A Universal-ly Good Time at Universal Studios Osaka

After our visit to Tokyo and Seoul, we flew to Osaka. Once in Osaka, we located the airport transfer we booked through Klook and departed for The Singulari Hotel & SkySpa at Universal Studios Japan. Since we had already had a long day exploring the bamboo forest and monkey park in Seoul, as well as hours of travel between airport transfers and the flight, we were exhausted. Once we dropped our bags off at the hotel, we ventured out to the neighboring mall (right outside Universal Studios) and stopped at Gottie’s Beef for dinner.

Once we finished our dinner, we went straight back to the hotel to sleep with plans to go to Universal the following day.

We woke up the next morning, and it was pouring rain. Naturally, right? One of the lone days at a theme park and it rains. But…if it were going to rain on any of the days while we were in Japan, it was good it was not during one of the days we planned to see Mount Fuji or the red torii gates.

We made the most of it and when it was all said and done, the girls had the time of their lives especially inside the Sesame Street area within Universal Wonderland.

In this post, we are breaking down our experiences with each of the rides during our rainy day visit to Universal Studios Osaka.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

122 cm (~48″/~4′) or taller

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Forest: although our oldest was tall enough to go on this ride (twice, mind you), she did admit she was pretty scared during this ride due to the dementors. This ride is also virtual reality, or VR so if you get motion sick, we highly recommend either taking Dramamine beforehand or skipping this one altogether.

92 cm (~36″/~3′) or taller

Flight of the Hippogriff: this roller coaster was a HUGE hit for the whole family and was made even better with short lines due to the rain. When the rain slowed down, the line to get on the ride was really small so we were able to ride it twice. Fair warning though: just be mindful, although this is a fun ride, it is extremely short ride so if the wait times are long, you’ll need to decide for yourself if it’s worth the wait.

No height restrictions

Ollivanders: on our first time in the wand shop, our oldest was selected for a wand. She was completely enamored and could not stop talking about the experience for months after being selected. We attempted to get our youngest selected by entering the wand shop six more times (not joking) and even though she was the only child during two of the visits, we’re convinced her height inhibited her from being selected since she couldn’t fully see over the table. After the last attempt, we entered the actual shop, acted like we didn’t know which wand was calling to her, and one of the cast members helped make the experience special for her.

Wand Magic: in the Universal parks that have The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there are locations throughout the park where you can practice your magic by making specific movements with your wand. Unfortunately, we went to a few locations, and they were either not working for anyone, or seemed to only work for the occasional guest. The girls were a little disappointed it didn’t work for them, but they also just loved carrying their wands around with their heads held high. They were thoroughly convinced they were students of Hogwarts.

Universal Wonderland

92 cm (~36″/~3′) or taller

Elmo’s Go-Go Skateboard: this ride was a huge hit for the whole family. The ride lasted a decent amount of time, and the line was pretty short due to the sporadic rain throughout the day. We definitely recommend riding!

Moppy’s Balloon Trip and The Flying Snoopy: this type of ride is always a huge hit with the kids, but they’re a “nose goes” ride for the parents. Both of these were rides that take you up into the air, take you around in a circle for a minute or two, then lowers you back to the ground. The girls loved both of them. We sucked it up.

Age restriction: children 3 – 5 (includes preschool 6 year olds)

Elmo’s Little Drive: of all the things we did in the entire park, Elmo’s Little Drive was probably our youngest daughter’s favorite. Since her sister was able to do some of the bigger rides, there weren’t many rides that only she could do. Elmo’s Little Drive is only for kids between 3 and 5 years old, and adults are not allowed to join. She not only felt like she got some freedom, but she also had a blast driving the car, running it into some of the other drivers, and putting the pedal to the metal when whipping around the corners. Highly recommend this one if you have a kid between the ages of 3 and 5.

No height restrictions

Bert and Ernie’s Wonder: The Sea, Abby’s Magical Party, Elmo’s Bubble Bubble, and Grover’s Construction Company are all indoors and were perfect for our kiddos (ages 4 and 6). Due to the rain, we ended up spending four hours in this area.

Moppy’s Lucky Dance Party: did you know Moppy is a Sesame Street character exclusive to Universal Studios Japan? In the indoor space within Universal Wonderland, Moppy makes the occasional appearance with a dance party. The girls loved following along and getting up to dance with this beloved Japanese Sesame Street character. Our youngest actually loved Moppy so much, she asked for a Moppy stuffed animal to take home with her.

Hello Kitty’s Cupcake Dream: spinning teacups. That’s all you need to know here. Riders beware. Ha!

Amity Village

122 cm (~48″/~4′) or taller

Jaws: our oldest actually surprised us when she agreed to go on this ride. While our youngest took a nap in the LÍLLÉbaby 3-in-1 Ergonomic CarryOn Airflow Toddler Carrier (one of our travel essentials with young kids), our oldest went on this ride with dad. Suffice it to say, she said she wouldn’t be riding it again because of how scared she was during the ride. When our youngest woke up, she was adamant about going on it as well which convinced the oldest to go back on it as well.

On this ride, you hop on a boat, and you’re navigated through water while the boat captain is narrating. Throughout the ride, a shark pops up on different sides of the boat, similar to the shark in the Jaws movie. Our youngest absolutely loved it and asked to ride it again.

Minion Park

122 cm (~48″/~4′) or taller

Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem: this is another VR ride that our oldest really enjoyed. You hop on board a vehicle where you’re transported to Gru’s laboratory. You’re thrown into absolute mayhem with the minions, Gru, and his three daughters. Again, this is one we highly recommend taking Dramamine beforehand if you get motion sick or you can just close your eyes throughout the ride and ask your kiddo all about it when the ride is over.

How does this Universal Studios stack up to others?

Our visit to Universal Studios Osaka was honestly a little hard to compare with other Universal parks we have gone too. Not only was this the first Universal Park the girls had visited, but we were also extremely limited on what we could or couldn’t do due to the rain. Regardless of the weather, the girls had the time of their lives, especially in the Universal Wonderland indoor play area. If you’re in the Osaka area with kids, we recommend visiting this park. It allows the kids to run off some energy and get a little break from all the sightseeing. Although the weather wasn’t ideal for us, we still had a great time and hope to visit again in the future.