Volcano Bay: Photos & Reviews

[JoeCamel]

Went again today and it was great. Basically, get there early and have a plan and it works. I'd be surprised if anyone here, reading a theme park forum, wouldn't do that already though.

• Rope dropped at 8. Got there @ 7:50, we were let in 5 minutes later. No line was more than 15 people deep; maybe the overcast morning kept some people away.
• Instead of getting a locker by the Waturi Marketplace, we hit the lockers down by Maku Puihi. Much better location and, oddly enough, these were $12 rather than the $15 I spent on Marketplace lockers on Weds.
• Apple spellcheck loves the names of these rides! :saywhat:
• KAC was a walk on, and we did it 2x in a row. This coaster is an absolute blast.
• Maku was a walk on. Tame, and the geysers were not working.
• Puihi another walk on. First time we had to ride with another family (3 of us, 2 of them) on one of these rides. Lotta touching feet on these raft rides.
• Punga Racers walk on. Noticing a pattern? Neat idea having the mats have handles and going down head first. I am 6 foot and had to scrunch up to keep my knees on.
• Ohya has was a walk on. Ohno was but we had to wait about 10 mins and the Tapu stand said 20 when we were done.
• About 9:30 now and that was the first ride we saw that needs a tap.
• Fearless river, almost no one on. I got flipped by a wave! Fell off and the TMs did not like me walking it the rest of the way.
• Kala and Tai Nui body slides (KTN) have a 10 minute tap wait but the bars are not open yet and there is no way in hell im doing those sober.
  
• So it's not quite 10, we have our snack, and Taniwha tubes and one Serpentine slide are all that are left on my plan. We're skipping Honu and Moana after doing those on Weds.
• 2 Taniwha tube rides, both walk ons. Light blue has you travel on the wall for a bit, pretty neat.
• A get a beer @ the blue Boat Bar while wife and son wave pool it. The wave bell is working, which was not on Weds. This is the clock-like tower that shows which wave profile is going. Loud bells ring when it changes, very cool.
• We Tapu in for KTN w 105 min wait (@ 10, GP gets on, and weather was starting to look good). Stand says " see you in 85" and that is what displays on our devices.
• For the first time ever, we drop the kid off. He does Runamukka reef while we go to locker to get me a dose of insulin, and to Bluebar for drinks. There is an eating area over looking the kids area, so that was a nice touch.
• More wave pool, walking the path way thru the volcano, and it is time.
• Maybe the disrepency w the wait time is it take 20 mins to climb that damn thing!
• It is an absolute cluster F on the platform! All 3 slides are there; KTN is one line and you choose at the top (only Punga and Taniwha are like this, everything else has separate lines).
• Only 5 or so people in front of us.
• Most rides have nice " batter's box" scale to weigh everyone. Up here is a regular bathroom scale, painted black.
• 10 yr oled decides to walk back down. We congratulate him for this decision later.:thumbsup:
• Wife goes on green tube, but is in the coffin like enclosure for about 20 seconds before they hit the button. :jaw:
• My turn. I hit between 200 - 205 on the old timeydial scale and the girl says "wait a minute please" and hurries to the drop slide operator. She eventually comes back, asks me which slide I want and I'm wishing I had joined my son at this point. "Green!" After a few seconds, she says "Um" while mashing some buttons. "Blue then".
• I get in and HOLY #%&$ CRAP WHY DID THEY EVEN BUILD THIS THING.
• The free fall was great except for all the water up my nose and mouth. Once I could breathe again, it was like a faster version of a tube slide such as Ohno. Then you crash into a wall of water that is the bottom pool and relive all of the water into all of your face holes.
• I said "never again" in that instant but I cannot stop thinking about it.
• Guy on the way up said the drop slide is actually tamer.
• Wave pool, beer, and out by 2.

Still can't stop thinking about that drop, tho...

