To read about how to get a DAS pass for Tokyo Disneyland go to the Tokyo Disney Disability Access Services beginner’s guide here.
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.
Universal Studios discounted disability admission tickets aren’t listed on their official 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.
- A disability park admission pass – You can purchase a disability park admission pass (abbreviated as “SP” – Support Pass) & a companion/carer admission pass – these are sold and issued as paper tickets on site, and work the same as standard admission tickets.
- 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 is in person from the ticket office at Universal Studios Japan (USJ). You can’t order them online on the official ticketing website, or third party reseller websites like Klook and KKDay.
How I got ours..
I planned ahead and went to Universal Studios the day before we intended on visiting Universal Japan. At the Guest Services window located right outside of the entrance ticket gates I bought one discounted disability admission ticket and one companion entrance ticket . I also bought one standard pass, as there were three of us visiting.
It took about ten minutes to be attended to at the window, and during the transaction I needed to show them our disability paperwork to prove that we qualified for a disability ticket.
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 for the same discounted price as the disabled pass.
Can I buy a Universal Japan disabled park entrance pass on the same day?
Yes, you can buy your disabled and companion pass on the day you attend the park. The Customer Service window opens half an hour before the park opens.
Although I could have purchased our disability & companion pass on the day, I decided to free up time and buy our passes in advance, the day before.
Buying the passes the day before meant we could get in entrance queue earlier than the customer service window opened and so not have to waste precious park time purchasing our passes at Customer Service first.
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 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.
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 purchase if you buy it at the customer window 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 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?
Yes, these paper tickets look and work the same as standard park paper tickets. They have a QR code on them to scan into the park entrance gates and also can 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 either go to Customer Service, located on the left-hand side after you pass through the theme park entrance gates, or 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.
At Customer Service they checked the disability paperwork again and then issued 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.
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 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 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 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.
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.
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.
If you enjoyed reading this article you may like to…
By Barbara Bryan, HolidayPlanning.com.au
Photos: Barbara Bryan, HolidayPlanning.com.au
What hotels are near Universal Studios Japan?
The following hotels are all within very close walking distance to the front entrance to Universal Studios Japan.
The Park Front Hotel at Universal Studios Japan, Hotel Kintetsu Universal City, Oriental Hotel Universal City, Hotel Universal Port, Hotel Keihan Universal Tower, Hotel Universal Port Vita, The Singulari Hotel & Skyspa at Universal Studios Japan
Pin this image to Pinterest!
Thanks for your post!
Can they issue both the Disability Certificate and Guest Support Pass inside the park? Or do they only issue the disability certificates before you enter the park?
We are thinking to skip the disability ticket and just get the guest support pass inside the park after visiting SMW.
You can definitely just buy an ordinary entrance ticket and then set up the disability pass for the rides component when you get in the park. They don’t issue disability certificates, they issue a ride passport after they check that you have proof of your disability. (You will need that in order to set up the ride, return )
We have not gotten an NDIS Plan as yet for our son but we have gotten the letter stating that his Application for NDIS Funding is accepted.
Would this be sufficient enough to get the Disability tickets for USJ and Disney?
His disability if for ASD Level II so he does not do very well in lines
We do not go until September but want to get things in order well before then so we don’t have to stress so much about things
Thanks
Yes, as long as it has his name on – be sure to take the original letter. Just stress that it is the only thing the Australian government issues! It will be fine.