Universal Studios Japan Disability Access Services (DAS) beginner’s guide

To read about how to get a DAS pass for Tokyo Disneyland go to the Tokyo Disney Disability Access Services beginner’s guide here.

Universal Studios Japan is a fantastic theme park, but it can present difficulties for those who due to disability are unable to wait in line. I initially found little to no information on the Universal Studios Japan DAS system before we went so it was certainly a learning curve! Once you learn the system it really is a fair and effective one to make use of.

We recently visited both Universal Studios Japan and Tokyo Disney Resort and purchased a disability entrance ticket into each theme park, including an accompanying carer’s ticket and also made use of the disability ride queuing system.

Searching for the cheapest Universal Studios Japan tickets?

On KKDay you can buy Universal Studios Japan entry and Express tickets at highly competitive prices.

How do I buy Japan Universal Studios theme park disability tickets?

Universal Studios discounted disability admission tickets aren’t listed on their official English website, but they do exist! This is my account of how it all worked for us – and why it is worthwhile utilising the USJ disability access system (DAS) for both ease of access – and to save money!

Is there a DAS for Universal Studios Japan?

Yes there is a Disability Access Service, or DAS, at Universal Studios Japan, just like there is at Tokyo Disneyland. Universal Studios Japan does work a little differently.

There are two distinct Universal Studios Japan disability concessions which you can use either independently, or together.

1. A disability park admission pass – You can purchase a disability park admission pass (abbreviated as “SP” – Support Pass) & a companion/carer admission pass only at the park entrance on the day you visit only – you can also purchase them online only from the Japanese Universal Studios website. These work the same as standard admission tickets.
2. Guest Support Pass – You can use the free disability ride queue return-time system, officially called a Guest Support Pass. These hand-signed paper passports are issued within the park and are used to get a return time at attractions so that disabled guests don’t have to stand and wait in ride queues. Guest Support Passes aren’t fast passes or express passes, but rather work as a place-holder system that uses the current ride queue time as a return time measure.

Universal Studios Japan disability park tickets

How do I get Universal Studios discounted disability admission tickets?

The only way you can buy disability entrance passes online is from the Universal Studios Japan (USJ) Japanese website with copies of acceptable proof of disability. You can’t order them online from the English official ticketing website, or third party reseller websites like Klook and KKDay.

You can buy Disability Passes only on the day at Guest Services outside of the park. Guest Services is located on the right-hand side of the gates after Security but before the ticket entrance gates. You are unable to buy one day passes or any other kind of Universal Studios Japan ticket from Guest Services. Therefore you can buy 2 passes (or more disability passes if needed) – one for your disability guest, and one for your Carer. You must be able to prove the disability with the correct paperwork. (See below)

How I got ours..

At the Guest Services window outside the USJ gates.

I bought one discounted disability admission ticket and one companion entrance ticket .

I have also successfully purchased disability tickets online. They take about a week to confirm this way so you’ll need to use this method in advance.

In addition to the two disability tickets you’ll need to purchase standard Studio Passes for the other members of your family. The best place to buy USJ tickets online is from KKDay and they are reliable and price competitive.

Universal Disability discounted admission passes are now available online

You will need to access the Japanese version of the Universal Studios website. You may need to use a VPN to do this. Use a browser to help you translate. You will be required to submit your disability paperwork and if sufficient, will be approved after a review period. You may encounter difficulty getting your credit card to be accepted. Wise cards are often accepted. You can get a free Wise card here to avoid the $10 card application fee.

Do disabled pass holders have to have a companion or carer with them?

Yes, there needs to be one carer/companion with disabled persons, and it may be possible on certain rides that there needs to be one carer per disabled person. If you are a carer with more than one disabled person you may be asked to take turns accompanying disabled riders. Although we didn’t come across this at USJ this visit it does happen at Tokyo Disney’s Space Mountain.

Carers don’t have to prove they are a carer in order to get the companion ticket available once the disability paperwork has been verified by staff.

Is there a Carer’s companion ticket into Universal Studios Japan?

