Universal Studios Japan General Discussion

[BatCom]

Sudden announcement that Finnegan's (arguably one of the most loved restaurants at USJ by fans) is closing permanently on Nov. 3.

Tsumugimu implies it's getting replaced by something Pokemon. Finnegan's is right in front of the Spider-Man/Pokemon facade.

 

[Jake S]

Wow, i’m really surprised to hear that. It was slammed when we went and people seemed really into it. Glad I went when I still could!

 

[quinnmac000]

i think that is going to be an unpopular move...finnegans is the one spot in the park you can get alcohol to go....

 

[BatCom]

Villain Con opens July 11

2025年7月11日オープン決定！ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン「ミニオン・ハチャメチャ・ミッション～大悪党への道〜」

ユニバーサル・スタジオ・ジャパン内で人気のエリア「ミニオン・パーク」 国内外で人気を博する「ミニオン」をテーマにしたエリア『ミニオン・パーク』の“ハチャメチャ”に楽しい体験価値をさらにパワーアップする ...

dtimes.jp

 

[TheUniC6]

 

[BatCom]

A couple notes from Japanese USJ vlogger Tsumugimu's review of Villain Con (doing his review in Ron Howard Backdraft cosplay, lol)

• He gives it a 2.5 out of 5. Maybe bumping up to 3 if including the new shops and food stands that opened with it.
• Recommended for people who like Minions and shooting games/collectables. All others stay away.
• Buzz Lightyear and Midway Mania are way better than this attraction.
• 99% the same as USF, except the last screen was switched out to be San Francisco instead of USF
• On the last point, the attempt to theme this to San Fransisco felt odd and half-assed (VC is technically in San Francisco and not Minion Park next door)
• The blasters are really heavy
• Couldn't understand where or what he was shooting at
• Noted that VC only uses about half of the old Backdraft building, and wonders if they might use the rest for HHN or possibly even another new attraction.

Varied opinions in the comments from other Japanese fans, but a lot saying that they did it once and don't intend to do it again. Some who are Minion fans said they liked it, others said they won't go out of their way to do it unless their kids want to.

 

[TheUniC6]

A couple notes from Japanese USJ vlogger Tsumugimu's review of Villain Con (doing his review in Ron Howard Backdraft cosplay, lol)

• He gives it a 2.5 out of 5. Maybe bumping up to 3 if including the new shops and food stands that opened with it.
• Recommended for people who like Minions and shooting games/collectables. All others stay away.
• Buzz Lightyear and Midway Mania are way better than this attraction.
• 99% the same as USF, except the last screen was switched out to be San Francisco instead of USF
• On the last point, the attempt to theme this to San Fransisco felt odd and half-assed (VC is technically in San Francisco and not Minion Park next door)
• The blasters are really heavy
• Couldn't understand where or what he was shooting at
• Noted that VC only uses about half of the old Backdraft building, and wonders if they might use the rest for HHN or possibly even another new attraction.

Varied opinions in the comments from other Japanese fans, but a lot saying that they did it once and don't intend to do it again. Some who are Minion fans said they liked it, others said they won't go out of their way to do it unless their kids want to.

The outdoor queue area is by far better than USF's. Ill give it that.

But yikes the fact the people at USJ aren't really buying it even though the minions are huge in Japan is a bad omen. My guess is the unused portion of the backdraft building will be used for a flexspace for HHN down the line like what is supposedly the plan in Orlando.

 

[BatCom]

The outdoor queue area is by far better than USF's. Ill give it that.

But yikes the fact the people at USJ aren't really buying it even though the minions are huge in Japan is a bad omen. My guess is the unused portion of the backdraft building will be used for a flexspace for HHN down the line like what is supposedly the plan in Orlando.

Just keep in mind the kind of people who comment on Tsumugimu's vids are very online theme park fans (aka, people like us)

I have no doubt the Japanese will eat this attraction up. Whether they will want to repeat it in the years to come is another question I suppose.

 

[Mad Dog]

I like the USF attraction, but it seems like I'm a very minority opinion since there's no lines. I'm surprised they still built it in Japan, despite the attraction's meh interest in USF. They must have had a twofer deal ahead of the construction....I like it, but Shrek was better, and more entertaining, especially the Shrek pre show. The only plus are the new buildings and facades that go along with it. Not one of Universal Creatives better efforts it seems.

 

[ChrisFL]

I'm guessing it was also an extremely low-cost build and I don't know how popular 3D movies are in theme parks these days

 

[TheUniC6]

I'm guessing it was also an extremely low-cost build and I don't know how popular 3D movies are in theme parks these days

FWIW, early plans were rumored for VCMB to be a trackless dark ride, but that fell through after things didn't go to plan with Kong at IOA. But the reason why they simply didn't redesign it into a traditional tracked ride was because something else must have shifted behind the scenes to prioritize a HHN flex space for USF.

3D movies have fallen by the wayside at most theme parks these days. Home theater setups have caused traditional movie theaters to up their game in terms of immersion to the point where its no longer a unique experience at a theme park where you pay top dollar to get into.

 

[Jwhee]

I'm guessing it was also an extremely low-cost build and I don't know how popular 3D movies are in theme parks these days

This replaced a practical special effects show- Backdraft. Unfortunately, Shrek 4D still lives on

 

[TheUniC6]

This replaced a practical special effects show- Backdraft. Unfortunately, Shrek 4D still lives on

At the same park ironically (USJ). But to give them props, they did reanimate the final scene to reflect that this is USJ unlike Disney who couldn't be bothered to do the same thing for the Paris version of Web Slingers keeping in the GOTG MB scene despite that being absent at Paris.

 

[DarkMetroid567]

At the same park ironically (USJ). But to give them props, they did reanimate the final scene to reflect that this is USJ unlike Disney who couldn't be bothered to do the same thing for the Paris version of Web Slingers keeping in the GOTG MB scene despite that being absent at Paris.

The SF scene looks pretty rough, though. The UOR scene would be a major improvement.