VOLCANO BAY.....INFO AND QUESTION THREAD........

Hey guys!

Just back from an eight day trip in Orlando. Spent four of those days at least partly at Volcano Bay. So if you have a question, I can probably answer it!

A few observations:

1. We stayed at Cabana Bay. This hotel is an absolute STEAL if you want to go to Volcano Bay. I cannot recommend early entry enough. With the exception of our first day when we arrived after lunch due to check in, we were at the tapstiles for early entry between 7:00 and 7:30 and were among the first guest in the park. We got to pick out a great shaded lounger and even had our "favorite" spot by the end of the week so we could just go right there. From there, the first two hours is "ride now" heaven. Pretty much any slide you want. We rode Krakatoa 15 times during the week, including not even having to get off the tube one morning for a re-ride. On another morning, we were the first people to ride Krakatoa, Honu, Ike Moana, and Maku. Never had a tapu wait time for a ride before 10am by touring the rides in good order. We basically got to ride whatever we wanted until we tired out enough to tap a ride with a wait so we could enjoy the lazy river. If you are staying onsite and are not up and going into this park as soon as it opens, you only have yourself to blame for waiting in long lines.

2. The aquacoaster is incredible! It's the best water ride in Orlando.

3. My second favorite slide was Honu. It's a very short ride though. Two high thrill moments and then a splashdown.

4. Premium seating and cabana rentals are not worth it IMO. Our loungers we picked out at rope drop had much better shade than the premium seating and we didn't have to bother with going to the concierge hut to rent them (also known as wasting time that you could actually be riding something with no wait early in the morning). I bought an aquabox to lock onto my lounger to store my valuables. Never had a problem bringing it in the park and it worked like a charm. We found our favorite group of shaded loungers right by the dancing dragons bar and they served us well. We never had a long wait for either food of drink during the week. I certainly was able to get what I wanted by myself a lot quicker than the premium loungers located behind us. I just cannot justify paying for something that I'm hardly going to use and that will cost me time on both actually renting it and on getting what I want when I want it. But, to each their own.

5. There is still a lot of construction ongoing and the park will continue to improve. There is a lot left to do near the volcano around Punga Racers and the action river. But they are working on it every night. They are also building cabanas all over the park and have even started on the expansion and extension of the park access road behind Maku/Puihi. The Vol experience inside of the volcano is not finished yet and a lot more Tapu points are being put in all over the park. Every day, it gets more and more complete. And it's a great park already.

6. Quit reading the horror stories. Honestly, brass tacks, I'm an AP holder and was able to go four days within a week. Aside from the first "check it out" day, I got every single thing I absolutely wanted done on each day and left feeling like a got a "complete" park experience. If you come at opening (early entry) and prioritize riding the longest wait things first, you will have an incredibly fun day. If you want to sleep in, come at lunch, stay offsite, etc; you must understand that each of those things are things that will make your wait times longer, and your experience different than what I had. I'm telling you how easy it is to have a wonderful day at this park and ride all you want. It's up to you how you want to apply that info.

7. Tapu tapu worked great for me. We used it for the Taptu pay as well and never had a problem. On our last morning, my son had a stubborn band that sometimes took a few taps to access slides, but aside from that every thing worked great. As a side note to that, make sure you keep checking your bands and get the extra rubber band on them if you can. I had my band fall off in the action river once and then lost my prescription glasses while diving after my band (that was incredibly dumb on my part. I never found the glasses again, the volcano gods ate them. Do not bring ANYTHING into the action river you cannot afford parting with). I also found a good half dozen bands throughout the week in the rivers and at the end of slides. Always check for your band after a slide.

I'm sure I will have a lot more to add as it comes to mine. Open for any questions! :dogdance:
THanks so much for this post!!! You answered my premium seating questions. Can you give an idea of what order you would ride the rides? We are staying at RPR so we will have early entry and I just informed my family (right before writing this) that we will be in line at 7:15 to get into the park. Thanks for any help you can give!!
 
Park hours for Volcano Bay have changed again, Starting June 23rd (This Friday) horus extended to 9PM (Was 8PM) for the rest of the month. July shifted to 9PM close (was 10PM), August is still 10PM until August 14th (When it goes to 8/9PM)
 
Park hours for Volcano Bay have changed again, Starting June 23rd (This Friday) horus extended to 9PM (Was 8PM) for the rest of the month. July shifted to 9PM close (was 10PM), August is still 10PM until August 14th (When it goes to 8/9PM)

Thanks for the update!

Anyone have any thoughts on what an evening arrival visit might be like? I wonder if that would be a decent approach to try. I think it would be cool to visit in the dark.
 


Thanks for the update!

Anyone have any thoughts on what an evening arrival visit might be like? I wonder if that would be a decent approach to try. I think it would be cool to visit in the dark.

I think after 5pm it seems to be winding down. That's what we saw and what I am still reading. Also, it seems to clear out after the afternoon rain shower. So you might even be able to get in before 5pm. It didn't rain Memorial Day weekend, so we didn't see the effects.
 
I went this past Sunday during the rain (rain was winding down) the park was closed for capacity but enough people left during the rainstorm that they opened it back up again. I did 5 slides (including the aqua coaster) and both lazy rivers and took my time, if you can go when the rain is winding down or stay through the rain. Sunday was awesome.
 
