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

[atricks]

Where does the Tapu Tapu get assigned and where is the concierge for the cabana rental located in this process? From what I've pieced together it sounds like:
1) bus
2) enter park and get Tapu Tapu (at this point guaranteed admission into park)
3) wait in guest corral until park opening
4) visit concierge inside park for cabana / premium seating

Is that accurate???

This seems pretty accurate, you may be able to get to one of the concierge desks while you are in the corral, which could help getting in more quickly.

 

[ldymcbth]

When was that? I was able to do it on the 30th no problem. Was in virtual line for Honu and went on the Tiawahna tube (Dark blue).

We were there on 6/28. I am inclined to think it was a staff issue, because many others on this thread have been able to do the Ride Now ones without tapping out of their current line, but we had several staffers that day who absolutely would not let us do that. It definitely reduced the number of rides we could do. We encountered several instances where staff members did not seem to have the right information, so I think it's just the pain of the park being new. I definitely hope people are able to utilize the Ride Now options.

 

[Music City Mama]

We were there on 6/28. I am inclined to think it was a staff issue, because many others on this thread have been able to do the Ride Now ones without tapping out of their current line, but we had several staffers that day who absolutely would not let us do that. It definitely reduced the number of rides we could do. We encountered several instances where staff members did not seem to have the right information, so I think it's just the pain of the park being new. I definitely hope people are able to utilize the Ride Now options.

For what it's worth, we still had to tap our Tapu at the Ride Now line, but it didn't override our virtual wait for another ride.

 

[iteach3rdgrade]

We had a great day on Thursday! We purchased a cabana and unlimited express passes in May and this really helped us enjoy our visit.

We didn't stay at one of the resort hotels but we arrived at the parking garage at 7:15. We had my mother with us in an electric cart so we parked in the handicap parking right next to the buses and ticket kiosks.

I'd estimate about and hour from parking to Volcano Bay. Bus drivers were very helpful with loading the cart. They boarded us first.

We were worried about arriving so early and not being able to get into the.park, however, we arrived (got our tapu tapus at the gate) and let them know we had a cabana and express passes and they sent us on in to the concierge to get set with those. By 8:30 premium seating was filled. By 8:40 we were at our cabana getting introduced to people and our fruit tray.

We.didnt get to rides before 9. We rode.our favorite rides twice and didn't wait More than 15-20 minutes once in line. We did have to remind employees that we had express passes. I'd guess we rode 8-10 big slides etc.

Our largest issue was attaching our credit card to our tapu tapu. We had to ask for help several times but we were close.to the concierge.

We spent a full day there arriving at 8am and leaving at 9pm. No rain but they did clear the pools for nearby lightning for a short time.

I wore my goggles on all the raft rides because of my contacts. We didn't ride the drop slides. Remember.to lift the mat up in the racers at the end. Lol.

It was a terrific day and once they begin selling express passes again. Them I'd definitely purchase them.

Everyone was very friendly and helpful. They had employees everywhere.

The information I found here really helped us prepare for our visit. Thanks!

 

[Vaninou]

We finally decided to cancel pur reservation for a Cabana (rainforest section on the 25th of July)
It was quiet expensive for the current level of service (from the reviews we saw until now)
Hope we won't regret it

 

[Valbot]

Booked a last minute vacation in August and can't wait to get to Volcano bay. Seems that crowds in the afternoon are less how true is this?

 

[TheConsciousness]

Can you bring pool toys into the wave pool?

 

[RalphinSC]

Can you bring pool toys into the wave pool?

I've never seen any in there, but that's not to say whether you can or not.

 

[RalphinSC]

We finally decided to cancel pur reservation for a Cabana (rainforest section on the 25th of July)
It was quiet expensive for the current level of service (from the reviews we saw until now)
Hope we won't regret it

IMO, you made a great choice. Hopefully your day goes wonderfully. We are laid back commando touring people (does such a thing exist? lol) and a cabana just wouldn't work at all for how we like to do the parks.

 

[Music City Mama]

Posting our review of Volcano Bay from Monday, July 3rd.