Yes, when buying a disabled pass you are also allowed to purchase one carer’s pass per disabled pass for the same discounted price as the disabled pass.

Can I buy a Universal Japan disabled park entrance pass on the same day?

Yes, at the Customer Service window as detailed above.

What paperwork do I need to get a disability pass into USJ?

To qualify for both disability entrance tickets and/or the ride queue return time system you will need what USJ officially call a Disability Certificate. From a tourist perspective, different countries have different ways to identify disabilities. Most ways seem to be acceptable provided they are original documents from government bodies or health professionals.

What we have used…

Being from Australia, we used an NDIS letter which are official Australian government documents. I did specify to staff that that it was an Australian government department document. Our form had no photographic identification, but USJ staff did check the name on the form against who was going to have the disability ticket in the park. We also took a back-up doctor’s letter but it wasn’t used, as the government document took precedence.

Upon presenting the NDIS form it was taken away for inspection out of sight and returned to us a couple of minutes later.

On another visit we used a NSW Companion Card alone successfully.

Is the disability entrance ticket the same as Tokyo Disney’s DAS pass?

Similar, but not identical. The USJ process seemed to be more in-depth than the disability pass at Tokyo Disney Resort at the inspection of paperwork phase.
Another difference between the two theme parks was that your disability pass into the park is inspected at online purchase and not at the park gates like the Tokyo Disney’s disabled access ticket. Tokyo Disney verify their disability entrance ticket at the gate instead of during purchase.

Can I use a doctor’s letter for a Universal Studios Japan disability pass?

I have read accounts in my Universal Studios Japan Holiday Planning Facebook Group that doctor’s letters alone are enough proof of a disability to obtain disability passes at Universal Studios Japan. If taking this route I would consider having the letter completed as officially as possible on letterhead paper, complete with the Doctor or Specialist’s practice contact details. It can be helpful for the Doctor to state within the letter that waiting in a queue is not possible for the disabled person.

There are some accounts of people taking a copy of the doctor’s letter translated into Japanese. This may help, however for us they seemed either able to read English or used translation devices in the case of our document.

Other disability verification documents can be a Carer’s or Companion Card with photo id or similar. Anything referring to the disability with a photo on is a great option.

What if I don’t have a disability certificate?

You can try approaching ride attendants at the attraction you would like to ride to explain what the problem is to see if they can assist you.

Can disability admission passes be scanned into the Universal Studios Japan App?

All USJ disability tickets have a QR code on them to scan into the park entrance gates. They can also be scanned into the official app for the purpose of booking timed entry into Super Nintendo World

How much does a Universal Studios Disability Entrance Pass cost?

A Universal Studios Japan Disability park entry ticket is currently priced at ¥4,700. (A standard adult entry ticket is ¥8,600). This is roughly $47 Australian dollars or $30 USD.

A standard Universal Studios adult admission pass is ¥8,700.

How do I get a Universal Studios Japan disability Guest Support Pass?

Once you have entered Universal Studios Japan with your park tickets you can also get a free Guest Support Pass to help avoid having to stand and wait in ride queues.

To get your Guest Support Pass you can go to any attraction (other than the Wizarding World of Harry Potter which is excluded from the return-time system) and ask a crew member for a Guest Support Pass. You will need to have all members of your family or party – up to 6 people total – who you intend to ride with, with you as they will also be recorded on the pass.

You can obtain a Guest Support Pass at any time during the day, so we decided not to waste time first thing, but to go straight to Super Nintendo World in the morning to avoid having to get a timed entry. After Super Nintendo World we retraced our steps back to the Customer Service office inside the park to get our Guest Support Pass (It is reported to be no longer possible to get a DAS pass card from Customer Service).

Our disability paperwork was checked again and then we were issued with a green paper passport. This would be what we presented to crew members at attractions to obtain a return time.

How does Universal Japan disability ride queue return-time ride work?

