I went to USJ in late September with my girlfriend, so here are my unsolicited opinions and tips.
We got to the park for about 7.40. There were already large queues to get in. The gates opened around 8, and we were in for 8.20. People immediately were running for SNW. We headed there too, so that we could 'tick it off' early. If you aren't worried about SNW, or are happy to chance for it later in the day, this is a great time to go on the other big rides, which have much smaller queues early on. Donkey Kong already had a 2-hour queue by half 8. Our first ride was Mario Kart, which had a 45-minute queue. Dinosaur and Hollywood were 15 mins. In hindsight we would have tried to get there for perhaps 7.15ish to be one of the first in.
The only ride we wanted to, but didn't get to, ride was Donkey Kong, because the queues were around 3-hours long pretty much the entire day. We rode all the other big rides.
We were glad to have got the 4-ride Express Pass. After getting 3 other rides done in the morning, it guaranteed us entry on all the other rides we wanted to try. This meant we could relax a bit, and savour walking round all the different areas of the park. It probably saved a total of 3-4 hours of our day. We didn't feel the 7-ride pass would have been worth the extra cost. We got the Backdrop pass, which turned out to have our 3 favourite rides.
- Hippogriff – Reasonably fun, but not worth queueing over 15 minutes for. 4/10
- Forbidden Journey x 2 – Very thrilling and surprisingly scary, with fantastic tie-in to the films and queue-line scenery. Got in once with Express. 9/10.
- Hollywood Dream – We did the backwards version. Got in with Express. What a rollercoaster should be, if the queues were shorter then we'd have gone forwards too. 9/10
- Flying Dinosaur x 2 – The most exhilarating ride in the park, and one of the best I've ever been on. A couple of very intense drops. Got in once with Express. 10/10.
- Jurassic Park – Really good fun. We got completely drenched, but it seemed as though everyone else on our boat was dry. 8/10.
- Minions – The introduction which was part of the queue system seemed to go on forever. Immersive 4D simulation. Only do if you love Minions or have the time. 5/10.
- Jaws – Essentially just a live show on a boat with an actor as captain. They did a great job to bring it to life, but personally wouldn't queue over 20-30 mins. 6/10.
- Waterworld – A welcome chance to sit down, and thoroughly worth it. Easy to get in before it started and lots of fun. Great audience interaction and spectacular action. Best enjoyed in the front row and turn up at least 10 minutes early for the crowd work. 9/10.
- Spinning Teacups – You spin as fast as you can turn the wheel – so we felt quite sick after it. 5/10.
- Spy X Family – Similar to Minions ride but a lot better. Had very long queue times all day, so only went on it right before closing. 7/10.
- Mario Kart Koppa's Challenge – The ride was fine, although the controls were a bit confusing. What made it worthwhile was the queue-line scenery, which was great. Would have been disappointed to queue for much more than an hour. 5/10.
The staff are absolutely fantastic – very organised, enthusiastic, clapping you off every ride, complimenting your headwear, smiling the entire time.
We ate twice – once at the Italian pizza restaurant in New York, and again at the Jurassic Park restaurant. Both times the food was fine. We didn't expect a huge amount from theme park food, and the prices weren't extortionate.
Single-rider lines are very useful for some rides. We got through Forbidden Journey in 10 mins towards the end of the day, compared with 60 mins for normal line. Similar for Jaws (10 mins compared to 40 mins normal) and Minions (20 mins compared to 50 mins normal). Single rider didn't seem to make a difference for Spy X or Hollywood Dream. On the actual rides we didn't mind not sitting next to each other when it saved so much time.
We booked the park tickets about a month before, but the Express Passes had run out. I tried again on a whim a couple weeks later and managed to get some on the same website (Head out).
Go to Hogsmede at night, when the castle is lit up and atmospheric.
We went in late September, when it was Halloween themed, and it almost seemed a different park in the evening, with everything lit up and lots of scary street performers.
We were able to get snacks in through security – they didn't seem to mind.
Overall we had a brilliant day. It was very tiring, but we got on 13 rides, and saw every area of the park. It does take some degree of tactical thinking, but ultimately being flexibile enough to enjoy it.
by Spandog69