Review Insights · App Store
Universal Studios Japan
NBCUniversal Media, LLC · 7,221 ratings · ★ 4.8
4.8
★★★★★
7,221 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 40 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"tickets"
14 negative reviews mention this · 35% of all complaints
★★★★★ "App so bad it ruins whole experience. This app is trash you try to buy tickets in the app and then still have to QR code scan them back into the app. It constantly tells you that you must get the app to use it. It’s also terribly confusing! Don’t come to USJ Japan." - Appster3020
2
"english"
14 negative reviews mention this · 35% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Disappointed. So complicated to use the app.. Japan is supposed to be advanced but I can barely navigate the USJ app.. can’t pre-plan my day and getting a Super Nintendo ticket is next to impossible.. the links don’t work so well and everything keeps rev…" - Gamergrl437
3
"experience"
9 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "App so bad it ruins whole experience. This app is trash you try to buy tickets in the app and then still have to QR code scan them back into the app. It constantly tells you that you must get the app to use it. It’s also terribly confusing! Don’t come to USJ Japan." - Appster3020
4
"entry"
9 negative reviews mention this · 23% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Ticket purchase. We have tried for days to purchase tickets - tried using every cc I own. A message keeps popping up stating they are sorry they are unable to process at this time. They finally responded via email (over 24 hours later) that I could use anot…" - Cyndi M D
5
"japanese"
8 negative reviews mention this · 20% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Disappointed. So complicated to use the app.. Japan is supposed to be advanced but I can barely navigate the USJ app.. can’t pre-plan my day and getting a Super Nintendo ticket is next to impossible.. the links don’t work so well and everything keeps rev…" - Gamergrl437
6
"trying"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not easy to use.. I have fast passes and I’m trying to register but it doesn’t have an area to set it up. Would like to map out my day in advance. Should look at the Disney app it is much easier" - gunshow250
7
"timed"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not foreigner friendly. Horrible interface with timed tickets, impossible to get tickets on app. Just a bad system" - Benmorrow
8
"times"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Awful. I was trying to get tickets for the Halloween overnight event. Thought it was the right tickets considering they costed so much more than regular. Turns out I didn’t get the right tickets. I tried so many times to get the timed entry ticket…" - SaberX.X-.-
9
"park"
7 negative reviews mention this · 18% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Ticket purchase. We have tried for days to purchase tickets - tried using every cc I own. A message keeps popping up stating they are sorry they are unable to process at this time. They finally responded via email (over 24 hours later) that I could use anot…" - Cyndi M D
10
"ticket"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "App so bad it ruins whole experience. This app is trash you try to buy tickets in the app and then still have to QR code scan them back into the app. It constantly tells you that you must get the app to use it. It’s also terribly confusing! Don’t come to USJ Japan." - Appster3020
11
"everything"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Disappointed. So complicated to use the app.. Japan is supposed to be advanced but I can barely navigate the USJ app.. can’t pre-plan my day and getting a Super Nintendo ticket is next to impossible.. the links don’t work so well and everything keeps rev…" - Gamergrl437
12
"doesn"
6 negative reviews mention this · 15% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Not easy to use.. I have fast passes and I’m trying to register but it doesn’t have an area to set it up. Would like to map out my day in advance. Should look at the Disney app it is much easier" - gunshow250
📋 All 40 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
App so bad it ruins whole experience
This app is trash you try to buy tickets in the app and then still have to QR code scan them back into the app. It constantly tells you that you must get the app to use it. It’s also terribly confusing! Don’t come to USJ Japan.
Ticket purchase
We have tried for days to purchase tickets - tried using every cc I own. A message keeps popping up stating they are sorry they are unable to process at this time. They finally responded via email (over 24 hours later) that I could use another site to buy the tickets. Or get a 3D code from the cc company! I can’t even get to that point before the ‘can’t complete transaction at this time’ pops up. And the other sites do not have the express passes I want to use. I tried Klook and after placing an order for two entry tickets and two express tickets, they charged for two entry and ONE express saying they’d sold out before order was completed- did not give me the option to select something different…what am I supposed to do with one express ticket????
As amazing as Universal Studio parks are, you would think they could afford a better site that works. Very disappointing.
As amazing as Universal Studio parks are, you would think they could afford a better site that works. Very disappointing.
Not foreigner friendly
Horrible interface with timed tickets, impossible to get tickets on app. Just a bad system
Awful
I was trying to get tickets for the Halloween overnight event. Thought it was the right tickets considering they costed so much more than regular. Turns out I didn’t get the right tickets. I tried so many times to get the timed entry ticket for the event, but it just says “coming soon” on the app. So I assumed I got the right ones. Didn’t get the right ones, got turned away at the gate. Awful experience, actually ruined my Halloween. Didn’t even get to see the park and now I’m down $100. Thanks USJ, you’re awful.
