is studio visit magazine worth it

Studio Visit Magazine

• September 26, 2018

15 comments

I’d like to know if anyone has had an experience with Studio Visit Magazine? Yes it is a pay to play I guess. I had to pay just over $200 in February to be featured in the magazine if I was chosen which I was. So I paid and the magazine was supossed to be out in July and it’s now nearly October and I still don’t have it. I wrote two emails and they never got back to me however I finally got an email in mid to late August saying this: “We appreciate your patience during the past few months as we have been working through turnover, re-direction of responsibilities and production delays; thank you for your toleration during this complex period…. It takes approximately 4 weeks to print and another 4 weeks to ship from overseas. The issues are sent directly to our mailhouse in California where they are distributed to participating artists and our mailing list of over 2,000 recipients.” I finally call them and ask why the digital version was not at least posted because that should only take a couple hours to do and it’s only fair. The lady I spoke to was extremely rude to me and told me they would try to do it within the next couple weeks yet that was three weeks ago. I did finally talk to a couple people that were in previous magazines and I know they did actually get their magazines late also but they did say they got no phone calls. This leads me to wonder if they simply print enough magazines for those who are in it, or do they actually mail them to the 2000 galleries and museums they claim?… I’m beginning to wonder if they are going broke even though they are continuing to collect new money for editions after mine?… Does anyone have any knowledge of this magazine?…

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Don’t bother wasting your money on stuff like this.

I think that its been over a year and a half since I was to supposed to receive my copy. Its been so long that I can’t remember as to when I first sent them money . Communication is terrible. The Phone # on one their sites isn’t even a working #. Messages are not returned. Information is not forthcoming. A month ago, I was sent an online copy, and was truly disappointed by the printing quality (or lack thereof). I accept that they have had great challenges because of the pandemic, as have most of us, but any sort of update, be it monthly would not be too much to ask for.

I’m not applying to this magazine, but I will speak about New American Paintings. Colleagues received their acceptance and denial on the same day. So, I waited three weeks later to contact NAP. When I called, I was told that I was on a shortlist, and I would receive confirmation in 1-2 weeks. So, a month went by, and I called again. I was met with the same response, ” you’re on a shortlist and should receive word in one week.” Another month went by (nothing in my spam, nothing in my regular e-mail), and I called again. This time I was told, sorry–not accepted. WTF?! I stated every time that my concern was that I was forgotten. I feel like that alone was far more insulting than if I received a not accepted in a prompt manner. I would never apply to Studio Visit–it’s nothing more than a money grabber for those saddened to have not made it in NAP.

Well it’s been a year since I was offered a chance to be in the summer addition. Bought a two page and after two editions came out I received a second fact check. Still no magazine.

I did call and speak to someone who assured me all was well.

I too am waiting for publication. Has not been a positive experience and their communication is nonexistent. Will reserve judgement until I see the magazine. Can not recommend as I have seen nothing for the $ yet. Was suppose to come out last summer and it is almost December.

Stop waiting because you’ve been scammed. Sorry this happened to you, but you need to know you will never get a copy of that edition because it very likely doesn’t exist.

I HAVE BEEN PATIENTLY WAITING FOR THE PUBLICATION THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO COME OUT IN JUNE. IT IS NOW EARLY JULY. INVESTED OVER $300.00 FOR A TWO PAGE SPREAD>.

Roshan Houshmand

I was in it years ago. They screwed up somehow with my page so gave me a freebie the following publication. For what it’s worth, the only result was I was visiting a gallery in Boulder, saw the publication on the desk, showed the gallery attendant my page, but never heard from them again.

Was accepted, from supposedly almost a thousand entries. Publication came out with wrong title on the image. Brought it to their attention but their response was that it was tough luck. The guy was saying how fortunate I was to make the cut and the image looked fine. Brushed me off I had someone else call again on my behalf to explain that with my conceptual work the correct title is essential. Some how my (male) advocate got a better response from the guy and the work got reprinted correctly in the next issue.

Not too anxious.

I agree with some of the concerns here. I too paid for a sigle page, $250? this was months ago so don’t remember. The process has been notoriously slow, with intermittent comm. Sort of mom & pop. ops. From prev. comments this sounds legit, just a bit disorganized or maybe it’s one over worked and underpaid graphic designer in Boston, cranking though spreads. If after publication — which I suspect, mine is clearly late, I see any activity, I’ll post further. Not holding my breath, just going through the art apparatus motions.

Too little too late. (followup)

Just an update, these folks finally shipped their product – late. It arrived damaged at my doorstep. They ship in plain plastic bags which are clearly and easily damageable when they arrive though USPS. Would I do this again? No. Once is a good learning experience. The level of disregard for artists after they have taken your money is not worth it. More importantly, do I feel this pub has lead to any meaningful inquiries, didn’t expect it to, and it didn’t. WOT (Waste of time). 08-01-19

I’ve been in Studio Visit once. Got nothing out of it, other than a line on my CV. Most disappointing however was the PAGE SIZE of the magazine. I was expecting something that was the size of a regular magazine (8 x 10 or larger). It’s actually more like 6 x 9, which makes the reproductions tiny. If you don’t mind paying several hundred dollars to have your work displayed at sub-postcard size, go ahead.

I’m also a featured artist waiting for the publication to come out. I do think it is a legit publication; it’s been around for years, I’ve had friends who have been in it as well, and it’s the same company as NAP. However, running several months late on publication gives me reservations about ever applying again. I received an email response to my inquiry about this issue in late Aug… they claimed it would be sent out in September sometime… obviously now it’s late Oct…feeling worried.

I have been in Studio Visit twice. Both times I purchased a double spread. At first I thought it was easy to get in because it was a “pay to play publication” I was accepted both times I applied – but I know of a few others that were not accepted. It is owned by the same group that put outs New American Paintings (which are also a bit disorganized and not good with communication)

Anyway, I don’t remember receiving my publication late, or any phone calls. Very little communication – But I never was worried. I did not really get overly excited about it. I do know that they do send it out to galleries – I was approached by quite a few galleries after each publication. Also galleries that I approached – they also mentioned seeing me in “Studio Visit”. I have also visited several NYC galleries (and other cities) and seen it sitting out on their desk.

I would not worry about it. They are a legit company – You would probably not want it going out June-September anyway. That is a slow time for most galleries, everyone is on vacation, and they are not thinking about new artists. Good luck.

I participated 4 or 5 years ago and everything ran smoothly and it was worth the production fee. I believe they publish New American Paintings as well. Or at least they did at one point. I secured additional representation solely from my listing in this pub. It sounds like it may have been sold and/or is on the downside. They probably need to put more effort into the digital side. The missed timeline is way to excessive. A few weeks is one thing. Months overdue indicates problems

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Artist Commentary

Tag archives: studio visit magazine, did you miss me.

I’ve been away for a little while from my blog. Hopefully you’ve noticed. 😉 I’m working on a new body of work and am deeply involved in sketching out all the new ideas I have. Okay, so enough excuses. Here’s one new piece of information. If you haven’t read about it by now, my work has been featured in three volumes of Studio Visit Magazine. Studio Visit is the sister publication to New American Paintings and is published by The Open Studios Press. So now in addition to having my work in their publication, they have also featured me on their website. All past volumes of Studio Visit Magazine are now shown on the website and the winning artists from each issue are listed as well. In addition, those artists that have websites have a link to their site via StudioVisitMagazine.com. So if you’d like to check out the volumes that I’m in, go to www.studiovisitmagazine.com/volumes.html and click on an issue to see the artists. And if you’d like to view more of my work, be sure to check out my website at www.AmyGuidry.com .

Here’s a Summary…

Current Shows:

My work is currently showing in the “Hope” exhibit at R. Coury Fine Art Gallery in Savage, MD as part of Pinkapalooza . This event benefits the Blossoms of Hope Foundation which helps families coping with cancer. Half of the proceeds are donated to the Blossoms of Hope Foundation.

Upcoming Shows:

My “New Realm” series will be featured at the Schepis Museum in Columbia, LA in the Spring of 2009. The solo exhibition will open after museum renovations are complete. Details to follow soon.

The Oak Street Gallery in Hammond, LA will feature my work in a solo exhibition this August. I will be showing the “New Realm” series, featuring many pieces that are new to the exhibition.

I will also serve as a representing artist for the Oak Street Gallery in the Louisiana Public Broadcasting Art & Travel Exhibit . The exhibit will take place at the Louisiana State Museum in Baton Rouge, LA from April 25th to May 18th, with an opening reception May on 2nd. The auction will air June 7th on LPB.

Also showing later this month is the GreenScape exhibit at the Cotton Shed Gallery in Savage, MD. I will be a featured artist as part of the R. Coury Fine Art Gallery. The exhibit will open April 15th and close with a reception on May 3rd.

I will be showing at Galerie Lafayette in Lafayette, LA for a second solo exhibit. I will show the “New Realm” series for the first time in this venue. The show is scheduled for the month of October in 2009.

The Alexandria Museum of Art in Alexandria, LA has recently invited me to have a solo exhibition. I will exhibit my “New Realm” series at the museum in 2010.

Also scheduled for 2010, I will also be showing in downtown Lafayette, LA at Gallery 549 . The exhibit will feature six local women artists. More details to follow soon.

Gallery Representation:

I am now represented by the Oak Street Gallery in Hammond, LA. I have also recently attained representation at the R. Coury Fine Art Gallery in Savage, MD.

I will be teaching my course, Art Marketing and Self-Promotion , at Frederick l’Ecole des Arts in Arnaudville, LA again this May. The class will be May 2nd (a Saturday) from 10AM-12Noon. Go to http://frederickarts.homestead.com/Registrationforms/GuidryAmyartmarketingregistrationform.html to register for Art Marketing and Self-Promotion. Sign up early to ensure your spot in the class. Registration is $30. The only supplies needed are a legal pad or notebook and pen for note-taking.

The first video of my work is now online. This preview video features my “New Realm” series and spotlights some of the paintings, providing commentary about each piece. You can view the video on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uL3H_rKW1k or at www.AmyGuidry.com . The video can also be found at Daily Motion, Veoh, and BlipTv.

Publications:

The next edition of Studio Visit Magazine will feature my work in early 2009. My paintings were selected by Michael Klein , curator and private art dealer. He is also the former Director of the International Sculpture Center and former Curator of the Microsoft Collection. The magazine is scheduled for shipment April 15th, and should be in stores by April 30th.

I have been recently selected for the 2010 publication in Marquis Who’s Who in America . The next edition will be published in October of 2009.

Studio Visit Volume 3! FINALLY!

Well it’s FINALLY here! Studio Visit Magazine arrived the other day. Apparently I was the last to receive a copy since mine got lost in the mail. (Hope my mail carrier is enjoying it…) So I just got my replacement copy. So here it is, I know you’ve been waiting forever. I know I have. My work is featured in Volume 3, the Fall 2008 issue. (Too bad I received it in 2009…)

As in the first issue, they split the accepted submissions into two volumes. Close to 1,000 entries were received and about 300 artists were accepted. And as with New American Paintings, the sister publication by The Open Studios Press, this is a juried competition. The juror was Carl Belz, Director Emeritus, The Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University. However, Studio Visit is an international competition, whereas New American Paintings is by region.