Can anyone tell me if the quirks at VB are being worked out? It seems like everyday there is new information, and the prices are quite high, IMO (for extras like lockers, shade, etc.) If the wait times are still really long, and the loading issues have not been resolved, we are thinking of going to Typhoon Lagoon at DW instead. I heard one family a few days ago only were able to ride two slides in a day, due to closures, andother issues. I cannot justify $67 for two rides, especially when I have to pay more for lockers, shaded seating, etc. Please tell me these issues are getting better. We were really looking forward to VB.
 


It's definitely improved since I first went, a few slides are on permanent ride now, meaning you don't need to tap, (The 2 seater tubes, and one of the family raft slides) The rivers are working better, a few more cabanas just opened up. And when I went Sunday, I did a ton of slides (including the high wait ones like the aqua coaster and the body plunge). I think the general rule of thumb is get there early, and if it rains, stay through the rain as it's so nice after the rainfall since a good number of folks head out.

If you want one of the big rides tap it Before going to lockers/etc.

This video is from 2-3 days ago

what NOT to do:
Getting there between 10;30-12 is bad,
Don't try to eat at noon.

In general 11-3 is the busiest time there, before and after are much more open.

As a new park it's a bit more crowded at times, but they have been limiting it quite strictly, things are getting better almost daily.
 
It's definitely improved since I first went, a few slides are on permanent ride now, meaning you don't need to tap, (The 2 seater tubes, and one of the family raft slides) The rivers are working better, a few more cabanas just opened up. And when I went Sunday, I did a ton of slides (including the high wait ones like the aqua coaster and the body plunge). I think the general rule of thumb is get there early, and if it rains, stay through the rain as it's so nice after the rainfall since a good number of folks head out.

If you want one of the big rides tap it Before going to lockers/etc.

This video is from 2-3 days ago

what NOT to do:
Getting there between 10;30-12 is bad,
Don't try to eat at noon.

In general 11-3 is the busiest time there, before and after are much more open.

As a new park it's a bit more crowded at times, but they have been limiting it quite strictly, things are getting better almost daily.

I know I am looking forward to it more and more every time I see these videos. I think having gone on opening weekend, we are just going to be even more blown away with all of the new stuff working and with the lines and ride reliability looking better. Gotta get me more of the shrimp mac n cheese and some tasty adult beverages:woohoo:
 
It's definitely improved since I first went, a few slides are on permanent ride now, meaning you don't need to tap, (The 2 seater tubes, and one of the family raft slides) The rivers are working better, a few more cabanas just opened up. And when I went Sunday, I did a ton of slides (including the high wait ones like the aqua coaster and the body plunge). I think the general rule of thumb is get there early, and if it rains, stay through the rain as it's so nice after the rainfall since a good number of folks head out.

If you want one of the big rides tap it Before going to lockers/etc.

This video is from 2-3 days ago

what NOT to do:
Getting there between 10;30-12 is bad,
Don't try to eat at noon.

In general 11-3 is the busiest time there, before and after are much more open.

As a new park it's a bit more crowded at times, but they have been limiting it quite strictly, things are getting better almost daily.

Hi:) thanks for posting this video. I feel a lot better going the end of July. It looks like things are starting to work out and they are correcting some errors they made. I am getting excited again. I think I am still going to get rid of my premium seating for the day.
 
Just wondering if I don't get a locker, will our towels and t-shirts be safe if we leave them on the chairs. Has anyone had a problem with losing their chairs if towels are left on them?
 
Another question....do you stand in the same line to rent a locker as you do if you reserved premium seating? How long are the lines for those? Trying to decide if I should keep my reserved seating. Don't want to waste too much time waiting to get the chairs.
 
Just wondering if I don't get a locker, will our towels and t-shirts be safe if we leave them on the chairs. Has anyone had a problem with losing their chairs if towels are left on them?

I obviously can't guarantee your chairs or things, but I did see people leave non-valuable items on chairs. The stuff and the chairs were left alone. However, we were sitting in a small section, not the large area near the wave pool.

Another question....do you stand in the same line to rent a locker as you do if you reserved premium seating? How long are the lines for those? Trying to decide if I should keep my reserved seating. Don't want to waste too much time waiting to get the chairs.

I believe you rent the lockers at the actual lockers. The Concierge hut, where you get your premium seating, also handles towel rental, express passes, and cabanas. Opening weekend, the lockers ran out. However, that might not be the case now. If you get there early, it wouldn't be a problem.
 
So is there a long line to rent lockers?

There are 3 or 4 different locker areas. The most popular one is just to the left when you walk in (behind the stores), there's another to the right, and a third near across the bridge from the toddler/kid area It hink the last one is near the Oh Yeah/Oh No Slides. I'd go for the one by the lazy river entrance first, probably.
 
Two paths through the volcano opened up today, some with cool interactive and water bits:

One of the walk through caves has an all ages fountain play area.

DDH9iqBXUAAFSIH.jpg:large


Some More Photos here:

https://twitter.com/bioreconstruct/
 
When you rent lockers, is there a person that you rent with or do you go to a locker and put in credit card info?

Sorry. We didn't rent a locker. Hopefully someone will answer who did. Since we had the premium seating, we just used the lockbox for that.
 
When you rent lockers, is there a person that you rent with or do you go to a locker and put in credit card info?

The machines are mixed in with the lockers, you scan your tapu tapu band, insert the card into the machine, and you (and anyone you link the it with) can open the locker as many times as you want during the day with the band.

There is an attendant or two hanging around to help with any problems, but you just walk up to the lockers to rent one. The concierge desk is just to get cabanas/towels or premium seating.
 

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