Volcano Bay is Universal Orlando Resorts newest theme park which opened May 2017. The fable tells of the Waturi people who went in search of Kunuku, a mystical fish, and a new home. They found Kunuku and settled at Volcano Bay. You can learn about their story here.
When you stay at an on-site Universal Orlando Resort hotel, you get the added benefit of early entry which allows you access one hour before the gates open. This is the main benefit during peak seasons and you can take advantage of getting into the rides before the big crowds come in. Staying at Cabana Bay Breach Resort gave us the added benefit of being a short walk away from Volcano Bay. There is a private walkway once you go through the entrance for Cabana Bay guests. Express Passes do not extend to Volcano Bay so if you stay at one of the resorts that offers Express Pass during your stay, it is not for Volcano Bay.
Preparing your day: In addition to the list of things you can bring, you can also link your credit card to the Universal Orlando Resort App. Even with this feature, be sure to bring one other form of payment. If you are staying at an on-site hotel, you get early entrance of one hour before the park opens. Take advantage of this and head straight for the rides once you find your chairs or cabana.
For those not staying at one of the Universal Orlando Resort hotels, you can park at CityWalk (Volcano Bay does not have its own dedicated parking lot).
Cabanas - Are available to rent but you must reserve it well in advance of your visit. These sell out weeks in advance and you will most likely not be able to get one the day of. Single Cabanas can hold up to 6 people whereas the Family Cabana holds up to 16 people. There are one and two story cabanas and each comes with concierge service, water, snacks, fruit, mini fridge, and special menu.
Premium seating is a wonderful option for families with small children. You get a pair of lounge chairs that are covered with an adjustable canopy and includes a lock box. We were seldom at our standard open lounge chairs but the added feature of the canopy and lockbox make this a relatively inexpensive option if unable to get a cabana.
When you get to Volcano Bay: Get your chairs, get your locker, get to the rides!
Tip: There are lots of chairs with umbrellas facing Waturi Beach in addition to smaller alcoves throughout Volcano Bay with chairs and umbrellas. Tie a scarf or hand something from your umbrella so you can spot your chair more quickly. In a sea of chairs and umbrellas, you can easily lose track of your belongings.
What to Bring in your beach bag:
* Towels (you can rent them at the park) and sunscreen
* Goggles and water shoes but there are rides where you cannot take them with you. If you wear glasses, be sure to bring your glasses case to protect them, you may be asked to remove them for certain rides.
* Wear swim attire - rash shirts may be required to be removed on some rides.
* Money - I mentioned that you can link your credit card to your account in the app, however, plan to bring some form of payment in case they are not able to link your account to the TapuTapu. The day we went, the network was down and even though I had a cc linked, I could not pay for anything. Luckily Mac Daddy had his card.
* Non-glass refillable water bottle
* Refillable cup from other Universal Orlando Resort park
* Phone and waterproof phone case (there are rides you cannot take this on but I was able to take it through the lazy river
* Soft sided bags and coolers are allowed and you can pack some snacks. Bags were checked but we were allowed to bring in small snack bags.
**Note: Bring as little as possible, it is a water park and unless you are renting a cabana or someone is watching your stuff the entire time, you are basically leaving your items out in the open. If you decide to rent a locker, grab one when you arrive as they tend to sell out on very busy days.
What to leave behind
* Coolers - softsided coolers are allowed
* Swim vests - there are plenty available to borrow
* Glass containers
* Food like full on meals (unless you have food allergies)
* Inflatable rafts or floats - there is no way to inflate them and they have all the floats at Kopiko Wai Winding River ready for you to use
TAPUTAPU WEARABLE
When you enter the main gates, you will be assigned a TapuTapu wearable band, which is included with your Volcano Bay admission. Once you leave Volcano Bay, you do have to return it and it is wiped of all information that may be stored in it. The TapuTapu allows you to get in a virtual line for the rides. When you come upon a ride and there are no lines, the attendance will let you in after you tap your TapuTapu to the totem within that ride. If, however there is a wait, the attendant will direct you to a TapuTapu totem where you can see how long the wait is for that line. If you choose that ride, you tap the wearable to the totem and it now links you to the virtual line, giving you a time to return. This allows you and your family to explore the park and enjoy other rides or areas. It is also great for kids to be able to see the time countdown and now constantly ask you if it is time yet. If you happen to come upon another ride where there is a wait, you can choose to tap your TapuTapu to that ride but (at this time) you are only alllowed one virtual line so you have to decide if you want to erase your previous virtual line. If there is a ride that has no wait, this will not affect your place in line for the current saved ride on your TapuTapu.
Note: There are boards near the park entrance that show the wait times for rides.This is helpful since wait times are not yet available in the app for Volcano Bay.
TAPTU PAY
This is the convenient way to make in-park purchase without having to worry about soggy cash or credit cards. Within the Universal Orlando Resort app, you select "Wallet" and follow the prompts to add your credit card, link the park tickets of members in your party, set up a security pin so other family members can use this feature. You are able to set spending limits for each member in your group and track your purchases.
DINING
There are 4 Dining options, 2 bars and smaller food stand. Universal Dining Plan works at locations in Volcano Bay as well so plan your meal day to keep within your food budget. We took a lunch break and chose Bambu Restaurant to grab some burgers. They didn't advertise kids menu options so our lunch of 4 burger plates was a bit on the high end. They simplified their menu options so what might have been available early on may no longer be an option. Be sure to ask for kids options when placing your order as menus may change. For smaller kids or picky eaters, try Whakawaiwai Eats. They have hot dog, pizza, and mac n cheese options.
WHAT WE ENJOYED
Waturi Beach - the scenery is breathtaking. We spend quite some time just strolling and rolling in the wave pool.
Exploring the Volcano and the park - there's a winding passageway through the volcano and you can come out from the waterfall. There are TapuTapu Easter Eggs that when you tap it to the totem, a special effect is revealed. You can find these throughout the water park.
Interactive features that will creep you out.
Don't forget to take silly pictures. Hopefully your hubs can take better perspective pictures than mine. I look like water is shooting out of my nose.
Kopiko Wai Winding River (with Stargazer’s Cavern) - This was a fun ride around the lazy river. When you enter, grab a float and start rolling. You will encounter water sprays and
It's the little details: These sprayers were located throughout the Volcano Bay and probably the least noticed of all the features. But I for one really appreciated these because cannot stand sandy feet and these washed our feet and shoes before we left the water park.
We were extremely impressed with Volcano Bay and we really enjoyed it all. With it being a very new theme park, expect there to be changes to help improve the way it is run. You really don feel like you have been transported to a tropical oasis surrounded by a million other people but it is so much fun. The raft rides are great for large groups, the smaller pool and kiddie areas are perfect for parents to hang out with their littles. One area that needs improvement is the kids menu option. There really are not any cheap kids menu items. I certainly don't expect a $2.99 happy meal but something closer to what you can find at the other theme parks for $6.99. If you have the time and the means, getting the multi-day, multi park tickets are the way to go when planning your Universal Orlando Resort vacation.
I was given a family four pack of admission tickets to Volcano Bay in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
