TORN BETWEEN CAREER AND PASSION

Before we went to Japan, we already booked ourselves for Universal Studios Japan Express™ Pass 4 – Minion Ride.   I didn’t book this when in Singapore, but for just an experience I agreed to get the Express Pass since it’s only JPY 11 200 (JPY 10 371 without tax and *Prices may differ depending on the date).  The pass includes the following:

• Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
• Harry Potter/Forbidden Journey
• Spider-Man or Jurassic Park
• Jaws or Terminator or Backdraft.

Here’s what you will see in Klook’s promotion for the Express Pass:

Use the Express™ Pass on the best rides at Universal Studios like Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Minion Mayhem, The Flying Dinosaur, The Amazing Adventures of Spider Man, and more!

But we exactly don’t know what are the inclusions of MORE! 

We were so excited. It’s was a Sunday, so we expected that all rides are full and we needed to wait in the queue for a long time.

OUR USJ DAY

My 2nd USJ Experience.

And July 7 came– our USJ day. We left our hostel at 7:40 AM and we arrived at USJ at 9:00 AM. So what we had was only the Express Pass—and yes, we missed to purchase the 1 Day Studio Pass. With KLOOK it only costs Php 3 641 while if you buy it onsite, it’s almost Php 4500 (JPY 8 200). So again, Express Pass is NOT a park entry ticket. Park entry tickets must be purchased separately. 

Universal Studio Japan Fees

I was more excited with the Lupin vs Detective Conan ride but as of that moment, it was under construction. Our first ride was the Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, the schedule is at 09:40AM – 10:10 AM), sure, it was hassle-less. We save almost 1.5 hours waiting on the line, it only took us 10-15 minutes on the waiting line.

We were just waiting for 9:30 to get inside the Minion Mayhem.

We then decided to take our picture to the iconic Universal Studios globe and we were so fortunate that there were just a few people during that time— the best time to take a picture on the globe.

We waited until——

…few people left just for us to get a decent photo! 95% Achieved!

This was taken at 6PM– so, don’t wait for the late afternoon to take a photo on the iconic Universal Studios’ globe.

Before going back to the WWHoP – Wizarding World of Harry Potter, we joined the Extra Cool Summer: 360° Soak Party! We enjoyed the splish and splash and the artificial rain showers from the parade.

Everyone’s waiting for the parade.

After which we decided to go back again to WWoHP to take some pictures in the Dragon Alley and took the Flight of the Hippogriff (2 minutes) except for Tee. This was not included in the Express Pass since we already used it for the Forbidden Story. More story about WWoHP:

After our WWoP we went to JAWS, and this was our last use of Express Pass.

What happened after using the Express Pass?

I went to the River Adventure of Jurrasic Park & Hollywood Dream alone and queued for almost an hour each ride. 🙂

We left USJ at 7:30 PM and proceeded to Dotonbori.

Two views that face each other

My take: Overall, getting an express pass really depends on you and your priorities. Either you get it for you to avoid long lines (1-1.5) to only 3 – 7 rides depending on your options and budget but if you don’t you can only get the Studio Pass which you need to wait 1-1.5 hours per ride.

If you want to set aside the JPY 10 000 for other stuff in Japan, then you do not need to spend that amount just for the Express Pass. Just be patient and go there early for you to experience these awesome rides!