Since there were no maps in English that were available and we had very limited time to go around USJ, we just had to prioritize the attractions that were nearest to the entrance.
Some characters who greeted us at the entrance are Sesame Street characters.
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| Ernie |
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| I think this one is called Abby Cadabby who was added in 2006. |
The 4D attraction was near the entrance and so we lined up to see Shrek. Unfortunately, we didn't know that the theater alternates Sesame Street and Shrek because all the signages were in Japanese. When we got inside the theater for the orientation, that was the only time we found out that the show was for Sesame Street and not for Shrek. Haha... The orientation and the entire show was in Japanese too! We couldn't understand anything but the 4D effects were just amazing. The theme was imagination and there were scenes were there was fog, water and in one part, there were some kind of creepy crawlers on our seats!
On the way out of the theater, you'll see a replica of 123 Sesame Street - the familiar facade of the apartment building where our favorite childhood characters gather at the beginning and end of each show. Before going to school, I learned how to read and count not just from my parents but also from Count Dracula, Grover, Cookie Monster, Ernie and Bert, Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird and Mr. Snuffleupagus! :)
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| 123 Sesame Street |
Near the 4D cinema, we saw this attraction that featured moving dinosaurs. They are part of an exhibition called Monster Hunter. It's also an USJ exclusive.
Actually, I've no idea what Monster Hunter is - whether it's a movie or a show. But while I was discarding some of the photos I took, my nephew saw them and exclaimed, "Wow, Monster Hunter!". I was so surprised that he knew Monster Hunter. I asked him why and he said that it's one of his favorite games on PSP. Ok, so it's not even a movie but a game! Generation gap. Haha.... And these are not dinosaurs but monsters! Haha...
Because of that, I had to retrieve the photos I just deleted! Haha... So here are the main characters - the Monster Hunters. My nephew said the shields, armors and weapons below are very powerful. Of course, I still can't relate. Haha...
The Monster Hunter exhibition in USJ is only temporary and I think it will only be until May.
Along the Hollywood Walk of Fame, here are some familiar hand prints I spotted:
For souvenirs, the most interesting souvenirs I saw were at the exit of the Terminator attraction. There were walls of framed memorabilia like this which contained original film cells from popular movies like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Spiderman, Ironman and even classics like Sound of Music. This is from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Here's a close up shot of the film cells.
This specific collection sells for 27,000 yen or about Php12,000. I was so tempted to get the complete collection for Star Wars but after thinking it through where I realized you need backlight to be able to view the film cells, it was easy to walk away. It was too high maintenance. Haha...
The store also had autographed posters by popular stars. The most expensive ones that I have seen were signed by Michael Jackson, Madonna, Charlie Chaplin.... some were selling for over 1,000,000 yen (about half a million pesos)! Whoa...
One of the more popular attractions in USJ is the Spiderman 3D ride. When we saw that there was no queue from the outside, we decided to go for it. But surprise, surprise, there was a long snake-like line inside! We lined up for an hour and it was tolerable since the line was moving steadily but I guess the queue was just really long because after an hour, we were nowhere near the entrance of the theater. The day of our USJ visit happened to be the last vacation day of students from their spring break so USJ was just really packed.
But nope, we didn't order any kawaii meal. We wanted real food! Haha... This simple burger steak meal from one of the diners in USJ is about 1,800 yen or Php800.
One more difference I noticed between Universal Studios Hollywood and USJ is that characters in USJ are limited to mascots.
In Hollywood, I remember seeing a lot of actor look-alikes loitering around like Lucille Ball, Nutty Professor, Charlie Chaplin, etc.
But nevertheless, I was so happy to see my favorite cartoon movie character - Shrek - before we left. That really made my day! Haha...