We didn't get down to the HRH bus stop until about 7:20 -- we were off the bus and in line at VB around 7:35, and, as expected, there were many people ahead of us already. When they started letting everyone in, I couldn't help but notice that our line was moving way slower than the others, and as I got closer to the front, I saw why. The ticket scanner was having small chat with EVERYONE -- wanting to explain everything about the Tapu, making sure to high five all the kids, etc. I appreiate his enthusiasm, but this was not the time for it, LOL. So, we head straight to the concierge hut to get the premium seating we had reserved in April (I had printed the tickets at the will-call kiosk at HRH with the reservation number on my confirmation email). There were about 10 guests ahead of me. Just about all of them had issues of some sort, so it was slow moving. When I got up there, I was done in about 20 seconds. We then waited about 5 minutes from that point for someone to escort us to our seating.

I had reserved Wave Village and we were in a pretty location near the center of the volcano in a fairly shady area. Suprisingly, our regular-sized backpack fit in the storage -- I thought I'd have to remove items to put in there.

From there, we rode Krakatau Aqua Coaster. It was "ride now" and we waited probably 10 minutes (my guess is it was around 8:30 at this point). We liked it a lot and I wanted to ride it again, but the kids wanted to try something else. We walked by Ko'okiri body plunge, but the wait time was already 85 minutes, so we moved on to Honu. Of course it was down, so we did "ride now" with Ika Moana. We waited in line for close to 30 minutes and it was just okay. Honu was now up, but it had a wait, so we decided we'd come back. We went by the Kala and Tai Nui body slides and the wait was 35 minutes so we tapped in and went to the wave pool and loungers. We returned expecting the wait to be no more than 30 minutes, however, the ride went down twice and had to recycle, so we waited 60 minutes in line for this. Any fear I had about riding this was diminished by just wanting to get out of the line already. None of us liked this ride. Water shoots right in your face/up your nose the first thing when the trap door opens and I just wanted it to end. My older DS had gone first and he said that as he watched people get off, most of them looked kind of dazed and confused like they weren't sure what just happened to them, LOL.

We went back to the wave pool and then it was time to eat. At first, older DS didn't want anything off the menu, so DH took him to find food. He was back within 10 minutes and said that the lines were insane, so he was going to eat something off of the menu. Our service at our seating was good, which surprised me. The food also came out quicker than I thought it would and the food was pretty good, too. As we ate, I told DH that I thought the cost of the seating was worth it just for this.

We then decided to tap into Honu and go to the lazy river for a bit. It was crazy crowded and just not very enjoyable. We then rode Taniwha Tubes since it was "ride now". They did have us tap in and we didn't lose our wait in the Honu virtual queue. Then it was off to Honu -- we all loved it-- the boys liked it more than Krakatau, but I would say it was a tie for me with the edge to Krakatau.

On a side note, the sidewalk is REALLY hot. I had bought cheap Old Navy flip flops just for VB and I hated walking in them when my feet were wet -- the top straps were irritating when wet, so I took them off a lot. Even worse than the sidewalks was the sand. OMG! We had to walk quite a bit to get to our seats and back when we'd go to the wave pool (which was fairly close) -- OUCH! I still have a blister on the bottom of my big toe from a week ago.

At this point, we didn't really know what to do. Everything had a pretty substantial wait. There was even a long line just to enter the Fearless River. We tapped into the Punga Racers which only had a 60 minute wait, but we just didn't have it in us to stay any longer than another 30 minutes.

Regarding the premium seating, if I would've known exactly where we were going to be seated, I would've just gotten one set of loungers and pulled some free lounge chairs up for the boys. Not sure if that's workable in all areas, but it would've been where we were. The location of many of the cabanas didn't look that great and I'm glad we didn't go that route for as much as they charge you.

I'm glad I kept my expecations low. I knew what to expect going in, so there were no major disappointments. I think by next summer, most of the kinks will be worked out. It definitely has a lot of potential.

 

[CoachZ]

I'm glad I kept my expecations low. I knew what to expect going in, so there were no major disappointments. I think by next summer, most of the kinks will be worked out. It definitely has a lot of potential.