Tee Hee! Thanks for the review

 

[Ashhanbre]

Has anyone tried premium seating yet? Is it worth it? (sorry for asking so many questions, just going for the first time in about a week so I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row)

 

[Miketheboss]

The park is rated 2 stars on Trip Advisor, ouch

Was so looking forward to going with my family, wish I had read these reviews before, they are all spot on. Only thing erupting was my temper. To start with, the 'no queuing' - a complete disaster - I will never return if they continue to flog that dead horse... get this .. 3 rides were a wait of over 200 minutes, one was 250 minutes. If you select that ride... guess what ? YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO GO ON ANY OTHER rides!!!!!!! You have to go sit around for 4 hours or go on the lazy river. what idiot thinks that's going to work.. 2) they have given all the rides daft names that you can't remember, so can't arrange / meet anyone at any ride. 3) the signage is awful. No idea where anything is. 4) all lockers taken had to walk 300 yards to then pay for a locker $15... 5) some idiot thought good idea to put sand in the place !!! Gets everywhere. Get rid !! 6) staff no idea what going on - rides not working half the time - I was allowed to go down a slide with red light flashing as they had me sat in the water at the top of the slide for 5 minutes and couldn't get someone to turn it off. 7) them stupid wristbands fall off all the time 3 of my party lost them in the Rapids - they'll last 6 months max. 8) staff all demoralised and hating life as EVERYONE moaning at them. 9) faster of lazy river has no double tubes or tubes with a bottoming so my 4 year old couldn't go on as slipped through normal tubes. The rides look great if you ever get to ride them !!!!!!!. Allow people to queue normally for rides, use the rediculous strap thing for a fast pass and I might give it a go again. And hope some of the other stuff is teething problems, but shocked Universal could get something so badly wrong !!

It's just not working. The place is too small for the number of people, and the system just doesn't work. The main ride is a 5 hour wait, and you can't go on anything else until you ride that ride, or else leave the virtual queue for the ride. Everything is at least 2 hours wait time. Then, when you think your wait is over, wait in line in a real queue for an hour too! I think the staff will improve, and they'll find ways around other problems, but this tapu system is simply illogical, and will never work. I for one will not be going to any theme park with that system implemented unless it changes radically. You must be able to have multiple rides stored, having one just isn't fair, because it's likely the only thing you'll ride on a busy day. Oh, and one last thing. 2 for a locker is just theft after taking $70 off people to enter. Awful. There is ONE positive about volcano bay. And that is that the more people who go there will not be in the theme parks which are actually worth going to, reducing queues there. So use this opportunity of the new opening to ride things quicker in the rest of universal.

I love reading reviews. PR NIGHTMARE

When do you guys think things will get better?

 

[Cheezbat]

The park is rated 2 stars on Trip Advisor, ouch






I love reading reviews. PR NIGHTMARE

When do you guys think things will get better?

Either when everyone is 100% trained and up to speed, all rides are working with next to no downtime, and all construction finally competed, OR whenever Universal reduces the amount of guest let into the park or Tapu Tapu gets axed.

Sad to say, but if they can't get this place working right in a month or so, they may have to admit defeat on Tapu.

 

[UNIrd]

I love reading reviews. PR NIGHTMARE

When do you guys think things will get better?

I love reading negative reviews too because they can be hilarious. People complaining about cost of parking, paying $3 f0r a bottle of water, walking in at noon and waits being long and just having the most miserable time. This is true of ANY park.

 

[Andysol]

I love reading negative reviews too because they can be hilarious. People complaining about cost of parking, paying $3 f0r a bottle of water, walking in at noon and waits being long and just having the most miserable time. This is true of ANY park.

Right. Some are valid- but when they say things like "paying for a locker after spending $x"
Um- what park anywhere in the US has free lockers?
Or complaining about sand. TL anyone?
Several complaints are identical to what Disney offers.
But all of those things would be overlooked if they had softs- because ops would be up to snuff. Complaints are magnified after a negative overall experience. This one was on Universal, for sure, but we knew that after the first couple days.
WE know they'll get it all corrected over time, but it is certainly enjoyable watching some of the train wreck.

 

[JoeCamel]

Has anyone tried premium seating yet? Is it worth it? (sorry for asking so many questions, just going for the first time in about a week so I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row)

A couple that I know got the premium seating and loved it. They had a great day at VB. Lockbox, shade that is retractable and it was in a less traveled area looking at the volcano. Good chair side service for drinks and snacks.

 

[rhino4evr]

I love reading negative reviews too because they can be hilarious. People complaining about cost of parking, paying $3 f0r a bottle of water, walking in at noon and waits being long and just having the most miserable time. This is true of ANY park.

