Volcano Bay Construction & Preview Discussion

[Ryan O]

This conversation has baffled me. Idk how anyone can be anything but incredibley excited for this. This scale of the volcano in person is going to be astonishing when we are up against it. I really think people are overreacting a bit about the back exposed as it will not be an issue when there. I cannot wait to experience this in person next time I am around. I will stress this will be the first water park I have personally ever placed on a must do list while visiting the Orlando area living outside of Florida.

 

[DoubleJ]

Just look at the level of detail. Man Disney really knows how to build a grand entrance. I've never seen such a highly themed area in my life. No one will ever compete with this. I mean the dirty shoe prints all over the base boards really add to the character and the story they're trying to tell. Just look at those temporary generic stanchions. Their imagineers must have flown all over the planet to pick out just the right ones for the theme. Oh and the color of those safety cones are to die for.

I know you have an axe to pick with Disney, but come on...

The entrance is in theme 100%.

All this time I thought the back of the volcano was hidden from view, so I pondered why they even bothered to theme the back at all. Come to find out the volcano is in the center of the park. What were they thinking!

I'll say this about VB, the technical accomplishment looks great, but the execution of the theming is quite underwhelming.

 

[BrenRays]

Why does this conversation have to be so polarizing? I think the consensus is that everyone is excited and will visit VB at some point, but there are some valid criticisms, no need to shoot them down (hence discussion board)

I'm personally going to give them every minute they have left until the Grand Opening to judge.
I can't believe the opening is already almost here! Usually I'm painstakingly watching dirt move for what seems like forever, but time flew by on this one.

 

[UK-Trigg]

I usually like my Saturday morning catch up on here, mug of Joe and a bite to eat whilst I drool over the latest photos and gossip.

Not this morning I drop in the thread and its full of bitching and backbiting and quite frankly guys and , IT SUCKS!

The forum seems to be getting more and more like this and I know Brian and the Mods have mentioned it already but it really does take he enjoyment out of reading the forums, I didnt even manage to make it to the and of the thread before typing this.

I and up just scanning through a page and shaking my head I do enough of that on other forums that's why OU was always my goto a happy, insightful community which respected each other respectful, seems not so much now.

Maybe It's just me but I've had enough, so I'm putting myself on a weeks ban, hopefully things have improved when I return.

In the meantime try and play nice eh?

 

[Cheezbat]

Besides the Disney water parks, the Atlantis Resorts, Siam Park in Tenerife (which benefits from being on a hill/don't know if you can call it a theme) and a couple Middle Eastern Water parks (Wild Wadi, Yas Waterworld), what other Water Parks come even close to having a theme? Volcano Bay will be a world class water park and I don't think Universal has been lazy with this/set a low bar, but to each his own.

You just named every waterpark I find to be as well themed or better themed than this one...and while many are touting that Volcano Bay will be the best ever, i think I'd still have to give that nod to Yas Waterworld right now.

I am excited to see what type of expansions Universal has planned for the park though. Still a number of epic slides out there they currently aren't using in this park.

 

[Miketheboss]

You just named every waterpark I find to be as well themed or better themed than this one...and while many are touting that Volcano Bay will be the best ever, i think I'd still have to give that nod to Yas Waterworld right now.

I am excited to see what type of expansions Universal has planned for the park though. Still a number of epic slides out there they currently aren't using in this park.

Waterworld? Which water park is that?

Never mind, Just looked it up. I think the park is ugly. Volcano bay looks so much nicer.

 

[Thisguynamedlee]

I usually like my Saturday morning catch up on here, mug of Joe and a bite to eat whilst I drool over the latest photos and gossip.

Not this morning I drop in the thread and its full of bitching and backbiting and quite frankly guys and , IT SUCKS!

The forum seems to be getting more and more like this and I know Brian and the Mods have mentioned it already but it really does take he enjoyment out of reading the forums, I didnt even manage to make it to the and of the thread before typing this.

I and up just scanning through a page and shaking my head I do enough of that on other forums that's why OU was always my goto a happy, insightful community which respected each other respectful, seems not so much now.

