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Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/7/25 16:38
How long is the queue to enter the wizarding world? And if we go there around 11am is it too late? I heard some of them already arrive at the gate at 7am, because they need to get a timed-ticket to enter the harry potter theme park?

I think the HP park has been around for quite a while, so is it still busy during this time? And I am planning to go there on 31 August (Wednesday), is it still during the school holiday? I'm just wondering whether its worth getting the VIP pass so we can get into the HP world or just get the normal ticket.

Last time I went to disneyland and it wasn't during the school holiday but I saw a lot of students in their uniform there. Do they usually go to theme park for school trips?

Thanks
by Bafabifi  

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/7/25 17:18
There is famous for school trips.
31th august is still during the school holiday, I expect there will be very crowded.

Here is USJ's official site :)
http://www.usj.co.jp/e/

I hope to you have a nice day!

by Kiki (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/7/25 17:28
USJ is always crowded, and will only be more so during school holidays. People really do arrive very early, and it's not unusual for the park gates to open early due to the large crowd!

The HP area has been there for a while, but still requires a timed ticket to enter! You should be able to get at timed ticket after 11am (I did when I arrived at 3pm once), but it will be for later in the day. However, there will definitely be long lines for everything.

By VIP pass, I assume you mean the Express Pass? If you do get one, buy a 5 or a 7 as these get you express entry into the HP Forbidden Journey ride. The Express Pass also gives you a time to enter the HP area (normally you scan your entrance ticket at a machine near the HP area to get a time). Express Passes sell out very quickly though; if you arrive at 11 they will be gone for sure. You can buy them online ahead of time.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/7/26 02:53
You need to be very early for USJ like getting there at 8am the latest (better at 7am). And you definitely need to get the express ticket if you want to get into some popular attractions (make sure to get the one that includes HP ride). Without an express ticket, the more popular attractions will set you around 3 hours to line up for each (HP will be even more).
by Indra G (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/7/26 03:17
Ok, might actually skip this if the crowd is too large XD only interested with the Harry Potter but not sure if I can handle the queue (does it get better later towards night, or its actually worse?) Because if there are lots of students on school trip, they might leave at certain time in the afternoon?
by Bafabifi rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/7/26 08:49
If it's school holidays, the kids will be there freely, not on a school trip. They'll leave when they feel like it.

I've heard crowds can get better towards the end of the day (you can find crowd estimators online), but I doubt that will be the case in the school holidays. There's also a cheaper ticket for entry after 3pm, and there might be lots of people taking advantage of that.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/9/3 10:10
A little update incase anyone needs this.

I went to USJ on 31 Aug, crowds was ok. It was quite full but not super crazy like mentioned in some blogs. I queued a bit to purchase the ticket (arrived around 12pm), and queued some more to get pass the gate. Then I got the HP Timed ticket for 1:30-2:30pm. The forbidden journey queue is 120minutes so I skipped that, but I got the express pass 3 (which allowed me to get on some rides without queue). When we arrived only express pass 3 is available and the other pass has sold out.

With express pass, the queue is between 5 - 10 minutes (eg: flying dino), so I recommend getting it if you don't like queueing. But EP3 doesn't get you to HP rides.

I found the HP world is a bit small and quite a disappointment though. But it was a fun experience nonetheless.
by Bafabifi rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/9/3 16:49
What a shame you didn't go on the Forbidden Journey ride - it's amazing and was my favourite part of the HP area.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/9/29 14:29
I just want to clarify something about Harry Porter, because I read from different websites, they seems to be contradicting each other.

To enter Harry Porter, you don't necessary need a timed ticket OR Express Pass? If you are early enough, you can just enter there before the major crowd comes. Please confirm if this is correct.

Once you are in Harry Porter Park, you can stay there as long as you want or you need to get out after certain hours?

I'm planning to go in mid Oct, do you think the crowd would be fine?

thanks.
by Jazzmint rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/9/29 15:12
If you are one of the first people to enter the Harry Potter (not Porter) section, then no, you don't need a timed ticket. However, to do this you would need to be the park well before the gates open - people run straight for the HP area to get in first!

You are allowed to spend as long as you like in the HP area. Once you use up your timed ticket and leave, though, you cannot re-enter.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/9/29 17:44
The length of the line and how early you have to get there really depends on the day.