To use your Universal Studios Japan Guest Support Pass passport, simply go to the next ride attraction you would like to ride. See the Universal ride attendants and show them your green disability passport. This is all a hand-written paper system. The ride attendant will take the passport from you and record the time you should return. This time is usually however long the ride queue is posted for at that time for that ride. (It may be a shorter time if it is getting close to closing time but the attraction ride queue is still open).

The ride attendant may ask the disabled person is capable of doing certain physical things in case of emergency like exit down stairs, or if the disabled person can cope with certain ride aspects like speed etc.

Once your return time has been written in the passport you can then leave the attraction to spend that wait time elsewhere other than having to stand and wait in the ride queue. The rules being that you are not allowed to do any other attraction while you wait.

When the return time approaches you go back to the attraction and your passport is checked and signed and you are escorted to a special lane or waiting area. Unlike Tokyo Disney it may be a VIP-type shortcut or it may be the Express pass lane.

Overall the Universal Studios Japan disability return-time ride queue system is a very efficient one and a quicker process when compared to the Tokyo Disney Resort ride return-time disability queuing system.

Can you make more than one disability ride return-time reservation or stack ride times?

No, only one ride time reservation may be held at anyone time, and these are recorded on the passport.

Can you hold more than one DAS pass in your group of riders?

No, only one disability Guest Support Pass (DAS) can be held by the group on any one day.

Are any rides not eligible for Universal Studios DAS?

Yes, rides in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter are excluded from the DAS pass.

Can I get into Super Nintendo World with a disability pass?

No. Although you can use your DAS pass for the rides inside Super Nintendo World, you will need to book Timed Entrance passes to get in.

Will a ride-return time get me back into Super Nintendo World if I leave?

No. A ride return time given inside Super Nintendo World will not get you back into Super Nintendo World. Once if you leave. You would need to book another Timed Entry to re-enter. These can sometimes be difficult to obtain. Read more about getting Super Nintendo World Timed Entry in our guide here.

How many people can ride with a disabled ride pass holder?

Up to 5 people in total can ride with the disabled person (6 total), enabling families to stay together and ride together. All accompanying people must also have valid Studio Pass park passes (which of course they would have needed to enter the park). All riders must be present when the Guest Support Pass is first obtained during the day, and also at the time of each ride reservation.

Do I need to buy a Universal Express Pass if I have a Guest Support Pass (DAS pass)?

You can also consider purchasing a Universal Studios Japan Express Pass that skips the queue on a number or attractions. In many ways a Disability Pass negates the need for an Express ride pass. That said, you could buy Express Passes and combine the two systems to do even more rides during your day.

Officially the rules are that you cannot use another attraction whilst waiting for your return time to become available when using a Guest Support Pass. As Universal Studios Express Passes are not scanned into the Universal App or electronically tied to you during your day (they are simply a scannable QR code), theoretically it would be possible to use them at the same time, however, to follow the rules you should use your Express Pass outside of Guest Support Pass wait times.

We didn’t purchase extra Universal Express passes and simply used the DAS pass alone and found it enough. We spent our ride queue waiting time in restaurants, shopping, watching the No Limits Parade and lining up for snacks, and as we spent most of the morning in Super Nintendo World our day was already very busy and full.

Does Universal Studios DAS Pass include Autism (ASD), ADHD & intellectual disabilities?

Yes, the Universal Studios Japan disability pass covers any disability which makes it difficult to stand or wait in line, provided they can still capably ride the attraction. This can include Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), ADHD and intellectual disability.

How much does a Universal Studios Japan disability Guest Support Pass cost?

A Universal Studios Guest Support Pass is a discounted pass which costs less than standard Studio Passes but operates in the same way. It is issued free of charge to enable fair access for disabled park guests to reserve an attraction admission time if they are unable to wait in ride queues.

I do hope that you found this article helpful for your own holiday planning. It’s an accurate recollection of how our DAS pass day went at USJ, and hopefully it will help you approach your day in a more confident and informed way to allow you to have a great time on the attractions at Universal Studios Japan!

Join our Universal Studios Japan holiday planning group to find out all about what it’s like to visit Universal Studios Japan.