We just got back from a trip to Universal Studios last week and we went to Volcano Bay Waterpark in Orlando for our first time which is the only Universal waterpark. It was built back in 2017 and is a ton of fun for the entire family. Typically for these types of trips, I try to do a ton of research ahead of time so I know all the ends and outs before we get there; but this year, it was a little more spur of the moment and I didn’t have time.
So what I did for you guys was take a ton of notes and hopefully share it all for you in this post to make your trip run smoothly! This is one of those posts that is filled with tons of information and will probably be best to skim through and just save for the time that it really becomes relevant for you to utilize!
We picked our day for Volcano Bay during our trip and other than having our tickets to get into the park, we did not prepare anything else. We took the bus from our hotel to the water park and didn’t arrive to the park until around 11:30am or so. That is probably mistake number one we made unless you have pre-booked a premium seat or cabana ahead of time and you know you will have a place to sit!! By the time we got there, the complimentary chairs around the park were all already taken and the premium seating that you can purchase was already full for the day. So our options were to just get a locker to put our stuff and not have a “home base” or to spring for the cabana for the day. We ended up doing some negotiating and got 20% off the cabana price since it was probably 12:3opm at that point and the park closed at 7pm.
The cabana ended up being awesome and was perfect for our day, but it is an expensive option. I share more details about the cabana below and all that it includes as well as ways to do it more budget friendly.
Below are notes that I took away from the park that are important to read to try and make your day go more smoothly as well as detailed information about their “tapu tapu” system (virtual lines) and the rides around the park. There is a method to learning the tapu tapu system and understand how it works; but ultimately, it does the waiting for you when you sign up for a ride. So once you are signed up for a ride and it says 70 minute wait, you can go ride other rides that say “ride now” or you can go enjoy the different lazy rivers or wave pools through out the park so you aren’t wasting time standing in line.
If you are going with smaller children (we had our 5 year old who is about 45″ in height), then I highly suggest that you take a look at the height requirements for each ride. There are quite a few rides that have a 42″ requirement and she was able to join us on rides, but then there are some that are 48″ and higher that she could not. 48″ height seemed to be the sweet spot for height requirements at most of the parks.
I hope this is helpful. We had a super fun day once we got the hang of it and settled in. Having a waiter at the cabana (you also get one at preferred seating) was such a nice luxury! They brought our food and drinks right to us, so we never had to stand in line. We loved the “rapid river” which was a fast lazy river in the park and the Krakatua aqua coaster is amazing! Oh, we also chose not to buy fast passes for this day since we had spent so much money on the cabana. It worked out okay for us, but study up on my notes below about the different fast pass options for the park because you do have to buy those separately if you are interested in them. For our family of five, it was going to be another $500 or so for the day for us to add those on and it wasn’t worth it to us.
Good luck and I would love to hear in the comments if you have any great tips to share with us from your experience!!
Volcano Bay Notes
- Reserve premium seating online ahead of time (approx $150-$200/day, reserves 2 chairs)
- Cabanas available (approx $850/day) max of 6 people. Bigger ones available
- If you are staying at a Universal hotel, you can enter the park one hour early (if you care to do so) before the crowds. This could allow for it to be easier to grab complimentary chairs and ride a bunch of the rides before the lines get long.
- Given a watch (the Tapu Tapu) at check-in to be put in virtual lines through out the park
- Express passes from Premier hotel room keys don’t work for this park
- You have to buy separate express or express plus passes (approx $100 per person or so; but more details below)
- Bring a water phone case or go pro
- Put money on your “tapu tapu“ watch to use around the park
- Krakatau Aqua coaster is the main attraction
- Park closes at 7pm (but changes throughout the year)
Tapu Tapu System
- Each Volcano Bay guest is given a TapuTapu wristband once they enter the park. (They look like a watch but don’t tell time.)
- Next to the entrance of all the water slides, there will be a bunch of screens showing the virtual wait time for that ride. (If there is no wait the screen will say Ride Now)
- Guests simply tap their TapuTapu on the screen and they will be added to the virtual queue. Your TapuTapu will track which ride you are on a virtual line for and how much time remaining. Your entire party can tap at one time so that you can all ride together.
- You will then be notified when it is your time to ride. You don’t have to go right that second when it tells you if you are in the middle of eating or on a different ride. Just head there when you are ready. Once you have gone on the ride, then you will be able to sign up for another waitlist.
- You can only be on one waitlist at a time.
- Once you are on a waitlist, you can only ride the rides that say “Ride Now” on their wait screen. This can be the one part that is a bit of a bummer or pain in the butt. So just plan accordingly.
TapTu Pay
The TapuTu Pay system will act as your wallet for the day so that you don’t have to walk around with money.
Here is how to set it up:
- Create your Universal Orlando account using the app before you go.
- Link all members of your family to their Volcano Bay Universal Studios tickets.
- Enter your credit card information and set spending limits for each member.
- Create a pin the whole family will remember.
Volcano Bay Cabanas Prices
The prices vary throughout the year on cabanas and depends when you go and of course they also vary on the size of cabana you are looking to rent. The standard cabanas only accommodate up to 6 people. Be sure to check with park if you arrive late and book a cabana on-site if they can give you a discount for a partial day. We arrived around noon and were able to get 20% off. I know they said around 1:30pm they usually will discount the prices around 30% off. Cabanas can book up in advance or they may have some available day of. If you want to reserve a Cabana for your visit call: (877) 489-8068.
- Standard Cabana: approx $400 – $1,200 per day
- Family Cabana: approx $700 – $1,800 per day
What is included with a Volcano Bay cabana rental?
