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

[bobbie68]

Hi VB just tweeted that they are at capacity now and will not be reopening today. I would love to know what they are figuring for capacity at this point.

 

[soniam]

Does anyone know what the towels that are available for rent are like? How do they compare to the hotel pool towels? Is there anything good about them (size, softness, etc) which might make paying to rent them appeal more to me?

They seem to be beach towel length, longer than a normal bath towel. They felt new and decently thick. They aren't as thick as some of the beach towels we own, but thicker than a bath towel. I can't remember what the hotel pool towels are like. Are they different from the room towels?

 

[Claire82013]

Hi you must be referring to the time when they accidentally put that VB was going to be an EP benefit park. That only lasted one or two days. Universal realized the mistake and took it down quickly. They had always intended for VB to have EP for purchasing separately but after the problems with the wait times right now they are not selling them.

Thanks for the info! Guess I caught it on the wrong day when I was looking at their website. Definitely glad I know ahead of time!

 

[lelew]

Hi VB just tweeted that they are at capacity now and will not be reopening today. I would love to know what they are figuring for capacity at this point.

what if you have prepaid tickets, will they refund your money if you can't enter the park? I wonder how this is going to work with people who planned their summer trips to visit the park. I paid for a 3 park 3 day hopper for this summer visit.

 

[soniam]

what if you have prepaid tickets, will they refund your money if you can't enter the park? I wonder how this is going to work with people who planned their summer trips to visit the park. I paid for a 3 park 3 day hopper for this summer visit.

I haven't heard or read anything about people trying to get refunds for capacity. I am sure it's coming up. I could see it being more likely for VB only tickets; however, it might be more difficult with multi-day multi-park tickets. People can always ask.

 

[lelew]

I haven't heard or read anything about people trying to get refunds for capacity. I am sure it's coming up. I could see it being more likely for VB only tickets; however, it might be more difficult with multi-day multi-park tickets. People can always ask.

I purchased through Costco I can see now this is going to be a problem getting my refund if I'm denied entry into the park because of capacity. I want to cancel now, but then again I don't. I hope they have this figured out by August. Thanks for the update

 

[soniam]

I purchased through Costco I can see now this is going to be a problem getting my refund if I'm denied entry into the park because of capacity. I want to cancel now, but then again I don't. I hope they have this figured out by August. Thanks for the update

Capacity issues will only change if people decide to not go, unless they are specifically limiting the number of people due to what they think the rides can handle. I think they are probably allowing everyone they can in, despite what the rides can handle. Otherwise, the waits would be bad instead of terrible. We went opening weekend and plan to go again late July. Are you staying onsite? If so, get there during early entry and you won't have to worry about capacity. Even if you aren't staying onsite, get there when it opens. Lines are shortest the first couple of hours.

 

[lelew]

Capacity issues will only change if people decide to not go, unless they are specifically limiting the number of people due to what they think the rides can handle. I think they are probably allowing everyone they can in, despite what the rides can handle. Otherwise, the waits would be bad instead of terrible. We went opening weekend and plan to go again late July. Are you staying onsite? If so, get there during early entry and you won't have to worry about capacity. Even if you aren't staying onsite, get there when it opens. Lines are shortest the first couple of hours.

Thanks, we are stay at Sapphire Falls, we will plan for that early entry. I guess I will just go along with the flow and try not to over plan everything like I originally did when I booked our vacation. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought VB would be a breeze to tour and we sleep in and take our time getting to the park lol

 

[soniam]

Thanks, we are stay at Sapphire Falls, we will plan for that early entry. I guess I will just go along with the flow and try not to over plan everything like I originally did when I booked our vacation. I don't know what I was thinking when I thought VB would be a breeze to tour and we sleep in and take our time getting to the park lol

Don't feel bad. For our trip opening weekend, until about 2 weeks before, I was going to show up about lunch time or the afternoon. Then the panic set in, and I changed the VB days to get there for EE and not leave until we are done for the day. I plan to do the same in late July, because I think the crowds and ride reliability won't be fixed, but hopefully improved some. Have a good trip

 

[mar915]

I was wondering do people with preferred seating do you have a band or something to identify you. We have 6 chairs but 8 in our group since my boys won't sit much and they are good with regular chairs, but wondering if they can still come I the area. Also some in our party will be leaving before others and not sure if they could use those after they leave.

 

[soniam]

I was wondering do people with preferred seating do you have a band or something to identify you. We have 6 chairs but 8 in our group since my boys won't sit much and they are good with regular chairs, but wondering if they can still come I the area. Also some in our party will be leaving before others and not sure if they could use those after they leave.

