Is Universal Studios Japan Express Pass Worth It?
We visited Universal Studios Japan twice. The first visit, we brought our parents and we didn’t play most of the rides. The size of Universal Studios Japan is bigger than we expected and we wanted to purchase the Express Pass during our first visit but it was sold out. We learnt our mistake and we bought the Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 4. Do we need to purchase the Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 4? Let us explain.
If you plan to visit Universal Studios Japan, make sure you purchase the park ticket. You can queue up and purchase at the park or purchase online with one of their travel agents. We usually purchased with Klook.com and you simply need to show them the barcode to enter. It is so simple.
For Universal Studios Japan Express Pass, there are two versions. They offer Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 4 and Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 7. Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 4 allows you to play four selected rides via express lane while Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 7 will allow you to play seven selected rides. There are various options for Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 4.
Please take note that there will be only limited numbers of Universal Studios Japan Express Passes sold in a day. If you book the ticket via Klook.com, you will find some dates are unavailable as it is sold out.
We purchased the Universal Studios Japan Express Pass 4 of:
- A: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™
- B: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
- C: The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man – The Ride 4K3D or Jurassic Park – The Ride™
- D: JAWS™ or Terminator 2:3-D® or Backdraft™
Once you purchased the ticket from Klook.com, they will email you the ticket. There will be selected time for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. For the rest, you can choose either one of the rides provided.
Once you purchased the ticket from Klook.com, they will email you the ticket. There will be selected time for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. For the rest, you can choose either one of the rides provided.
Once you purchased the ticket from Klook.com, they will email you the ticket. There will be selected time for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Despicable Me Minion Mayhem. For the rest, you can choose either one of the rides provided.
Here are the tips for first timers that you won’t read anywhere else. Some rides offer shorter waiting time for singles. Instead queuing up the line for the group, you can faster access in the ‘Singles’. These are rides, you don’t need to hold your partner’s hands while playing the rides. The estimate waiting time for ‘Singles’ is at least 30% faster than the usual line. Depending on the crowd during the day you visit, you can actually visit all the rides using this method but chances are low.
In one of our previous travel tips to Universal Studios Japan, we highlighted the importance of Harry Potter. During our second visit, we realised that the most popular rides or games are actually the ‘Cool Japan’ rides and games.
We wanted to participate Detective Conan’s mystery game and it was full even before noon time. The Lupin the 3rd Car Ride is 150 min for group lane and 110 min for Singles. For your information, we went during weekday and it was not that packed and the queue is already 150 min! 150 minutes is 2 hours and 30 minutes of queuing up.
We spent the entire day in Universal Studios Japan. The Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey lived up to its reputation while the other rides are fun too. We didn’t manage to do any of the Cool Japan activities and that makes us wondering whether we should visit Universal Studios Japan for the third time?
Lastly, if you do plan to purchase Universal Studios Japan Express Pass, please do purchase it early. The Universal Studios Japan Express Pass prices are different depending on dates and availability. Do check on the Universal Studios Japan website for the opening hours and also the availability of the rides. During our visit, there were no parades and some rides were closed for maintenance. Don’t say we never warn you. At the end of the day, we enjoyed Universal Studios Japan and we hope everyone will have fun too!
