Japan With Kids: Universal Studios Japan And Super Nintendo World Without Buying Extra Tickets
The minute we heard that they had opened a Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan (USJ) we knew we had to visit! But so did everyone else who has ever played Mario Kart!
This is by far the busiest and most in demand area of the theme park and as a result, you can’t access without a separate ticket. This is similar to a ‘fast pass’ type ticket that you might get at a Disneyland Park.
There are two ways you can get into Super Nintendo World.
Buy A Universal Studios Japan Express Pass
First, you can buy a Universal Studios Japan Express Pass. We did this on our first day visiting the park. This gives you a designated time slot to use either 4 or 7 attractions in the park (depending on the pass you choose) and if you choose the Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge ride then not only will you get fast access to the ride, you also get guaranteed access to Super Nintendo World.
Prices for this pass start from £96. That’s on top of your usual park entry ticket, so it isn’t a cheap endeavour. But if its your one trip to Japan and your one shot to visit Super Nintendo World, you might think it’s worth it as a one off (we did!)
You can buy the Universal Studios Japan express pass from Klook here. We liked this because it was affordable and allowed you to choose the time slots for your attractions when booking. Use my code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra 5% off your booking.
We went all out and ordered the Universal Studios Express Pass 7. This included guaranteed access to Super Nintendo World, Harry Potter World, and 7 rides. These were
Admission to: Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge™ (Time-designated)
Admission to: Yoshi’s Adventure (Time-designated)
Admission to: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey™ (Time-designated)Admission to: Flight of the Hippogriff™ (Time-designated)
Admission to: Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
Admission to: The Flying Dinosaur
Admission to: [Choose One] Hollywood Dream – The Ride OR JAWS™
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This was PRICEY! I’m not going to pretend it wasn’t. We paid around £150 each for these passes. But what a day! We didn’t have to worry about queues, about getting into any of the ride areas, or about waiting for rides. We got on everything we wanted by walking straight on, and felt like real VIPs.
We wouldn’t do it again because money! But for a one-off experience it really can’t be beaten.
Here’s the link to book Express Tickets and you can use the same link to book General Admission Passes too.
Accessing Super Nintendo World With General Admission Passes
Don’t want to break the bank to visit a theme park? I get it! And on our second day of visiting Universal Studios we didn’t either. But we still managed to get access to visit Super Nintendo World without paying a penny extra. Here’s a step by step guide to tell you how:
- You’ll need to download the Universal Studios Japan app. There’s a link here to help.
- Via the app you can secure an area timed entry ticket. These go fast!
- To avoid disappointment get into the park as soon as possible. The park often opens between 30minutes-1 hour before its listed opening time, so get there early. You can’t get a timed access ticket until you’re in the park, which is what makes arriving early so important.
There is another trick that is sometimes successful. If you do get into the park early then go straight to Super Nintendo World. Don’t stop, don’t dawdle! Often they don’t put the timed entry system in place until the park officially opens, so if you can get to the entrance before that then you can get straight in.
Note: once you’re in, don’t leave Super Nintendo World. No matter which entry method you use, you won’t be able to come in and out as you please. Once you leave the world your time is up. No reentry is required.
What To Do In Super Nintendo World
There are actually only 2 rides in Super Nintendo World: Mario Karts Koopa’s Challenge and Yoshi’s Adventures. Mario Karts Koopa’s Challenge is by far the better ride, but Yoshis’s Adventures is fun for younger kids and a great way for everyone visiting to get a good view of the park too.
Despite there only being 2 rides, there are plenty of other fun attractions in the world to enjoy. There are characters to meet: We meet Mario, Luigi, and Toad. There was also a meet with Princess Peach, but the queue was too long for us.
What we loved best was the sensation that you were really inside a video game. There were play points where you could collect coins using your wrist band (sold separately) and when you had unlocked enough power point keys you could then go on to beat the ‘big boss’. Find out more about these here.
Finally, we are in Kinoppio’s Cafe: A toad-themed restaurant where all the food was Mario themed. We’d already had dinner at this point, so we indulged in all of the dessert options and there wasn’t a bad choice on the menu!
The theming was great too and there were huge screens on the walls where you could see the toads walking about toad land, until they fell victim to a Koopa attack! So much fun!
All in all we loved Super Nintendo World, and would definitely go back again on our next visit to Osaka. Read my other post about Universal Studios Japan here.
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