What A JOKE
Completely disorganized. Wait in lines forever and have to battle people carting umbrellas.
Nothing works
App won’t let me register tickets. Finally got them registered on family members phone, but then it wouldn’t allow us to access attraction timed entry e-tickets. Horrible experience!
The worst experience
you oversold everything! you are the worst!
Barely useful
For the English-speaking user used to the ease of using Disney Resort apps, prepare yourself for incredible frustration. Ticketing for the park entry and express pass is not done through the app (even though you can scan these tickets?), and push notifications appear only in Japanese even if the app language is English. The app contains a decent map and up-to-date wait times for rides, but this seems like the bare minimum of functionality for a large amusement park app.
How is the rating so high
Do the people who made and update this app actually use it? Absolute garbage interface. So user unfriendly. I thought the disney japan app was bad but this was a new low.
Terrible app experience that attendees are forced to use
The app bait and switches you to register for tickets and a broken UI provides false promises of getting into certain areas within the park. Go to Disney Parks instead
Terrible experience
Application unfortunately fails to front load most of it’s assets resulting in horrible load times. Be aware of your connection if you are expecting to enroll in any type of service while using the app.
Truly awful
Don’t come. It’s unbelievable how poor the app and user experience is.
Spend 11000 for no rides
Basically plan way in advance. If you just walk in without reservations you are paying 11,000 yen to walk around and buy stuff. Basically paying an expensive price just to shop
Worst app ever
Can’t even buy the tickets with this app as it uses a third party website that cannot finish your payment order even with the correct credit card info.
Does Universal Studio even reading some of these reviews who are having the same problems?
Does Universal Studio even reading some of these reviews who are having the same problems?
Not user friendly
This app is not very good. It was made by minions and therefore cannot service humans in a way.
Trash app
This is most Comoplicated app I've ever used.
Horrible App
Waste of time. Doesn't let you do Super Mario World until late
Waste of time and full of bugs.
I have wasted days trying to get my tickets. The payment method doesn’t work, it glitches all the time now I’m stuck wondering if payments are going to hit my card. The process for the tickets is also super ridiculous and overly complicated. Super disappointed.
Spooky: Guaranteed to torture you for hours!
I made the simple mistake of wanting to to go to USJ with my spouse during their Halloween event and attempting to give them hundreds of dollars of my hard earned cash. Little did I know that this would be the scariest Halloween experience ever! Simply trying to purchase tickets was a nightmare. Originally I tried to buy on their website (Firefox) but whenever I tried to pay, the screen would refresh until it turned black. I looked online and found so many others expressing all the forms of grief over this very problem. Like a cult trying to troubleshoot a demonic summoning, these hapless ancestors managed to cobble together a winning solution: download the app, use Apple Pay with a Mastercard or Amex. Because apparently the USJ ticket demon took umbrage with foreign issued visas, the most commonly used credit card worldwide. Our foreign currency is not worthy enough to summon it, despite the currently plummeting Japanese yen exchange rate. Thankfully after a few frantic moments of searching desperately for a non-visa card in our household, I found one and loaded it up in Apple Pay, thinking my troubles over. Dear reader, my troubles had only begun. The app would now reject my attempts with a large red “FAILED” banner. The only advice given online was “keep trying.” On top everything, every attempt would deplete the inventory of the selected express pass until I would no longer be able to buy that timed entry. But all was not lost! I was able to select a worse timed entry, and then a worse one, and an even worse one! All while fiddling with my phone # entry in a vague sense of hope. Even though USJ would not give me a single a ticket, I would deplete 3 of their time slots and attempt to buy 14 times before it inexplicably confirmed my purchase. At this point, it had been nearly 3 hours and I was weary and numb. An email confirmation merely arrived 10 minutes after this, a scant 9 minutes after I started to doubt my sanity and whether I had hallucinated everything. Of course none of the tickets loaded into the app where I purchased tickets from in the first place. I still have no idea how to get them on there, but that is for future me to worry about. I am done with this demonic app for today. I ask only that you save yourself dear reader! It is too late for me, but perhaps you can save yourself from this terrifying Halloween madness! Boo!
Cannot purchase with American credit cards
The ticket purchasing process was impossible using American credit cards.
It took a long time to figure out it just wasn’t going to work.
Apple Pay and manually entering your visa or master card information just completely doesn’t work. Don’t spend your time.
Book using Klook if you’re not Japanese, although then you don’t get to choose the specific expresss pass that you want.
We give up, we’re not coming. You’re missing out on our $400 in revenue just because your app is horrible and we’ll spend it on Disney or sushi or something instead 😂
It took a long time to figure out it just wasn’t going to work.
Apple Pay and manually entering your visa or master card information just completely doesn’t work. Don’t spend your time.
Book using Klook if you’re not Japanese, although then you don’t get to choose the specific expresss pass that you want.
