Sailor Moon 4-D, Curious George, Nighttime Parade and more coming to Universal Studios Japan in 2018

Guests visiting Universal Studios Japan in Osaka have several new experiences to look forward to in 2018, including a Sailor Moon 4-D movie, and Curious George show, and a high-tech nighttime parade.

Universal Studios Japan (USJ) has recently announced a number of 2018 additions and enhancements to the Osaka theme park. As part of the annual “Universal Cool” promotion, a temporary Sailor Moon 4-D attraction will be offered for a limited time between March 16 and June 24, 2018. Sailor Moon: The Miracle 4-D will pair in-theater effects and moving seats with a 3-D film featuring signature Sailor Moon transformation scenes in an all-new storyline.

Starting Jan. 19, park will sell exclusive Sailor Moon food and drink, including a Cafe Plate of Crescent bread, Luna corn soup, and  grapefruit & shrimp salad; Strawberry Cheese and Berry & Nut cakes; and a non-alcoholic Strawberry & Lemon Soda, all served on cute collectible plates. Sailor Moon photo opportunities will also be available in the park.

This year’s Universal Cool event will also feature a virtual reality roller coaster based on the Final Fantasy video games, which will temporarily replace the Space Fantasy attraction. You can preview Final Fantasy XR Ride, which also opens on Jan. 19, in this Japanese-language video:

An all-new theater show attraction starring Curious George will replace the former Animation Celebration with Woody Woodpecker. The show takes place in an animation studio, where little George interacts with guests as if he comes to life via Pepper’s Ghost projections, similar to the Escape from Gringotts preshow.

Universal Studios Japan will introduce the Universal Spectacle Night Parade – Best of Hollywood in 2018. The next-generation parade will celebrate fan-favorite franchises including Harry Potter, Minions, Jurassic World, and Transformers, making their USJ debut. The parade will also feature projection mapping, dynamically moving floats, cinematic lighting, a musical score, and live entertainers, all synchronized with specially developed Show Orchestration technology.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is being enhanced with state-of-art imaging technology, which will likely remove the 3D effects in favor of the 4K 120 frames-per-second projections used in Universal Studios Hollywood. The park promises “a new level of excitement as you come face-to-face with magical creatures,” so additional Dementors or other animatronics may also be added.

Finally, the THEA Award-winning Waterworld show is being “massively upgraded” for 2018 with new stunts and special effects.

For more about Universal Studios Japan, visit USJ.co.jp and watch these videos: