Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) Discussion Thread

p. 45: Donkey Kong Country announced for 2024!

Recommended Posts

I just started watching the actual presentation, I'll update this post with my observations below -

  • Oh look, Universal once again created a ridiculously small bottleneck right at the entrance again!  Great thinking!
  • The bottleneck somehow gets even smaller, we're talking like 1/3rd the size of the initial bottleneck.  Why?  Hell if I know.
  • The first look at the entire world upon entering the land is impressive as hell!
  • I'm realizing they should have named this land Super Mario World because there are zero other Nintendo IPs at work.
  • These wristbands are a great idea on paper, but I'm sure they'll prove to be a horrific idea in practice.  The park's medical department is going to see an influx in hand and wrist injuries if they're encouraging guests of all ages to slam their wrists into objects to interact.
  • Expanding on the wristband games, the POW Block game is cute but holy hell it'll be such a killer for traffic flow.  So many people are going to stop and watch or get in a line to try slamming their wrists into a block.  It'll be like a lazy man's DDR machine quarter lineup.
  • Alright that illusions in the underground area that makes you shrink size is fun.
  • Caramel Peach or Mushroom flavor options for popcorn.  I think I'll stick with Caramel Peach.
  • Toad's Kitchen looks pretty funky.  The food options weren't showcased outside of quick photos but they all looks super cute.  I'm curious if it's an entirely digital interaction with Chef Toad and his cronies in the kitchen.  No sign of wait staff at all.
  • Mario Kart took six years to develop.  Still no sign of the ride system.
  • Mario Kart isn't dueling.  Both sides are "Team Mario" and you're up against Bowser as he's designed this track specifically to finally beat Mario.

Overall the land looks stunning and the detail is incredible, I just don't think the execution with all of the interactive elements is going to make for a fun time in a small land with one of the most crowded locations in the world.  I had hoped the disaster of Harry Potter Land's capacity limits would have taught USJ a lesson or two but it seems more like they're doubling down on the problems created there.  I hope I'm wrong but I doubt it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, KBrylczyk said:
  • Mario Kart isn't dueling.  Both sides are "Team Mario" and you're up against Bowser as he's designed this track specifically to finally beat Mario.

As I said before, I'll wait until I ride it before final judgement but being completely honest, I get a little less excited with each press release. With the comparisons to MIB, I was hoping you'd at least be able to race each other and some kind of virtual red shell/banana against the other car/AR racers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The land looks FANTASTIC but I agree that it appears there will be a bottleneck problem and odd clusters and lines around the blocks and games. I'll have fun looking at the photo and video TRs when this opens, but I wouldn't want to be a part of the MASSIVE crowds this thing is going to draw until they expand the land a little more.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/24/2020 at 11:04 AM, Nrthwnd said:

To me, it looks like a smaller less spread out version of Disneyland's Toontown....with the entry and exit being one and the same. I wonder if they're going to have to deal with "crowd control" jamming into that corner of the park....

...Unless they've announced a Timed kind of entry system, already?

I posted this nearly a month ago. Still bears repeating, after seeing the recent video here, IMhO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am not the least bit worried about anything because it’s Japan. People will be polite and respectful, they will have plenty of staff...

the stateside versions will definitely need some changes to survive our guests. Especially the location at USH...lower lot doesn’t have anywhere to put people to wait to begin with...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The addition looks great.  I'd love to walk around it for a few hours. 

I can't imagine this place on a busy day.  Or the first year it's opened at any parks in the US.  I also thought it was odd they encourage punching the new addition.  People will be punching everything in there.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/19/2020 at 1:59 PM, Jew said:

I am not the least bit worried about anything because it’s Japan. People will be polite and respectful, they will have plenty of staff...

the stateside versions will definitely need some changes to survive our guests. Especially the location at USH...lower lot doesn’t have anywhere to put people to wait to begin with...


