for day 4!
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