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

[Jennasis]

We are heading to VB on our upcoming trip in NOVEMBER (praying at least one of our days is warm enough to do this). Have a few questions:

1. The slides that have tapu tapu...is there also a standby line or is getting a tap tapu time the ONLY way you are permitted to ride?

2. What attractions do NOT have tapu tapu (in other words, which things can you do while waiting for your return time)?

3. When you get a tapped return time, say 40 minutes...when you come back to the ride in 40 minutes and tap in, do you literally walk right on the ride? Or is there now an additional small wait like FP sometimes has (like 5-10 minutes)?

3. Tell me November will be warm enough LOL!

 

[rhettmitter]

Going to Royal Pacific next weekend to check out HHN and see Volcano Bay for the first time. A few questions on Volcano Bay...

We'll be going on Sunday and are debating getting a cabana. Do the cabanas still have the full original food menus? Do they have a spot to plug in a charger by any chance? We've been quoted $265 for a cabana. Expensive, especially for two, but if a big part of the day is waiting for the next slide return time, it might be worth it.

Can you still get in line for Krakatau and then get in one other line while you wait? Or is this a thing of the past?

Any recommendations on the slides to hit first? What are the must sees? What get the longest waits?

 

[dizneedoll]

We are heading to VB on our upcoming trip in NOVEMBER (praying at least one of our days is warm enough to do this). Have a few questions:

1. The slides that have tapu tapu...is there also a standby line or is getting a tap tapu time the ONLY way you are permitted to ride?

2. What attractions do NOT have tapu tapu (in other words, which things can you do while waiting for your return time)?

3. When you get a tapped return time, say 40 minutes...when you come back to the ride in 40 minutes and tap in, do you literally walk right on the ride? Or is there now an additional small wait like FP sometimes has (like 5-10 minutes)?

3. Tell me November will be warm enough LOL!

1) No stand by lines. You have to use Tapu Tapu for the slides
2) Lazy River, Fearless River, Wave Pool, Runamucka Reef the kids play area do not use Tapu, you can go any time.
3) you may have a short wait. Also even if you tap in and it says 40 min for example, your wait may be longer or shorter. If the slides goes down for example, then your wait time will be longer than originally stated.
4) well, I'd love to guarantee you warm, sunny weather but November can be unpredictable. We are going in December and last time we had wonderful weather but several years ago when we went same time of year, I'm not kidding, it was in the 30's for a couple of days! So you just never know. But better chance you will have warmer weather than in December.

Have a great trip!

 

[DisneyPigFan]

We are heading to VB on our upcoming trip in NOVEMBER (praying at least one of our days is warm enough to do this). Have a few questions:

1. The slides that have tapu tapu...is there also a standby line or is getting a tap tapu time the ONLY way you are permitted to ride?

2. What attractions do NOT have tapu tapu (in other words, which things can you do while waiting for your return time)?

3. When you get a tapped return time, say 40 minutes...when you come back to the ride in 40 minutes and tap in, do you literally walk right on the ride? Or is there now an additional small wait like FP sometimes has (like 5-10 minutes)?

3. Tell me November will be warm enough LOL!

How big is the water park crowd in NOVEMBER? You'll probably be fine You can ONLY ride any of the slides via tapu tapu -- so if you are in the virtual queue for one ride, you cannot ride anything else, correct. There are no regular or standby lines. BUT -- you can go on any rides that says "ride now." If it's low crowds, just about every ride will say "ride now."

I was there last week just after labor day, and most rides were "ride now -- I didn't have to get a return time for anything. Which is good, because I would have been bored out of my mind with just the rivers and wave pool...... arrived shortly before 9am, stayed there for about 4 hours, and when wait times started to increase, I left for the day. Came back again a different day after a rain storm and also about an hour before closing-- got in a handful of rides that way.

In many cases -- you do NOT literally walk right on to the ride. Once you get past the virtual queue part and it's your turn to ride, that's when you can actually join the physical line, if there is one. This can range from being able to just walk on to quite a lengthy wait.

So if the park is crowded, you could wait several hours to be able to join the actual physical line....where you will then wait an additional 30-60 minutes.

Remember I mentioned I only did "ride now" stuff last week? I still had to wait 30+ minutes to ride one of the raft slides. Probably my longest wait time for any ride at any park for my entire Universal vacation. It would really have sucked to have waited for my turn to ride....only to then join a 30+ minute line. And this was with a not that crowded park..... the wait time would be even greater at other times for this and other rides.