100% this.  "Survive our guests" is right, but even so, it's exciting to think some version of this is someday going to be very close.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

So one of the biggest things that always put me off revisiting USJ when we visited Osaka was how you couldn't do all the rides on one fast-pass set, even on the universal 7 you had to choose one of the 3-4 sets available with a headline ride, and even then the other tickets also made you choose between rides.

Well good news,now USJ finally has a premium tier which will give you one go on each ride. It will just cost you up to $355 on a March weekend per person and that's before you factor in admission tickets. Anyone want to guess how much the actual maximum will turn out to be in the summer months?

 

With Nintendo Land, there has been a shake-up on most of the other passes. The 7 guarantees one headliner that you choose (Sing,Backdrop, Space Fantasy, or Flying Dinosaur), one Minion ride, the two Harry Potter rides and now the two Nintendo Land rides. That means now only one ticket is left which is now (Jaws/Hollywood Dream). Jurassic Park (and potentially Shrek4D/Backdraft/Terminator when they reopen) have been bumped to only the premium tier except Spider-man which is now a 4/premium ride pass exclusive.

Although I think the only reason Spider-man's there is to try and make people buy multiple passes as well as split up Nintendo Land and since it means there are no cheap options that include both Nintendo Land rides because the 4 passes all include one headliner, one Spider-Man, and then only one or none of the Nintendo rides.

 

image.thumb.png.39863be9ff7e7f447a419cb8750c601f.png

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for this. Can I just sanity-check this as I feel I missed out by not studying Universal Express at university, such seems to be the complexity of their system 😅

Their website doesn't seem to be up to date or even particularly good, so from what I understand, Universal Express 7 includes:

  1. Forbidden Journey
  2. Flight of the Hippogriff
  3. Mario Cart
  4. Yoshi's Adventure
  5. Minion Mayhem OR Freeze Ray Sliders
  6. Jaws OR Hollywood Dream
  7. Sing OR Backdrop OR Flying Dinosaur OR Space Fantasy

Universal 4 I am less clear on. It used to include The Flying Dinosaur, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Spider-Man OR Hollywood Dream, and Jaws OR Backdraft OR Terminator. How do the new Nintendoland rides fit into this? And do you mean Spiderman is only on Universal Express 4 (and premium)?

For me I always felt Universal Express 4 was the best value, but with Nintendoland I am not so sure, so it would be nice to see a list to compare them. Assuming I ever get to Japan, of course 🙄

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Just don't ever ask me to throw HHN in there, that's the expert level course and I'm not brave enough to head out then. I think Robb and Elissa did that juggling act for a TPR trip though. As far as I'm aware the Minions ticket is only for Minion Mayhem, and Ice Sliders doesn't come up for premium so I'm assuming it doesn't have an express line but I haven't been in the park since it opened so someone else will have to confirm.

 

And yes, Spider-man seems to be exclusive to the 4 pass (and premium) and the choose Jaws/Hollywood Dream ticket for the 7 (and premium) with Jurassic Park so far the only one on the premium since Backdraft/Terminator/Shrek are closed due to corona they aren't even listed on the site yet. Also Hollywood Dream Back drop is only a choice on the 7 pass now as well. The Nintendo rides fit into the 4 set in that the choices only give you one of the two rides in there for the 4 set or none at all depending on your choice. Bare in mind every pass can have different prices form each other so I'm just going to list the rides and going from the Japanese site and the new express 4 options are.... now 7 different options...

 

  • 2 fast pass options- Sing, Minions, Spider-Man then one set offers Mario Kart and the other Yoshi (this is the only 4 set to give you Yoshi)
  • 3 fast pass options - Mario Kart, Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, Spider-Man and a choice of Flying Dinosaur, Minions or Space Fantasy (so no Backdrop in the 4 tier)
  • 2 fast pass options with no Nintendo Land - Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, Hippogryph roller-coaster, Spider-Man and a choice of Flying Dinosaur or Minions.

