Universal Studios Osaka: MUST KNOW Tips

Universal Studios Osaka: MUST KNOW Tips

Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan is an amazing experience. And using these tips, this experience will get even better cuz we’re going to be going over why the park lies about when it opens, where you should be staying, how to get into Super Mario World twice, and a whole lot more. So, let’s jump right into it and start talking about when park opens because this is something that’s actually sort of lied about online. Online, it says that the park opens at 9:00 a.m., which officially is when it opens. However, in Japan, most theme parks open a little bit early. So, the actual open time is going to vary from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. If you’re unlucky, it’s going to open at 9:00 a.m. That is rarely the case. So, what you want to do is get to the park a little bit early. My recommendation would be to arrive sometime between 7:30 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. This is going to guarantee that you get a spot fairly far up in line and you’ll have enough time to get into Super Mario World early, which we’re going over why this is important, but it really is, especially if you want to see it at night. Now, in addition to this, where you should stay really doesn’t matter. It just depends on when you want to wake up. The hotels around the area are more expensive because they’re located by Universal Studios. And Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan has an amazing subway system or access to an amazing subway system because it is Japan after all. This means no matter where you stay in the city, you will be able to get to Universal Studios by 7:30 a.m. However, if you like waking up late or if you want to get out of the park late and just go right to bed, staying near the park is nice. It’s just you’re paying a premium for it, which makes sense. Now, let’s talk about why you want to get into the park early because this is something that a lot of people don’t understand. So, the way Universal Studios and a lot of theme parks work is there’s an app on your phone that you’re going to use. It’s called Universal Studios Japan. This app can be used to do a ton of things, including book access to places like Super Mario World. Now, if you get to the park early and you get in before they start counting people, you can get into Super Mario World without asking for access on this app. The reason this is so amazing is because first off, you can get to do some of these rides that usually take a couple hours right away and then you get to book another time to go into Super Mario World. My recommendation is if you get into the park, you run right to Super Mario World. You get in without using the app. Then you can book time on the app right after you get in while you’re waiting in line to see in Super Mario World at night. The reason for this is because at night, Super Mario World really lights up. It’s a beautiful, amazing experience. And while usually there are time slots available, if you’re unlucky, you might not be able to get in a second time. So, the first time going in should be in the morning, second time should be booked by the night. Additionally, because we’re talking about the app, it’s a really good idea to have a SIM card or some sort of access to the internet because that’s going to make the app work. Additionally, if you want a free SIM card, sometimes you can find deals through a website called Cluke. It’s a really good way to buy tickets in Japan and get sort of deals for those tickets. For Universal, they were giving out a free Squirt gun, I think, when we went, but we did book our tickets through the official Universal Studios site. There’s nothing wrong with doing it this way, but sometimes you get a little bit extra if you book through Cluke, so it’s worth looking into. Now, let’s get into what you can bring into the park because a lot of people mess this up. When it comes to what you can bring in, if you have kids, you can actually bring in snacks for them. So, what I’d recommend doing is if you get to the park early, maybe have one person run over to Lawson’s. There’s going to be Lawson’s right next door. You can run over to Lawson’s. You can buy some snacks to eat in line. And additionally, you can buy some extra food for your kids. You can bring that food in. And then when they get hungry in line, you’ve got something to give them rather than having to run out and get popcorn or something like that. But while we’re talking about food in the park, it is worth noting that the prices are actually fairly reasonable. You’re not going to be charged an arm and a leg. There does feel like there might be a slight upcharge, but a lot of that’s just because of everything being themed and all that. Additionally, if you’re someone who likes to drink water, which most of us should be, you can get free refills. So, if you just bring an empty water bottle, that’s great because you can just refill this water bottle at a ton of water refill stations located throughout the theme park. And in summer, it’s especially great because summer in Japan gets really hot. They stay cool in a variety of very interesting ways, including outdoor air conditioners for staff. But unfortunately, if you’re stuck waiting in line, some of them can be quite brutal. Also, if you have a stroller, make sure you bring a stroller cover, as occasionally, if there is rain, you’re still going to be required to park your stroller outside while you wait in line, which means you’re going to be coming back to a puddle if you don’t have a way to protect