Volcano Bay is the newest water par…ahem…water theme park in Orlando and Universal’s answer to Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon/Blizzard Beach and SeaWorld’s Aquatica. While the park is definitely the smallest of Orlando’s water parks, Universal packed so much into such a little space that you won’t think of it’s size at all. In fact, you’ll probably end up appreciating Volcano Bay’s size as you zip around from one end of the park to the other.

Arrival

Getting to Volcano Bay can be a little hectic depending on when you head in, but as long as you keep a cool head it’s really not that bad.

Parking

You utilize the same parking garage you would access Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure and CityWalk. As you approach, stay to the far right-hand side, you’ll see a sign that reads “Volcano Bay Parking” over two cashier booths. After paying, a team member will direct you to the parking garage on the right-hand side. We parked right on the first floor.

After you park, you can proceed to the ticketing booth. If you already have your ticket, you can continue on to security. Otherwise, you might have to make a pit stop in one of the guest service booths. Be warned: this part felt the most chaotic because there were a lot of people trying to vie for a spot in line.

Transportation to Volcano Bay

Security is similar to the rest of Universal – your belongings go into a bin and it goes through an airport-like x-ray machine as you proceed through a metal detector. After security, you get into another line for the bus. The buses are packed pretty well to ensure the most efficiency with moving guests to and from Volcano Bay.

As soon as you disembark from the bus the fun begins because you can already start to see the theming start to take shape.

You go up a set of escalators (or walk up a path) and then see the Volcano Bay flags and a large pavilion. There are additional ticket booths here too, which came in handy for us. We thought we had our tickets when in fact we only had the confirmation email. A team member was able to quickly give us the paper ticket and we were able to proceed to the entrance to get our Tapu Tapu.

Once you receive your Tapu Tapu, you’ll wind around another path before the Krakatau Volcano is revealed to you. We loved how the icon of the park is hidden during your initial approach, it really makes for a breathtaking view when you finally see the park in its entirety. It kind of reminded us of how you first see the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.

What’s a Tapu Tapu?

Don’t know what a Tapu Tapu is? If you know how a Disney Magic Band works, it’s a very similar concept. You can use your Tapu Tapu to pay for things, open up a rented locker and capture your on-ride photos.

Tapu Tapu is also an essential part of Volcano Bay’s queue-less system. You see, there aren’t any traditional lines for any of Volcano Bay’s rides. Instead, the Tapu Tapu system is used to reserve your place in a virtual line and show up to the ride when it’s your turn. You’ll still have to wait a good 10-15 minutes or so before getting on the ride, but it beats waiting for 90-120 minutes for the most popular spots.

Tapu Tapu ride reservation kiosks are located right at the front of the park and the entrance to each slide.  

Another neat difference between Tapu Tapu and Magic Bands is that a Tapu Tapu can display messages. This comes in handy to see how much time is left until your next ride or if there is a weather event in the area.

On the negative side, The Tapu Tapu is a big bulky; but it stayed on our wrists. There are two places where it “locks” so we definitely felt confident taking it on all of the slides.

Getting Settled

There are plenty of places to sit at Volcano Bay. The most Instagram-worthy spot is right in front of the Krakatau Volcano and the wave pool, however, this is where your largest crowds will be. If you don’t mind that type of environment, then, by all means, grab the nearest chair and enjoy! We, on the other hand, like a little more of a laid-back vibe when visiting a water park.

That is why the ideal place for us was heading towards the back of the park. We tend to find that by not following the crowd, you can come out ahead.

There are a couple of good spots near Bambu Grill – an ideal spot because you have lockers, restrooms and food nearby. We managed to snag an umbrella, still be near the Volcano and have a bit quieter atmosphere.

Premium Seating

If you want to guarantee yourself a spot with some shade, there are a couple of options available (with a price). The premium seating loungers are a great option that includes two loungers with a shade. The areas are roped off so no one will try and claim your spot while you are out enjoying yourself. While you can buy these the same day, during busy times they may be sold out so it’s best to call ahead if you have your heart set on this option.

The same logic goes for cabanas. The cabanas at Volcano Bay are pretty impressive, both in perks and size. Cabanas can easily fit a family of four in them and the biggest ones can seat up to 12!

Cabanas

As far as perks go, cabanas have their own attendant who will deliver food from any of the locations at the park and you can reserve rides right from the cabana rather than having to go to individual ride entrances. Obviously, all of these perks come with a rather hefty price tag, but if you have a big group this may end up being a great option.

So you have your chair, your sunscreen is on and you are ready to explore.

Lockers

But before heading out, we suggest getting a locker.

A medium sized locker is good enough to hold a couple of bags or wallets and phones while you are away. They cost $12, which honestly isn’t bad for the peace of mind knowing your belongings are safe. Here’s a storage tip: stow a towel or two in the locker. Rains pop up pretty randomly in Florida and if your towel is drenched by a downpour it’s nice to know you have a backup. There are a couple of places where you can get a locker throughout the park. Once you have your locker, you can open it as many times as you want to throughout the day via your Tapu Tapu.

Attractions

There is a ton of fun to be had at Volcano Bay and a good variety of attractions from thrilling to relaxing.

Tapu Tapu Strategy

When it comes to attractions, it’s important to note that The Tapu Tapu allows only one reservation at a time. The strategy for getting the most out of your day using your Tapu Tapu is a bit of controversy around the blogging community. Some say you should go short and ride as many rides as possible before waiting for the main attraction. On the other hand, others will say to grab the longest wait first and ride the other rides in the meantime.

We suggest grabbing one of the more popular rides early on in the day to avoid a long wait. For us, it was grabbing a spot for the Krakatau Aquacoaster. When we tapped, the wait was about 120 minutes. This gave us time to go on the lazy river, grab some food, go on another slide and relax a little bit.

Now you may be asking, “If Tapu Tapu only allows one reservation at a time, how can you ride other slides at the same time?” Not all rides have a wait time. If you come across a slide that says “Ride Now”, you’re able to walk on that attraction without having to reserve it via the Tapu Tapu.

There are a few screens throughout the park that list the wait times, so you can easily see if any slides are ride now.  

Lazy Rivers

There are two options for lazy rivers – a standard lazy river, Kopiko Wai Winding River, and one that’s a bit more adventurous, TeAwa The Fearless River. We started with the slower one. It was nice, but boy was it crowded. We actually ended up walking the entire thing because we never found an open tube for either of us.

The best part of the journey is when the tube goes underneath the volcano. You can really see the work Universal’s designers put into the theming, and it really transports you to another place.

The more adventurous river is the same basic concept as a lazy river, just turned up to 11. You aren’t whitewater rafting by any means, but it takes a stronger swimmer to tackle this river than the lazier one. If you’re tired of wading around the wave pool, but still want some action, this is a great place to take a lap or three.

Krakatau Aqua Coaster

We used our first Tapu Tapu reservation to get on the Krakatau Aqua Coaster. When we tapped it was about a 120-minute wait, but between the other rides and the lazy rivers, the time actually did go by pretty quickly.

The ride vehicle itself is a little canoe that seats up to four people. Right off the bat, you’re off to a thrilling start with a drop followed by an ascent that shoots you up into another tube. Most of the ride is a lot of going down and then quickly going back up. The technology to propel you is really neat – rather than propelling up by water it’s done by magnets.

Honestly, we felt that going up sometimes was more thrilling that the drops, but overall this is a fun ride and a lot longer than we anticipated. It’s no surprise Volcano Bay decided to make this their marquee attraction. It’s only a shame we couldn’t ride more than once!

Ohno of Ohyah & Ohno Drop Slides

This was another slide that we saw with long wait times. The look like your standard body slide at first, but the fun comes with how the slides end. Normally, a slide will guide you right into a pool. But with these slides, you are dropping into the water.

The Ohyah slide will drop you four feet above the water, while the Ohno will up the ante at six feet. Both of these slides are unique and provide a different level of fun and thrill.

Raft rides

There are several options in the way of large raft rides at Volcano Bay. If you are a small party, like us, you will get paired with other riders as some of the rafts are four-, five-, or six-person rafts. Overall, we found these rides to be a bit more thrilling than their counterparts at the other parks around Orlando, but they are by no means over the top crazy.

