Should we add Volcano Bay?

[Brandilla]

I'm having trouble deciding. We are new to USO. Have been to Disney 4 times, but now we have our first USO trip booked for the last week of June. We are staying at RPR and have the 4 day, 2 park, park to park tickets. It would be about $150 to change them to the 3 park version. I'm wondering as newbies, if we would really have time to utilize the water park? Kids are DD6 and DS is turning 13 on our trip. I know US is very different from Disney, but our first Disney trips we were in the parks all day with no breaks, but we've also never been to Orlando in the summer. I figured with being close to the parks at RPR and having express pass, it would be easier to tolerate the heat. Easier to get to the resort for breaks if needed and minimize wait ride times.

So what are everyone's opinions? As newbies, should we focus on the two main parks? Or add Volcano Bay because it's going to be hotter than hades? Does express pass from RPR work at VB as well to help with waits?

If we do go to Volcano Bay, should we be booking the chairs? Pretty sure I don't want to splurge on a cabana.

Thanks for helping me work this out in my head!

 

[TommyJK]

Hotel express pass does not work at Volcano Bay. Just the dry parks.

Volcano Bay gets rammed in the summer by around 11:00-Noon. If you do decide to add Volcano Bay, I would recommend for one or two of your days going for early entry, stay until around noon (when it gets really busy) and then leave for lunch/early afternoon break, then go to the dry parks later in the afternoon/evening

So you could do 2 full dry park days (and I recommend taking a mid-day break at the pook or napping at RPR), and 2 days where you split the mornings with VB and the later afternoon/evenings for more time in the dry parks.

VB is beautiful, some of the slides/rides are incredible, and the "fearless" (fast flowing) lazy river is also a lot of fun.

 

[03GirlsMom]

We just got back from a trip to UO and we also stayed at RPR. It was our first trip and we spent 2 days at the parks, 1 day at VB. Even with the Spring Break crowds, we were pretty much able to do everything we wanted in two full park days with the EP. We didn't get to do everything (wait times even with EP were long) but we did hit all of our top priority attractions.

I absolutely loved VB, so much so that I want to be sure to visit again in the fall for our next trip. It was in the mid to upper 80's all week and I was so thankful we had a water park day. We're from the north and were struggling with the heat. Whether you decide to add the tickets depends on your family. My kids love water parks and I knew that we would get our money's worth. Even for my 6 year old who isn't big into most waterslides, there was still a ton for her to do; we stayed from EE to park close. With 4 days to spend in the parks, you'll have ample time in the park if you do decide to add in a day at VB.

Edited to add: As the PP mentioned, the EPs do not work at VB. You would have to purchase EPs specifically for the water park if you choose to go that route.

 

[Brandilla]

Hotel express pass does not work at Volcano Bay. Just the dry parks.

Volcano Bay gets rammed in the summer by around 11:00-Noon. If you do decide to add Volcano Bay, I would recommend for one or two of your days going for early entry, stay until around noon (when it gets really busy) and then leave for lunch/early afternoon break, then go to the dry parks later in the afternoon/evening

So you could do 2 full dry park days (and I recommend taking a mid-day break at the pook or napping at RPR), and 2 days where you split the mornings with VB and the later afternoon/evenings for more time in the dry parks.

VB is beautiful, some of the slides/rides are incredible, and the "fearless" (fast flowing) lazy river is also a lot of fun.

Thanks so much for your input! I'm leaning more towards just keeping it as the dry parks and utilizing the hotel pool. We often try to cram too much into our vacations and I'm trying to break that habit lol

 

[Brandilla]

We just got back from a trip to UO and we also stayed at RPR. It was our first trip and we spent 2 days at the parks, 1 day at VB. Even with the Spring Break crowds, we were pretty much able to do everything we wanted in two full park days with the EP. We didn't get to do everything (wait times even with EP were long) but we did hit all of our top priority attractions.

I absolutely loved VB, so much so that I want to be sure to visit again in the fall for our next trip. It was in the mid to upper 80's all week and I was so thankful we had a water park day. We're from the north and were struggling with the heat. Whether you decide to add the tickets depends on your family. My kids love water parks and I knew that we would get our money's worth. Even for my 6 year old who isn't big into most waterslides, there was still a ton for her to do; we stayed from EE to park close. With 4 days to spend in the parks, you'll have ample times in the park if you do decide to add in a day at VB.

Ahh... I didn't see your response when I just replied. Now I'm torn again lol Thank you for the reply! I'm afraid of how busy VB will be. We will be there the week before 4th of July, which I think is a traditionally very busy time.

 

[shawthorne44]

I love VB, but since you'll have express passes I'd say no. You might decide to pay a small amount of money to upgrade to the pass and then do VB on your next trip.

 

[TommyJK]

Ahh... I didn't see your response when I just replied. Now I'm torn again lol Thank you for the reply! I'm afraid of how busy VB will be. We will be there the week before 4th of July, which I think is a traditionally very busy time.

Honestly, if you're only there for the 4 days (and every day is a park day), personally I would skip VB.

If you're there for say a week, and have 4 park days, then I would consider it.

As you say you could be trying to cram too much in. If I was at the resort for 4 days and all of those days would be park days, then I would just stick to the 2 dry parks, and each of those 4 days I would take a generous afternoon break back at the resort/pool.

Do early entry to about noon, break for lunch and resort relaxation time, then head back to the parks after that break for late afternoon/early evening.

It will feel more relaxing, you still have plenty of time to do things in the parks (with EP) with many re-rides of your favourites, and you get a good amount of resort/pool time.

 

[03GirlsMom]

Honestly, if you're only there for the 4 days (and every day is a park day), personally I would skip VB.

If you're there for say a week, and have 4 park days, then I would consider it.

I agree with this. Taking into consideration the crowds and the heat that time of year, you're going to want to build in downtime to recharge. The length of your trip would make or break the decision for me.

 

[Brandilla]

Honestly, if you're only there for the 4 days (and every day is a park day), personally I would skip VB.

If you're there for say a week, and have 4 park days, then I would consider it.

As you say you could be trying to cram too much in. If I was at the resort for 4 days and all of those days would be park days, then I would just stick to the 2 dry parks, and each of those 4 days I would take a generous afternoon break back at the resort/pool.

Do early entry to about noon, break for lunch and resort relaxation time, then head back to the parks after that break for late afternoon/early evening.

It will feel more relaxing, you still have plenty of time to do things in the parks (with EP) with many re-rides of your favourites, and you get a good amount of resort/pool time.

This is exactly what I was planning but then started thinking about VB and got big time FOMO.
We are staying Tues-Sat and will be in parks every day except departure day. So I think I will stick to this original plan, and plan for VB next time when we have more time. Thanks!

 

[glocon]

Agree with skipping VB this time around. Just take your time in the parks, enjoy your resort pool, and get a wand to cast “spells”. Get your bearings at the UO parks then you can maybe add VB next time!