I certainly hope you are right! I wait to check out VB until late May/early June.

 

[123SA]

I really appreciate the trip reports. Many thanks to those who have taken the time to write them.

My trip is 3rd week in August. I am going to keep monitoring the trip reports. At this point, instead of my original plan to spend two whole days at the water park, I think we will plan on two or three 3 hour days -- early entry hour, one hour as the line builds with the general admission crowd, and then one hour in the rivers/wave pool. Based on trip reports, I don't think we will deal with the crowds well.

 

[RalphinSC]

Posting our review of Volcano Bay from Monday, July 3rd.

We didn't get down to the HRH bus stop until about 7:20 -- we were off the bus and in line at VB around 7:35, and, as expected, there were many people ahead of us already. When they started letting everyone in, I couldn't help but notice that our line was moving way slower than the others, and as I got closer to the front, I saw why. The ticket scanner was having small chat with EVERYONE -- wanting to explain everything about the Tapu, making sure to high five all the kids, etc. I appreiate his enthusiasm, but this was not the time for it, LOL. So, we head straight to the concierge hut to get the premium seating we had reserved in April (I had printed the tickets at the will-call kiosk at HRH with the reservation number on my confirmation email). There were about 10 guests ahead of me. Just about all of them had issues of some sort, so it was slow moving. When I got up there, I was done in about 20 seconds. We then waited about 5 minutes from that point for someone to escort us to our seating.

I had reserved Wave Village and we were in a pretty location near the center of the volcano in a fairly shady area. Suprisingly, our regular-sized backpack fit in the storage -- I thought I'd have to remove items to put in there.

From there, we rode Krakatau Aqua Coaster. It was "ride now" and we waited probably 10 minutes (my guess is it was around 8:30 at this point). We liked it a lot and I wanted to ride it again, but the kids wanted to try something else. We walked by Ko'okiri body plunge, but the wait time was already 85 minutes, so we moved on to Honu. Of course it was down, so we did "ride now" with Ika Moana. We waited in line for close to 30 minutes and it was just okay. Honu was now up, but it had a wait, so we decided we'd come back. We went by the Kala and Tai Nui body slides and the wait was 35 minutes so we tapped in and went to the wave pool and loungers. We returned expecting the wait to be no more than 30 minutes, however, the ride went down twice and had to recycle, so we waited 60 minutes in line for this. Any fear I had about riding this was diminished by just wanting to get out of the line already. None of us liked this ride. Water shoots right in your face/up your nose the first thing when the trap door opens and I just wanted it to end. My older DS had gone first and he said that as he watched people get off, most of them looked kind of dazed and confused like they weren't sure what just happened to them, LOL.

We went back to the wave pool and then it was time to eat. At first, older DS didn't want anything off the menu, so DH took him to find food. He was back within 10 minutes and said that the lines were insane, so he was going to eat something off of the menu. Our service at our seating was good, which surprised me. The food also came out quicker than I thought it would and the food was pretty good, too. As we ate, I told DH that I thought the cost of the seating was worth it just for this.

We then decided to tap into Honu and go to the lazy river for a bit. It was crazy crowded and just not very enjoyable. We then rode Taniwha Tubes since it was "ride now". They did have us tap in and we didn't lose our wait in the Honu virtual queue. Then it was off to Honu -- we all loved it-- the boys liked it more than Krakatau, but I would say it was a tie for me with the edge to Krakatau.

On a side note, the sidewalk is REALLY hot. I had bought cheap Old Navy flip flops just for VB and I hated walking in them when my feet were wet -- the top straps were irritating when wet, so I took them off a lot. Even worse than the sidewalks was the sand. OMG! We had to walk quite a bit to get to our seats and back when we'd go to the wave pool (which was fairly close) -- OUCH! I still have a blister on the bottom of my big toe from a week ago.

At this point, we didn't really know what to do. Everything had a pretty substantial wait. There was even a long line just to enter the Fearless River. We tapped into the Punga Racers which only had a 60 minute wait, but we just didn't have it in us to stay any longer than another 30 minutes.

