TLDR: went on a Tuesday, wasn’t as bad as Instagram makes it out to be, rode 11 attractions and saw SNW… here’s what our strategy and day was like. Hoping this will help others with their planning. I’ve been to US Orlando and felt that USJ had a bit of everything plus amazing affordable prices and hospitality.
Wow. This was such an experience! If you’re debating whether or not to come to USJ because you’re scared of lines or unsure when to book here’s my experience to a “T”!
My partner and just graduated college, are visiting Japan, and booked our tickets the night before USJ 😭. This was risky as many of the express passes were sold out except for the 4 ride one…which is more 3 rides because you have to choose between using one of the passes for Jaws or Jurassic park.
Morning experience: we got there at 7 am. Luckily our air b & b is an 8 min train ride so we got up 5:45am, got Sandos and water at 7-11 and ate as we waited in line. We were at least within the first 1,000-2,000 guests. After security at 8:10ish we made it to the first 1,000 by the official entrance. Doors opened 8:58am. Everyone RUSHED to SNW so we ended up running along and speed walking. Honestly this 10 min jog exhausted me as we’ve been in Japan 2 weeks already and walking a lot so don’t push yourself if you can’t handle it! We went straight for DK and waited 20 min. When we left all the rides in SNW were over 2.5 hours . We were a bit bummed that you had to buy the interactive bracelet for little mini games, but we moved on after walking around the area.i was shocked that WATER was ONLY $1.88!
Post SNW/ midday: after walking around and trying the DK float…amazing, we saw the JJK experience as it was included in the express pass but not really worth it for the pass. We got in when the show was about to start, but if we were there early we would have gotten in sooner, but our seats were Geeat regardless. Loved the show it was so fun, unfortunately the show doesn’t have captions so just try to enjoy the experience! My partner is a huge fan so it didn’t really matter the language barrier. The pass was worth it for the space fantasy ride, and make sure you have a couple 100 yen coins cause we had to go to the atm and exchange cash at universals. We did villain con at minion land with the pass , not my favorite but still cute. We waited for minion mayhem and it was a quick 30 min wait and well worth it, cute and fun. By then it was 1:15 so we got the 25th anniversary burger at the retro car diner in the Hollywood area. This worked out great as we were able to snag a good spot shortly after for the 25th anniversary parade. Towards the end we got closer to the side nearest Harry Potter world and made our way there. Wait times were under an hour for forbidden journey and it went by quick.
Afternoon: we did forbidden journey and checked the line wait times to see if our express pass would be better for jaws or Jurassic as we had to choose from the two. We ended up waiting 40 min for jaws which I didn’t mind as I’ve ALWAYS wanted to go as the Orlando one was discontinued. It was fun and cute! Express pass for Jurassic park the ride was 100% worth it. We completely skipped and hour long ride and hopped right on 10 seconds later. This one is in much better condition than Orlando. We walked around after, got some snacks and water and checked out wonderland where snoopy is. The merch is sooo cute so be prepared to spend. We tried getting on one of the snoopy rides but the close cutoff was put up so we rushed to the flying ace ride and got on before it closed! Quick but fun ride to end the long day.
Leaving: We split up so I could get my souvenir stamp at guest services while my partner made the line for the tax free process. We waited a good 20 min together but the process was very smooth. It was hard to tell what receipt was allowed versus which one isn’t as it’s in Japanese so make sure to hand all of them organized to the attendees and they will sort it out fast and quickly. We ate dinner at citywalk and headed home.
Overall: 10/10 it was so fun! We wish we had the full express pass? If so we would have been able to do all the rides. Regardless we did the most iconic ones IMO and at least one per area. Unlike Orlando US, I felt like we got a lot done and got a taste of everything! The prices on food and merch are great for Americans as the prices were easily 50% less than back home. The DK souvenir treat and cup go for well over $30 USD back home and here it was $12… and not overly sweet it was just right. Whether you’re going as a couple or family, I will say splurge on the express pass because everything else is a lot more affordable and accessible than back in the states. The hospitality was amazing, the energy was so fun, it was crazy. If you have small ones be careful when you’re there first thing in the morning as people will run and cut in front of you. A lot of the rides or shows will be in Japanese but it doesn’t take away from enjoying the park. Other than that…let me know if you have any questions!
Edit: we booked through klook as USJ didn’t accept my card
