Universal Studios Japan, Part 3: Everything Else

Like Universal Studios in Florida, the park is divided into neighborhoods, all circling a body of water. The neighborhoods I haven't discussed yet are Hollywood, New York, San Francisco, Jurassic Park, and Amity Village.

In Hollywood, we watched the Universal Monsters Live Rock and Roll Show and Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic.

In New York, Terminator 2: 3-D kept us entertained. We had lunch at Finnegan's Bar & Grill.

This Irish pub was well stocked with drinks and had a slightly larger menu than the other restaurants we looked at. I had a seafood potpie.

Dave had the beef stew. Both meals were tasty, as were the drinks.

 San Francisco is home to one of my favorite rides from when I visited the Florida park when it was new, Back to the Future - the Ride. Backdraft is also in San Francisco. It loses a bit by not being in English, but is still easy to understand. Both of these attractions are no longer at Universal Studios in Florida, so it was a bit like traveling back in time to experience them here.

In Jurassic park we rode Jurassic Park - the Ride. We were silly. It was 40 degrees out, we did not purchase the ponchos for sale at the start of the line, and we got really wet. It didn't help that we were in the front row of seats in the boat. 

We had dinner at the Discovery Restaurant the first night. The food was mediocre, but we were hungry and tired.

The decor, though, was nice.

 Amity Village is all about Jaws. Jaws - the Ride (another ride no longer in Florida) was my favorite attraction at the park. While corny and outdated, the effects are fun and our tour guide/actress was hilarious.

 What do you think, should this be next year's Christmas card?

 We had a great trip, but if you are planning on going, here are some helpful hints:

1. Fly out the night before your visit. We flew that morning, which meant that we had to get up around 2:30AM to make a 6:30AM flight.

2. Buy the ticket package that comes with the priority attraction tickets of your choice. It is more expensive, but you won't have to wait in really long lines.

3. Smuggle snacks in with you, and remember that there is a mall right outside the park with lots of restaurants. You have to ask at the gate before you leave the park for permission to re-enter. If they are feeling kind, they will stamp your hand.

Universal Studios Japan, Part 2: Universal Wonderland

If you have small children, or are a fan of The Peanuts, Sesame Street, or Hello Kitty, Universal Wonderland is the place for you.

The first section of Wonderland is dedicated to the Peanuts Gang. If you are lucky, you may even run into Snoopy and Charlie Brown.

The main ride for the Peanuts is the Flying Snoopy. 

Inside Snoopy's Soundstage Adventure, is a children's playground and roller-coaster.

There is also a Snoopy themed restaurant aimed at children and families in the Peanuts section.

The Sesame Street section has a carousal, car ride, and another great playground.

The Hello Kitty section is small, with a teacup ride, photos with Hello Kitty, snack bar, and shops.

Overall, Universal Wonderland is a great place to let your toddlers play when they are tired of waiting in ride lines.

Universal Studios Japan, Part 1 - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

For Christmas this year, we decided to go on an Adventure, we traveled to Osaka in order to visit Universal Studios Japan. 

The park has a variety of rides and attractions, including some that are no longer existing at Universal Studios Orlando, such as: Back to the Future - The Ride, Backdraft, and Jaws. It also has a brand new area, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Because the area is new and it is severely crowded, it was necessary to obtain timed entry tickets to that part of the park. The ticket machines are located in the Central Park area of the theme park.

Visually, Hogsmead and Hogwarts are stunning. The buildings even had snow on them, since it is Winter. Crowd wise... it was very, very, crowded. The wait time for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was about three hours. Luckily, it actually only took us about two hours to get through the line. The ride was worth it, but I won't wait that long to ride it again.

The stores were so crowded that is was virtually impossible to walk through them. There was a 30+ minute wait to get into Olivanders and the line to get into Honeydukes looked even longer.

The good news is, when we came back the next morning to look at the shops, they were much less crowded, since everyone was in the ride line.

Everyone seemed to be drinking Butterbeer. It was everywhere. It could be purchased at stand-alone carts, which always had long lines, or at the Hog's Head, which had a much shorter line, and also served beer.

The only restaurant in Hogsmead is The Three Broomsticks. There was a waiting line, but it moved pretty quick. I'd say that we got through the line, collected our meals, and were shown to our tables in about 20 minutes. 

The menu was limited, about 5 meals, but it was relatively inexpensive and a step up from fast food. The restaurant also served Butterbeer and Pumpkin Juice.

I had the shepherd's pie.

My husband had the fish and chips.

Going to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a must do, if you are a fan of the books or movies.

To be continued...