Tl;dr:

 

One Premium option (Everything)

Four Universal 7 options (Both Nintendo Land rides)

Seven Universal 4 options (One or none Nintendo Land rides)

 

Jurassic Park is exclusive to premium

Hollywood Dream Backdrop (as an option), Jaws/Hollywood Dream is exclusive to the 7 pass (and premium)

Yoshi is only on one option out of the 7 on the 4 pass, Mario Kart is on four of them (and premium)

Spider-Man is exclusive to the 4 pass (and premium)

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm glad they're finally doing a premium everything ticket and I imagine we'll see it up at the $750 level when things are back to normal!  When we had to negotiate their weird system for a visit during HHN we ended up buying four different express pass options and spent about $750 per person on the ONE day!!!! It's more than a little crazy, and don't forget they still also don't do re-entry!!!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's a difficult decision between the convenience of a pass that includes everything, or keeping both functioning kidneys. I'm thinking if/when I visit, the Express 7 with Flying Dinosaur might me my best option, then maybe try and use SRQ for everything else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^You also get guaranteed entry to Nintendo Land and Harry Potter area as part of that price, so you don't waste the morning rushing around to get an entry ticket to those lands. I always bought a 7 pass, my wife doesn't ride much but I used to buy a 4 for her and use her tickets just so she'd be able to go in the same time as me. There was never any guarantee in the park she'd be able to get the time that matched my express pass otherwise.

 

One good thing about the price increasing a lot is that even before corona, they weren't selling out almost a month in advance anymore. I remember one time we were planning a Japan trip and the passes were sold out so far in advance that you had to just pick a day without a weather forecast and pray to the weather gods.

 

With there being over 12 different options of fast pass now, I kind of wish the park would either add a option like Fuji-Q/Nagashima and let you buy individual tickets for each ride to skip the line or just simplify it into 3 options of premium/7/4 and then let you pick your own rides from a list online over all these fixed options e.g. Allowed only 1 of the big 4, then pick whatever else for your other 6.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/10/2021 at 2:20 AM, Garet said:

 

 

  • 2 fast pass options- Sing, Minions, Spider-Man then one set offers Mario Kart and the other Yoshi (this is the only 4 set to give you Yoshi)
  • 3 fast pass options - Mario Kart, Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, Spider-Man and a choice of Flying Dinosaur, Minions or Space Fantasy (so no Backdrop in the 4 tier)
  • 2 fast pass options with no Nintendo Land - Harry Potter Forbidden Journey, Hippogryph roller-coaster, Spider-Man and a choice of Flying Dinosaur or Minions.

 

What is Sing?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ First, I do hope they got pretty good matching singing voices, for each actor/character. Second, I notice that Porcupine Girl (forget her name) is in face makeup, so she will obviously sing live. What about the other masks the others have on, etc? Half masks and still singing live? Or a bit of (smiles) lip sync here and there throughout the show?

Just curious of me. 🎶

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Yes, especially Japan. I've seen people sit down ready for Fantasmic at TDS almost 4 hours before and people show up almost an hour early just to try the lottery for show tickets for night-time or theater shows at both the Japanese Disney parks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/13/2021 at 10:55 PM, KarlaKoaster said:

Super Nintendo Land, has been delayed due to the state of emergency in the Osaka prefecture. It was due to open on the 4th of February and they will decide on a new date once this has been lifted.

https://www.usj.co.jp/company/company_e/2021/0114.html

It was inevitable.

 

I think the Tokyo Olympics will end up getting axed this year too. I feel bad for Japan as I know they would have been great hosts and would have been prepared for it unlike other countries in the past. I don't know if they will push each host city's date back four years and let Tokyo host in 2024, but if not then the Olympic committee needs to give the next open Olympics to Tokyo. I know Tokyo isn't Osaka but I think the Olympic tourism would have trickled more people in Osaka and USJ. Not that USJ needs any more people to visit, they are plenty crowded already. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/