My family of 3 paid $650 to enter early and skip the lines at Universal Studios Japan. Similar perks would've cost us double back home in Florida.

I'm at the Universal theme parks in the US all the time. Amanda Adler

• My family of three recently paid $650 for upgraded tickets to Universal Studios Japan in Osaka.
• Having early access to the park and express passes for rides saved us hours of waiting in lines.

As a longtime Florida resident, I've been to Universal Studios Orlando many times. So, on a recent trip to Japan, my family decided to explore the Universal theme park in Osaka.

We only had one day to see everything — and it's one of the most popular theme parks in the world — so we wanted to make the most of our vacation. The best way to do that was splurging on early entry park tickets and express line passes for all of us.

Here's everything we accomplished during our visit.