The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™

Came here with a so-​called fast pass which tells you the time that you could get in to avoid the crowd. Unfortunately crowd kept trickling in and those who has been inside for awhile didn’t really want to get out.
What to do or get here? As the queues are overwhelming I decided to just do the Hogwarts walk instead of sitting on the rides. Besides that, a must try beverage — butter beer. Taste a bit like root beer but very refreshing taste. You could either get that in a plastic cup or plastic mug (collectible souvenir). You could take lots of pictures here — Diagon Alley, Hogwarts express, etc.
There are quite a number of shops where you could get accessories, clothes wear, wands, stationeries, etc. I went to the owl post and some of the stuffs they sell are extremely expensive. Decided to just get Hogwarts pins as I do collect those. But lots of people bought scarfs, waterproof hoodies (like raincoats) which can cost up to $ 100USD.
I do like their interior/​exterior design and the butter beer. But it would be better if the crowd is less. It might be better to get some popcorn from the outside so that you can munch on while waiting ;)
The walk inside Hogwarts was fun — go for this if the forbidden journey ride is long. Especially when the characters are talking in Japanese ;) the interior is only lighted a little so phone cameras might not suffice.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan, then the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is the stuff dreams are made of. Seriously, you may just cry tears of joy. Sure, it’s not cheap but the depth of detail in the environment, the extensive selection of merchandise, and the chance to live out your childhood fantasies make it more than worth the price of admission.
The only (ONLY) criticism I have for the WWoHP (besides the usual crowding and high prices that are par for the course with any theme park) is the casting of foreigners for character roles. Pretty much any white person inside Hogsmeade is played by a young person in their 20s-​30s. This was especially notable for Ollivander (who is supposed to be an elderly man) but also for the Hogwarts Express train conductor who looked like he was barely old enough to get his driver’s license.
To enter, you’ll need to scan your USJ park ticket at the special ticketing area across from JAWS. You’ll get a paper ticket with your entry time on it, which may vary depending on how crowded it is. You can only enter WWoHP once a day, but you can stay as long as you’d like so make sure to do and see everything you want before leaving.
10 things to do at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter
1) Spot the Weasley’d flying Ford Anglia on your way in then grab a photo with the (surprisingly young) train conductor in front of the Hogwarts Express (there’s also a paid photo op at Hogsmeade Station inside a Hogwarts Express train car for a whopping ¥3,800 including a musical picture frame)
2) Buy a postcard and stamp set from the Owl Post shop and send it anywhere in the muggle world
3) Visit Ollivander’s wand shop to pick up your wand (the queue to get into Ollivander’s can take 45+ min, but there’s an awesome 5-​min show where (the surprisingly young) Ollivander picks one member from the audience and helps match them with their perfect wand in mixed English and Japanese); this mini-​attraction exits into an actual wand shop where you can buy specific character wands or an Ollivander custom wand
4) Stop by the Hog’s Head Pub for a steaming hot butterbeer (or a real beer) — make sure to keep an eye out for the animatronic boar on the wall behind the bar girls; for ¥1200 they serve your butterbeer to you in a big mug that you can take home (there’s a water fountain outside of the restrooms where you can rinse out the mug when you’re finished)
5) Listen to the Hogwarts choir (they’re kind of like the wizarding world’s poor man’s Pentatonix) at the «town square”-like stage area, accompanied by magical singing toads
6) Take a (very short) ride on the Flight of the Hippogriff roller coaster (this attraction is worth it for the view of Hagrid’s Hut in the queue area, but I’d recommend not lining up for it until the wait time drops below 60 minutes unless you’ve got small children who would enjoy such a dinky roller coaster)
7) Have lunch at the Three Broomsticks (unfortunately, you need at least a party of 4 to order the «Great Feast» for ¥7,600 which includes roast chicken, ribs, assorted roasted vegetables, and salad and looks awesome all laid out of the platter); the whole roasted ear of corn that’s served with most dishes looks wonderfully rustic and really adds to the atmosphere of the restaurant; food quality is sightly above your typical theme part QSR (quick service restaurant) but not mind-​blowing
8) Take a bathroom break and catch up with Moaning Myrtle (at least in the women’s restroom)
9) Shop for your school supplies around town; enjoy the various shops containing wizarding wear, Hogwarts house-​themed accessories, and quidditch gear (if I wear still a kid, I’d probably wet my pants over the quaffle, Beater bats, and broomsticks sold at the quidditch shop); definitely make sure to stop by Honeyduke’s Sweets Shop for a chocolate frog, pumpkin juice, and a slew of other treats featured in the books (this store is also connected to Zonko’s Joke Shop, which you will find either delightfully campy and retro or a huge waste of your money for cheap Cracker Jack’s box-​quality toys)
10) Have your mind blown on the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey attraction, a dark ride/​coaster hybrid which has won multiple theme park awards for being innovative, technologically advanced, and just plain fun; the mix of wrap-​around projection screens and animatronics that are so close you can touch them make for a thrilling and sometimes terrifying ride; the queue also takes you through Hogwarts Castle for an awesome view of moving paintings, Dumbledore’s office, and more! Make sure to check out the gift shop «Filch’s Emporium of Confiscated Goods» as you exit the attraction because it has different merchandise than the general Hogwarts goods sold at other stores; I couldn’t resist picking up a replica of the Marauder’s Map!