Both paintings I submitted were selected, so I have a two-page spread in this issue. Yea! They are from my New Realm series, which is my latest series. “Adaptation” is 48″ x 36″ and “Metamorphosis” is 40″ x 30.”

Both are currently at Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX. If you’d like to see larger images of these paintings, or the rest of my work, you can go to my website www.AmyGuidry.com .

Upcoming Events for This Year and 2009!

“Upcoming Shows:

My “New Realm” series will be featured at the Schepis Museum in Columbia, LA in the Spring of 2009. This will be a solo exhibit and will be on display as of March 3rd and will run through the end of April.

On December 10th, my work will be featured in the “Learn Promote Defend” exhibit and silent auction. The event is sponsored by the Center for Civil and Human Rights in conjunction with a 10-day program, “60 Years of Progress…10 Days of Recognition.” The exhibit will be held at Mason Murer Fine Art in Atlanta, GA.

As mentioned in previous blogs, I was asked to participate in “Twelve,” a group show of twelve artists represented by Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX. The show will open Saturday, December 6th, 2008 with an opening reception from 6-8pm.

Also at Wally Workman Gallery is the upcoming group exhibition, “Grand Affair.” I will also be showing as part of the represented artists. The exhibit will open in January 2009. More details soon.

I will be showing at Galerie Lafayette in Lafayette, LA for a second solo exhibit. My show in 2007 was a huge success, and now I will be showing my “New Realm” series there for the first time at that venue. The show is scheduled for the month of October in 2009. More details to follow.

As part of my recent attainment of representation by the Wally Workman Gallery in Austin, TX, my work will be featured in the upcoming edition of “Art Galleries & Artists of the South” Magazine.

My work was recently selected for the fall edition of “Studio Visit” Magazine. The juror was Carl Belz, Director Emeritus of The Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University. The magazine will be on newsstands later this month and is published by The Open Studios Press. The first copies are being sent to the publisher’s mailing list of national galleries and museums this week!

The winter edition of “Studio Visit” Magazine will also feature my work in early 2009. I was selected by Michael Klein, curator and private art dealer. He is also the former Director of the International Sculpture Center and former Curator of the Microsoft Collection. I received notification yesterday that the magazine is slated to be out mid-March of 2009. So be on the lookout.

If you’d like to see more of my work, aside from this blog, you can check out my online gallery at www.AmyGuidry.com . You can also find my work at www.WallyWorkmanGallery.com . To get monthly updates and show invitations, sign up for my newsletter under the contact page of my website.

Another Studio Visit

Well, I must be on a roll- I received another acceptance letter for Studio Visit Magazine! This will be the third installment in the new publication, due out early 2009. And this will be the third (!) time I’ve been featured in it. Maybe this is some type of delayed karmic action taking place decades after always being picked last for everything in P.E. class. I don’t know…but I like it.

The juror is Michael Klein. Mr. Klein was the curator of the Microsoft Collection and is now an independent curator and private dealer, and he was the director of the International Sculpture Center.

Another plus to being in this magazine is the fact that they send it out to thousands of people- galleries, museums, collectors, etc. Anyone who’s anyone is on their mailing list. So it’s always nice to know that these people will be perusing the magazine. Unless, of course, they just stick it under an unbalanced table leg or line their hamster cage with it. Again, I hope not.

So if this has piqued your interest in my work, you can see more on my website. www.AmyGuidry.com . And be on the lookout for me in Studio Visit…

Read All About It! Upcoming Shows, Publications, and more…

I have completed my newest painting “Wisdom” from my New Realm series. You can view the piece at http://www.amyguidry.com/wisdom.html .

I have been invited to exhibit my work in “Ameri-Dreaming: Art & American Culture.” The show is scheduled for October 8- 31, 2008 in the Claypool-Young Art Gallery at Morehead State University in Morehead, KY.

I will also participate in “Circus Show and Other Atrocities” this coming September. My work will be featured among 60 other invited artists from the US, UK, and Canada. The show will be held at A Bitchin’ Space in Sacramento, CA.

My painting “Cedric” is now in the permanent collection of the Zigler Art Museum in Jennings, LA. “Cedric” is part of the Louisiana artists collection, which will be a traveling collection, and includes work by renowned artists Clementine Hunter and William Tolliver. The piece is from my portrait series and features local Grammy-nominated musician Cedric Watson.

I was also selected for inclusion in the Art Melt 2008. The juror is Sean Ulmer, curator of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. The show will be held from July 11- July 22nd at the Brunner Gallery in the Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge, LA. The opening reception will be held Friday, July 11th from 6:30 to 10pm.

Be sure to check out my piece in the Southern Open Juried Exhibit at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in downtown Lafayette, LA. “Anti-Aging” was selected by juror Peter Frank, an art critic and art historian, who frequently writes for LA Weekly. My work was one of 105 selected from over 770 entries across five Gulf states. You can view photos from the opening reception at http://AmyGuidry.com/slideshow.htm

My New Realm series will be featured at the Jennifer Marie Gallery in Las Vegas, NV. The solo exhibition will be on display this coming September. The opening reception will be Friday, September 12th, from 6-8pm.

My work is featured in Volume I of the premier issue of Studio Visit Magazine. Photos of my selected paintings and information about the publication can be seen under the Press section of the Amy’s website.

In addition, my work was selected for the fall edition of Studio Visit Magazine to be published this year as well. The juror was Carl Belz, Director Emeritus of The Rose Art Museum of Brandeis University.

I have recently been selected for inclusion in Marquis Who’s Who of American Women. My biographical information has also been updated in Marquis Whos’ Who in the World for the upcoming 26th edition.

Issue 8 of Indie Arts- The DVD Magazine features me as one of their four gallery artists. You can see more at http://www.IndieArtsDVD.com .

Television:

If you’ve been watching MTV’s Real World Season 20 Hollywood, you’ve probably noticed my work in the background. My painting “United Isolation” can be seen outside the “telephone room” where the houseguests make their scandalous calls. And take a look at the bathroom mirror reflection because you’ll see it in there as well. You can view new photos from the show at http://www.AmyGuidry.com/press.htm

It’s Finally Here!

I have yet to venture out to the bookstore, but Studio Visit should be on the magazine racks by now.  There are two volumes since they decided not to make one super-huge issue.  I think splitting it in two is good for those with a short attention span anyway.  I am featured in Volume I (see photos above).  What’s nice is they are in a large paperback format, so it’s not so much a magazine as a good quality paperback.  Overall I was impressed with the work featured.  Of course there were a few I had to scratch my head over, but that’s to be expected.  In general, I think this is a great start for a new publication.  And might I also add that this is being sent out to their prestigious list of galleries, museums, and collectors.

Comments and Discussion from artist Amy Guidry

Studio Visit Magazine

Published by zeratha on june 26, 2014 june 26, 2014.

Studio Visit Magazine is a juried fine arts magazine that goes out to over 2,000 galleries and curators around the country.  It represents emerging and mid level career artists.  With each volume representing over 100 artists it is a fun visual feast to partake of.  I myself have enjoyed looking at this publication for several years now and always find intriguing artists to check out I had not heard of before.  This last winter I decided to enter my own artwork to Studio Visit which has a new jury with each issue.  To my delight I got in!  It’s been a long and eager time in the waiting (since February) to get the volume I’d be published in (26) but it is finally on it’s way in the snail mail and I should receive it any day now!  In the meanwhile I was able to check it out digitally online where you are able to download it for free.  My page appears at the very end of volume 26 as my last name is Young and the magazine is in alphabetical order.  It was pleasant to discover four other Portland artists in this issue as well as an artist who’s work I admire (Marlana Stoddard Hayes).  Portland is so full of creative folks!  It is my hope that by getting my name into such a publication as Studio Visit with a widespread readership of curators and galleries that I may gain some new opportunities and exposure.  Wish me luck!  Please see the following link to download your free copy:  http://studiovisitmagazine.com/volume-twenty-six-participants

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Studio Visit Magazine

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Studio Visit Magazine

Description

Studio Visit Magazine - SPRING 2023 COMPETITION

Juror: Francine Weiss: Director of Curatorial Affairs and Chief Curator, Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI

Deadline: April 12, 2023 (midnight EST)

FREE TO ENTER!

ALL FINE ART MEDIUMS ACCEPTED!

Studio Visit is a series of juried artist books. Since 2008 we have offered artists a new and effective venue through which to introduce their work to a serious national audience of art world professionals. Each high quality volume of Studio Visit features approximately 150 artists, who have been selected by professional curators. Selected artists will be given the opportunity to redeem a 1-4 page full color spread that includes 1-4 images image, contact information and a brief artist statement, which will be published in two volumes of Studio Visit scheduled to be released in the Fall/Winter of 2023-24.

By Loney Abrams

Sept. 23, 2016

The most intimate exchanges in the art world happen during studio visits. Curators, critics, dealers, and collectors get the opportunity to experience art in its native context, to see works in progress, and to speak with artists directly about their practice, while artists can expose their work to people who could help them with their careers and give them insightful feedback.

But the behind-closed-doors nature of the studio visit that makes these exchanges intimate and unique, also makes them difficult to master. Short of being an actual fly on the wall in someone else's studio, it's nearly impossible to know whether you're doing it right. Knowing how to conduct yourself might seem like common sense, but we've found that visitors are often surprised to find artists totally unprepared for their studio visits—usually at no fault of their own.

So what should you, as an artist, do to prepare for a studio visit? We’ve asked dealers, curators, advisors, collectors, and seasoned artists to provide some insider insight on what to do (and what not to do) during your next studio visit. Here’s what the experts had to say:

How to Talk About Your Work

This may seem obvious, but after talking to several curators, it’s apparently not… Expect to talk about your work and explain what you do. But how? Our experts had differing opinions on what they prefer in terms of tone, detail, and professionalism.