Maybe It's just me but I've had enough, so I'm putting myself on a weeks ban, hopefully things have improved when I return.

In the meantime try and play nice eh?

Nah when you return, the back of the volcano will still be unfinished lmaoooo, and we was just giving our honest opinion , your the only one to get offended for whatever reason , I'll still be in the lazy river floating through it , amzazed on one side, disappointed on the other haha

 

[Disneyhead]

The back of the volcano is "blown out", not unfinished.

 

[Hockeyman55]

I usually like my Saturday morning catch up on here, mug of Joe and a bite to eat whilst I drool over the latest photos and gossip.

Not this morning I drop in the thread and its full of bitching and backbiting and quite frankly guys and , IT SUCKS!

The forum seems to be getting more and more like this and I know Brian and the Mods have mentioned it already but it really does take he enjoyment out of reading the forums, I didnt even manage to make it to the and of the thread before typing this.

I and up just scanning through a page and shaking my head I do enough of that on other forums that's why OU was always my goto a happy, insightful community which respected each other respectful, seems not so much now.

Maybe It's just me but I've had enough, so I'm putting myself on a weeks ban, hopefully things have improved when I return.

In the meantime try and play nice eh?

:ban:

:tongue:

 

[amityboattours]

Why does this conversation have to be so polarizing?

Because... TEH INTERNETZ.

Just like Pandora discussion last week, this is simply the best or worst thing in the world to some people, who seem to have no objective way to analyse things and see that (like near everything else in life) it's more likely somewhere in between those two points.

Extreme and emotive reactions also help certain folks get the attention they so desperately crave online. See also - FB, Twitter etc

 

[Legacy]

All this time I thought the back of the volcano was hidden from view, so I pondered why they even bothered to theme the back at all. Come to find out the volcano is in the center of the park. What were they thinking!

What were they thinking?

Accessibility (for maintenance now and forever)
Visibility/Full understanding of guests about what's inside the volcano
Natural lighting (something I think is important at a water park)
Openness while queuing for stuff inside the volcano
Cost - but not construction. An enclosed volcano, in Florida, with water, would become a miserable sweatbox that would require massive, industrial air handler units. Those would make the inside cold and the outside blistering which, again, is bad news for a water park.

I understand being a bit confused by the park layout, but it comes across as if a lack of understanding created expectations. Expectations have to shift when knowledge is gained.

 

[amityboattours]

What were they thinking?

Accessibility (for maintenance now and forever)
Visibility/Full understanding of guests about what's inside the volcano
Natural lighting (something I think is important at a water park)
Openness while queuing for stuff inside the volcano
Cost - but not construction. An enclosed volcano, in Florida, with water, would become a miserable sweatbox that would require massive, industrial air handler units. Those would make the inside cold and the outside blistering which, again, is bad news for a water park.

I understand being a bit confused by the park layout, but it comes across as if a lack of understanding created expectations. Expectations have to shift when knowledge is gained.

I'd also add safety/rescue to that list. If, somehow, someone becomes stuck or injured in one of those slides, they'll need to get a hydraulic platform up to them asap.

 

[P@n!K_Sw1tC#]

First of all, it's really not okay to call opposing viewpoints b****ing. Nobody does that to you and your opinions.

Secondly, the maintenance and cost excuse is a total sham. You'd have to make the maintenance case for every other theme park ride that exists inside of a building or a mountain. Slide pieces are 100x easier to replace than sections of, let's say, Grizzly River Run would be.

Disneyhead already mentioned that going for the blown out look is actually more expensive, and I agree with him here. So it's not really any of those things. It was a design choice. Why they went this route I'm not sure, but it was their creative choice to do so.

I hope I don't come across as b****ing when I say that Volcano Bay is going to be a great park with a few very cool slides, but from a design perspective I think there are better ways of going about it.

We'll see in 2 weeks.

 

[Disneyhead]

First of all, it's really not okay to call opposing viewpoints b****ing. Nobody does that to you and your opinions.