We give up, we’re not coming. You’re missing out on our $400 in revenue just because your app is horrible and we’ll spend it on Disney or sushi or something instead 😂
Insanely convoluted and confusing
Regular tickets, express passes, timed entry, “standby” situations, in-app physical ticket registration, physical entrance lottery registration booths in the park, etc. Terrible experience. You go to Osaka only to find a multi-tier, multi-step purchase process for entering the park and your area of interest. You may not be able to enter your area in the end because those tickets are “sold out”, meaning you’ll find yourself walking around unable to do much in the park after you’ve paid for entry. Looking to buy tickets in the app on the fly? Sorry, the app loads a heavy, extremely slow ticketing web site instead of giving you lightweight, low-bandwidth purchase options-thus defeating the purpose of having an app at all. In addition, the functionality in English is different from Japanese. For example you can buy an express pass separately in Japanese, while you can only buy them coupled with tickets in English. Makes the experience infuriating when trying to figure things out with a multilingual family. Wifi coverage in the park is spotty, not that wifi helps the ticketing site load anyway. In general the experience was terrible for my family of 7 in the summer heat.
Enjoying our time
It is not fair we don’t get a chance to enter the specific park when ppl have $ get to go first. We have kids and seniors paid a lot of money and get to go to 2 rides.
App is confusing, not user friendly
The app is as confusing and bad as their online site and customer service… explanation is poor on how timed entry works and everything. I’m quite surprised to be honest.
Worst app ever!
I cannot finish my order. I have been trying for an hour to buy tickets and it keeps failing. It won’t accept any of my American credit cards (and this is freaking Universal Studios, an American company) nor Apple Pay. And every time I have to restart and fill up again the information all over again! It’s the most frustrating thing I have ever experienced when it comes to purchasing tickets online. It also doesn’t work on the website. Plus the express pass time slots are ridiculous! There’s barely enough time to enjoy the different areas because they schedule them so close.
Wasted a vacation day on this
Full of bugs. The button names change making it difficult to read during navigation. Restarting doesn’t help. Everyone at the park just blankly stared at the app with no clue how to help. The whole thing is convoluted and a pain to use when you’re just trying to enjoy the day. Couldn’t buy any express tickets and entry wasn’t guaranteed to Nintendo world and was put into a lottery system which we couldn’t make sense of.
Wait Times - Broken
The most crucial functionality from the users' perspective, attraction wait time, is broken.
Please fix.
Please fix.
Awful
No English option? What year is this? Come on guys....
totally unless，no english
Totally unless for non-Japanese speakers. Come
On! It has been 9102. Cannot imagine a global resort without an English version APP!
On! It has been 9102. Cannot imagine a global resort without an English version APP!
Japanese only.
Consider adding english support.
NO ENGLISH OPTION AVAILABLE.
Seriously?? Get at least the English option if you’re going to roll out an app...I get it’s in Japan but people visit from the US to see their favorites overseas..
Useless, no English
I would have given this app -1 star for dumb implementation. Guys, the world is a village, Universal is a global company and yet you can’t even roll out apps for all you locales that at least provide English? Go back to bed! You have no idea about IT.
Not in English
Not very helpful considering the wait times.
只有日语
本来想用英语写评价，但是想想有需要迁就环球吗？
没有！
作为一个跨国公司来说，开发者一款只有日语的软件也是非常不尊重全球的使用者了。
而且还在不停的使用我的GPS定位信息。
有用信息看不懂，还耗光了我的电池，
娜就杰样吧！
手动呵呵！
手动滑稽！
没有！
作为一个跨国公司来说，开发者一款只有日语的软件也是非常不尊重全球的使用者了。
而且还在不停的使用我的GPS定位信息。
有用信息看不懂，还耗光了我的电池，
娜就杰样吧！
手动呵呵！
手动滑稽！
No language option for english?
rt
No English support
Everything is Japanese except for section titles. Useless for me who cannot read any Japanese
Disappointed
So complicated to use the app.. Japan is supposed to be advanced but I can barely navigate the USJ app.. can’t pre-plan my day and getting a Super Nintendo ticket is next to impossible.. the links don’t work so well and everything keeps reverting back to Japanese when I’ve changed to English.. god knows how the day will go inside Universal
Not easy to use.
I have fast passes and I’m trying to register but it doesn’t have an area to set it up. Would like to map out my day in advance. Should look at the Disney app it is much easier
I get that it’s Japan, but…
Not everything is English friendly. It’s better to use their website. For an app downloaded from an English App Store, would just make sense that everything has been translated into English. Not the case here.
Request Language Help
Needs English-language instructions on how to buy Area Timed Entry tickets for Super Nintendo World
Not in English!
The details for this app say the language is in English, but what appears on my iPhone is clearly NOT English. Visiting the park in February and would really like to be able to use this app to find out wait times for rides and restaurants!
Sentiment summary
95%
Positive (4-5★)
1%
Neutral (3★)
4%
Negative (1-2★)