Tip #1: Actually Understand What Your Work Is About

“I hate when you ask an artist what their work is about and they have no idea—they're so caught off guard by that question. To be honest, this happens almost seven out of 10 times.  If you sit in a room often eight hours a day making a thing, spend five minutes and ask yourself, ‘Why am I making this? And how do I communicate why this was worth making to someone other than myself, though words?’ Walk the visitor through your practice and do not assume they know everything you’ve ever done. Have examples of past work so they can understand how you got here. And again, explain why you are making that thing.” –  Lauren Christiansen, independent curator based in New York

“A studio visit is the time for an artist to not only sell the work but to sell themselves.  Collectors, curators, and dealers are there to learn about the concepts behind the work, so artists should be able to talk about them fluently.  Specifically, speak to the motivations behind the creative process and how the work is made—this provides unique insights that one can't garner from looking at images on a website. The more an artist is willing to share, the better the dialogue.”  –  Megan Green, collector based in New York

“In terms of semantics, I would say that artists should “talk about” their work, rather than “explain” it—but yes, as an artist, you should plan on being able to talk about your work in an articulate manner. A studio visit can be a great time to get early feedback on the direction that a new work or series is taking.”  –  Marco Antonini, curator-at-large at NURTUREart in Brooklyn and independent writer

“I like when artists show works right away and get straight to the point! They shouldn’t necessarily expect questions, especially at the beginning of the studio visit.” –  Domenico de Chirico, Milan-based independent curator and editor at Artviewer

Tip #2: But Don't Force It

“I think it's important for an artist to know they don't have to have an explanation for every decision they make—be it a drip here or a fuzzy ball attached there. BFAs and MFAs "professionalize" artists to a point where they often over-analyze their own work. Allow for quiet and space for the dealer, curator, or collector to simply look. They may come to the work with a whole different set of responses which could be helpful for growth in an artist's practice.”  –  Patton Hindle, co-owner of  Yours Mine & Ours Gallery  in New York, and director of gallery and institutional partnerships at Artspace

“I struggle with a studio visit when it’s too closed, when the artist is just giving you what comes off as a thesis, like a type of elevator pitch with no real entry-point into the conversation. I experience this most with people who just recently came out of undergraduate or masters programs and are used to defending a particular thesis rather than engaging in an open conversation that’s evolving. This conversational tone is a red flag; schools in the US have a particular way of speaking, phrasing, or contextualizing their work that’s fostered by a system where they’re paying someone to give them feedback.”  –  Tara Downs, owner of  Tomorrow Gallery  in New York

“While some of us are better than others at doing a sales pitch, artists are fundamentally not sales people. We are thinkers and makers. During studio visits, there is pressure to perform and impress that can sometimes distract or impede from a concise, honest flow of ideas. I want to talk about my approach to life, the larger framework. It's not only more stimulating, it will also create a context for better understanding the individual objects I've made. Everything is interrelated. Sometimes in life, the best way to have a conversation about philosophy is to ask a question about sports. Talk. We share a common purpose.” –  Andrew Birk , Mexico City-based artist represented by  Anonymous Gallery

How to Prepare for Your Studio Visit (Whether or Not it's Actually in Your Studio)

Studio visits don't necessarily involving visiting an actual studio. Coffee shops and Skype are, for many artists and curators we spoke with, common sites for discussion about an artist’s practice. But while most can agree on Skype, the jury is still out on whether providing your CV and press is an appropriate degree of professionalism. Oh, and nobody dislikes snacks.

Tip #3: Put Your CV Online, But Not in the Studio

“If you’ve received press, make sure it's available to read. Do the same with your CV. Your website should be up-to-date with not only images of your work, but information about your accomplishments.” –  Sue Stoffel, collector based in New York

“Printing out CV and press? Dear god no, don’t do that. That is so over-professionalized and weird.” – Christiansen, independent curator

“That’s what Google search is for! Curators should already know the artist's CV.” – Tara Downs, Tomorrow Gallery

Tip #4/Tip # 5: Don't Be A Slob, and Feed Your Guests

"I always buy a couple of bottles of water—one for the visitor and another for me. I also try to clean the floor but I don’t repaint it because I think it’s good for the visitor to get into the space and feel the vibe of the work. That’s what’s special about a studio—it’s not as sterile as a gallery.”  –  Cristina de Miguel, New York-based artist represented by Freight + Volume 

“I like to come into a clean studio with a few selected works on display, unless we are going to talk about process, which is also something I like. Drinks and snacks are always welcome.” – Antonini, NURTUREart 

" I will have appropriately cleaned my space, will have food and beverages available, and most importantly, will have done all the research possible to understand my visitors as far as past efforts, where, why, and with whom." –  Birk , artist

“Clean up! Make sure you have toilet paper in the bathroom and water bottles out for your guests. Even if it’s just Poland Springs and plastic cups—have something to offer. Have works already out on display. No one wants to watch an artist unwrap double-wrapped paintings leaned up against a wall, one after another. I once went to an artist’s studio and they had a huge canvas displayed on the floor. There wasn’t anywhere to sit or stand, so we just hovered in the doorway and it was very uncomfortable.” –  Stoffel , collector

Tip #6: You Don't Need to Show Everything All at Once

"Figure out the order in which you'd like your work to be seen. Sometimes showing all your cards up front is not the best approach, but selectively bringing out work over the course of a visit can be more productive for the visitor and tell a clearer story." –  Max Warsh, artist and co-director of Regina Rex Gallery in New York

 Tip #6: You Don't Need a Studio to Have a Studio Visit

“The only time I’ve shown physical work was when I took a curator to my exhibition at Museo del Chopo. Otherwise, I usually go meet in different places. My last studio visit was at a cute organic coffee shop. I normally prepare a PDF to show, or just show them my website. I take the lead, give a presentation, click through my images, and wait to see if they have questions.” –  Debora Delmar, artist represented by DUVE Berlin

“I do a lot of Skype visits. I prefer Skype visits because you can only talk. There are no environmental distractions. Like, we will not be talking about the puppy calendar in the corner.” – Christiansen, independent curator

“Remember, studio visits can happen at all levels. A studio visit could be having coffee and conversation with someone outside of the studio because artists are always at different points of production. Sometimes the studio is full, sometimes it’s empty, sometimes you’re Skyping with someone halfway around the world so you’re not actually seeing things. Multiple points of contacts are also really nice, in fact I find you can gain more because in the studio visit, it’s best to stop and think and take away from the conversation, and then return to it because more questions arise afterwards.” – Downs, Tommorrow Gallery

“Skype is good for both open dialogue and looking at works. When I Skype visit, I generally have already looked at the artist’s portfolio and updates, though sometimes the artist also brings their computer around in the studio so I can see it.” –  Domenico de Chirico, independent curator

What Not to Do

Tip #7: Don't Be Greedy

"Don’t expect collectors to buy in the moment. That rarely happens. Usually they’ll want to think about it and get back to you. And here's the cardinal rule: there should  always  be transparency between the artist, the gallerist, and the collector. If the artist is represented by a gallery, the gallery should be notified that a deal is being made. If not, it's bad for everyone involved. The gallery could drop the artist, and the relationship between the collector and the gallery would be jeaprodized as well." – Stoffel, collector

“If the visitor seems interested in purchasing work, it can be a good time to cut a deal with patrons.  But don't be overly aggressive. Buying directly from the studio is a special experience and can seem like a good deal for buyers.  It's also nice to receive any sort of take-away like a sticker, multiple, book etc. to remember the visit.  Collectors love collecting things!” – Green, collector

Tip #7: Don't Name Drop

“ The most annoying thing in a studio visit is when someone name drops. Although, I do like it when they promote their less famous friends' work that they think I should see.” –  Zach Feuer, owner of  Feuer/Mesler Gallery  in New York

Tip #8: Don't Assume Everybody Everywhere Wants to Visit Your Studio

“It’s not necessarily a faux pas to email a curator to ask for a studio visit without knowing them, but as an artist, I would make sure that my work and the ideas at play in my work resonate with the activities of the curator (exhibitions, writing, etc.) that I’m approaching. The best way to go is usually though an introduction, and if possible, a  real  one… e.g. an introduction made by a mutual friend who also truly believes there’s a possible good match.

"A “cold” approach will almost never work, if not for the awkwardness of it. Also, the idea that curators have the time to trek around the world for studio visits is a fantasy. We are overworked like everyone else is. In-person studio visits are rare and in my case are usually project-related, i.e. I’m already working on an idea and I want to see the work in person, which means I have already seen the work.

"I'd also like to plug this in because I think it's extremely important: as an artist, what you are doing in a studio visit is  not  trying to get work shown anywhere; rather, you are building a personal relationship/exchange that will facilitate that. Also, do not insist on getting a studio visit; you would be most likely be wasting your and your visitor's time." – Antonini, NURTUREart

OPTIONAL: Forget Everything You've Just Read

"Artists can do whatever they want. I think we should make sure that aritsts can be the way they want to be rather than formatting them to fit what we expect. Their way of communicating is making art." –  Florence Derieux, curator of American art at Centre Pompidou Foundation and curator-at-large at Centre Pompidou

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How to Nail the Studio Visit: Expert Advice on What Artists Should Do (and Not Do) to Make an Impression

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STUDIO VISIT BOOK VOL. 2: Professional Artist Magazine with Interviews, Studio Photographs and Paintings of creative Women of the World. Hardcover – Large Print, September 30, 2023

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Arts to Hearts Project aims to bring you nothing but excellence, and therefore, we are introducing this contemporary artbook that features some of the most talented individuals who talk about their struggles and what it means to be a creative. In our Studio Visit Book Vol. 2, you will find a collection of interviews from these female artists, where we explore the creative act of painting, sculpting and more. With our magazines, we strive to highlight the accomplishments of women of the world so that other aspiring artists may find their creativity inspiring!

In Volume 2, you will find:

• Expand your imagination: From the magnificent cover art by Anhelina to our thought-provoking collection from 34 artists, each section of our magazine is a piece of art in itself. This issue includes interviews from creative people like Anhelina - the cover artist, Ali Hval - an emerging artist award winner, and Ekaterina Popova –our guest curator.
• Insights from the professionals: From the Editor's Desk, Charuka sheds light on what it means to “go beyond the surface” and explore the role of an artist’s “mental and physical space in their creative process”.
• Learn about the creative act of Fellow Artists: The book features in-depth interviews from various artists, what their creative journey has been like so far, and what inspires them to push forward.
• Get a peek into the studios: Our Studio Visit Book features photographs of artists in their studios, so you can have a look at these talented women of the world doing what they do best in their sanctuary.
• Showcasing art: Featuring 34 artists, our studio book showcases some of their best works that will allow you to explore different art styles.

Studio Visit Book Vol.2 is made for creative individuals to let them know that their dreams can come true!

• Part of series Studio Visit Book
• Print length 144 pages
• Language English
• Publication date September 30, 2023
• Dimensions 8.25 x 0.53 x 11 inches
• ISBN-10 8196551487
• ISBN-13 978-8196551483
• See all details

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Arts To Hearts Project (September 30, 2023)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 144 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8196551487
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8196551483
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.25 x 0.53 x 11 inches

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Studio Ghibli Museum Review: Is it worth the time and money?

Is ghibli museum worth going.

If you managed to grab the ¥1,000 ticket then YES , it’s absolutely worth it! And even if you’re not a fan or haven’t seen any of the Studio Ghibli films, it’s very worth it!

Two things the museum will do to you:

• It will ignite your curiosity in the concept and creation of animation. And,
• It will immerse you in the worlds Studio Ghibli had created — cute and creepy .

But the original way of getting Ghibli Museum tickets are so damn hard to get.

Studio Ghibli films and Hayao Miyazaki are beloved in Japan.

So, getting tickets to the museum is absolutely a battle with the locals and with the residents of Mitaka, where the museum is located.

That fact alone tells you just how remarkably popular the museum is.

If you’re too late, prepare to pay more money!

But no worries, we’ve shared some tips on how to buy tickets to the museum in advance and how to buy one if its sold-out everywhere.

RELATED READ : Tips for Buying Ghibli Museum Tickets & Sold-Out Tickets

How to get to the Ghibli Museum

Ghibli Museum is located in Inokashira Park . To get there, take the JR Chuo Line from Shinjuku Station to Mitaka Station. The museum is a 15-min walk from there. Don’t drive here. The museum has no parking lot.

Our Ghibli Museum experience on each floor

There isn’t a recommended path to exploring the museum. You do it self-paced which also correlates to Ghibli Museum motto: “Let’s Lose Our Way, Together.”

This is the kind of museum I want to make: – A museum that is interesting and which relaxes the soul. – A museum where much can be discovered. – A museum based on a clear and consistent philosophy. – A museum where those seeking enjoyment can enjoy, those seeking to ponder can ponder, and those seeking to feel can feel. – A museum that makes you feel more enriched when you leave than when you entered!