Even on a weekend as long as it is not a three-day weekend or during school breaks/school trips, it is possible to get into the Harry Potter area after arriving around 9am (no timed ticked required). The ride wait was less than an hour.

I have also arrived at 9am on a weekend and not gotten in. My time ticket was for around 10:30 and the ride wait was a little over an hour.

If you go in the afternoon into the Harry Potter area I've always seen the ride wait as 2-3 hours...sometimes even 4. I think it's one of the best rides in the park though and worth it if it's your first time. The line wait does get shorter towards the evening.
by mushrooms (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/25 21:47
HI! I'm going to visit USJ on 28 November. Just wanna ask if what kind of ticket do i have to purchase? kinda confused on the different kinds of ticket being mentioned here. how can i purchase it online? is that better than buying ticket outside the park? i will just explore the shops and restaurants inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. As much as i love to try every rides, i can't due to heart condition.

Thanks.
by jennymendoza (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/25 21:56
You need to get the entrance ticket (I think around 7,400yen), which lets you enter the park and play all the rides but you need to queue (sometimes the queue are very long). If you want to go to harry potter world, after you enter the park you need to go to the harry potter area, then you will get a timed entry ticket (this is free and can only be used once and within the specified time. If you want to beat the queue, you need to purchase an express pass (this is on top of the entrance ticket). And depending on the level of express pass, it will let you on some rides with short queue (about 5-10 minutes instead of say 60 minutes).

If you just want to get inside the usj and not getting on any rides then the entrance ticket should suffice. You can then go to the harry potter area (do this as soon as you get inside the park) to get the timed ticket. I didn't purchase the tickets online so not sure about online websites.
by Bafabifi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/27 17:16
You just need the 1-Day Studio Pass. You do not need an express pass as you are not planning on getting on any rides. Just make sure to get the timed-ticked once you get into the park.

https://www.usj.co.jp/e/ticket/

The area for the timed ticket is past the Harry Potter area. If you look on a park map, it'll show you. 28 November is also a Monday so I would hope it wouldn't be too crowded at USJ. You might not even need a timed ticket!

You can buy the tickets online on the Japanese website and they will send you a barcode for entrance. If you can't read Japanese, it seems like the above link has some links to travel agencies that can help you. There isn't a difference between buying online and at the gates. The only thing is that you may have to wait in line to purchase the ticket at the gates.

Once you are in the Harry Potter area, don't forget to do the Castle Walk since you can't ride Forbidden Journey!
by mushrooms (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/27 21:47
I kind of screwed up when I went there in 2014. Got my HP World timed entry ticket and went in that bit later on. We then spent about an hour looking around before joining the queue to the big ride. But by then it was about an hour until the park closed and the wait time was apparently 150 minutes! Maybe they would have let us stay and ride, but a week earlier at Disneyland we spent about half an hour queuing for some ride when they came along and made the back hundred or so people leave (including us) because they wouldn't get to the front before the park closed, and I didn't want to risk the same thing happening again! So the moral of the story is go on the ride first if you enter HP World near that end of the day!
by Tim (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/28 04:13
I have a question.

The park entry ticket for 1 day cost 7,400 yen total, this is clear.

But when i enter the Express pass page there are two prices like this:

6,389 yen
(6,900 yen with tax)
-
12,223 yen
(13,200 yen with tax)

What does it mean?
The express pass cost 6900+13,200?? 20,100 yen the entry and the express pass for one day?

Or the express pass cost only 13,200 yen?

If someone can clarify this.

Thanks!
by MRey (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/28 04:54
@MRey
The price of the express pass varies depending on the day. During peak season (school holidays) the express pass will be more expensive. They only sell a limited number of express pass, so you might want to buy this in advanced (or go there earlier). I only got express pass 3 when I went there last time (purchased from booth on the day) and it doesn't include the harry potter ride.
by Bafabifi (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: Harry Potter at Universal Studio 2016/10/28 07:56
Only certain Express Passes include the HP Forbidden Journey ride, so make sure you purchase the right one. The USJ website should have all the information about the different Express Passes.
by sq (guest) rate this post as useful

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