Magic Kingdom during Christmas/Thanksgiving week...maybe. But not many theme parks have multiple rides in the 2-5 hour wait zone, even at noon.
Also, I can't think of ANY waterpark that has these type of waits....

 

[UNIrd]

Magic Kingdom during Christmas/Thanksgiving week...maybe. But not many theme parks have multiple rides in the 2-5 hour wait zone, even at noon.
Also, I can't think of ANY waterpark that has these type of waits....

Remember that long waits are all relative to the visitor. I'm talking about what you find in negative reviews across all theme parks on sites like TripAdvisor.

 

[rhino4evr]

Remember that long waits are all relative to the visitor. I'm talking about what you find in negative reviews across all theme parks on sites like TripAdvisor.

Relative? Not really. A 2 hour wait is a 2 hour wait. Regardless of how much you value your time.

 

[quinnmac000]

Magic Kingdom during Christmas/Thanksgiving week...maybe. But not many theme parks have multiple rides in the 2-5 hour wait zone, even at noon.
Also, I can't think of ANY waterpark that has these type of waits....

Caribbe Bay Water Park in South Korea this weekend had wait times for 145 minutes on their hydromagnetic coaster and multiple slides posted an hour to 2 hour wait. So just because in America, these numbers aren't seen, doesn't mean they don't exist.

 

[Cheezbat]

Caribbe Bay Water Park in South Korea this weekend had wait times for 145 minutes on their hydromagnetic coaster and multiple slides posted an hour to 2 hour wait. So just because in America, these numbers aren't seen, doesn't mean they don't exist.

^^^^
This.

When I first rode Black Anaconda opening year at Noah's Ark, I waited about two hours to ride...and that park has so many slides that waits like that are unheard of.
My first visit to Splashin' Safari...same kind of thing. I waited almost two hours for Wildebeest...Mammoth was about an hour plus.
If something is good and popular, it's going to be busy in peak season.

 

[Andysol]

Caribbe Bay Water Park in South Korea this weekend had wait times for 145 minutes on their hydromagnetic coaster and multiple slides posted an hour to 2 hour wait. So just because in America, these numbers aren't seen, doesn't mean they don't exist.

True- the difference is that in most Asian countries they expect and are used to long lines for everything. They almost expect it. The Japanese have no problems standing for hours and hours for TSM for example. Americans just aren't used to it.

I still contend it's an ops issue though.

 

[Brian G.]

Guys, review thread. Please take it to General discussions.

 

[Brian G.]

Some observations based on yesterday's visit:

• There's a lot of sand where there shouldn't be sand. IDK why this is, but hopefully it's a side-effect of on-going finishing construction.
• TapuTapu worked a lot better yesterday. Only caveat was that it was cloudy all day so it may have scared away some people, but there was still a good crowd inside the park so... I'd lean towards a more positive outlook on the system.
• We were in a cabana, which was awesome. View was great, service was excellent. It spoiled me for future visits. Some criticism, just based on our specific area, is that we did not have bamboo to shield us from *ahem* unpleasant views of a certain highway *ahem* but we at least thought putting up a curtain there would help. Ours did not have one while others did for some reason. Told our Cabana lead the idea and said "Yeah, you're right" so hopefully it was relayed. Another miss was that we did not have a dedicated concrete pathway, meaning we were dragging up sand up the stairs and in the cabana. Also made it hard for our waitress to bring food and drink as it was unsteady footing.
  
• Lazy River Cave looks better with lighting they've added. Once they turn on the steam/misters - it actually will look killer.
• Speaking of misters - they were great on the slides. Really made it hard to see where the drops were coming and added another level of excitement.
• Again with the misters - the volcanic steam effect it makes on the bridge is great.
  
• TeAwa River was a bit more choppy and "fearless". I hope that it has a bit more waves coming, but it's a lot better experience now. Still need to fix the view under the volcano.
• Kids area completely finished outside of TapuTapu stuff, some small water features and lighting. Water cascading down stairs gives area nice touch.
• Ko'okiri Body Plunge entrance is now at it's intended original location.

 

[sonoma15]

Just got back in the car from a awesome day at volcano bay, I will post my review when I get home.

