Volcano Bay waits

[DLgal]

I wanted to buy the EP for july but it's not working...
Already booked a cabana
We're coming from Switzerland, and I don't want to lose a day riding only 2 or 3 attractions
Hope they will solve the issue!

I cannot login my account (website + app) anyone having the same problem ?
Tried to change password but still not working
Even tried to create a new account

They have reportedly stopped selling EP online. They may be getting rid of that option, or making it something you can only purchase same day, crowds depending.

 

[schumigirl]

The problem is that it sounds good on paper, but in reality, it just doesn't work. Especially having EP in addition. You end up with too many people returning at the same time, and rides breaking down, and a line builds up regardless.

It says a lot that water parks have been successfully operating for decades using standby lines. Why mess with a system that isn't broken?

If Tapu Tapu wants to succeed, it needs to essentially work like Fastpass or the DAS and give people a strict return window (like 15 min). Eliminate Express Pass (which just undermines the VQ system). If people tap and are given a specific time to return, and they allocate those return times in such a way that capacity is taken into account, it will work. The problem is these open ended "X minute wait" times that continuously ebb and flow. And, frankly, the rides being "down" is an embarrassment. Water park tech is not that complicated. I cannot recall ever being at a water park and experiencing NUMEROUS attraction closures within a day. That just points to shoddy construction or lack of experience/testing. We are talking about water pumps and conveyor belts here...hardly complicated stuff. The water coaster being down is understandable because it is new technology. But, a lazy river and body slides being down? Unacceptable.

I'm hearing Universal are being very understanding to people who complain about their bad experiences......I'm wondering if you complained about your bad day and if you've heard back from them. Same with anyone else who didn't have a good experience.

It's such a shame you had a bad time at Volcano Bay.

 

[addj20]

Curious to get opinions from the experts/locals... Do you think the rides at Volcano Bay are significantly better than the other water parks in the area? ie Forgetting about the wait times and virtual queue issues, how does it compare as a water park to the Disney offerings?

We'll probably only go to one water park when we're in Orlando in October and we were planning for it to be Volcano Bay. Just wondering if we might be better off with a Disney water park instead....

 

[atricks]

Curious to get opinions from the experts/locals... Do you think the rides at Volcano Bay are significantly better than the other water parks in the area? ie Forgetting about the wait times and virtual queue issues, how does it compare as a water park to the Disney offerings?

We'll probably only go to one water park when we're in Orlando in October and we were planning for it to be Volcano Bay. Just wondering if we might be better off with a Disney water park instead....

It has 18 rides, aqua coaster alone is worth it. Despite the opening pains of this park probably has the best collection of slides anywhere, it's a collection of the best of the best type of slides.

 

[soniam]

We were there Friday and Sunday. First, wait times this weekend were not indicative of what it will be like next summer. I don't know about later this summer, but I think this last weekend will be the worst, except maybe 4th of July. The park supposedly reached capacity at 10am, with a regular opening of 9am, and early entry at 8am. The rides we did were awesome. We live near the original Schlitterbahn too. As for the body slides being empty, not at all. The most extreme slides, including the Ko'okiri plunge (drop door, clear tube through volcano), filled up multiple times. There's currently no need for standby at these rides.

We did see that wait times would adjust. You might get one at 60 minutes, then it would be available in 30-40, for example. I do think it's adaptive. We had express pass, so we only had to get reservations for Krakatau. However, I found multiple bands in the rivers and watched the wait times go by more quickly than the original time, before I could turn the band in to an employee. I never saw one jump up except when there was a technical difficulty.

I think judging the park based upon opening weekend is not really fair. We did see things improve from Friday to Sunday. However, the crowds were even worse on Sunday. I do think summer will be busy, but next year it will be running smoothly. A lot of the rides are really pushing water park technology. I mean I love Disney, but I think it's pathetic that they have problems with 7 Dwarves Mine Train and Frozen Ever After, which I don't think are pushing technology as much as the stuff at Volcano Bay.

 

[macraven]

Soniam, just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your fair and honest report how Vbay was for you and your son at opening day


Openings of a new park or addition or a new ride brings many different opinions of those that were present for it

You told us the pro and con of the new park and the operation of it all

You did not sugar coat it and kept an open mind

That helps a lot as we all see things differently at times
Many will have the same experiences as others

Not having all staff on the same page opening day is common for new parks

The learning process staff are going through now will help UO reevaluate and improve over the weeks

And all other posters that have shared how their time went at Vbay, a big thank you for sharing your experiences

 

[Liljo22]

A lot of the rides are really pushing water park technology.

What slides are pushing water park technology? Not flaming just interested. Trap door plunge slides have been around almost 2 decades and can even be found on cruise ships now. Krakatau does use different technology than the Schlitterbahn's water propelled coasters but the hydromagnetic tech has been around for a while now. Is there other slides technology I am missing?

 

[anricat]

@soniam thank you SO MUCH! Your posts have been so helpful as we plan for our trip and visit to VB on Friday.

We live in Austin and are fairly regular Schlitterbahn visitors so I'm pretty excited to see how VB compares since Schlitterbahn is pretty fabulous. Except for the part where you have to haul tubes around everywhere. And wait in line for hours to ride one of the big slides. I'd happily wait 90-120 minutes for a big slide while in the wave pool or lazy river!

 

[Planogirl]

Why is the virtual line concept so awful? Do more people tend to get into the virtual than a physical line?

I keep thinking about waiting forever in the heat standing on concrete surrounded by tired people and how much better relaxing elsewhere sounds.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I think the virtual queue is a great idea if it can be implemented good. The problem is when you are in a stand-by line if you wait in a line for 60 minutes when you get to the front you ride, well with this tapu tapu you are waiting 60 minutes else where and then you can have up to a 45 minute wait (people are posting) in line to ride. Also you can't go on any other rides while you are waiting, so if each ride makes you wait 60 minutes then some you can't get a lot of rides done in one day. I was reading on another board that maybe they should make some of the slides stand-by so that you have some options of other rides and don't feel like it is a wasted day. I know for us we like riding the rides so we pump out all day over and over at our local water parks. Here I will not be able to do that. There is a lot more down time and not everybody goes there for that. There are guests who like to ride then leave. It really is a matter of what you prefer and if this park will work out.

I am putting two or more days there in July/August and I plan to go from opening to closing so that I can get a little bit of everything.

 

[FlipHipster]

Why is the virtual line concept so awful? Do more people tend to get into the virtual than a physical line?

I keep thinking about waiting forever in the heat standing on concrete surrounded by tired people and how much better relaxing elsewhere sounds.

A lot of the Tapu Tapu complaints I have seen are from people that decided "no standing in line" means "no lines, no waiting at all". Whether it's due to their interpretation or Universal marketing I dunno but those people are going to be unhappy because that isn't what Tapu is about. Uni never said you can walk on every ride with no waiting at all, they said you don't have to stand in line. However there is still and always will be a line of some sort. Go float in the lazy river or sip fruity drinks, we will tell you when your ride is ready or you can stand on the concrete/hot steps and stare at the back of everyone else's head for 2 hours. Big difference that keeps getting overlooked in favor of just complaining and trashing Uni on Twitter/Trip Advisor

Personally I think it looks freakin awesome! No hauling tubes around, no standing in line, the rides look great, I can stay at CBBR and walk to the park in 5 mins... Sign me up.
But not until they have it all sorted out and the crowds die down

 

[soniam]

What slides are pushing water park technology? Not flaming just interested. Trap door plunge slides have been around almost 2 decades and can even be found on cruise ships now. Krakatau does use different technology than the Schlitterbahn's water propelled coasters but the hydromagnetic tech has been around for a while now. Is there other slides technology I am missing?

I think the shape of the slides is pretty unique. I don't remember seeing slides where the raft slides up so much or spins around in complete circles. Also, the larger rafts are new to me. I wasn't aware that anyone else was using the magnetic propulsion. Where else is it used? We only go to Schlitterbahn and then VB.

@soniam thank you SO MUCH! Your posts have been so helpful as we plan for our trip and visit to VB on Friday.

We live in Austin and are fairly regular Schlitterbahn visitors so I'm pretty excited to see how VB compares since Schlitterbahn is pretty fabulous. Except for the part where you have to haul tubes around everywhere. And wait in line for hours to ride one of the big slides. I'd happily wait 90-120 minutes for a big slide while in the wave pool or lazy river!

We are in Austin too Hauling no tubes is amazing, especially since some of the slides at VB use gigantic rafts. Waiting in a river or with a tasty adult beverage was definitely better than standing on hot concrete in a line.

 

[Liljo22]

I think the shape of the slides is pretty unique. I don't remember seeing slides where the raft slides up so much or spins around in complete circles. Also, the larger rafts are new to me. I wasn't aware that anyone else was using the magnetic propulsion. Where else is it used? We only go to Schlitterbahn and then VB.

ProSlide created the technology and built the first one in 2009 at Lost Island Adventurepark in Waterloo, Iowa. In the US there is at least 15 at this point.

The Massiv at the Galveston Schlitterbahn is a great water coaster but its jet propelled since the Henry family created the technology.

 

[chmurf]

Why is the virtual line concept so awful? Do more people tend to get into the virtual than a physical line?

First there is the psychological aspect.
With a regular line, if the ride is 300 minutes wait (or even 90) you actually can see the mayhem, as the line often extends outside of the ride, or you can visually get the idea that it's going to be a loooooooooong one.

With a virtual queue ... well it's just a number on a display ... that doesn't mean much to many people

and there is a communication issue.
Many guests consider the VQ like a Fastpass.
Most of them are used to Disney and when they get to the kiosk displaying time, they consider it's a return time. And we all know the old FP strategy, it's a "while supplies last" type of thing, so get them while you can. So many guests tap their tapu tapu on multi hours waits, not realising it's a real line and they can't ride anything less in the meantime.


if universal want to make this work, they'll probably need to give guests a sense of scale, i don't know how, but have the guests realise what that wait time means. And they will need to better communicate on the "it's a real line, please wait in the wave pool until called" thing

but right now, many guests do not fully realise that tapping a return time is accepting an actual wait equal to the time displayed
and that's a reason why they will enter VQ lines when they wouldn't even consider it if the line was a physical one

 

[RalphinSC]

Why is the virtual line concept so awful? Do more people tend to get into the virtual than a physical line?

I keep thinking about waiting forever in the heat standing on concrete surrounded by tired people and how much better relaxing elsewhere sounds.

Another aspect to consider with a virtual line is that while at another waterpark, the people in the line are the people in the line. Anyone doing anything else (food, pool, river, etc) are not in that line and are not contributing to the wait time. The other side of this with Tapu Tapu is that you have to consider that now nearly every person in the park is in queue for something. That alone should be a real and drastic effect on wait times. Nearly every person in Volcano Bay at any given time is in a virtual queue for a slide whereas at Typhoon, Blizzard, or Aquatica only the people that are actually in a line at any given moment are in a line. I'm not sure if Uni really accounted for how this affects wait times and capacity. They may have overshot overall park capacity because the virtual wait allows everyone to be waiting at any given time instead of those who are actually standing in the line.

 

[atricks]

ProSlide created the technology and built the first one in 2009 at Lost Island Adventurepark in Waterloo, Iowa. In the US there is at least 15 at this point.

The Massiv at the Galveston Schlitterbahn is a great water coaster but its jet propelled since the Henry family created the technology.

I believe it's the collection of top slides rather than just individual ones. In other words you can find some of the slides at other parks, but not all in one place. The park is a "best of the best" type of collection. I know the expansion spot they have will likely get filled up rather quickly, maybe a mammoth style ride -- they need it yesterday. I bet it starts right after they finish up more of the unfinished parts of the park. (The interactive stuff and cavern mostly, and unfinished parts of the back of the volcano/fearless river)

I believe Volcano Bay was far more successful (at least for attracting people) than even they expected and why they suddenly quit selling express and advanced cabana reservations as an emergency way to attempt to manage it. (The operational issues, cold open on a holiday, and unfinished nature of the park isn't helping either)

Advice with this park will change week to week (or even day to day) because they are ultra-rapidly adjusting things. (removing the ability to reserve The aqua coaster + another ride at the same time is one example, or how they changed loading of the fearless river already is another.

 

[jagafen]

A lot of the Tapu Tapu complaints I have seen are from people that decided "no standing in line" means "no lines, no waiting at all". Whether it's due to their interpretation or Universal marketing I dunno but those people are going to be unhappy because that isn't what Tapu is about. Uni never said you can walk on every ride with no waiting at all, they said you don't have to stand in line. However there is still and always will be a line of some sort. Go float in the lazy river or sip fruity drinks, we will tell you when your ride is ready or you can stand on the concrete/hot steps and stare at the back of everyone else's head for 2 hours. Big difference that keeps getting overlooked in favor of just complaining and trashing Uni on Twitter/Trip Advisor

Personally I think it looks freakin awesome! No hauling tubes around, no standing in line, the rides look great, I can stay at CBBR and walk to the park in 5 mins... Sign me up.
But not until they have it all sorted out and the crowds die down

In all fairness, if Uni is going to push their great new water theme park and Tapu Tapu as the best thing since sliced bread by stating "no waiting in lines", I don't think it's necessarily a great leap in cognition for us to assume that that statement also implies "minimal waits to load". IT's in their own words, right on the park page:

All-New Wonders Of TapuTapu™ At Volcano Bay™


Volcano Bay™ guests enjoy all the benefits of the TapuTapu™ wearable. The TapuTapu eliminates standing in long attraction lines by enabling you to relax and play while waiting in the park’s Virtual Line™ until it’s time to ride. Plus, with TapuTapu you can enjoy the fun and convenience of activating interactive surprises, opening lockers, making cash-free payments and more.


If people are waiting for hours on end just to finally go stand in a line that's 20 min+ to load, that's a bit of an issue from a transparency/Bait and Switch aspect. I totally get that it's a new park, and there are kinks to work out, and the park today will not be the park next week, or the week after, etc. But, I also think that they could have sussed out some of these issues if they had done soft openings. There is A LOT of talk about how they rushed this to compete with Pandora, and I think it shows. Me personally, I'm all for lounging while waiting for my turn...but if I've waited 90 minutes (or more) for the opportunity to stand in an extended load line, then it's really not "lineless" technology like they're touting it to be. It's just cutting back on the lines. I think it's going to be a rough summer for them!

I believe Volcano Bay was far more successful (at least for attracting people) than even they expected and why they suddenly quit selling express and advanced cabana reservations as an emergency way to attempt to manage it. (The operational issues, cold open on a holiday, and unfinished nature of the park isn't helping either)

Advice with this park will change week to week (or even day to day) because they are ultra-rapidly adjusting things. (removing the ability to reserve The aqua coaster + another ride at the same time is one example, or how they changed loading of the fearless river already is another.

For the life of me, other than because of Pandora, I cannot understand why this was the decision that was made. But, it's too late now. I do appreciate that they are attempting to try different things in an attempt to make it a more guest friendly park...in the end, they'll figure it out, and people will start saying more positive things about it...eventually. I've prepped my family to manage their expectations, and for once, I'm glad that my kiddo is a lazy river/wave pool afficionado, so we may not have to worry about too many of the slides. We'll see. He won't let me tell him anything about the slides, because he "wants to be surprised".

 

[Planogirl]

I wonder if people would have been happier with this without the virtual waits? The waits would be just as bad but in actual lines instead and that is pretty unpleasant too.

 

[havoc315]

Why is the virtual line concept so awful? Do more people tend to get into the virtual than a physical line?

I keep thinking about waiting forever in the heat standing on concrete surrounded by tired people and how much better relaxing elsewhere sounds.

You hit one of the issues. Regular lines are more self-regulating, as in supply/demand type balance.
As the lines get longer, far fewer people are willing to wait on them. Sure, people may wait on a 10-20 minute line for a 30-second slide... but not many will wait 60-90 minutes in the heat for a 30 second slide.
On the other hand, with virtual lines, people will be more inclined to get into the line. Since they don't have to actually stand on it. In fact, they may tap to get into the line, thinking they *might* want to ride... and then change their mind later on. Eventually leave the park before their line time even came.
This doesn't happen with physical lines.

I think the second huge issue is simply BOREDOM. Tapu Tapu is really just a fancy version of Disney's old paper fastpasses. You went to the ride, and got a fast pass for later in the day.
But while waiting for your fastpass return, there were tons of standby rides you would do.

On the other hand, at Volcano Bay... you get into your virtual line.... and other than sit around the beach or the wave pool, there may not be much to do for an hour or 2.
To some degree, this is great for Universal --- You may go buy yourself a snack and spend money, instead of standing around in the line.
But if it's --- Arrive in the park --- Sit around for 30 minutes, then first ride. Then sit around for 60 minutes, then second ride. Then sit around for 90 minutes, then 3rd ride. Then sit around for 60 minutes, then 4th ride. Then sit around for 45 minutes, then 5th ride.
So 5 rides, in 5 hours... A total of about 5-10 minutes of ride time, and 4 hours and 50 minutes of sitting around doing nothing time....

I can imagine this being frustrating.

 

[havoc315]

I wonder if people would have been happier with this without the virtual waits? The waits would be just as bad but in actual lines instead and that is pretty unpleasant too.

Waits would be bad, but not as bad. Physical lines are more self-regulating.

Would you even bother getting in a 60 minute line, in the heat and humidity, in order to experience a 30-second slide?

So let's say it's a choice between a 30 minute physical standby line, or a 60 minute virtual line --- which is better/worse? There are pros and cons of each. But if there isn't sufficient entertainment and activities during the virtual waiting, I can see a strong argument for a shorter physical line.