For the premium seating, it's just loungers that are in with the regular loungers and chairs. Anyone could theoretically just sit down on one if the purchaser isn't there. There are attendants and servers that come by though, so I think they would say something to non-purchasers. You should get introduced to the attendant and servers. As for having more people than loungers, that should be fine. I saw groups of 4 or more with only 1 set of loungers. They just pulled up chairs and regular loungers for the rest of their group. The cabanas may be different though.

 

[Music City Mama]

For the premium seating, it's just loungers that are in with the regular loungers and chairs. Anyone could theoretically just sit down on one if the purchaser isn't there. There are attendants and servers that come by though, so I think they would say something to non-purchasers. You should get introduced to the attendant and servers. As for having more people than loungers, that should be fine. I saw groups of 4 or more with only 1 set of loungers. They just pulled up chairs and regular loungers for the rest of their group. The cabanas may be different though.

Hmmmm, I wonder if I should just cancel one set of our loungers and pull up regular loungers/chairs. That way, we (DH and 2 sons), can just switch out as needed and save myself $60 (or whatever it was). Since you can no longer reserve these in advance (or is that just the cabanas?) I'd be kind of worried that if I canceled 1 set, something would get messed up and I'd have nothing and wouldn't be able to re-reserve.

 

[soniam]

Hmmmm, I wonder if I should just cancel one set of our loungers and pull up regular loungers/chairs. That way, we (DH and 2 sons), can just switch out as needed and save myself $60 (or whatever it was). Since you can no longer reserve these in advance (or is that just the cabanas?) I'd be kind of worried that if I canceled 1 set, something would get messed up and I'd have nothing and wouldn't be able to re-reserve.

I don't think you can reserve either the premium seating or the cabanas in advance anymore. One thing to keep in mind is that any loungers you pull up may not be in the shade. However, you are not guaranteed that the premium loungers will be shady all day either, but you have a better chance with them. You also get a lock box with each set of loungers. I don't know how much space you think you would need.

 

[Music City Mama]

I don't think you can reserve either the premium seating or the cabanas in advance anymore. One thing to keep in mind is that any loungers you pull up may not be in the shade. However, you are not guaranteed that the premium loungers will be shady all day either, but you have a better chance with them. You also get a lock box with each set of loungers. I don't know how much space you think you would need.

Thanks. I'll probably just keep them for now -- especially since they're already paid for.

 

[mar915]

You can still reserve premium chairs ahead over the phone. I just didon't for june 19th. Anyone else know how are in advance to cancel if it still going to be raining? That is why I don't like the having to reserve I advance

 

[soniam]

You can still reserve premium chairs ahead over the phone. I just didon't for june 19th. Anyone else know how are in advance to cancel if it still going to be raining? That is why I don't like the having to reserve I advance

72 hours is what my email says. I don't think there's an exception for rain, since it rains a lot in Florida.

 

[Sarahboo]

I've seen some reports that some of the cabanas have a lot of traffic noise from the freeways. Anyone know which sections have the traffic noise issue?

 

[ultimatefans]

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Thanks but that map is not helpful at all for information on family cabanas... If I don't cancel my family cabana, I'll definitely post pictures of it and give some info..

Did you end up getting the family cabana? If so, any pics or info you can share? If not, was it because you cancelled or did Universal cancel your reservation? Thank you!

 

[soniam]

There's a new blog on Touring Plans about Volcano Bay. Sounds like it wasn't so great, but not too surprising.

http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/06/15/daisys-not-best-week-ever-june-15-2017-volcano-bay/

 

[zebsterama]

There's a new blog on Touring Plans about Volcano Bay. Sounds like it wasn't so great, but not too surprising.

http://blog.touringplans.com/2017/06/15/daisys-not-best-week-ever-june-15-2017-volcano-bay/

Thanks for posting the link/blog.

Wow - all I'm hearing is, beautiful park, decent food, non user friendly technology, disorganization, ride break downs, and long long lines.

We've rented premium seating in August - I guess I'll wait, keep reading reviews, and hope things get better .... but I'm really thinking to maybe save a few bucks (and I'm not one to worry about such matters on vacation), save myself the disappointment/grief, and spend an extra day at the parks.

Real sad part is that it will likely be years before we get a chance to come back.

I know it's new, and kinks need to be worked out - but everything I'm reading tells me, these are not kinks.

Is anyone else thinking the same thing? Thoughts?