After coming back from Korea, our next day was our day trip to USJ. I’ve only been to Tokyo Disney Sea before, so this was my second time visiting a theme park in Japan. I think the only thing I remembered from Disney Sea was the insane amount of time I spent waiting in line. I set my expectations lower this time and only planned to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to go on one ride – Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.

I think the one thing that everyone does prior to going to USJ is devising a plan that allows them to hit the most attractions with the least amount of idling in between. I sort of planned it based on cost. A one-day studio pass cost 7,200 yen. I had contemplated on buying an Express Pass to skip the lineups, but it would have been another 5,200 yen on top. I figured since I only planned on going on one ride, it was better to save my money and simply wait in line for it, regardless of how long it would take.

We were sort of lucky we got to the park a little after 9:00am. There were already lineups with people waiting to get inside. After buying our tickets, we joined the lineup and were let inside just before 10:00am. The moment we got in, we beelined towards the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Luckily we were there early enough that we didn’t need a Timed Entry Ticket to get in, so we went straight to join the lineup for the Forbidden Journey ride.

I think we waited around 80 minutes before we finally made it inside Hogwarts. We got to put our bags inside the lockers, which were provided free of charge. Then we were led to the actual ride itself, which is a 4K3D ride. I’ll admit I was a little scared riding it cause it does move really quickly, with sudden drops and turns. I’m also somewhat prone to motion sickness, so by the time the ride was over I was a little disorientated. On the other hand, my mom who was scared prior to getting on the ride absolutely loved it. Go figure.

Once the ride was over we had time to leisurely walk around and explode the rest of the shops and restaurants inside Hogsmeade. Since it was a Friday, it wasn’t busy at all when we got our food order at The Three Broomsticks. The food was overpriced for sure, but we couldn’t pass on the chance to try Butterbeer for the first time. (It’s overly sweet and I would skip if I go back the next time.)

Afterwards my sister and I lined up to ride Flight of the Hippogriff, which is a mini rollercoaster lasting all of 30 seconds. The lineup said the wait time was about 50 minutes, but we were pretty much done in half an hour. A bonus is that as you’re waiting in line outside, you get to see Hagrid’s hut along the way. After going through some of the shops like Ollivanders and Honeydukes, we finally decided to head out and explore the rest of the theme park.

The first ride we went on afterwards was Jaws, which took almost an hour of waiting in line. It’s pretty much the same as the one in Orlando, but it was fun nonetheless. Later we headed over to Jurassic Park The Ride, but we couldn’t get in line and had to grab a timed ticket for entry at 5pm. Since we had time to kill we lined up for Backdraft, which was more of a show attraction. I thought it was boring till we got to the very last set, where they reenacted the fire and explosion scene from the movie. I would recommend skipping it for something else.

It was already nearing closing time when we finally went back to Jurassic Park The Ride. (I think USJ must be one of the first amusement parks I’ve been to which closes at 6:00pm on a Friday.) Since we had the timed ticket, we only ended up waiting about 10 minutes before we were led onto the ride. I had totally thought it was another 4K3D ride, but you’re actually loaded onto a boat which takes you on a river tour and then plunges down 25m at the very end. I think all three of us were more scared about getting wet then being ‘chased’ by dinosaurs. Haha.

After the last ride we slowly made our way back towards Shinsaibashi, where we met my uncle for dinner at a super yummy tabehoudai nabe restaurant. Overall I was very happy with my experience at USJ. I think because I was mentally prepared to wait in line this time, it didn’t seem as bad as Disney Sea. If I get a chance to go back, I’ll try going on the rest of the rollercoasters I missed this time. However, I think I’ll pass on all the 3D rides in case I get motion sickness again haha.