that stroller. Luckily, those covers can be found all over Japan. And if you’re looking for rain, Lawson’s sells that, too. Now, let’s talk about the food because one of the interesting things is you can book your restaurants right when you get into the park sometimes. And if you can’t book that restaurant, you need to just go and wait in line. In our instance, we wanted to go to Toad’s Cafe, which was an amazing experience, but you could not book that cafe through the app. So, what we did is when we ran to Super Mario World the second time we went to Universal, we went right in line for Toad’s Cafe. We waited a little bit and we were some of the first people into the cafe because who wants to eat lunch at 10:00 a.m.? Well, we did. It was a really beautiful lunch. The cafe was done to the tea. Everything was perfectly designed, but one issue is the menu did well it was translated incorrectly to be. We ordered a meal that supposedly didn’t have pork and when it came there was pork in the meal. It’s not that big of a deal, but if you do have any dietary concerns, you really want to make sure that’s known and you really want to take a good look at your food. Additionally, the staff does not understand English, where in Japan, English in Japan isn’t that common. A lot of people know some words, but they’re not going to be able to speak to you fluently. What they do have is translator apps. They work really well, but you need to have patience with the staff, and you need to understand that there will be mistransations. Things will be gotten wrong, and that is okay. You’ve just got to accept that it is what it is. that is worth pointing out. Another thing that’s worth pointing out is how the rides work because this is actually really interesting. So, there’s two things that we’re going to be talking about. There’s a single rider and then there’s a parent switch. So, the way this works is for single rider, if you want to ride on your own or if you don’t mind being partnered up with someone random, you can go through a special line. This line basically is express line, the express pass line. So, if you’re on if you’re in Universal Studios on your own, no judgment, don’t buy an Express Pass. Just go single rider every time. You’re getting the same bang for no boss. It’s definitely worth doing. The Express Pass is also worth doing if you want to save time, but if you’re on your own, just do single rider. You’re going to get the same Express Plus experience without having to pay the money. Also, if your group doesn’t mind being split up, this is a great way to go. Now, another thing we’re going to be talking about is if you’ve got kids, if you’ve got your kids in a stroller, they have this great thing called parent switch. So, one parent waits in line or the whole family waits in line. Well, someone’s taking the ride, the other parent takes a stroller, goes sits down. When that person gets done with the ride, the parents switch and then the next parent can ride. This is great because even if you’ve got a baby, we we had one, our baby was asleep, so we wait in line, get to do the roller coaster, one of us does. we switch and then the other one gets to do it and the baby doesn’t have to be left on its own which we wouldn’t actually do. We just wouldn’t be able to do the ride or we’d have to wait double the time. So, it’s really nice that they took care of this. Now, let’s finally talk about merchandise because this is something everybody wants merch. Everybody wants to buy stuff there. Universal Japan actually offers some really good deals. If you compare it to a place like Disney in the US or Universal in the US, you can get shirts and popcorn buckets and all sorts of crazy things at a pretty deep discount. But if you’re looking to save even more money, I’d recommend looking into Book Off. Book Off is an amazing place that sells all sorts of used goods. And these goods are usually in pristine quality. I am old and I was finding stuff from my childhood that was still in the box and looked brand new. So, if you’re looking for goods at a discount, one recommendation would be go to golf. Maybe go before you go to Universal. See if there’s something that you like. go to Universal, then try to go back to Book Off and buy it. It is used, so things could be broken. It’s going to be a little bit older, but if you don’t mind that, you can get some really cool popcorn buckets and a pretty steep discount. That said, though, if you want something to remind you of your time at Universal and you want something that’s new, you’re going to have to buy at the park. Things at Book Off usually take a couple years to get there. So, you’re going to be getting the old items rather than the things that are currently being sold. And if all of this seems way too overwhelming to you, there’s one thing I’ve got to say. We’re in Osaka. You’re in Japan. It’s an amazing country, a peaceful country, a country that is designed to make sure that everybody makes it out of every experience alive. You’re going to have a great time. It’s an amazing park, and even if you don’t follow these tips, it’s still going to be an amazing experience. Enjoy your adventure in Osaka and beyond.

A Universal Studios Osaka Japan guide video going over things YOU NEED TO KNOW before visiting Universal Studios in Osaka Japan. Some of these Universal Studios tips and tricks apply to all parks but a lot of these are specific to Japan specifically the Universal Studios in Osaka Japan. So watch this Universal Studios guide and make the most of your Osaka Japan Universal Studios trip!

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