Hayao Miyazaki

Co-Founder, Studio Ghibli

The aim of Hayao Miyazaki was to make the building itself an exhibit. And for the whole museum to make you feel like a kid again.

The museum is built to resemble a hobbit house made from reinforced soil.

There are spiral staircases both inside and out, long balconies, and archways which lead to exhibits.

But occasionally, a few dead ends. And that’s part of the charm because it gives you a feeling of exploration.

Miyazaki’s vision for his movies has always been to immerse his audience in the worlds he creates. And that vision has clearly been recreated in the museum.

First Floor: Permanent Exhibit Room

The first floor was where the Permanent Exhibit Room, themed: “The Beginning of Movement”. The room exhibits the science and history of animation and works not just by Hayao Miyazaki’s but also by other animators.

If there’s one thing Ghibli museum can do to improve, it would be to make the English language available to discuss everything.

WARNING: Taking photos and videos are not allowed in the museum. This gif is from a rule breaker on Youtube .

The Bouncing Totoro 3D zoetrope in this exhibit is without a doubt the highlight of this room.

It was the first time we’ve seen such a motion display.

It is a sequence of 347 still figures of “My Neighbor Totoro” characters. And creates an illusion of motion along with the rapid flashing LED lights when rotated.

I was particularly impressed by Mei and Satsuki’s character where the movements were really smooth. It seemed to be crafted perfectly frame by frame.

No wonder why the creators of this 3D zoetrope took them almost a year to finish. We kept coming back for this many times.

And could stare at it  for hours which is Miyazaki’s main goal, on why he personally requested this zoetrope created: To have every visitor stop and be mesmerized.

However, if you are sensitive to light or epileptic, you should stay out of Bouncing Totoro 3D zoetrope.

To make such a museum, the building must be: – Put together as if it were a film. – Not arrogant, magnificent, flamboyant, or suffocating. – Quality space where people can feel at home, especially when it’s not crowded. – A building that has a warm feel and touch. – A building where the breeze and sunlight can freely flow through.

Second Floor: Special Exhibit Room

The second floor has two exhibit rooms.

First Exhibit room: “Where A Film Is Born.”

This room looked like it belonged to an artist’s room that had just left the room to take a break.

It was filled with several books, unfinished sketches, and freshly sharpened pencils.

Visitors are free to touch everything in this room.

In fact, YOU are ENCOURAGED, to feel the artist’s vibe with the goal to inspire you to be the next Hayao Miyazaki.

Second Exhibit room: “Scene of Food”

The second exhibit room’s theme changes annually.

The year we went, it showcased all the eating and food scenes from Miyazaki’s film and how there were drawn and created.

This room would make you realize how difficult it really is to create just a set frame of eating food in animation–already renders about 50-100 frames .

Third Floor: Art Collection

Cat Bus Room

The 3rd floor is where the Cat Bus from “My Neighbor Totoro” is. Elementary children age 12 and under can bounce and play in this room.

Adults are of course free to touch the Cat Bus fur that you’ve been dreaming of touching as you see it from the movie.

It is not the exact size of the Cat Bus as they wanted it in the film.

They shrink it just to fit the room. I wouldn’t recommend making your smaller babies from 0-24 months here.

Your little one is too small and can be crushed by bigger children.

Plus, the place can be pretty packed considering the size of the room is really small.

If you need a little time alone for yourself, this is your chance to talk down to your kids if they can stay and play while you explore the rest of the museum.

The museum must be run in such a way that: – Small children are treated as if they were grown-ups. – The handicapped are accommodated as much as possible. – The staff can be confident and proud of their work. – Visitors are not controlled with predetermined courses and fixed directions. – It is suffused with ideas and new challenges so that the exhibits do not get dusty or old, and that investments are made to realize that goal.

Tri-Hawks Bookstore

Here, you can browse children’s books and picture books that are personally hand-picked by Hayao Miyazaki.

It was named Tri-Hawks as Mitaka, where the Ghibli Museum is located.

Mi-Taka translates to “three hawks” in English.

Next to the Cat Bus room is the Tri-Hawks Bookstore. Mothers or fathers are free to read books here to their little ones. The books are mainly in Japanese though.

Mamma Auito

The same floor is where you can also find the souvenir and gift shop called Mamma Auito. It was inspired by the comedy-adventure animation Porco Rosso where Mamma Auito was a name of an air pirate gang.

Deck Area: Straw Hat Cafe

From the 3rd floor, we found our way out to the Straw Hat Cafe.

Bright orange and red cafe and restaurant with inside and outside seatings that offer an outdoor atmosphere and the views of Inokashira Park.

The restaurant is located outside or deck area of the museum.

You are free to take photos in this area .

The cafe will be: – An important place for relaxation and enjoyment. – A place that doesn’t underestimate the difficulties of running a museum cafe. – A good cafe with a style all its own where running a cafe is taken seriously and done right.

Rooftop Garden: Life-Sized Robot Soldier from “Laputa: Castle in the Sky”

Looking down over Inokashira Park is a life-sized  5-meter tall iconic character from the first film created and released by Studio Ghibli, the Laputa Robot Soldier.

Made from hammered copper plates, the statue took around 2 years to create. But the detail makes it seem ready to spring to life at any moment.

The soldier is from the movie “Laputa: Castle in the Sky.” And actually debuted in the final episode of Lupin the III Part II.

Although there would be some small changes to its appearance in the movie.

The 15-min Studio Ghibli Short Film That Made Us Wish Were Kids Again

Lastly, the museum shows 15-minute short films inside the Saturn Theater. The theater is located on the main floor of the museum.

The films rotate throughout the year and all are original creations for the theater.

During our visit, the theater was showing “Kujiratori (The Whale Hunt)”, which was a cute movie about children’s imagination.

Honestly, even though the movies shown are very much meant for small children, this is a highlight of the museum and a must-see during your visit .

The film tells the story of school children playing pretend that came to life. This is our favorite feature of the museum.

It simply reminded us that it’s always fun to be a kid again and to have those special moments.

Rules in Ghibli Museum

Absolutely no photography inside the museum. The museum stated that they want you to:

Experience the Museum space with your own eyes and senses, instead of through a camera’s viewfinder.

Below are some important museum rules:

• No eating or drinking.
• Admission to the Saturn Theater is limited to one screening per person.
• No smoking on the premise.
• No re-entry to the museum.

Since photo taking is not allowed inside, take as many photos as you can from outside the museum, as the building itself is interesting and was inspired by European architecture.

Things to do near Ghibli Museum

After visiting the Ghibli Museum, you can explore Inokashira Park , which is one of the most important parks in Tokyo. This park is especially beautiful during the cherry blossom season.

You can also explore the Kichijoji Station area, a trendy place with an interesting vibe.

How early should I arrive at the Ghibli museum?

Arrive at the museum at least 15-30 minutes before your designated entrance time. They are very strict on this rule. So if you’ve missed your time slot, you’re NOT allowed to get in and tickets cannot be refunded.

How long can I stay inside Ghibli Museum?

You can enjoy the museum for as long as you want up until closing time.

Is Ghibli Museum baby-friendly?

All floors have restrooms equipped with a diaper table. The first floor, however, is the only one with baby room and breastfeeding facilities.

Is Ghibli Museum stroller-friendly?

Make sure to bring your baby carrier as strollers are not allowed. You need to leave your strollers at the designated storage area of the museum.

Are there coin lockers in Ghibli Museum?

Coin lockers are available but only for small luggage. If you have large suitcases, proceed to the Information Center and ask the staff for assistance.

Do you recommend the food at the Straw Hat Cafe?

Straw Hat Cafe seems to be pretty LOVED and has 4 out of 5-star ratings. Some stated that the food is cooked fresh and all come from an organic farm which is guaranteed healthy. Unfortunately for us, we didn’t really get to dine at the Straw Hat Cafe because the restaurant was packed and has a LONG waiting line despite our off-season visit. I recommend that you eat here outside lunch hours, hopefully, the line has died down. Based on their menu, the variety is limited like breaded pork, steak, sandwich, soup, and omurice (omelet rice) which are typical and the same as the ones you can find in many restaurants and cafes scattered in Japan. The food served is not gimmicky , definitely not Ghibli-themed except for one coffee latte that has a coffee foam art of a straw hat, and a soda drink, that’s it, (sorry Instagrammers). With these in mind, arrive at the museum with a full stomach as we did. We ate in Ichiran Ramen near Kichijoji Station.

Ghibli Museum is always mentioned as a must-visit in Tokyo. After visiting, I wanted to kick myself for not going sooner.

Perhaps it was my fond memories of watching My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away growing up. But after seeing the exhibits here, it made me feel like a kid again.

The main takeaways:

• Don’t ever feel embarrassed if you can’t help feeling like a kid again. Ghibli Museum always encourages you to touch everything in it. This is why Studio Ghibli museum is a favorite of playful parents and young at heart.
• The experience is worth more than the original ticket price. And it is best bought through Lawson for 1,000 yen only.

I can’t wait to share it with my own daughter when she’s old enough to appreciate it. I just hope that she won’t be too scared of many odd-looking characters like I was with the Cat Bus when I was young.

The museum hopes to ignite your curiosity in the concept and creation of animation and understand the artist’s essence and spirit.

However, if you have obtained it through other methods that are more expensive, it all depends subjectively if you really consider yourself both an anime and a Ghibli fan.

If neither of these things really have any meaning to you, then I would still suggest giving the museum a chance. Who knows, you may come out of the museum wanting to see more.

SPECIAL TIP: Watch 1 or 2 Studio Ghibli films before you visit. This is just to create a compelling sense of familiarity with Studio Ghibli films.

Did I miss anything? Please leave your comment below if you have any questions!

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Is Visiting Universal Studios Japan Worth It? An In-Depth Guide for Theme Park Fans

I‘m sure you‘ve heard all about Universal Studios Japan. This world-famous theme park in Osaka brings huge crowds eager to experience its immersive rides and lands.

But as you plan your trip to Japan, you might be wondering – is Universal Studios Japan really worth visiting?

I‘ve done extensive research and visited Universal Studios Japan myself. In my expert opinion, yes, this amazing theme park is absolutely worth your time and money!

Universal Studios Japan delivers one-of-a-kind excitement and memories that you simply can‘t find anywhere else. From facing down Jaws to touring Hogwarts, it‘s a bucket-list theme park destination.

That said, I know you‘re considering factors like crowds, prices, and trip planning to decide if it‘s right for your Japan travel plans.

Below I‘ve put together an in-depth, 2600+ word guide examining all the key details to help YOU determine if Universal Studios Japan should be part of your Japan trip itinerary. Let‘s dive in!

Overview of Universal Studios Japan

Before we weigh if a visit here is worthwhile, let‘s look at what exactly Universal Studios Japan has to offer.

Opened in 2001 in downtown Osaka, Universal Studios Japan was the first Universal theme park outside the United States. It‘s now the 5th most-visited theme park globally with over 14 million guests in 2019.

The park brings famous Universal movies to life through intricately detailed lands and cutting-edge attractions. You‘ll find 9 different themed areas:

Walk through studio set recreations and experience attractions based on blockbuster films like Terminator 2 3D and Snoopy Studio.