 

[sonoma15]

Alright here's my review:

TAPU-TAPU
Rating: 7/10
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This is kind of complicated but the taputapu actually worked really great for us, the waits weren't long at all (I think the max we waited was 35 minutes) even though it said they were 100+ for some slides, the reason I took 3 points off is because we only found about 2 Tapu touch interactive points that were actually working, once they get all of them working I will definitely rate it about a 9/10.

ATMOSPHERE
Rating: 7/10
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Volcano bay is a beautiful water park and has the best atmosphere of any water park I've ever been in, the music, the mist everywhere, and the extra details really add to it and make it a great experience, the reason I took off 3 points though is because a lot of things are not finished yet towards the end of the park but once they get finished I will probably give the atmosphere a 10/10

SLIDES
Rating: 9/10
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The slides are truly amazing, I didn't ride all of them but I rode Maku and Puihi, Kala/Tai Nui, Krakatau Aqua Coaster, and Taniwha Tubes. So during the 6 hours I was there I got to ride 6 slides and eat lunch and other things, I think that's pretty good and I had a really enjoyable time on these slides, all of them were super fun and great, especially the two trapdoor slides. The reason I give the slides a 9/10 instead of a 10/10 is because Honu was closed all day and some slides were experiencing some downtime, not that much though.

Other Water Attractions
Rating: 6/10
---------------------
The reason I'm giving these a 6/10 is because the fast lazy river was half down throughout the day, sometimes it would be slow, sometimes it would be fast, sometimes the waves would be on and sometimes they would be off, it was really confusing and I don't really know what they were doing. Also the exposed steel in the volcano on the fearless river is a little weird and looks out of place, thankfully there was some mist to hide some of it and I think they will be adding more mist too. Other then those problems it was super fun and when the waves were on it was great. Other then that the wave-pool and slow moving lazy river look great, except one problem is you get more wet on the slow lazy river then the fast one because of an impossible to dodge waterfall. If these problems weren't apparent I would probably give these attractions a 8/10.

FOOD
Rating: 10/10
---------------------
I didn't have much but the food I had, the long-board pizza, Waturi Fusion, and the POG slushie, were good and very enjoyable, this is excellent food for a waterpark considering most usually don't have this type of quality of food.

OVERALL RATING
Rating: 7.8/10
---------------------
I had a wonderful time at Volcano Bay and I can't wait to go back in about 3 weeks time, this is the best water-park I've ever been too and I absolutely love everything about it. The slides, atmosphere, food, tapu-tapu, and other water attractions all clash together to make one amazing water park, Volcano Bay is a truly enjoyable place. I know this review was kind of on the short end but I can assure you I had a really great time and I can't wait to go back.

 

[Skold]

i forgot to say earlier, but lunches were fun/odd.

On our first day, Wed May 31, we did what we do most of the time and brought in snacks and lunch*. We went to Kohola Reef. Got some waters and went to sit down, but TMs are all over the place. Just want to sit down, and have to explain this multiple times. Too many TMs here.

By Friday, we knew about Blue Boat Bar. Got a pizza at Wahaiawaiaia (get it?, ugh), taco platter from the frog, drinks at the Bluebar and saddled up to the end tables facing the tube slides. Food was barely above QS fare (low bar, to be sure), but this is the best place to eat lunch anywhere. lol have a drink and watch everyone lose there poop at the landing!


* i know some people look down on people who do this, but there is no way i'm eating out for every meal on an 11 day trip.

 

[Skold]

Alright here's my review:
This is kind of complicated but the taputapu actually worked really great for us, the waits weren't long at all (I think the max we waited was 35 minutes) even though it said they were 100+ for some slides, the reason I took 3 points off is because we only found about 2 Tapu touch interactive points that were actually working, once they get all of them working I will definitely rate it about a 9/10..

Curious about what time you arrived, and what sort of wait times you had.

 

[sonoma15]

Curious about what time you arrived, and what sort of wait times you had.

We arrived at around 10:30, got a reservation for the aquacoaster (said 90, waited 30), got a reservation for the two trapdoor slides (said 90, waited probably 25 minutes), got a reservation for tubes, (said 25, waited 20), then got a reservation for Puihi (said 30, waited about 35 because of down time) and rode Maku during this which said ride now, then got trapdoor slides again which said 165 minutes and waited actually about 35 minutes again.