6th June, 2018
We had one main reason for visiting Osaka – to blow the kids minds at Universal Studios!
This day was something we had been talking about since before we left Australia last November, and were all so looking forward to. The kids live and breathe all things Harry Potter, and they were simply bursting at the seams with excitement!
We stayed at Hotel Universal Port which was so convenient, located right near the train station, and a 4 minute walk to the park itself.
We’d booked a family room and the kids were able to see the evening lights and rollercoasters from their beds, it was very cool!
The Hotel Universal Port is an official Universal Studios partner hotel, and from the moment you walk into the lobby, decorated like the set of the Minion movies, you’re teleported back to your childhood. There is an incredible aquarium-like fish tank at the reception desk, water fountains and Minions everywhere, as well as a Universal Studios store packed full of merchandise and sweet treats.
There was also a ticket booth in the lobby which makes purchasing park tickets very quick and easy.
Ticket Information & Prices:
1 Day Park Pass (including tax)
Adults – $94AUD
Children – $65AUD
2 Day Park Pass (including tax)
Adults – $159AUD
Children – $107AUD
Universal Express Pass:
An additional option is to purchase an Express Pass which means you get to skip to the front of the line on the popular rides, which can take hours off the wait time on busy days.
There are two options depending on the rides you’re interested in.
Express Pass Price:
Express 4 (allows you to skip the queue at the top 4 main attractions) – $62AUD
Express 7 (allows you to skip the queue at the top 7 main attractions) – $90AUD
* Adults and Children are the same price, and please note that the cost of the Express Pass is on top of the ticket price.
The kids had done quite a bit of googling and had discovered that the best week days to visit to avoid huge crowds, was either Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
We were visiting on a Tuesday, so we decided not to spend the additional few hundred dollars and chance our luck.
As it turned out, we made the right decision. The longest wait time we had the whole day was 20 minutes on the “Be a Minion” ride.
The park opens at 9am, so we arrived at about 8:30am to line up.
As soon as we entered, we headed straight for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which occupies about a quarter of the park.
I must say, it was a pretty emotional moment seeing the kids sprinting through The Forbidden Forrest and into Hogsmeade. I actually had a staff member come and check on me as she could see me wiping away my (happy) tears.
The Wizarding World was incredible! They have covered every single detail and we truly did feel like we had stepped right into a Harry Potter film. It was just amazing.
We spent over 5 hours in the Harry Potter area – enjoying the rides, shopping in Ollivanders for Wands. Ron Weasley for Spencer, Hermione Granger for Lily.
We sipped Butter Beer and enjoyed the stage shows.
The rest of the park is very easy to navigate and the one day park pass was perfect. We were able to see everything with time to spare.
There are different “neighbourhoods” – New York, Hollywood and San Francisco, and we can now say “We’ve had pizza in New York…”
We also really loved the Minion Park. So much colour and cuteness at every turn.
The kids LOVED this area – so much fun!
As always, we had to pose for photos with characters. Shrek and Hello Kitty were the favourites.
We all jumped on to the Tea Cup ride for a laugh. The boys LOVED it!
The whole park is corner after corner of fun and thrill rides. We had one more visit to Harry Potter world before we left for the day. Leaving at closing time, it was just so beautiful seeing everything up in lights.
As we walked out of the park, we looked back at the Universal Studios sign one last time and the kids thanked us for “The best day of their lives…”
I think we did good!
Thanks for another ripper day to add to the memory bank Japan.
Big love,
The Tribe x
her life and loves 
Pingback: Kyoto, Japan – I love you! – her life and loves
Pingback: Osaka, Japan – her life and loves