We are the bravest parents in the world. Why? Because we took the kids to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka during Spring Break! It was insane.
Our cruise port was in Kobe and so we hopped in cabs after lunch and made the 40-minute drive to Osaka for a day of fun. I can’t tell you how excited the kids were when we arrived.
Our first ride was JAWS, a ride in a boat where we got to be “attacked” by giant sharks and see water explosions. All six of us rode this one together (after waiting in line for ~110 minutes!).
After JAWS, we did a quick check to see if we would be able to get into Super Nintendo World (an area we were really hopeful to get to go) but we couldn’t because all entry tickets were sold out and we didn’t win the lottery for the day. So, unfortunately, that would not happen for us on this trip. At this point, we split up for a little bit. Matthew, Ryan, and I went to Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, an immersive ride where you sit in a roller coaster-like car and watch a video on a huge domed screen. The car would move up, down, and all around to make it feel like you were going through the animation alongside the characters. It mimicked a game called Minion Rush and was a cool experience. (For the record, we stood in line ~130 minutes for this ride! We passed the time playing chess and pool against each other on our phones.)
While we were at our ride (and in line), John, Rook, and Audrey went to My Hero Academia: The Real 4-D. In this attraction, you sit in a seat in a huge auditorium and watch a 3-D movie about some superheroes based on the popular animated series My Hero Academia. While things happen in the movie, your seat vibrates, you get sprinkled with water, and other things to make it feel like you’re a part of the action.
After this, we all met up again and ate dinner at Three Broomsticks in the Harry Potter area of the park. The food was actually pretty good.
After dinner, we split up one last time. This time, Rook, Audrey, Matthew, and John left for Hollywood Dream – Backdrop. This was an exciting roller coaster with some loops and fun twists and turns. It provided cool views of the park, and at night so the lights were really cool. (They were in line ~140 minutes!)
While they did that, Ryan and I went and watched Detective Conan 4-D Live Show: Jewel Under the Starry Sky. This was a 3-D movie (like My Hero Academia) with seats that vibrated, etc. The only difference was that there were also live actors who made it seem like the characters came out of the screen and ran through the audience. After this show, we were able to see My Hero Academia.
After My Hero Academia, we went to Hollywood Dream to see if we could catch the others after their ride (in case they got out before our meet-up time). As luck would have it, some nice strangers gave us some express tickets to shoot to the front of the line in 2 minutes, so we were able to ride the roller coaster as well!
While waiting for us to finish our turn on the roller coaster, the other four did a little shopping. Don’t you love the Mario-themed souvenirs?
At this point, the park was closing so it was time to catch some cabs back to the port. Without a doubt, we all had a fun time!