Feel the hustle and energy of the Big Apple with street performances, iconic architecture, and NY-style food.

San Francisco

This area vividly replicates the bay area. Ride along major landmarks on Hollywood Dream: The Ride, one of the park‘s top attractions.

Jurassic Park

Based on the hit dinosaur films, this land has thrilling rides where you‘ll come face to face with massive, lifelike dinosaurs.

Watch death-defying stunt shows inspired by the post-apocalyptic movie, including thrilling jet ski battles.

Amity Village

Relive the classic Jaws films in this 1960s seaside village where you‘ll encounter the iconic shark. A fan favorite area!

Wizarding World of Harry Potter

One of the most immersive lands, recreating Hogwarts and Harry‘s world on an unbelievably detailed scale across two full areas. This is the #1 highlight for many visitors.

Minion Park

Step into the wacky world of the popular Despicable Me Minions, including rides, shows, shops, and interactive areas. Great for kids.

Super Nintendo World

Opened in 2021, this video game-themed land lets you enter the world of Mario, Yoshi, and other Nintendo franchises. It includes the highly advanced Mario Kart ride.

In total, Universal Studios Japan has over 30 rides and attractions. Some of the headlining rides you simply can‘t miss include:

The Flying Dinosaur – One of the best rollercoasters anywhere, with speeds up to 112 km/h through looping corkscrew tracks surrounded by Jurassic Park.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey – An absolute game-changer ride seamlessly taking you through Hogwarts and key scenes from the films via advanced robotic ride seats and projection technology.

Hollywood Dream: The Ride – A hyperrealistic ride combining motion simulation and live action to make you feel part of major Hollywood and San Francisco landmarks and scenes.

Jaws – Board tour boats for a terrifyingly fun encounter with the massive animatronic shark from the classic film series. This is unique to Universal Japan.

Mario Kart: Koopa‘s Challenge – Using augmented reality glasses, race through fan-favorite Mario Kart courses like you‘re inside the actual game. Extremely innovative!

Beyond the rides, you‘ll find street entertainment, character meet and greets, interactive shows, restaurants, shops, and more throughout Universal Studios Japan, making it an immersive, world-class theme park experience.

Now let‘s look at the key factors to weigh when deciding if Universal Studios Japan is worth your time and money while visiting Japan.

Is Universal Studios Japan Worth Visiting? Key Factors to Consider

Crowds and wait times.

Universal Studios Japan is enormously popular, drawing over 14 million visitors in 2019 alone. Due to this, wait times for rides can be very long during peak periods.

Weekends, holidays, and Japanese school breaks from late July through August tend to be the busiest and most crowded times.

During peak days, the wait for top attractions like Harry Potter rides can easily exceed 2-3 hours without an express pass. For comparison, at U.S Universal parks, peak wait times may be 1-2 hours for the most popular rides.

Thankfully, you can take some steps to avoid the heaviest crowds:

Visit on a weekday if possible. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays tend to be less busy.

Avoid visiting on national holidays or school breaks. Check a calendar before your trip.

Plan to arrive very early, at least 30 minutes before park opening. Ride wait times will be lowest right at open.

Visit during less busy seasons like January-May and September-November. The summer is peak season.

Here is a look at typical wait times during different crowd levels I‘ve observed at Universal Studios Japan:

As you can see, wait times get extremely long during peak periods. An Express Pass can be a smart investment – more on that next.

Express Passes

Express Passes allow you to use a shorter, fast-track line for each ride once. This lets you skip the regular standby queue.

Given the crowding, Express Passes are highly recommended if you want to experience Universal Studios Japan‘s top rides in a single day visit.

Express Passes range from around $50-60 for one ride up to $120+ for unlimited rides on a given day. Typically it‘s best to get an all-inclusive pass if you want to try everything.

You can also get free Express Passes by staying at one of the official Universal Studios Japan hotels located steps from the park‘s entrance, such as the Hotel Keihan Universal Tower. There you also get early park entry perks.

Buying an Express Pass adds to the cost, but can easily be worth 5+ hours of time saved waiting in regular lines on a peak day. For comparison, Disney‘s Maxpass system costs around $75-100 per person for ride fast passes.

Ticket Prices

General admission 1-day tickets to Universal Studios Japan for adults cost around $70-90 if purchased at the gate, or $65-80 if purchased online in advance. Children‘s tickets are about $10-20 less.

This is in line with or slightly lower than admission to other major international theme parks:

Tokyo Disneyland 1-Day Ticket: $75-$85

Disneyland California 1-Day Ticket: $100-$160

Universal Studios Hollywood 1-Day Ticket: $109-$139

Shanghai Disneyland 1-Day Ticket: $55-$99

When budgeting, remember to account for add-ons like Express Passes, meals, transportation, hotels, merchandise and more. But the base ticket price is very comparable to similar parks worldwide.

A pro tip is to purchase an afternoon-close combo ticket online, which gets you into both Universal Studios Japan and the adjacent Osaka Aquarium for under $100 total. This saves about $20 compared to buying both tickets separately.

To fully experience everything, plan on a full day at the park from open to close. Tickets allow same-day re-entry, so you can come and go.

Time Needed to See the Highlights

Most guests recommend spending a full day at Universal Studios Japan to really see and do everything, especially with riders like Harry Potter that you‘ll want to experience more than once.

With an Express Pass in hand, you can comfortably experience all the major rides and shows in a single 8-10 hour day.

Without Express Pass, you‘ll have to carefully prioritize the top 3-5 "must do" attractions for you. Expect long waits most of the day. Pace yourself and stay patient in queues!

Some guests opt for 2 full days at Universal Studios Japan, which allows time to re-ride favorites and explore at a more relaxed pace without rushing. This is especially nice during peak crowds when queues are longest.

But for most travelers, one full day is sufficient to see the highlights. Two days may be overkill unless you‘re a diehard theme park fan.

No matter what, I strongly recommended staying until park close to experience nighttime entertainment like parades and light shows. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter looks especially magical at night!

Unique Experiences Compared to Other Parks

A major appeal of Universal Studios Japan is getting to see rides and lands based on popular Universal intellectual properties you won‘t find recreated anywhere else.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter in particular is a sight to behold – perfect down to every last detail. Nowhere else can you tour Hogwarts and step into Harry‘s world brought to life so vividly.

Plus, Universal Studios Japan still has the Jaws ride, allowing you to battle the massive animatronic shark. Be sure to experience this classic, as the Jaws attractions have closed at other Universal parks.

Compared to Tokyo Disneyland, Universal Japan generally offers more high-thrill rides suited for teens, adults, and older children seeking excitement. Disney focuses more on tamer rides tailored to younger kids.

Special events like Halloween Horror Nights and cool limited-time park themes like anime and video game collaborations also provide unique experiences at Universal Studios Japan.

In short, Universal Studios Japan offers numerous attractions you won‘t get anywhere else. For movie buffs, thrill seekers, Potterheads, and pop culture fans, it‘s theme park magic you‘ll find only in Japan.

Location and Accessibility

A major perk of Universal Studios Japan is its convenient location. The park is situated right in downtown Osaka, Japan‘s third largest city.

It‘s just a short train ride away from major stations like Namba and Umeda on the metro. Many hotels offer easy direct shuttles as well.

Since Osaka is a huge transport hub, Universal Studios Japan makes for an awesome day trip from Kyoto, Nara, Kobe and other Kansai region highlights.

You can easily pair a visit here with time exploring vibrant Osaka. The city is famous for its food scene with tasty street food and restaurants everywhere.

The park is also located near the airport, so you could even visit Universal at the start or end of your Japan trip. The location really maximizes convenience.

Dining and Amenities

You‘ll find abundant dining options within Universal Studios Japan. There are both fast counter-service eateries and nicer table-service restaurants.

In particular, the Wizarding World has fun, themed restaurants like the Three Broomsticks and Hog‘s Head Pub where you can enjoy dishes straight from Harry Potter‘s world.

Food & drink pricing is comparable or somewhat above what you‘ll pay outside the park. To save money, grab a meal beforehand or pack snacks.

If you plan to dine at Universal, combo tickets with a meal voucher included can offer savings compared to paying separately.

For amenities, there are lockers to store bags & valuables, nursing rooms, guest services booths, and plenty of shops selling merchandise and souvenirs. You‘ll have all the conveniences needed for a full day at the park.

Final Verdict – Is Visiting Universal Studios Japan Worth It?

So what‘s the bottom line – should you visit Universal Studios Japan or not?

In my expert opinion, Universal Studios Japan is an absolute must-see attraction that‘s worth your time and money.

The incredible rides, shows, and themed lands deliver a one-of-kind experience you really can‘t find anywhere else. Nowhere else can you battle Jaws then tour iconic realms from Harry Potter and Nintendo games all in one place!

Yes, crowds and costs are downsides to weigh, especially during peak seasons. With smart planning using tips above, plus budgeting for express passes, you can maximize value.

Universal Studios Japan offers world-class, only-in-Japan theme park memories perfect for movie lovers, thrill seekers, families, and anyone young at heart.

I highly recommend adding Universal Studios Japan to your Japan travel itinerary. With the right expectations and preparation, it‘s certain to be a fun-filled highlight of your trip!

I hope this complete 2600+ word guide has helped explain in detail everything you need to consider when deciding if Universal Studios Japan is worth visiting or not. Let me know if you have any other questions!

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How a ‘Nerdy’ Prosecutor Became the First to Try Trump

Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan D.A., campaigned as the best candidate to go after the former president. Now he finds himself leading Trump’s first prosecution — and perhaps the only one before the November election.

Credit... Philip Montgomery for The New York Times

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By Kim Barker ,  Jonah E. Bromwich and Michael Rothfeld

Kim Barker, Jonah E. Bromwich and Michael Rothfeld interviewed more than 70 of Alvin Bragg’s friends and colleagues and legal and political experts for this article. Rothfeld and Bromwich have written extensively about the case against Trump; Barker, an investigations reporter, examined Bragg’s legal record.

• Published April 9, 2024 Updated April 15, 2024

Reporters vied for seats in the briefing room, some even crouching on the floor. They all knew, on this Tuesday in early April 2023, that Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, was about to announce something momentous: the first criminal charges against a former American president.

Listen to this article, read by Emily Woo Zeller

Yet when Bragg walked quietly onto the stage, it took a second or two for the audience to realize he was there. In his dark blue suit and dark-rimmed glasses, he blended into the dark blue curtains behind the lectern. He took out his notes and thanked everyone for coming. He was flanked by poster boards with flow charts, but that was as far as the showmanship went.

The accusations he went on to level against Donald J. Trump were salacious, involving money paid to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election so she would remain silent about her claim that they had sex a decade before. But Bragg studiously avoided mentioning sex or hush money during the 13-minute event, focusing instead on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up the payment. Bragg looked frequently at his notes while he spoke, mostly in a monotone. He seemed unprepared (or unwilling) to answer the most obvious questions: why he had abandoned a different case, about whether Trump had falsified the valuations of properties, or why he thought he could make these new charges stick.

Bragg displayed passion only once, in response to a question about why he brought a hush-money case after his predecessor and federal prosecutors had not.

“This is the business capital of the world,” Bragg said, his voice rising. “We regularly do cases involving false business statements. The bedrock — in fact, the basis for business integrity and a well-functioning business marketplace — is true and accurate record-keeping. That’s the charge that’s brought here, falsifying New York State business records.”