- Early park admission
- Padded lounge chair, 2 regular chairs
- Table with checkerboard
- Concierge service (Food, drink, towels, or other requests)
- Complimentary Food Basket (fruit, muffins, cookie, etc.)
- Small fridge (includes 12 bottles of water complimentary)
- Storage locker
- Ceiling fan
- Privacy curtains
- Music
- Personal Tapu Tapu Machine – book virtual lines while you sit in your cabana! This was an awesome feature to have!
Volcano Bay Premium Seating
Premium seating includes padded lounge chairs as well as an adjustable shade canopy. Plus, there’s a built-in storage lockbox for when you feel like getting up and dipping your toes. Some Volcano Bay premium services include meeting an escort who will guide you to your reserved seating area and getting an attendant who takes care of your food and drink orders! You can book in advance or at the park (subject to availability). The Premium seating books up quickly, so I would buy in advance if you can! Call to reserve a Cabana or Premium Seating for your visit: (877) 489-8068
What are the Volcano Bay Premium Seating Prices?
- approx $50 – $200 per person per day
What is included with a Volcano Bay Premium Seating?
- Two padded lounge chairs
- Shaded Cabana
- Built- In Locker/Safe
- Drink and Food Attendant
- Attendant that will walk you to your seats and you can ask questions
Volcano Bay Lockers and Towel Rentals
If you choose not to rent a cabana or premium seating, the resort does have locker and towel rentals on property. The towels are approx $6/day and lockers are around $16-$20/day. You can also bring your own towel with you.
The lockers are connected to your Tapu Tapu watches that you are given when you enter the park and that you will be wearing all day long.
Express Pass
Express Pass is available at Universal’s Volcano Bay. There are two options: Express Pass Plus (starting at $39) and Express Pass (starting at $19). The Express Pass has a limited number of rides where you can skip the line and the Express Pass Plus includes all the larger body slides if you plan to do those.
The Express Pass Plus allows you to skip all the lines on every Volcano Bay ride. Both passes only allow you to ride each Volacno Bay ride one time.
You can look at purchasing your Express Passes ahead of time here.
What are the Volcano Bay water park rides?
- Krakatau Aqua Coaster
- Ko’Kiri Body Plunge
- Wave Village
- Ohyah and Ohno Drop Slides
- Honu of the Honu ika Moana slide
- ika Moana of the Honu ika Moana slide
- Kala & Tai Nui Serpentine Body Slides
- Kopiko Wait Winding River
- Puhihi of the Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides
- Puka Uli Lagoon
- Punga Racers
- Raki of Taniwha Tubes
- TeAwa the Fearless River
- The Reef
- Tonga of Taniwha Tubes
Krakatau
This is the ultimate ride (and most popular!) at Volcano Bay known as the aqua coaster. It is a canoe that fits 4 people and has a minimum height of 42″. It is a ton of fun and will have the longest wait of your day.
Hanu
This group tube slide is a ton of fun!! The height requirement is 42″ if with an adult and it has a couple of great drops and big sides you fly up on your tube.
Rapid River
This is like a lazy river except much faster! Everyone must wear life vests that you pick up as you enter the lazy river. It seemed weird at first because most of us are used to using a tube through the lazy river, but this concept with the life vests and moving at a faster speed is really fun!
Ohyah and Ohno Drop Slides
These drop slides were fun (48″ height requirement) tube slides and let you out the slide around 8-10 feet drop from the water. They were pretty exhilarating.
Body Plunge and Body Slides
No one in our group this time was ready for these slides (although I really wanted to!) but they look super serious and exciting if you are of the adventurous kind! They have huge drops, floors that drop beneath your feet and are for your more mature riders!!
Reminder of Checklist For Volcano Bay
- Choose your waterpark day and purchase your tickets online
- Decide in advance if you would like to book Premium Seating (only two chairs) or a cabana for your group. Book it ahead of time if possible.
- Make a list of items to pack and bring for your day at Volcano Bay.
- Towels (towels are included in cabanas)
- Waterproof Phone case or Go Pro for pictures and videos
- Wear swimsuit and cover up
- Water shoes if you want but not necessary
- Add Credit Card to your Universal app so your card will be linked to the Tapu Tapu watch
- If possible, take a look at height requirements if needed to see what rides are best for your kids.
- Take a look at the hours of operation (they change seasonally) and see what time you want to get there and stay til. It was fun to stay until the end of the day!
- Have fun!! I did find that the more prepared you could be, the better your day is! It definitely takes a little time to get acquainted with the Tapu Tapu system (and it’s not perfect), but it is beneficial. These things can be frustrating at first, but you will get the hang of it 🙂
Where to Stay for Volcano Bay Resort
We were staying at the Portofino Bay Hotel (a Universal Premier Hotel) for this trip which is a Universal property and they had a quick shuttle bus ride right from the resort to the Volcano Bay water park.
There are also two Universal resorts that are right next to Volcano bay that looked like a lot of fun and have walking access to the water park, so I will touch on those.
Cabana Bay
This resort has a couple of great looking pools with a lazy river, a bowling alley inside and an arcade and is walking distance to the water park. Its considered a Prime Value resort at Universal.
Universal’s Aventura Hotel
This resort is considered also considered a Prime Value resort at Universal and has a dedicated walking path right to Volcano Bay. They also have a fun rooftop bar and pools and a splash pad for the kids.
The benefit of staying at a Universal resort is that you get access to the park one hour early before all the crowds get there. So you have the advantage of snagging good seats (if you don’t do preferred seating or cabanas) or getting to ride a bunch of rides with little to no lines! A premier hotel gets you the express passes for Universal and Islands of Adventure but not for Volcano Bay.