Aside from the many lines and queues, Harry Potter World is fantastic. This is my first time at Harry Potter World since I haven’t been to Universal Studios in Orlando, and I was pleasantly surprised with the detail of the different areas, and I was quite impressed with the Forbidden Journey ride.
First of all, get an express pass for the Forbidden Journey ride — I think the 5-​attraction pass is the best, since I didn’t hear favorable things from the Gryffindor ride. If you don’t have an express pass, you can be looking at 3 – 4 hours in line waiting. Also, 5 and 7 express passes get you a specified time to enter in to HP World. Without getting this in advance (either from Lawson’s or at the park), one would have to race to the ticketing distribution station for HP World and wait in another line — and careful, since there are a limited number of tickets, you could end up getting a late time or they could sell out.
When you first enter, you can see the Hogwarts Express and Diagon Alley Shops, which have different goods from Chocolate frogs to house scarves to wands. Everything is prettty expensive, but if you go to USJ for Harry Potter World and are a fan, it is worth it ;) [HP-​themed face paint is 2500 yen! FOR FACE PAINT! What.]
The Forbidden Journey Ride is like the Spider-​man ride, so a little bit jerky and can make one dizzy, but definitely fun and cool to see the characters and places from the books/​movies.
Butterbeer is the thing to get — you can get it from the stands or Hogsmeade, and honestly my recommendation is to try it or share with someone. It is really sweet and after a while becomes difficult to drink — like you just can’t take anymore…
Overall, a crowded yet nice time (I went on a Friday, so I imagine Saturday and Sunday are more crazy…), and fun geeking out with friends.
*Note: The line for Honeydukes Candy Shop and Zonko’s Joke shop gets really long, and there is no express pass for that, so either get in early, prepare to wait for many hours, or head there past 8pm.
*Note: Taking a house quiz online is a good thing to do so you can get decked out in house gear — I am a Hufflepuff, and got some Hufflepuff items to wear :)

i’ve never read any of the books.
i’ve never really like any of the movies except, maybe, the first one.
but i’m sure fans of harry potter will love it here despite all it’s imperfections, that is primarily, the excessive demand coupled with an inadequate supply.
this is but just a small 10% section of universal studios japan but quite possibly accounts for a big 90% of the crowd!
from the very onset, before you even step in, you need to queue.
queue just to get your timed entry into this section of the park.
you can get for others in your party but you will need to produce park entrance ticket to get timed entry ticket.
once that is secured, you can then go visit the other attractions before coming back here at the specified time.
but my suggestion is to get the earliest time slot available and do this first.
come afternoon the queue at the forbidden journey ride can be as long as 240mins, yes, 4 hours!
once in here bypass all the people and photo opp distractions along the way, head in a straight line direct for the forbidden journey ride.
be free of any baggage as nothing is allowed on the ride.
using the free lockers provided just before entry onto the ride is a huge bottle neck and if you can avoid that, you easily skip at least 20 who need to stow theirs.
express pass, child switch and single rider are available.
be prepared for a jerky ride with all kinds of twists and turns, definitely not for those who gets motion sickness!
the graphics are great and the audio, like it should be, is in japanese.
if you ask me to choose a second ride on either the amazing adventures of spiderman or the forbidden journey, the choice is clear… sorry, it has to be SPIDERMAN!
if you ask me, hollywood dream — the ride, is of better value for pure thrill seekers.
if you ask me, space fantasy — the ride, gives much better bang for the amount of time you need to queue, only 30mins and it’s way smoother yet still a gyro toppling fun ride.
flight of the hippogriff is an even bigger time waster with unwarranted wait times.
and to queue to enter honeydukes, the sweet shop?
me thinks not.
lunch, if you must, at three broomsticks.
yes, queue you must and do remember to get your butterbeer here with your meal!
else you need to queue outside just for that highly recommended butterbeer fix!
delightfully creamy sweet ala a rootbeer float.
harry potter merchandise can also be found at the main store in the hollywood section where queues are more sane than in here!
once you are done with queuing, this is the time to take your selfies with hogsmeade, hogwarts castle, hogwarts express and finally flying ford Anglia as you leave the wizarding world.
if you have never experienced this before, i humbly suggest waiting in the comforts of your home until the craze dies down, if ever.
however, if time is all you have, feel free to come waste some here.