True and accurate record-keeping. It’s hardly the stuff of history books. But a year later, it is this paperwork case — not the three other indictments that have dominated the news, involving accusations of trying to overturn a presidential election and mishandling highly classified documents — that will in the coming days make history as Trump’s first criminal trial, and perhaps the only one before the election in November.

Hardly anyone figured that it would play out this way. Bragg himself had said that “broader justice may warrant another case going first.” Yet with those other cases mired in legal skirmishing and delay, it is Bragg, a Harvard-trained prosecutor who has often appeared to be a most uncomfortable, un-media-savvy public figure, who will now face off against the reality-television star turned Republican former president, master of spin, media-ready insult and creation of his own narrative.

Bragg’s legal argument is complicated, but it stems from a simple episode: In the days before the 2016 election, Trump’s personal attorney and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, paid $130,000 in hush money to the adult-film star Stormy Daniels. Prosecutors argue that Trump, who denies that he had sex with Daniels, then lied on 34 business records — 12 ledger entries, 11 invoices and 11 checks — to disguise his repayment of Cohen as legal fees.

Who Are Key Players in the Trump Manhattan Criminal Trial?

The first criminal trial of former President Donald J. Trump is underway. Take a closer look at central figures related to the case.

On its own, falsifying those documents would be misdemeanors, relatively minor crimes. Bragg elevated each of the charges to felonies by arguing that they were committed to hide or further another crime — which, in an unusual move, he did not charge. He said he wasn’t required to specify that crime, but added that it might have been a violation of state or federal election law. What may further complicate the case is that it relies heavily on testimony from Cohen, a disbarred lawyer who served prison time after pleading guilty to violating campaign-finance laws, evading taxes, making false statements to a bank and lying to Congress.

After the indictment, a chorus of critics — some but not all on the right — questioned the legal reasoning, wisdom and winnability of the hush-money case. Today, many experts believe that Bragg’s legal strategy looks considerably stronger, validated by a federal judge who rebuffed Trump’s effort to delay or even kill the case by having it moved to federal court, and by the Manhattan judge presiding over the case, who in February officially greenlit Bragg’s premise by setting a trial date.

None of which means the case has ceased to be controversial. The furor lives on, primarily in the political space. Trump and his allies have branded the case a witch hunt, a selective prosecution brought by a Democratic district attorney in the pocket of George Soros, boogeyman of the right. Many Democrats, in turn, worry that Trump’s narrative of persecution is only fueling his presidential campaign, especially because this case of sexual peccadillo and faked paperwork might look frivolous next to his three other indictments, which cut closer to his presidency and the foundations of American democracy.

“We’re all kind of like, ‘I can’t believe Alvin is at the center of this,’” says Erin E. Murphy, a New York University law professor who is part of Bragg’s close-knit friend group from law school and was one of more than 70 friends, colleagues and legal and political experts interviewed for this article. She adds: “He’s just so not political. He’s like, not a hyperpartisan political person in any way, shape or form. So there’s just this dissonance.”

Certainly, Bragg, who is 50, has never seemed to concern himself much with appearances. His friends have long joked about his wearing rumpled suits or a Boy Scout outfit on a date. If he could have applied for this job instead of campaigning for it, they say, he would have. That’s what he did when he became a federal prosecutor and then a deputy New York attorney general, each move a step forward in a life devoted to a careful, verging on nerdy, practice of the law; to the commitment to service — a word he has often used — that his parents instilled in him when he was growing up on Strivers’ Row in Harlem.

Bragg himself has seemed almost sheepish about the Trump case, preferring to talk about tackling wage theft or creating a jail-diversion program. Just after he announced the indictment last spring, his office sent out its regular roundup of big cases. It listed the Trump indictment not first, not even second, but third — after the convictions of two killers. The office’s 2023 highlights list didn’t even mention Trump. Bragg declined to comment for this article, concerned about being accused of unethical behavior before the trial.

Yet if Bragg the district attorney has been largely quiet about the former president, a look back through his record shows that hasn’t always been the case. Bragg the candidate, in fact, was more than willing to talk up his legal bona fides in the matter of Trump. Bragg may lack the polish and presentation of a politician. His friends may insist that he’s not a politician. But for all his lawyerly reticence, inside his sometimes-ill-fitting suits is a man of unmistakable ambition who has hitched his aspirations to the pursuit of Donald J. Trump.

Bragg’s emergence as a public critic of Trump came at a time when he was relatively unknown outside New York legal and Harvard-alumni circles. And it came in an unusual venue: a video, posted in May 2019 by the progressive news outlet NowThis and hosted by the flamboyantly public Trump hater Robert De Niro. In the video, Bragg and 10 other former federal prosecutors said they believed that Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election had uncovered more than enough evidence to indict Trump. “This isn’t even a close case,” Bragg said.

Bragg was on a break from public service, teaching at New York Law School. But he was also just weeks from announcing his next move: his candidacy for Manhattan district attorney in an election still two years away.

The incumbent district attorney, Cyrus Vance Jr., had begun his own investigation of the president and his businesses. And even before Vance announced in March 2021 that he would not seek re-election, the race had become a referendum on who could best take on Trump. In a primary campaign of would-be Trump slayers, Bragg sold himself as the most experienced.

He talked about supervising the state investigation into the Trump Foundation as chief deputy attorney general in 2017 — a case that led to the charity’s closure. He said he knew how to prosecute fraud in the valuation of properties, one strand of Vance’s Trump investigation. Referring to Trump’s “criminal policies,” Bragg added, “He has embraced white nationalism, misconstrued data and engaged in cronyism, and the result has been a parade of horribles.” Bragg told The Wall Street Journal that he “certainly” had more experience with Trump “than most people in the world.” A rival Democrat’s spokeswoman complained that Bragg attacked Trump “for political advantage every chance he gets.”

Bragg also used Trump to contrast himself with Vance. The district attorney, he argued, had appeared soft on the rich and powerful, declining to prosecute two of Trump’s children several years earlier on accusations that they misled potential buyers in the struggling Trump SoHo condo-hotel. Vance had also met with one of Trump’s lawyers, Marc Kasowitz, and accepted his $32,000 campaign contribution just months after rejecting the Trump SoHo case. (Vance later returned the money.)

For Bragg, this was a break with lawyerly protocol — to be talking about a potential case before seeing all the facts, at the risk of appearing biased. Yet in this election cycle, and especially with Trump newly vulnerable after his 2020 loss, holding him to account seemed vital to being elected in Manhattan.

Bragg’s campaign was hardly all Trump. He also championed the sort of criminal-justice-reform issues — for example, ending long prison sentences for low-level street crimes — that had helped progressive prosecutors sweep into office nationwide. But he seemed to double down on Trump as the campaign went on, simplifying and exaggerating his record. “It is a fact that I have sued Trump over 100 times,” Bragg told The New York Times in April 2021, an often-repeated claim that would be published everywhere from CNN to the BBC. “I can’t change that fact, nor would I. That was important work.” Asked recently for documentation, a campaign spokesman, Richard Fife, sent links to more than 100 news releases. A review of these and court filings found 30 cases in which the New York attorney general’s office had sued Trump or his federal agencies during Bragg’s time there — nearly always alongside other states. (The office also joined 12 other ongoing lawsuits against the Trump administration, the analysis found.) As a top aide to the attorney general, Bragg could have supervised those cases, but taking personal credit seems a bit of a stretch.

The district attorney’s office referred questions about the lawsuits to Fife, who said Bragg’s comments were not written but made “in conversation.” (Bragg, in fact, did repeat the statement in a written candidate questionnaire.) “I will concede,” Fife said, “that our use of the word ‘suit’ isn’t as limited as your definition.”

In heavily Democratic Manhattan, primaries typically function as general elections. On Primary Day in June 2021, Bragg said on Twitter: “As Chief Deputy Attorney General of NY State, I oversaw a staff of 1200+ people delivering progressive change. I led the investigation into stop and frisk. I didn’t just sue Donald Trump and the Trump Foundation — I won.”

On Nov. 2, 2021, the night he trounced his Republican opponent, Bragg moved to the microphone at Harlem Tavern as supporters chanted: “Alvin! Alvin! Alvin!” His first public remarks were hardly memorable.

“Somewhere deep down inside, I think I always wanted a bar mitzvah,” said Bragg, who had long taught Sunday school at the nearby Abyssinian Baptist Church. “This is new for me, newly elected — I think I can say that now, right?” he asked the crowd, starting his speech. Then he paused, practically giddy, to interrupt himself: “Look, this is phenomenal.”

Bragg’s remarks made it clear that he saw his election as Manhattan’s first Black district attorney as the natural next chapter in the annals of his life. Walking to the tavern on Frederick Douglass Boulevard, Bragg told his supporters, his mind flipped back through a personal journey that began along this stretch of what neighborhood old-timers like himself still called Eighth Avenue: being dropped off at grade school by his parents; eventually taking the M10 bus there on his own; facing guns pointed at him by the police; graduating from high school. But that was not all. Bragg had one more memory to share.

“I had my first date with Jamila Ponton Bragg on 139th Street and Eighth Avenue,” he said. “And I was wearing a Boy Scout uniform, because I had just come from leading a troop at Abyssinian Baptist Church, and she still ate with me, and she married me!”

Bragg’s parents, Alvin Sr. and Sadie, raised him to move seamlessly between worlds. They attended church at Abyssinian, a stronghold of Black social-justice activism. But they also enrolled their only child as a kindergartner at the Trinity School, one of the city’s most exclusive private academies. Bragg, one of a handful of Black students, became the center of a tight-knit group of Trinity kids, friends who are still in his inner circle. “We always called him the mayor,” recalls John Scott, who met Bragg in middle school. “He was like the most gregarious and outgoing and charismatic guy, even back then.”

In a Trinity yearbook entry, Bragg quoted Aristotle, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the music producer Quincy Jones — and himself: “You and I are like two stalks of corn in a field of love … waiting for the harvest.” (It was apparently an inside joke.)

Asked by a journalist during the campaign if he was nerdy, Bragg said: “I think yes and no. I think nerdiness is a little bit context-based.” He paused and added: “I think in any broad sense, yes.” The Rev. Al Sharpton, who supported Bragg’s campaign and praised his indictment of Trump, described him this way: “He’s not the larger-than-life swagger figure of Harlem. He is the result of what those generations produced: a competent, efficient guy.”

Growing up, Bragg’s friends say, he didn’t make a big fuss about the three times he remembered the police pulling guns on him on the Harlem streets. Once, several police cars converged on a taxi carrying Bragg and four Black friends; the officers, guns drawn, ordered everyone out. They told them they “fit the description” of some boys who had just committed a crime nearby, then held them for a few minutes before letting them go, recalls Roald Richards, one of the friends. (During the campaign, whenever Bragg brought up his encounters with the police, he would also mention the three times criminals pulled guns on him or would praise the police for keeping the streets safe.)