Honestly, unless lounging around a pool or lazy river are your thing, I see this as a half day park at most. Get there first thing or get there soon before closing, or after it rains. But I have no idea what sort of crowds to expect in November... probably minimal?

For what it's worth, I hated the trap door slides. I tried one of the serpentine ones. I immediately got water in my eyes, up my nose, and in my mouth the moment the bottom was removed.... I honestly had trouble breathing and imagined that it might be a similar sensation to drowning. But it was over quick enough. Definitely was NOT going to do the almost straight down plunge after that.

But I enjoyed the raft and tube slides, for the most part.

I did get slightly injured on the mat racer slide. And my friend got injured enough on the "oh no" slide that he had to go to first aid.

 

[ultimatefans]

Going to Royal Pacific next weekend to check out HHN and see Volcano Bay for the first time. A few questions on Volcano Bay...

We'll be going on Sunday and are debating getting a cabana. Do the cabanas still have the full original food menus? Do they have a spot to plug in a charger by any chance? We've been quoted $265 for a cabana. Expensive, especially for two, but if a big part of the day is waiting for the next slide return time, it might be worth it.

Can you still get in line for Krakatau and then get in one other line while you wait? Or is this a thing of the past?

Any recommendations on the slides to hit first? What are the must sees? What get the longest waits?

Yes, there is an outlet in the cabanas. I'm pretty sure they still have the original cabana menu, I didn't do an actual comparison though. One of the best parts of the cabana was that you could tap in for any ride right from the cabana rather than walk over to the ride to tap in. Our cabana was in a central location though so we could easily get back to it between doing other things.

No, you can not still be tapped in for Krakatau plus one other, that is a thing of the past.

We *loved* Volcano Bay, my personal favorites were Kratakau and Puihi, but I'm sure that would be different for everyone. Have fun!!!

 

[Music City Mama]

For what it's worth, I hated the trap door slides. I tried one of the serpentine ones. I immediately got water in my eyes, up my nose, and in my mouth the moment the bottom was removed.... I honestly had trouble breathing and imagined that it might be a similar sensation to drowning. But it was over quick enough. Definitely was NOT going to do the almost straight down plunge after that.

This was exactly our experience -- we all hated it for the same reason.

 

[yulilin3]

Just reserved the VB cabana for Oct 16th. Still some areas available to pick from, we went with the Rainforest, paid $170.39 incl tax. This is for my DD 17th birthday so it will be a nice place to celebrate, we don't have to pay for tickets since my son and her boyfriend work for UO so we get in for free so I decided to splurge on a cabana.
The food plan sounds interesting as well, I might get that too

 

[pattyw]

Just reserved the VB cabana for Oct 16th. Still some areas available to pick from, we went with the Rainforest, paid $170.39 incl tax. This is for my DD 17th birthday so it will be a nice place to celebrate, we don't have to pay for tickets since my son and her boyfriend work for UO so we get in for free so I decided to splurge on a cabana.
The food plan sounds interesting as well, I might get that too

You'll love it! I love the price! We had a cabana back in June when they first opened. It was a little rainy that day- we thoroughly enjoyed the cabana! You could reserve rides from your private kiosk, had a lovely place to relax and eat, and if the weather does turn, you're protected! It comes with a nice fruit basket which also includes some pastries. It lasted the three of us all day!

 

[Jennasis]

Some questions about ride comfort...

Are the body slides uncomfortable? Like do you feel every rivet or joint between sections? Some water parks I find almost painful to go down the slides. I've had two back surgeries so I have to be careful on body slides. On tube slides I'm fine.

 

[DLRExpert]

Some questions about ride comfort...

Are the body slides uncomfortable? Like do you feel every rivet or joint between sections? Some water parks I find almost painful to go down the slides. I've had two back surgeries so I have to be careful on body slides. On tube slides I'm fine.

The body slides were fine for me. However, I was wearing one of those water shirts.

The drop slides, the most thrilling part is the drop into the water.

The trap door speed slides, the beginning small drop and the beginning of the slide are pretty intense, but about half-way through it eases up but it is still fast.

The trap door free-fall slide is over before you know it.

My favorite body slides are the trapdoor speed slides. After the first couple of times its a piece of cake because you know what to expect.

 

[Jennasis]

The body slides were fine for me. However, I was wearing one of those water shirts.

The drop slides, the most thrilling part is the drop into the water.