Dining

There are a few really good dining options throughout the park, in addition to a couple of bars. Going hungry or thirsty really shouldn’t be a problem. If you are planning on being at the park all day, we suggest getting a refillable souvenir cup. It’s about $18, but it’s worth it so you can stay hydrated. You can refill it at any of the Freestyle Coke machines throughout the park. In addition to soda, the Freestyle machines also carry an assortment of Powerade. We suggest having a cup or two of Powerade every hour to give you some much-needed electrolytes.

Feasting Frog

Feasting Frog was our choice for an early lunch. It is a rather small hut that features tacos and nachos. Jessica chose the poke. The poke was nice and fresh and was served with plantain chips – a lot of plantain chips. The poke was sitting on a bed of lettuce, so don’t let the photo fool you to think you are getting a large portion.

Tyler went with the nachos were a good portion and were pretty tasty.

Kohola Reef

Later in the day, when it started to storm, we decided to take cover under Kohola Reef. It has a huge roof so it’s a good place to get out of the elements. Because of the rain, it was a little chaotic in there but this location has a pretty diverse offering including pizza, burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads and even sushi. Similar to a lot of the quick service locations in Universal Orlando Resort you can get a combo meal here that includes your entree and a milkshake.

Koka Poroka Ice Cream

For a little late afternoon snack we hit up the Koka Poroka Ice Cream stand towards the front of the park. It’s a really popular place, so expect a wait. Jessica got the Waturi Fusion soft serve in a cone. It’s a mix of banana, blue raspberry, orange and strawberry.

It’s really tasty (not to mention really pretty to look at!). The banana was easy to pick out flavor-wise, but otherwise it really just tastes fruity. It’s quite the refreshing taste that doesn’t have the heaviness of chocolate, nor the blandness of vanilla.

Weather

Weather always plays a factor when doing anything outdoors around Orlando. During the summer, you can almost set your clock to the afternoon rainstorms. Rain in the forecast doesn’t necessarily mean your day is going to be a wash, you just have to plan and prepare.

Your Tapu Tapu is a great way to get notified if weather is approaching. If there is lightning in the area, all water areas will be evacuated for safety. During one of our visits, we were pulled from the water three separate times because of weather while another time we didn’t have any issues. It really just depends and it’s important to stay patient with the team members during weather.

One thing to note, Volcano Bay will close down if it’s too cold. A lot of our friends from up North may scoff when we say it’s cold, but temperatures can dip to the 30’s during our “winter” and that doesn’t make for great water park weather.  

Leaving

Once you’ve had your fun for the day (or decide to leave because of weather), it’s time to leave the park. Depending on when you are leaving, this can also be a bit chaotic.

If it’s raining (or in the brief lull between rain clouds) expect crowds to be extremely heavy. You are definitely going to wait in a long line. But if you can hang back a bit and let the crowds go, you’ll do a lot less standing around.

Exiting the park follows the same path you used to enter the park and onboard another bus to the parking garage. If you’re staying on-site (lucky you!), you can walk back to your resort using one of the walkways.

The Verdict

Our first trip to Volcano Bay happened in the middle of summer while the park was still relatively new, which meant the park was much busier than going in, say, the fall. But even with the park close to (or probably at) capacity, we never felt we were overcrowded. That’s rather impressive for a park as popular and as small as Volcano Bay is.

The only times we felt overwhelmed was in the lazy river which, unfortunately, is about the exact opposite of what a lazy river should be, and when we were hiding under the tent trying to escape the rain.

The rides were fun and had enough variety to keep us entertained. The water coaster is an experience in and of itself, but even the rest of the slides had enough variety in them to be interesting; every ride wasn’t just going in circles in a tunnel and ending in a swimming pool.

The integration of the Tapu Tapu worked well on our end as well. We enjoyed exploring the park and going on the “ride now” rides while waiting for our reservation, but the entertainment value of the wave pool, lazy river and other rides can get a slight bit repetitive.

Based on the rides and atmosphere, you can truly tell this is Universal’s water park. The rides are more extreme, the theming is more immersive and Tapu Tapu bands speak to Universal’s long-term plan of no queues. If you’re looking for a newer, more modern take on water parks, then you’ll find no better place than Universal’s Volcano Bay.