Unlike Disneyland, you Universal Studio will not keep you in a fantasy bubble but bring you to different worlds that your favorite movie has created. One can be riding hippogriff during the day and be eating bananas with minions by night.
In August 2019, my friend and I paid a visit to the Osaka Universal Studio and absolutely fell in love with our experience.
We arrived 30 minutes before noon and the park is already filled with people. We only learnt that ticket price surges during peak season. We paid double of the normal price for an admission ticket and four fast passes. However, the fast passes are so worth because we did not stay in line longer than 30 minutes despite the popularity of each ride.
In May 2019, I was at California’s universal studio and was upset over the lack of exciting rides they have at the park but Osaka’s did not disappoint me one bit. Osaka’s universal studio comprises rides for grown adults that seek excitement like crazy rollercoasters from the Jurassic Park world and cute ones like the Minion 4D ride.
Spider-Man Ride
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman is our first stop at Osaka’s universal studio. We walked through the old but classic comic style spider-man story board, put on our 4D glasses, sat on a cart and ready to embark on the amazing adventures.
We followed Spider Man around New York City to fight the evil characters and save people from danger for roughly 5 minutes. For people who seek for more excitements, even though this ride is not a roller coaster but it is still very enjoyable. For people who are scared of roller coasters, my friend too was scared of roller coaster but he enjoyed the ride very much and did not experience any kind of panic attack while riding it.
The Forbidden Journey with Harry Potter
It is Hogwart’s open day and muggles like you and me are invited to visit the castle. During your journey, you would be part of a Quidditch game and get chase down by dementors. However, like all storylines, Hogwarts students will come save the day.
The ride is the exact same one as the one I went on in California. However, because my friend cannot handle “intensive” rides so this time I went on alone. I love Harry Potter to death but frankly I don’t particular enjoy the ride. There was too much spinning throughout the journey and when I finished the ride, it took me a good few minutes to recover from the ride and get a grasp of the ground.
A redeeming factor of this ride is the beautiful interior of the castle you get to enjoy while you are waiting for your turn. If you have been dreaming about visiting Hogwarts, the wait will take you on a brief tour around the school and I have never been feel so close with the school that J. K. Rowling portraits.
Merchandise
Shopping at universal studio can be expensive but the Osaka universal studio merchandise are incredibly cute and well designed. Japan is known for their well wrapped gifts and Universal Studio also have the same cultural element in it. I was not able to leave the Harry Potter gift shop, picking and choosing the cutest merchandise that will make me a little bit more magical on a normal day. I also picked up a chocolate banana Minion cookie for my supervisor at work that he absolutely adored.
Sometimes I wonder if I can live in the Hogsmade village that universal studio built forever?
