Universal Studios Japan General Discussion

[UNIrd]

Yeah, I had to do lottery for shows at TDL and TDR. It's a thing over there.

 

[DragonSlayer]

5:54 am and I'm officially sitting on the Nozomi Shinkansen about to leave Tokyo - all being well and barring navigation issues I should be at USJ in around three hours! Will be sure to report back my thoughts...

 

[DragonSlayer]

Will save a proper write-up for when I'm home and have my photos on the laptop, but what an amazing park! Beautiful and really well laid-out with an exceptional atmosphere, incredible entertainment (15th anniversary street ents and parade, day time Halloween stuff and HHN all at the same time), great rides from things like Jaws and Spiderman to Space Fantasy, Hollywood Dream, and The Flying Dinosaur, and that Wizarding World is just something else. Whoever designed the Wand Magic show deserves a medal, and the death eaters... Oh my. Oh my indeed!

Had one of those days where luck was on my side and everything just worked. Saw everything, went on every ride multiple times, and spent far too much on merch. Incredible!

 

[Yukendoit]

So here's some footage of death eaters in action.

 

[quinnmac000]

Universal COOL has been extended to a 6 month stint this year....with the focus on The "Evangelion XR Ride" that will feature virtual reality goggles to give patrons a 360-degree experience. The attraction will feature at the Space Fantasy – The Ride in the park, and will be offered from January 13 to June 25. This is the third Evangelion attraction that the park has provided, after the "Evangelion the Real 4D" in 2015, and last year's "Evangelion the Real 4D: 2.0."

And Attack on Titan has been upgraded to a 4D theatre....
Universal Studios Japan to Offer Evangelion, Attack on Titan Attractions in January - Interest - Anime News Network

Another fun note which will be interesting to see...NBCUniversal has ramped up their anime production in Japan and rumours of them buying some other anime production companies as well.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Another fun note which will be interesting to see...NBCUniversal has ramped up their anime production in Japan and rumours of them buying some other anime production companies as well.

I am wondering if they may try to get A-1, TRIGGER, MADHOUSE or Bones but that is just my curiosity..

 

[Yukendoit]

Universal COOL has been extended to a 6 month stint this year....with the focus on The "Evangelion XR Ride" that will feature virtual reality goggles to give patrons a 360-degree experience. The attraction will feature at the Space Fantasy – The Ride in the park, and will be offered from January 13 to June 25. This is the third Evangelion attraction that the park has provided, after the "Evangelion the Real 4D" in 2015, and last year's "Evangelion the Real 4D: 2.0."

And Attack on Titan has been upgraded to a 4D theatre....
Universal Studios Japan to Offer Evangelion, Attack on Titan Attractions in January - Interest - Anime News Network

Another fun note which will be interesting to see...NBCUniversal has ramped up their anime production in Japan and rumours of them buying some other anime production companies as well.

Don't forget that they are also doing Sengoku Jidai the Real, basically The Warring States, the real. Off property at Osaka castle. Which is pretty insane,
I'm excited to see that Evangelion ride and since they mention they will be doing a 360 attraction means they will be using both sides of the Space Fantasy attraction, instead of just the front. Which is what they used for the Kyary Pamyu Pamyu ride. The line for that could have seriously been up to three hours, which is CCCCCRAZY LONG.

Also Dragonslayer, do you have a review up?

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Here is a Theme Park Insider article about USJ"s Minions Park opening in the first half of 2017.
Universal is bringing its Minions to Japan

 

[DragonSlayer]

Also Dragonslayer, do you have a review up?

I've been insanely busy so might be a while unfortunately. Arrived back in the UK the night before heading straight back to university (wrote uni out of habit, then realised that on this site that would be misconstrued!) so I've not had a chance yet, but even if it has to wait until Christmas I'll get around to it eventually.