Secondly, the maintenance and cost excuse is a total sham. You'd have to make the maintenance case for every other theme park ride that exists inside of a building or a mountain. Slide pieces are 100x easier to replace than sections of, let's say, Grizzly River Run would be.

Disneyhead already mentioned that going for the blown out look is actually more expensive, and I agree with him here. So it's not really any of those things. It was a design choice. Why they went this route I'm not sure, but it was their creative choice to do so.

I hope I don't come across as b****ing when I say that Volcano Bay is going to be a great park with a few very cool slides, but from a design perspective I think there are better ways of going about it.

We'll see in 2 weeks.

There is a lot more rock work involved with lining the entire inside of the caldera than there would have been had the just rounded out the exterior.

And Universal Creative did NOT get a "special deal" on "ugly colored" slides.

 

[GAcoaster]

The only way I will have a problem with the back of the volcano being open like that is if it is truly left unfinished. Volcanoes can (and often are) blown out on one side like that, but if the interior is left open to the steel framework, that's a problem. I assume that the inside will have a finished surface (and from what I've seen it does), and if that is the case, then leaving it open is fine.

I drove by this morning and for those complaining about the slides supports being so visible, they won't be for long. As things are getting finished, the plantings are going in and really filling all that space below/around the slides. Give things a little more time and all will be fine.

As for the constant comparisons between VB and any other themed water park, you are still comparing an unfinished park with finished ones. Once the park is open, it is open season to criticize whatever you want, but until then it is still a work in progress and really can't be judged fairly. I also get the criticism of the location, but there wasn't much choice in the matter, but once again until you see it for yourself, you really can't criticize it. The plantings, water noise, music, etc. may be enough to make it really feel separate from the roads around it. Look at other parks like Disneyland, Discovery Cove, Aquatica, SeaWorld, IoA, USF, etc. All those parks are surrounded by busy roads, yet you can barely tell when you are inside them.

Also, I say the same thing to the critics that I say every time I read these criticisms. If you don't like it, don't go! Just leaves more room for the rest of us who want to enjoy it and not pick it apart.

 

[Mr. EPCOT]

Secondly, the maintenance and cost excuse is a total sham. You'd have to make the maintenance case for every other theme park ride that exists inside of a building or a mountain. Slide pieces are 100x easier to replace than sections of, let's say, Grizzly River Run would be.

I think there are a couple of key things that would make an enclosed mountain operationally a lot more difficult. First, there will be water going EVERYWHERE. This isn't like Splash Mountain, where inside the mountain water is mostly carefully contained into troughs (lest they damage Audio-Animatronics and the like). Krakatau will have waterfalls and wet people all over the place, which I imagine would escalate the maintenance required in a large enclosed space. Second, there will constantly be people in this thing, as opposed to the Disney mountains where they are mostly just passing through quick in the span of a couple minutes. For Florida, that means you have to have climate control, which again would almost certainly bring problems with it compounded by the wet environment.

Believe me, I would have loved something a lot more like what they had planned for Lava Lagoon in Paris. But I think there has shown to be sufficient logistical hurdles that make it understandable why they went the open cavern route.

 

[Alicia]

Can we maybe lock the thread for a day or two?

 

[Jonea32]

Can we maybe lock the thread for a day or two?

That would be such a shame as we're about to hit the home straight but it's really not enjoyable to read anymore. There isn't anything left that hasn't been said before.

 

[Donald Razorduck]

The place looks like loads of fun and I can't wait to wear it out next Spring.( Will the water be heated during cooler months like Disney? Sorry if I missed that info.) Will likey get a lower Cabana and maybe a couple of the premium seats if they are prime spots near the wave pool. A premium touch would have been to add the little pools lime the Poly Bungalows at a couple of them.

 

[Scott W.]

The place looks like loads of fun and I can't wait to wear it out next Spring.( Will the water be heated during cooler months like Disney? Sorry if I missed that info.) Will likey get a lower Cabana and maybe a couple of the premium seats if they are prime spots near the wave pool. A premium touch would have been to add the little pools lime the Poly Bungalows at a couple of them.

I imagine the pools will be heated for the colder months, it's next to a volcano after all. :thumbsup: