VOLCANO BAY.....INFO AND QUESTION THREAD........

[bobbie68]

Thanks, Bobbi68, appreciate the help : )

You're welcome always a pleasure to help someone plan a great trip!

 

[Il traveler]

Do the cabanas have full size lounger chairs like the chairs that are on the beach? I was told by a TM that they do, but all the pictures I have seen just show
2 upright chairs and bench seating. I would like to have the reclining chairs that are body length so you can actually lie down. I might pull 2 from sand area into the cabana.

Also, when you have one of the ground floor cabanas do you hear a lot of noise from the upstairs cabana? No stand alone cabanas available (except ADA cabana in River Village), but don't know if I should spend the extra $100 to go from ground unit to upper unit.

 

[bocaj1431]

Not sure how accurate this is but when I called to reserve a cabana the representative said the loungers do not come with the cabana and that the ones which are more like chairs are what comes with a cabana.
Hopefully someone who has rented a cabana previously and wanted a lounger can let you know whether they were able to get one. But in pictures it does not appear there are any single padded loungers. There are loungers that are not padded near the cabanas so maybe they might let you swap for one of those.

 

[Il traveler]

Not sure how accurate this is but when I called to reserve a cabana the representative said the loungers do not come with the cabana and that the ones which are more like chairs are what comes with a cabana.
Hopefully someone who has rented a cabana previously and wanted a lounger can let you know whether they were able to get one. But in pictures it does not appear there are any single padded loungers. There are loungers that are not padded near the cabanas so maybe they might let you swap for one of those.,

Thanks,bocaj1431, that's what l figured. Just for the amount of money the cabanas cost you would think there would be actual lounge chairs...

 

[rochek1999]

Question: Are you allowed to wear "water shoes" in the park and on the rides??

Thanks!!

 

[ckmiles]

Interesting to read that according to the UO website Volcano Bay is closed right for for capacity.

 

[bocaj1431]

Thanks,bocaj1431, that's what l figured. Just for the amount of money the cabanas cost you would think there would be actual lounge chairs...

I was thinking the very same thing. With that kind of money why would they put two chairs that do not fold back.

As much as I loved the cabana, we chose preferred seating so that we could lay down when we take a break.

Hopefully someone who has purchased the cabana before and tried to get a lounger will see this and let you know if it worked.

Have a great trip!

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Question: Are you allowed to wear "water shoes" in the park and on the rides??

Thanks!!

You can wear them to the park and on many rides. You have to take them off for certain slides (where your feet actually hit the slide, like the drop slides and body slides. The mat racers I wore them once and was made to take them off once).

 

[WhitneyMB]

Interesting to read that according to the UO website Volcano Bay is closed right for for capacity.

Do you mean they closed VB due to capacity this afternoon? Eek! We'll be there later this week and are trying to decide what day(s) to go.

 

[hhoope01]

Not sure how accurate this is but when I called to reserve a cabana the representative said the loungers do not come with the cabana and that the ones which are more like chairs are what comes with a cabana.

When we rented last September (once lower level, once upper), both times there was at least one lounger chair in the Cabana (maybe 2, but I can't remember), plus to regular chairs and the benches.

I don't remember hearing any noise from the Cabana above us when we were in the lower cabana. So I'm not sure that will be a big issue (but I guess that might also depend on who is above you and how loud they get. ). I definitely preferred the upper though. I liked the views much better and there seemed to be a better breeze going through the Cabana. Plus it felt a bit more 'private' as folks just walking by didn't pause to look into your cabana as well. Whether that is worth the $100 or so extra dollars is a personally question, but for me, I suspect we will go for the uppers in the future.

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

Hello guys! We're planning to go to the Volcano Bay for the first time this October.
I'm kinda confused with the lines system... are there regular lines or the only way you can ride is using the tapu tapu + virtual line system?

I was trying to find the express pass to Volcano Bay at Universal's website but I didn't find it. it doesn't exist anymore?

big thanks in advance

 

[bobbie68]

Hello guys! We're planning to go to the Volcano Bay for the first time this October.
I'm kinda confused with the lines system... are there regular lines or the only way you can ride is using the tapu tapu + virtual line system?

I was trying to find the express pass to Volcano Bay at Universal's website but I didn't find it. it doesn't exist anymore?

big thanks in advance

Hello and you're welcome. So for VB most of the rides you have to use the ride reservations system known as Tapu Tapu. This allows you to book a ride time for an attraction. However, there usually is one set of smaller tube slides that are a ride now option. I believe these slides are not busy and can do that. Who knows this summer if things will change. You wouldn't need to reserve them. Also the two rivers and wave pool have no reservation system. The other thing is you can't book another attraction till you are through with the one you just reserved. There is no stand-by lines. There is one line up to the ride. The ride now option may be open to all the attractions first thing in the morning. I remember last summer for the first hour at early entry everything was a ride now. Then the ride reservation system starts in.

The express pass is no longer being sold ahead of time. If they are going to sell it you would purchase it that day at the guest services hut. I am sure it will depend on capacity. The summer months probably will not be selling much of them. The fall may have a better chance.

We love VB and will be heading back there in June! I will post a trip report on it probably in July. I will try and update any new information I find out.

Meanwhile if you have time take a look at the VB threads to get a feel for things.

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

Wow @bobbie68 Big big thanks!
I really appreciate it!

Good to know about the first hour been ride now, gotta try to hit main slides during that period of time.

Sad about the non-regular lines available
I hope we can ride at least 2/3 of them all.

ps: can't wait for your trip report

 

[GoldmanTrust]

Hello guys! We're planning to go to the Volcano Bay for the first time this October.
I'm kinda confused with the lines system... are there regular lines or the only way you can ride is using the tapu tapu + virtual line system?

I was trying to find the express pass to Volcano Bay at Universal's website but I didn't find it. it doesn't exist anymore?

big thanks in advance

When you arrive at VB you get a “watch” and you use it to tap in at slides. That gives you a return time and the watch vibrates when it is time to go.

After you wait is down to zero you show up at the ride and tap in at the entrance of that ride (staff members will assist you).

But the queue after you have tapped in for the second time is still pretty long at times.
Maybe 15-20 minutes, depending on the slide of course. So it is not totally queueless.

Early entry is awesome at VB. The park is beautiful and we cant wait to go back!

 

[bobbie68]

Wow @bobbie68 Big big thanks!
I really appreciate it!

Good to know about the first hour been ride now, gotta try to hit main slides during that period of time.

Sad about the non-regular lines available
I hope we can ride at least 2/3 of them all.

ps: can't wait for your trip report

You're very welcome glad to help! I absolutely recommend getting to VB for EE if you can. It is so nice to also have your pick of seats. I agree it was hard not having stand-by lines for it. I think that was a big frustration for people visiting last summer to not have stand-by. I think they really tried to take a new twist on a park. I think relaxing more and just going with the flow is a great concept and can work a lot. However, most of us are use to commando style and planning of parks. You should be able to do almost all of what you want in EE with the park.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/summer-trip-report-finally-yay.3642765/ This is a link to my trip report from last summer. You can scroll there are two VB days that I wrote about. Also take a look at the map on the first page of locations of things. I also have on other maps a few pages back some location options for cabanas, and regular seating. We liked being in front of the Volcano our first day with regular seating. It was next to the Dancing Dragons. There is a rest room, drink station, restaurant and guest relations all near by. The maps can give you an idea ahead of time where you want to sit.

 

[wilma-bride]

Has anybody reserved a cabana for August who could give me an indication of pricing please? The website obviously says from $199.99 but, given we have to call from the UK to book, I would like to have an idea of the actual cost before I call, so I know whether it is worth the call. We are specifically looking at either the 21st or 22nd August.

 

[bobbie68]

Has anybody reserved a cabana for August who could give me an indication of pricing please? The website obviously says from $199.99 but, given we have to call from the UK to book, I would like to have an idea of the actual cost before I call, so I know whether it is worth the call. We are specifically looking at either the 21st or 22nd August.

Hi I called universal to check on cabanas after I saw your post while I was checking for mine. The price for 8/21 was $532.00 for a lower and $638.00 for an upper. On 8/22 the lower was $479.00 and the upper was $585.00.

Last year we rented a lower cabana for 4 people and it was a really good size I would say we could fit 6 people comfortable in it. I thought the lower was nice some people prefer the upper for more privacy. You can take a look at my trip report I have some pics of my cabana on my VB day. The link is https://www.disboards.com/threads/summer-trip-report-finally-yay.3642765/.

 

[wilma-bride]

Thank you so much for checking the prices for me, I really appreciate it. Yowzers, that is one hefty price tag - I guess the 21st and 22nd are still fairly high season then, since that is significantly higher than the 'from $199.99' starting price. I did read your trip report earlier actually - your cabana looked pretty good. Was that a lower or upper? Is the cabana a real necessity, would you say? There are 5 of us, we will have EE as we are staying on site.

 

[bobbie68]

Thank you so much for checking the prices for me, I really appreciate it. Yowzers, that is one hefty price tag - I guess the 21st and 22nd are still fairly high season then, since that is significantly higher than the 'from $199.99' starting price. I did read your trip report earlier actually - your cabana looked pretty good. Was that a lower or upper? Is the cabana a real necessity, would you say? There are 5 of us, we will have EE as we are staying on site.

Hi yes my cabana was a lower one in the wave village. Honestly I don't think it is a necessity. It was nice to have a place to spread out, the food service was just okay. We had to wait quite awhile for our food. I did like having the water in the fridge and the towels. We are going again in June and I just priced out a cabana and I was shocked myself. Last year for almost the same time it was a lot cheaper. We will not do one this year. I think with having EE you should be good. If you go back a few pages on some of the maps I put up and the first page has the full map you can get a layout of seats. We love the front of the volcano in the wave village. We found great seats by the Dragon Boat Bar and we will look to get those each day we go. We go EE all the time and you will not find a problem getting a seat where you want. Also if you are worried about personal stuff look into the aqua vaults there are plenty of styles. The regular seats have umbrellas of different sizes and EE you can get one.

I think the cabana is great if you have someone in your party who doesn't do the water rides or little ones. It is a great place for them to hang for the day. I didn't think it was worth it because we were on the rides all the day. I actually felt like I had to stay in there to get the full value of it.

Good luck!

 

[bobbie68]

Thank you so much for checking the prices for me, I really appreciate it. Yowzers, that is one hefty price tag - I guess the 21st and 22nd are still fairly high season then, since that is significantly higher than the 'from $199.99' starting price. I did read your trip report earlier actually - your cabana looked pretty good. Was that a lower or upper? Is the cabana a real necessity, would you say? There are 5 of us, we will have EE as we are staying on site.

Your're welcome any time