Japan Trip Report - September-October 2025

[TBoy]

Just thought I would make a thread for my trip to Japan, all my park visits will be listed here.

Universal Studios Japan - September 26, 2025

We went here the day after we landed. We got up around 6am, leaving at 6:45 and getting there at 7:05. There were a bit of crowds on the train but many were already there once we got to security:

We eventually got to the gates at 7:30, in which the park opened at 8. There were a decent amount of crowds here and we were a good way back from the front.

Anyways, we got in soon after. My first stop was to turn right, in which rode:

Hollywood Dream

A B&M Hypercoaster (not really a hypercoaster as the height is less than 200ft) As this was my first stop, crowds weren’t too bad. I went in standby in which the queue was listed as 15 minutes: it took around that long for me to get on. 

My first ride was the “Backdrop” where the train is facing backwards. I loved it: thrilling but not too intense to start my day. 

Space Fantasy The Ride/SpyxFamily XR Ride

 

A Mack Indoor Spinning Coaster, the ride usually switches between Space Fantasy and an anime-themed overlay, right now it’s SpyxFamily but has been other animes like Demon Slayer and Doremon.

The rides listed wait time was 60 minutes , though I used single rider and the wait was only 20-25 including the short preshow.

You’re supposed to put on VR headsets on this ride, in which it displays an animation themed to SpyxFamily in accordance with the track: mine wasn’t working so I lifted it up, allowing me to see what the ride looked like without they overlay. All the lights were on as if the ride was running normally.

An alright ride but I wouldn’t wait an hour for it.

Snoopy’s Flying Ace Adventure

This is the park’s new coaster, a Vekoma Family Coaster similar to Road Runner but shorter. This replaced another Snoopy themes coaster built by Senyo, and is the parks newest coaster, only opening a few months prior to my visit.

It’s alright for a kids coaster. The theming is good for something that small, simple but it fits in with the area. The coaster was also pretty good for something with young children as it’s target audience. Only a 10 minute wait so might as well get the credit.

JAWS

Originally built with the park in 2001, this is the last remaining version in the world after it’s clones in Florida and Hollywood closed years prior.

Not very intense but the wait was only 5 minutes so we decided to hop on. 

It’s a fun ride: love the audience interaction and the animatronics. The only bad thing is with SNW and Harry Potter it kind of ruins the sight lines, it’s obvious it wasn’t built with them in mind. Still better having that than no SNW/Potter though. 

[TBoy]

Flying Dinosaur 

This coaster is the best coaster I’ve ridden, probably doesn’t mean much as this is my first international park.

It’s a B&M Flying Coaster built in 2016 and a great addition to the park. Queues were short as we had fast passes. Very intense especially the pretzel loop section but I loved it. Whips you around and is very fast.
Very efficient operations with four trains, same with Hollywood Dream.

Only bad part is it can be a bit jolty at times but it’s a small negative, I can see why as 9 years of constantly running faster than most coasters would put a bit of age on it.

The main problem is with the locker system: what happens is you get a slip with a QR code from the ride assistants to scan onto a locker: this opens a locker where you put your stuff in. You take the slip on the ride with you, but what if it falls out? Would just like better communication, otherwise the ride is amazing.

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem

Since it was only 10:40 after doing those five and we had time to kill, we decided to do Minion Mayhem. It was listed as 40 minutes: it was a walk-on as we used single rider. This was the only ride in Minion Land we did: skipped Villain Con and Freeze Ray Sliders as the waits were too long.

Unlike the other clones of it around the world, this works more like BTTF/Simpsons, given it was converted from the former in 2017. You enter small pods of 8 rather than sitting in a room together, in which the pods are lifted up into one large room once the ride begins. 

It’s fine for what it is. Nothing too special but not the worst ride in the world. Audio was in Japanese but only the pre shows had English subtitles.

Jurassic World The Ride

 

After having a lunch break and a reride of Flying Dinosaur thanks to one of my family members who was too scared to go on (but had the pass with it), we decided to go on this.

Similar to Jurassic Park it’s animatronic heavy which I love. Theming is great and the drop/splashdown portion is the highlight of the ride. It gets you drenched: fountains burst alongside the splashdown.

Harry Potter

Nearly missed this as I went for a reride on Hollywood Dream (forwards this time) and my phone was missing. I found it luckily and off I went.

Theming is great throughout the land: no Hagrids and it’s a clone but it’s one of the most beautiful areas in the park.

Forbidden Journey

A simulator/dark ride hybrid, it’s wonderfully themed with large portions of attention and detail given. It’s very intense: more than I was expecting. Only 10-15 minutes wait due to our express passes.

The interesting part is that near the end of the ride it broke down in front of a screen. No evacuations: the ride restarted a few minutes later. We got to ride it again which we took advantage of. Not a good idea though: the other two I went with were sick.

Flight of the Hippogriff

A nice ride for the kiddies, it’s a clone of Road Runner at Movie World. Unlike that, the theming is a lot better, Hagrids Hut and other things located as scenery in the queue. Very nice theming for a kids coaster.

Super Nintendo World

It’s a miracle we even got here: a family member got sick from Forbidden Journey and we had to take care of them. They got better and off we went to SNW.

I loved the interactivity through the land, only got 1 of three keys as we had to go to our timed entries so couldn’t finish the Bowser Jr Minigams.

Koopa’s Challenge

The headline attraction of the park. Even with express tickets it was still a 30+ minute wait due to how popular it is. 

I loved it although I wished the glasses were bigger. It didn’t fill my vision and at times it would feel like some characters would just disappear or have only one half of their body visible.

Yoshi’s Adventure

A simple and slow yet fun ride which gives amazing views, especially as the sun sets. One of the things you was hit the eggs located on your vehicle the same time you saw it: I found all three yet no prize.

The wait was 65 minutes yet we only waited 15. Gives great views but best skipping if 65 is stated.

Mine Cart Madness

Added to the park last year, this is the newest addition to SNW along with the Donkey Kong Country mini area.

The wait was 120 minutes: although we only waited 15 with our express passes. It isn’t very long or fast but it’s a fun overall ride for what it’s worth.

 

We had dinner after this and I went on a night ride of Flying Dinosaur: took around 45 minutes although the queue seemed to be getting longer and longer as I waited.
 

Didn’t have time for the mazes: we left after I finished Flying Dinosaur although we did see some performers wondering around the park from around 7 onwards. Universal Wonderland and Minion Land weren’t “haunt zones”: you could spot the performers around the rest of the park, especially in the main circle around the lake.

Overall I had a great day. Good planning meant I got on everything I wanted with time for rerides. There are some flaws with the language difference between the workers (Japanese) and my group (English) but everything else was great. Very efficient operations as well (except for Space Fantasy which only had one half of the trains operating for some reason).

Edited 2 hours ago by TBoy