Krakatau aqua coster hints-riding with kids

[GAMOMOFTHREE]

We just got back from a quick trip and upgraded our annual pass to include Volcano Bay. My kids were excited to ride Krakatau, so that was the first slide we went on. I have a 7 year old DS and 11 year old DD. The 11 year old is fearless, rode the Matterhorn before she turned 2, rides Hulk by herself (because we are too chicken!), you get the idea. My 7 year old is a bit more timid but was looking forward to trying it. My plan was to put the adventurous 11 year old in the front and the 7 year old near the back. I knew I would be in the very back. Because they space you by weight, the smallest goes in front. My 7 year old was in the very front seat, there was a skipped seat, then the 11 year old and then me. Well, that first ride was a disaster for DS in the front, and for me in the very back. He was scared and alone, and I got a cold shot of water on my back on every hill!

The second time, I rode individually with each kid. The front seat was empty, the kid was in seat two, I was in seat three, and the back seat was empty. This made for a better ride for everyone. If you can, and I know sometimes waits and crowds prevent it, but I would recommend going with one kid at a time over two!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi my party of 4 broke up into 2 and 2. I agree I liked the ride much better with the two of us. I liked the seating better for me and my daughter. It's a good suggestion to put out there.

 

[georgina]

I noticed that too on my last trip. The smallest was always out in the front EXCEPT when I as a solo rider was put with a group of 2 - then I was put in the front and the other 2 in seats 3 and 4, even when one was a child. So I really don't get why they insist on the smallest of a family being in front when clearly it is not an issue with a mixed group. (and I am no light weight - I weigh about 160 lbs these days).

 

[WhitneyMB]

I appreciate knowing this! Any other tips/advice of this sort from Volcano Bay from the OP or anyone else would be appreciated too. My family leaves for Universal in just over two weeks and it will be our first time at VB. I'm a total ride chicken (although I end up on 2/3 of them), and we have a large age gap between our kids.

 

[bobbie68]

I appreciate knowing this! Any other tips/advice of this sort from Volcano Bay from the OP or anyone else would be appreciated too. My family leaves for Universal in just over two weeks and it will be our first time at VB. I'm a total ride chicken (although I end up on 2/3 of them), and we have a large age gap between our kids.

Hi what they do on all 4 of the family raft rides is weigh your group together and most of the associates are a stickler on the weight. I remember we were over by 1 pound and they made my group split up. They are really good about placing the weight in the correct places on the tube so you don't tip. It's interesting because most of the scales are off. We would go on 1 and then another and the same 4 of us could weigh in as much as a 10 pound difference. We even went to the coaster one time and were riding the 4 of us got on. Went back in line a little later and they said our weight was over the limit and split us. This is just something to keep in mind when your with a group.

The Ohno and Ohyea body slides drop into a pool where there is a pretty strong current. When I was watching and waiting for my family there were several people who had to be rescued by the life guards. It is a tricky catch pool. My DD didn't like it at all. The body slides in the volcano slide in to a shallow thing no problem. The one thing is you will get a lot of water up your nose if you don't plug it.

Just a different kind of tip. For Honu and Moana make sure you ask which line you are in for which ride you want. The lines can be confusing and I saw many people be upset they were in the wrong line. Honu is the best family raft ride there, but it is intense for one. It is a lot of fun. What is nice is on both sets of family raft rides there is one less intense then the other. It might be something you would want to start with then graduate to the bigger one.

The Tonga racers (lay on your stomach on the mat) I have heard a lot of different things about these. There were complaints when VB opened last year that people were getting stuck and scraping themselves. I thought a pp posted they made some changes but worth looking into before you ride. We opted not to ride this one. The VB information thread has one or two new reviews that are good probably in the last week or so. There have been changes since last year and they have worked kinks out. I am excited to get back there in June.

I hope you enjoy and any other questions just ask!

 

[WhitneyMB]

Thanks for all comments! I've been monitoring the VB thread and other sites off the DIS board too--but as the park has been open less then a year and several things seem to have changed since the first few months or be inconsistent--it's sometimes hard to know what's accurate

 

[jaceraden]

Yes, lots of changes even since we went there in December! Apparently now the fearless river is tube free. In December we could only go in it if we were in a tube!

Back to the OP, yes it seems to be up to whomever is "manning" the line to decide how the party is seated. The days I went, my 5 year old was put in the front and often a blank seat between he and the next family member. No matter how we broke up our group of 6. My 5 year old is very timid but he didn't blink an eye after the first ride and insisted we ride over and over and over.