The trap door speed slides, the beginning small drop and the beginning of the slide are pretty intense, but about half-way through it eases up but it is still fast.

The trap door free-fall slide is over before you know it.

My favorite body slides are the trapdoor speed slides. After the first couple of times its a piece of cake because you know what to expect.

Thrilling isn't a problem LOL. I like speed (but there is no way I can risk my back on a trap door slide). But I can't take the bump-bump-bump of sliding down a slide and feeling the rivets or the joints between slide sections.

 

[ultimatefans]

Thrilling isn't a problem LOL. I like speed (but there is no way I can risk my back on a trap door slide). But I can't take the bump-bump-bump of sliding down a slide and feeling the rivets or the joints between slide sections.

I would second this - my daughter has only done 2 trap door slides (one at Universal, one at another park) and got injured on both of them. She was wearing a swim shirt on Tai Nui (green drop slide) - the slide ripped a hole in her swim shirt and she got a significant scrape along her spine. So yes, definitely avoid Kala and Tai Nui if you have back issues! Ko'Okiri probably wouldn't be as bad on your back though as you're traveling so fast and so steep, I preferred it over Tai Nui which just gave me a massive face full of water most of the way down. My daughter was fine on OhYah which she had done earlier in the day. Everyone is different, so if you're concerned, skip them, there are plenty of other things to do there.

 

[Sheldonman14]

I have seen mixed information on this manner, so I'm hoping for clarity. What's the policy at VB on prescription glasses/sunglasses? Are they allowed to worn on the slides?

 

[Dis_Fan]

I have seen mixed information on this manner, so I'm hoping for clarity. What's the policy at VB on prescription glasses/sunglasses? Are they allowed to worn on the slides?

I was at VB last Friday. Spectacular time there.

I did not do every slide, the speed trapdoor ones were down, and i do not like drop slides, but everyone i did go on allowed my glasses with no questions. Including the straight down trapdoor slide.

 

[Scootypuffjr]

You'll love it! I love the price! We had a cabana back in June when they first opened. It was a little rainy that day- we thoroughly enjoyed the cabana! You could reserve rides from your private kiosk, had a lovely place to relax and eat, and if the weather does turn, you're protected! It comes with a nice fruit basket which also includes some pastries. It lasted the three of us all day!

Do the curtains on the cabanas close all the way? We are coming in on a red eye the night before our VB day and I was thinking we could reserve a cabana and maybe put DS down for a nap (or maybe me) if you could close the curtains.

 

[TheConsciousness]

For what it's worth, I hated the trap door slides. I tried one of the serpentine ones. I immediately got water in my eyes, up my nose, and in my mouth the moment the bottom was removed.... I honestly had trouble breathing and imagined that it might be a similar sensation to drowning. But it was over quick enough. Definitely was NOT going to do the almost straight down plunge after that.

Absolutely HATED Ko’okiri. We both shared the same idea that we were going to drown if the ride was any longer. There should be a warning telling you that you will be submerged in water for the whole ride, with no opportunity to open your eyes, nose, or mouth.

In many cases -- you do NOT literally walk right on to the ride. Once you get past the virtual queue part and it's your turn to ride, that's when you can actually join the physical line, if there is one. This can range from being able to just walk on to quite a lengthy wait.

Can confirm, we were there on a light day and the aqua coaster had a 100 minute wait + another 15 minute wait in line. Was so upset by that extra wait as we figured they'd make it a ~5 minute wait.

Also, they need to add a heater to that wave pool. The water shouldn't be 65 degrees!

 

[pattyw]

Do the curtains on the cabanas close all the way? We are coming in on a red eye the night before our VB day and I was thinking we could reserve a cabana and maybe put DS down for a nap (or maybe me) if you could close the curtains.

I know that they close on three sides all the way. It was rainy the day we were there so we closed them and tucked them behind the furniture. I don't think there is a front curtain?? but we felt very private with the three sides closed.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

At Volcano Bay right now. Wanted to pop in & thank everyone for the amazing tips & excellent info. We got here about 30 minutes ahead of early entry. Second family in the park. Have a great spot to relax in the shade. Hit 8 or 9 slides in the first 2 hours. Have floated both rivers twice. Now we snooze in the shade until our room is ready for us.

 

[pooch]

Will be taking my grandsons (9,8,6) in November. We have to leave by around 2pm to move over to WDW. Park opens at 10AM. Do you think 4 hours will be enough for them?

 

[yulilin3]

found a more detailed video on the Cabanas at VB