Yet if Bragg swallowed those experiences as a teenager, he has also described them as fuel for his ambition. He was elected president of his high school senior class; his yearbook described an imaginary 20-year reunion in which Bragg was president of the United States. While he was at college, The Harvard Crimson highlighted his ability as president of the Black Students Association to defuse tension between warring student groups. The headline: “The Anointed One.” Bragg’s role: “Conciliator.” He became such good friends with Republicans that, years later, one would actually donate money to his campaign — despite the fact that said Republican, Harry Wilson, would later run for governor of New York. At Harvard Law School, Bragg joined the team that won the prestigious moot-court competition. Even that makes his path seem preordained: It was the Archibald Cox team, named for the Watergate prosecutor who investigated President Richard M. Nixon.

Bragg started out as a lawyer in private practice representing, among other clients, Native American tribal members who said they had been abused by the police. But he soon became a prosecutor at the state attorney general’s office, explaining later that he felt he could make more of a difference from the inside. After three years, he left to become a lawyer at the New York City Council. Three years after that, he joined the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan. After four years there, he returned for a second tour at the attorney general’s office. It became a pattern: Bragg never stayed long enough to build a deep record. He seemed in a rush to get somewhere.

But in offices where head-down self-advancement was the norm, Bragg amassed friends and allies. It’s all but impossible to find anyone who worked with him who has a negative thing to say. He walked around, often slightly disheveled, messenger bag dangling and tie askew, smiled big and asked, “How are you?” Several colleagues recalled being struck by how deliberately he tested the strengths and weaknesses of evidence. “In every regard, he was one of the smartest people I’ve ever met, and meticulous,” says Joshua Gradinger, who worked under Bragg in the attorney general’s office. “I say that over and over again — meticulous.”

But as Bragg prepared to take office in 2022, a conflict was brewing: between his careful approach to the law and the promises he made during his political campaign.

Within days of becoming district attorney, Bragg announced his top policy priorities. From the recesses of his campaign website, he pulled a criminal-justice-reform manifesto outlining crimes that would no longer be prosecuted, including marijuana possession, trespassing and sex work. The Day 1 Memo, as it was called, also signaled that illegal gun possession would not mean jail time unless the gun was used in a violent crime.

The timing was less than ideal. During the pandemic, murders and shootings rose, and many New Yorkers seemed to believe that things were spiraling out of control. “Happy 2022, Criminals!” The New York Post blared, referring to Bragg as the “woke new Manhattan DA.”

Bragg’s ideas weren’t exactly radical. But his execution — announcing them as one of his first acts, in the biggest job of his life, without anticipating the backlash — made him look like a rookie, like someone who didn’t seem to fully grasp that he would be upsetting some of the very people he needed to do his job. The police commissioner rebuked him; police unions condemned him. Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney who had hired Bragg and then campaigned for him, was disappointed and frustrated by what he saw as an astonishingly clumsy rollout, according to people familiar with his thinking.

Bragg had another hangover from the campaign: the case of Tracy McCarter, a nurse accused of killing her husband. Vance had charged McCarter with second-degree murder in September 2020, even though she claimed self-defense and domestic abuse. Activists on social media had defended her. Bragg had weighed in. “I #StandWithTracy,” he tweeted on the day she was charged, using the hashtag pushed by McCarter’s backers. “Prosecuting a domestic violence survivor who acted in self-defense is unjust.”

Now, invested with the powers of the district attorney, Bragg had to decide whether he would indeed stand with McCarter. Pressing him to do so was a progressive group, Color of Change, whose political-action committee had endorsed him and pledged to spend more than $1 million supporting his campaign. It ultimately spent about $425,000, money that helped Bragg overcome his closest opponent’s last-minute rush of cash. (That financial link would become Republican ammunition: Within days of its Bragg endorsement, Color of Change received a $1 million donation from George Soros, the billionaire patron of liberal causes. After the Trump indictment, the former president and his allies pointed to it as evidence that Bragg was under Soros’s control.)

In November 2022, Bragg went into court himself — unusual for a sitting district attorney — to ask the judge to dismiss the McCarter case. “I understand the gravity of this decision,” he said, before lapsing into a jumble of legalese. Several days later, the judge, Diane Kiesel, dismissed the case but excoriated Bragg for what she called legal errors and potentially politically motivated decisions. The case, she wrote, “has reached the point where the public could perceive this dismissal as bought and paid for with campaign contributions and political capital.”

But in some ways, Bragg had started to get his footing, delivering on some of his campaign promises to take on the powerful and help the less fortunate. He prosecuted hate crimes against Asian Americans, exonerated a sixth defendant in the 1989 Central Park jogger case and pursued significantly fewer lower-level crimes than Vance had. He charged Stephen K. Bannon, Trump’s former political strategist, with money laundering and conspiracy for his role in a charity that skimmed from donations for a border wall, a case that has yet to go to trial. Bragg would also obtain indictments of two men with ties to a fellow Democrat, Mayor Eric Adams.

Still, Bragg seemed to be trying to thread the needle, looking for compromise as he had throughout his career. While he stopped demanding bail as often as Vance had, those decisions were often dictated by state bail reforms. His office also filed about 3,800 violent-felony cases in 2022, the most in 10 years, even as shootings and murders dropped, allowing Bragg to claim that his policies were working. But none of this would stop conservatives from grumbling that Bragg was a left-wing coddler of violent criminals, as a Republican prosecutor in Arizona would later do when she refused to extradite a murder suspect to New York.

By the end of his first year in office, Bragg had turned a corner. He had just won his biggest victory: convicting Trump’s company of tax fraud. Vance had filed the charges, but Bragg delivered on them. And finally, he was finding the way forward with Trump himself.

For more than two years, Cyrus Vance’s prosecutors had hunted for a winnable case against Trump. But while it wasn’t hard to find legally questionable behavior across Trump’s business empire, each possible case had a flaw.

The lawyers were intrigued by the hush-money case. Mark Pomerantz, a former federal prosecutor Vance had pulled out of retirement to pursue Trump, was among those who called it “the zombie case,” because it was alive, then dead, then alive again. Pomerantz thought the hush-money facts seemed incriminating, easy to explain to a jury. But he worried about persuading a judge that the misdemeanor charges of falsifying business records — for disguising the hush-money repayment as legal fees — could be elevated to felonies.

Pomerantz, who had led the criminal division in the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan, was drawn to another option: Trump’s exaggerations of his net worth on financial statements submitted to banks. Trump wasn’t just boasting, Pomerantz argued. He was committing crimes.

Weeks before his term ended in December 2021, Vance brought together a group of experienced lawyers to evaluate the net-worth case. The group included two prosecutors who worked on the Mueller investigation, but it did not include the incoming district attorney; Bragg was not even told about the meeting. Regardless, Vance emerged with a plan. He would push ahead.

When Bragg took office that January, he needed to decide quickly whether to sign on to the case; prosecutors were already presenting evidence to a grand jury. But quickly wasn’t in Bragg’s nature. By month’s end, a frustrated Pomerantz sent Bragg an email that he would later write was “blunt, perhaps too blunt.” He told the new district attorney that he needed to “respect our judgment,” noted that it was “virtually impossible” to meet with him about the Trump case and scolded Bragg, who was two decades younger, for looking at his phone during one of their few meetings. Pomerantz later wrote that he had wondered if Bragg “was in over his head.”

But Bragg remained skeptical, according to people familiar with his thinking. He believed that there was no evidence tying Trump directly to a financial fraud; without it, he worried, he would not be able to prove Trump’s criminal intent. And prosecutors wanted a tour guide — a cooperating witness who knew the ins and outs of the crime. Michael Cohen was extremely willing, having broken with Trump, but he lacked intimate knowledge of the Trump Organization’s finances.

There were more meetings, more emails — but Bragg refused to bring the case on Pomerantz’s timeline. So in late February, Pomerantz and another lead prosecutor on the case quit — in spectacular fashion. Pomerantz’s resignation letter described Bragg’s decision as “a grave failure of justice.” He then wrote a book called “People vs. Donald Trump” that might as well have been called “Pomerantz vs. Bragg.” Pomerantz wrote that the investigation turned into “the legal equivalent of a plane crash” and accused Bragg of “pilot error.”

Bragg, for his part, said little — even when Pomerantz’s resignation letter became public, even when many of his liberal supporters complained that he had dropped the ball on Trump and even when critics lumped this decision together with the Day 1 Memo as some kind of proof that he wasn’t up to the job. For all of Bragg’s campaign rhetoric, those who know him insisted that he would never have indicted Trump without reviewing every piece of evidence. Plus, Bragg did not feel bound by Vance’s view of the case — he was the district attorney now.

“He doesn’t get the luxury of saying, ‘Well, Cy Vance said it’s OK,’” says Kim Foxx, a Bragg friend who is the state’s attorney in Chicago. “His name is on the door. His face is on the wall. He owes it to the case. He owes it to the potential defendant to do his due diligence.”

To the world, it might have looked as if the Trump case were dead. Bragg was no longer talking about Trump publicly. But he and three top aides had begun meeting regularly on the eighth floor of the district attorney’s office, going back through all the documents from the net-worth case. The Trump Organization’s chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, had already been indicted in the tax-fraud case; now he might be persuaded to plead guilty and cooperate against Trump in this one. And he might, perhaps, become a witness about another matter: the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Bragg kept returning to that payment. This case had a far cleaner narrative than the net-worth case, with clear evidence of Trump’s involvement; he had personally signed nine checks repaying Cohen. And Cohen was the perfect tour guide: He had paid Daniels in the first place. By the summer of 2022, Bragg was confident that he could convince a court that these misdemeanors should be elevated to felonies. He added prosecutors to the Trump team. The “zombie case” was alive.

A payoff to a porn star might seem like a trivial matter on which to hinge a historic prosecution of a man who later tried to overturn an election. But in late February, the Supreme Court further delayed the federal prosecution of Trump on charges of plotting to do just that, agreeing to decide whether he has immunity for acts taken as president. Trial dates for the other two cases — the federal classified-documents case in Florida and the state election-interference case in Georgia — seem at best months away.

So the hush-money case it is. Some legal experts initially deemed it shaky, largely because Bragg failed to specify the underlying crime that Trump intended to commit. Though the crime of falsifying business records is nominally a misdemeanor, the Manhattan district attorney’s office almost always charges it as a felony. Still, the Trump case stands apart. The Times could identify only two other felony cases in Manhattan over the past decade in which defendants were indicted on charges of falsifying business records but no other crime.

In an opinion piece in The Times soon after the Trump indictment, Jed Shugerman, a law professor at Boston University, called the case a “disaster” and a “legal embarrassment.” Some lawyers predicted that it would be kicked up to federal court and buried in delays, largely because it was related to a federal-election campaign. Some wondered how internal records could prove intent to defraud.

But in the following months, Bragg beat back legal challenges. He detailed the crimes that Trump was trying to conceal — violations of state and federal election law and state tax law. When Trump’s lawyers tried to move the case to federal court, the judge there, Alvin K. Hellerstein, rebuffed them, saying that the fact that the alleged fraud happened in a federal election was “not a basis” to move the case. Then the New York judge overseeing the case, Juan M. Merchan, ruled that Bragg’s prosecutors had presented “legally sufficient evidence” for the grand jury to reasonably find that Trump intended to defraud voters and the government. Some initial skeptics have come around, even if they believe that the legal questions surrounding the case will probably re-emerge in appeals.

Accounting for the weight of the moment, Bragg has increasingly cast the case as an attempt to subvert the 2016 presidential election. “The case is not — the core of it’s not — money for sex,” Bragg said in a radio interview in December. “We would say it’s about conspiring to corrupt a presidential election and then lying in New York business records to cover it up.”