Regarding the premium seating, if I would've known exactly where we were going to be seated, I would've just gotten one set of loungers and pulled some free lounge chairs up for the boys. Not sure if that's workable in all areas, but it would've been where we were. The location of many of the cabanas didn't look that great and I'm glad we didn't go that route for as much as they charge you.

I'm glad I kept my expecations low. I knew what to expect going in, so there were no major disappointments. I think by next summer, most of the kinks will be worked out. It definitely has a lot of potential.

Yeah, my opinion on the premium loungers is that they are pretty much not worth the hassle. You waste a goodly amount of time just getting them and getting to them and that time is the most valueable time in the whole day to get on and ride rides. I brought an aquavault with me and got great loungers. Always ate at "off" times and by 8:30 in the mornings we had rode five or six slides already. I'm glad you made the best of it and had a great outlook on everything.

And yeah, between Honu and Krakatau, it's a toss-up. Love them both. Wife had a bad experience on Honu for her tastes, so she'll never ride it again (she doesn't like going backwards and not seeing where she is headed, lol). My son and I could do it over and over. One of the most intense slides I've ever been on, albeit very short.

I think your next time will be so much better. It'll be less crowded and you'll have a better plan and familiarity with the whole park. Awesome trip report!

 

[Cruise J.D.]

I really appreciate the trip reports. Many thanks to those who have taken the time to write them.

My trip is 3rd week in August. I am going to keep monitoring the trip reports. At this point, instead of my original plan to spend two whole days at the water park, I think we will plan on two or three 3 hour days -- early entry hour, one hour as the line builds with the general admission crowd, and then one hour in the rivers/wave pool. Based on trip reports, I don't think we will deal with the crowds well.

We just got back and did VB two days. I think you have a good plan. You can definitely get 2 or 3 slides in before it gets too bad if you do early admission. You could then tap in for a long wait and hit the lazy river and wave pool and leave after doing your last slide. The slower lazy river was less crowded for us and you don't need a tube for it.

Edit: General warning with VB "Ride Now" slides.
A slide will say "Ride Now" and you get in line for it. You don't have to tap in at the monitors/kiosks if it is "Ride Now", only at the entrance. It will change to a delay after you are already in line. The workers will try to get you to leave the line and tap in at the monitors/kiosks - putting you behind a lot of people who arrived after you. This happened to me twice and I argued my way onto the slide. YMMV.

 

[123SA]

Has anyone arrived late in the day recently? Or stayed late? I'm wondering how manageable the park is from 4pm-8pm.

 

[macraven]

Has anyone arrived late in the day recently? Or stayed late? I'm wondering how manageable the park is from 4pm-8pm.

That has been one of my questions too

Have not read any reports of those coming for that time period

Have thought if visiting around 5 and hang out in the evening there

Hope lighter crowds at Vbay during hhn period

 

[RalphinSC]

That has been one of my questions too

Have not read any reports of those coming for that time period

Have thought if visiting around 5 and hang out in the evening there

Hope lighter crowds at Vbay during hhn period

OrlanDave has a series of videos on Volcano Bay. Most of his time spent there in the videos is in the late afternoon and evenings. tim Tracker also had some evening videos and touring advice as well.

 

[FlipHipster]

That has been one of my questions too

Have not read any reports of those coming for that time period

Have thought if visiting around 5 and hang out in the evening there

Hope lighter crowds at Vbay during hhn period

Just booked a trip for 3rd week in September to checkout VB. Hoping the crowds are low enough by then that we can spend the evenings in VB. I'm thinking US & IOA in the morning, head back to CB midday and chill out for a bit then hit VB in the late afternoon/evening. Hoping it will be open past dark in September it looks amazing.

 

[atricks]

That has been one of my questions too

Have not read any reports of those coming for that time period

Have thought if visiting around 5 and hang out in the evening there

Hope lighter crowds at Vbay during hhn period

I've been there 3 times after 4pm, the park is very light on crowds that time of day (Especially if a thunderstorm clears folks out) It's an amazing time to go.

 

[macraven]

Thanks atricks!

I want to go not for the water but for checking the place and food out