 

[GadgetGuru]

Here is a Theme Park Insider article about USJ"s Minions Park opening in the first half of 2017.
Universal is bringing its Minions to Japan

Are they opening up an on-site hotel as part of this? The press release very nonchalantly says that USJ is opening a hotel as part of this expansion.

 

[Yukendoit]

Some more footage of the Deatheaters in action!

 

[quinnmac000]

Are they opening up an on-site hotel as part of this? The press release very nonchalantly says that USJ is opening a hotel as part of this expansion.

Correct.

 

[DragonSlayer]

Thought I'd procrastinate from work by throwing a few quick unedited (sorry) photos up. I have some better ones which give some wider perspectives on the layout / aesthetic of the park, and other which I've not sorted through yet, but these are just a few things I thought were interesting (or super freaking cool, as the case often was):

IMG_0938 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr
Pretty amazing 15th Anniversary entrance feature

DSC_0369 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr

DSC_0371 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr
Flying Dinosaur, because, obviously. Far less obtrusive in person than you would think from the photos.

DSC_0328 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr
Halloween decorations in the Wizarding World. Perfect match for the art style of the films, so I would suggest probably designed / approved by Gilmore's team -- makes it even more strange that they don't appear in the US.

IMG_0947 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr
People who claim the show building is really obvious here are jealous and looking for things to criticise.

DSC_0424 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr
Insane excess of amazing seasonal events and entertainment part one: anniversary parade. Put USF's Superstar Parade to shame in a way that only the combination of the usual Universal atmosphere and energy combined with Japanese music, Japanese fashion-inspired costumes and loads of giant foam cannons can.

IMG_0969 by IOA_Adam, on Flickr
Insane excess of amazing seasonal events and entertainment part two: daytime seasonal additions combining the anniversary celebration and halloween -- with regular anniversary things happening and regular night-time HHN things happening, the totally unique combination of things specifically designed for the tiny crossover of halloween and the anniversary made it feel like a totally unique experience being there at that particular time. The "Halloween Re-booooorn!" branded stuff was a great way of making a totally unique seasonal offering but also making the days feel like halloween in a fun, inclusive way rather than just focussing on HHN.

Will post more (better) photos and more recollections and musings as time permits...

 

[quinnmac000]

Not my video but for people who has done this was it entertaining?

 

[Yukendoit]

Not my video but for people who has done this was it entertaining?

It's mostly for families with young children, but it's super cute. You get an Ipad and a yokai watch. I've honestly never seen the source material but you start off in a old west saloon your told that you have to catch yokai inorder to fight the oniking. A door opens and your in a Japanese market town, interacting with enviroment to find the hidden yokai. You catch them using your watch and then after time is up you have to select the Yokai of your choosing to fight the ONIKING with a group. You have to press down on your watch to trigger the attack. It's really cool, but I'd recommend going at the end of the night on a weekday because there is usually no wait then.

 

[malice]

Christmas is coming to The Wizarding World beginning 11/18. From what I am able to glean from the photos and limited Japanese, it looks to consist of holiday decor, an interactive tree, and wand magic falling snow. I'll be visiting in December so this is a welcome surprise!


http://www.usj.co.jp/the-wizarding-world-of-harry-potter/christmas2016/

https://www.youtube.com/embed/dEFj5Sqz4SQ?feature=oembed

 

[AlexanderMBush]

USJ is apparently celebrating the holidays in Hogsmeade this year with..some interesting things.

Universal Studios Japan Gets An Awesome Harry Potter Christmas And We Don't | TravelPulse

 

[Yukendoit]

Speaking of Harry Potter out here. Here is a great overview of what the Wizarding World looks like at night here at Universal Studios Japan!

 

[Mad Dog]

Speaking of Harry Potter out here. Here is a great overview of what the Wizarding World looks like at night here at Universal Studios Japan!

Nice job. I enjoyed that. :thumbsup:

 

[Yukendoit]

Nice job. I enjoyed that. :thumbsup:

Many thanks for that!