Trump heads into the trial after a series of setbacks, both legal and financial. Relying on some of the same evidence that was pursued by Pomerantz, the New York attorney general, Letitia James, recently won a $454 million civil judgment against Trump for fraudulently inflating his net worth. He also owes an $83 million defamation award to the writer E. Jean Carroll. And in his pretrial rulings, Merchan has slapped Trump with a gag order and strictly circumscribed the arguments his lawyers will be allowed to make. Defense lawyers have signaled that their case will most likely focus on attacking Michael Cohen as a serial liar who cannot be trusted and arguing that prosecutors have little evidence of Trump’s intent to commit a crime.

If Trump is convicted, he faces limited personal jeopardy, at least in the near term; any penalty — a maximum of four years in prison — would probably be deferred by his almost-certain appeal. The far-larger questions as the trial and the Trump-Biden rematch converge are about political jeopardy, or political advantage. Republican strategists believe, and some of their Democratic counterparts fret, that an acquittal or a hung jury will energize Trump, while he could more convincingly write off a conviction than with the other cases. “I can’t imagine anything easier to paint as a partisan witch hunt,” says Whit Ayres, a veteran Republican pollster.

Even so, some Democrats argue that wall-to-wall coverage of the trial will remind voters on the fence — like the moderate Republicans Trump needs to win — that he has been accused of having sex with a porn star while his wife cared for their infant son and then covering it up to win a presidential election. “The world’s going to stop for this,” says James Carville, the longtime Democratic strategist. “I mean, the first criminal trial ever of a president? I think if anything, the significance of this event is not yet fully appreciated.”

On the morning of Feb. 15, Bragg was back in the dingy courtroom where Trump was first arraigned. The district attorney, this time wearing a well-fitted gray suit, sat on a hard wooden bench in the second row, behind the team of prosecutors he had assembled. Walkie-talkies crackled, signaling the arrival of the former president. In a dirty hallway crammed with Secret Service agents, Trump spoke to television cameras. He said his lawyers would ask to delay the case — then he walked in, wearing a slightly rumpled navy suit and a screaming red tie.

In the courtroom, an unusually subdued Trump stared at the ceiling, arms at his sides. But once the trial date was set, Bragg didn’t seem to focus on Trump or on discussions about jury selection and trial exhibits. He bent over the judge’s decision declining to dismiss the case, reading it slowly, carefully. After the hearing, he released a brief statement, pronouncing himself “pleased.” Pleased . His spokeswoman confessed later that it was a struggle to get him to say even that.

Susan Beachy and Julie Tate contributed research.

Read by Emily Woo Zeller

Narration produced by Emma Kehlbeck and Krish Seenivasan

Engineered by David Mason

Kim Barker is a Times reporter writing in-depth stories about national issues. More about Kim Barker

Jonah E. Bromwich covers criminal justice in New York, with a focus on the Manhattan district attorney’s office and state criminal courts in Manhattan. More about Jonah E. Bromwich

Michael Rothfeld is an investigative reporter in New York, writing in-depth stories focused on the city’s government, business and personalities. More about Michael Rothfeld

Our Coverage of the Trump Hush-Money Trial

News and Analysis

Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan took a startling turn when two jurors were abruptly excused , demonstrating the challenge of picking citizens to determine the fate of a former president.

Prosecutors argued in court that with a steady stream of social media posts, Trump had violated the gag order  imposed on him seven times, urging the judge overseeing the trial to hold him in contempt.

Our reporter joined “The Daily” to explain what happened during the opening days  of the trial against Donald Trump.

More on Trump’s Legal Troubles

Key Inquiries: Trump faces several investigations  at both the state and the federal levels, into matters related to his business and political careers.

Case Tracker:  Keep track of the developments in the criminal cases  involving the former president.

What if Trump Is Convicted?: Will any of the proceedings hinder Trump’s presidential campaign? Here is what we know, and what we don’t know .

Trump on Trial Newsletter: Sign up here  to get the latest news and analysis  on the cases in New York, Florida, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

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I visit Universal Orlando several times a year. Here are my top 10 tips for first-timers.

I’ll never forget walking out of Universal Islands of Adventure in 2022, drenched from head to toe after riding Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barge . 

It was my first trip back to Universal Orlando Resort in years, and I learned some things the hard way, which I gladly shared with fellow travelers, hoping that they’d avoid my mistakes .

Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to visit the Florida resort several times a year. And while I stand by my earlier tips, I’ve learned a few others.

Here are my top tips for first-timers visiting Universal Orlando.

1.  Stay on property

From RV parks to vacation rentals, there’s no shortage of places to stay in Central Florida, but it can pay to stay on property when visiting Universal Orlando. Not only are prices comparable to off-property hotels with Endless Summer Surfside and Dockside starting at $99 a night, but all of Universal’s resort hotels offer 30 minutes of early entry to select parks, which vary depending on time of year. 

They also provide free resort transportation, so you can get back to your room fairly quickly after a long park day or for a midday break. That free transportation can be clutch in the mornings, particularly at pricier Loews Sapphire Falls , Loews Royal Pacific , Loews Portofino Bay , and Hard Rock Hotel , which offer water taxis that drop you off closer to the parks than you can get arriving by car or bus. Cabana Bay Beach Resort and Aventura Hotel guests can walk over to Sapphire Falls for water taxis, but the extra time and steps added may make it not worth skipping the resort shuttle bus.

Walking paths are also available to the parks from every resort hotel except the Endless Summer ones. Cabana Bay guests also have a dedicated walking path to Universal’s Volcano Bay water park.

Guests staying at Royal Pacific, Portofino Bay and Hard Rock also get free Universal Express Passes , which dramatically cut waits for most rides and normally start at $79.99 per person. Free package delivery is also available to all resort hotels, if guests don’t want to lug park purchases around all day.

Epic Universe details revealed: What's coming to Universal Orlando next year

2. Buy a popcorn bucket

Snacking at the parks can get expensive. Guests are welcome to bring their own snacks, but there’s one crowd-pleaser that won’t break the bank. 

A plain popcorn bucket costs a little over $12, and you can keep getting refills throughout your trip. Refills cost around $2 each, making popcorn among the cheapest, most shareable snacks on property. On our last trip, my family and I got multiple refills for the price of one pretzel with cheese dip.

3.  Bring a light, refillable water bottle

Staying hydrated is always important, particularly on hot park days. 

You can fill water bottles with free ice-cold water at any of the many Coca-Cola Freestyle machines across the property. Cups of ice water are also available for free anywhere dispensed soft drinks are sold.

Leave big double-walled stainless steel tumblers at home. Not only will they feel heavy, carrying them around all the day, but if they aren’t leak-proof, they’ll make a mess when you tip them on their sides to fit in lockers for thrill rides.

4. Bring a medium-sized bag to carry your stuff

Numerous attractions, from Jurassic World VelociCoaster to Men in Black Alien Attack , require guests to store loose articles in lockers provided for the duration of the ride. 

I previously recommended keeping most of your things together to avoid having to empty every pocket each time. That’s still true, but I want to add a caveat on size. 

The free lockers aren’t very big. They can fit a Loungefly-style mini backpack or empty popcorn bucket, if you squish them down, but they’re not large enough for packed full-size backpacks. Keep that in mind unless you want to pay for larger lockers.

5. Bring ponchos

Ponchos don’t take a lot of space and can save you from getting soaked like me on Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barge, Dudley Do-Right’s Rip Saw Falls , and Jurassic Park River Adventure .

Even if you skip water rides, ponchos are good to keep on hand for rainy park days.

6. Use single-rider lines 

Many attractions have a single-rider lane. If you’re traveling alone or don’t mind your party being split up, you can save time using the single-rider lane, if it’s open. They’re not always offered.

It doesn’t guarantee a short wait, but it’s usually shorter. On our latest trip, my middle schooler still waited at least 45 minutes for The Incredible Hulk Coaster and an hour for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit . That was about as long as the regular standby wait for Hulk but shorter than the standby wait for Rip Ride Rockit.

The following attractions have single-rider lanes, though availability varies.

Universal Studios Florida

• E.T. Adventure.
• Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.
• Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.
• Men in Black Alien Attack.
• Revenge of the Mummy.
• The Simpsons Ride.
• Transformers: The Ride-3D.

Universal Islands of Adventure

• Doctor Doom's Fearfall.
• Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls.
• Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
• Jurassic Park River Adventure.
• Jurassic World VelociCoaster.
• The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man.
• The Incredible Hulk Coaster.

7. Use child swap 

If someone in your party doesn’t meet ride requirements for an attraction or simply wants to sit it out, you can ask for a child swap. It’s particularly helpful for families with young children because it allows parents and caregivers to take turns riding the ride and staying with whoever is sitting it out.

On our most recent trip, my youngest didn’t want to ride Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure , so we all waited in line together, but then she and I peeled off to a designated waiting room while my middle schooler and mother-in-law went on the ride. When they were done, my mother-in-law stayed with my youngest while I went on the ride. My middle schooler lucked out, getting to ride it twice.

Not all attractions have waiting rooms, but they all offer swaps. Just let team members know you need one.

8. Take breaks

Theme parks can be exhausting. Not only are you on your feet all day, but they can be loud, crowded and overstimulating. 

When possible, I like to plan for at least one sit-down meal in the day. This way, I can take my time and recuperate in air conditioning away from crowds. I’ll typically splurge on one table-service meal, but there are several medium-priced, quick-service restaurants across both theme parks where you can grab a lighter snack and relax.

Really, any cool spot where you can sit down works. Knockturn Alley in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley at Universal Studios Florida is always refreshing, though dark. Jurassic Park Discovery Center in Islands of Adventure is a great place for kids to explore while adults unwind. 

9.  Watch the shows

Rides get a lot of the love, but Universal Orlando’s live entertainment is top tier. You can find showtimes on the free resort app or simply stop to watch performances you stumble across while roaming the parks.

The only year-round shows with dedicated seating are at Universal Studios Florida: Animal Actors On Location! , The Bourne Stuntacular , and Universal Orlando’s Horror Make-Up Show, which is more funny than scary.

10. Let little ones stretch their legs

There are several play areas across both theme parks for little ones to burn off energy.

This summer, a new DreamWorks Land will open at Universal Studios Florida with a “Kung Fu Panda”-themed play area.

At Islands of Adventure, kids can explore Camp Jurassic in Jurassic Park, If I Ran a Zoo in Seuss Landing, and Me Ship, The Olive in Toon Lagoon. There are also splash pads and water features across Toon Lagoon; just make sure to either bring swimsuits or backup clothes for those.

Bonus: Don’t sleep on Volcano Bay

You’ll definitely want to pack swimsuits if you’re heading to Volcano Bay, which regularly ranks among the best water parks in the country and adds a completely different experience to vacations.

It’s themed like a tropical paradise, with plenty of trees and an iconic volcano that houses multiple water slides. The water park can get crowded, but you never spend too much time standing in line because every guest gets a Tapu Tapu wearable bracelet that lets them join one virtual queue at a time. 

Single-day tickets start at $80, which is considerably less than the $119 starting price for guests age 10 and up at Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure, but still not cheap. However, if you’re already planning to buy multiday tickets for both theme parks, tacking on Volcano Bay is not much more.