Volcano Bay waits

[Liljo22]

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.

Problem is your assumption about being just last bad is more than likely wrong.

With this system, there are going to be times when there are waits but no one is at the slide entrance for the guard to send. The slide is not running at full capacity and waits will be longer than if there was a standby line.

Also, as some one else mentioned, at a park that has standby lines there will be less people in those lines. Let's say VB did not have this system and on an average day there are 6,000 guests. There are always going to be a number of people that are not riding slides. They are in the wave pool, lazy river, eating, at the bar, or doing what ever else. Now those guests are doing those activities but are in a "line" also. How is that affecting wait times. Could that 45 minute wait be 25 minutes without this system? Now you are waiting 20 minutes longer for a slide.

In its current state guests are going to do less at VB than they would at another water park.

 

[havoc315]

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.

Very good points. And some of those people "in line" may actually be winding up their day, and end up leaving the park instead of riding.

If I had to bet... just take a wild estimate, I would guess that at most waterparks and theme parks, only about 50% of the guests are "in line" or on a ride at any given time. The other 50% of the time, they may just be walking from one attraction to another, they may be eating lunch or taking a break. Of they may be lounging in the sun or using the general pool. They may be catching a parade, etc. I would guess that with the virtual lines, 80-90% of the guests are "in line" at any given time.

 

[Planogirl]

This does sound like a failed concept. It looks good on paper but not so good in practice. Hopefully Universal will ditch at least most of this.

I appreciate the thoughts.

 

[havoc315]

In its current state guests are going to do less at VB than they would at another water park.

I think you're right, but this is a bit of an unknown.
Likely, a goal of the virtual line system is to get guests to stay longer, and spend more money.

I definitely think that in a traditional waterpark, you would be able to do more in less time.
But if you aren't physically standing in lines, will guests be inclined to stay longer?
Where one might go to a traditional waterpark, with a plan of spending just a few hours (I'd never spend an entire day at a waterpark), will the Volcano Bay experience lend itself to being more of an all day adventure?
Thus, while the ride times may be more spread out, it is possible that a guest will end up doing the same amount of activities as they would in a traditional water park, but they will be spending more time in the park to do it. Meaning, they will also be eating more meals and snacks in the park (extra $$$ for Universal).

For this to really "work".... They need to make sure guests are happily willing to spend more time in the park. If it's tap... then just go wait in the wave pool for an hour.... then repeat. Guests may get bored and frustrated with the long wait between slides.

There needs to be sufficient activities to keep people happy while waiting --- Character meet & greets, maybe some shows, hula dancing, etc.

But I think ultimately, the 100% virtual line system won't work -- It will improve from the opening issues. They will get more efficient, rides will be down less. But still, I think they will find they have to open up some of the slides as "standby" traditional lines, and only use the virtual lines for some of the experiences. And then maybe even limiting the E-ticket virtual lines to only 1 tap per day.

 

[KristinU]

Is there a way to at least manually release a Tapu Tapu line spot if you change your mind or leave? You would think that they would clear the spots for the bracelets that have been turned in for the day...but then again, what if I have a spot coming up 3 hours away and want to leave the park and return later??? Hmmm...

 

[atricks]

From going twice now I think Tapu Tapu is fine, however the slides breaking down and the ultra slow loading right now (lack of soft opening/general inexperience) is just making the situation poor. You would still get huge lines either way with the operational issues as they are right now. The tube rides and coaster in particular are taking waay longer than they should to get people on, and the ohno/ohyeah slides are having technical issues. (All clear system and water pump issues)

I've had it where there was an 80 minute wait, and 20 minutes later it says "Ride now", so I think the estimation system is a bit off (and being thrown off by the operational issues)

 

[soniam]

Is there a way to at least manually release a Tapu Tapu line spot if you change your mind or leave? You would think that they would clear the spots for the bracelets that have been turned in for the day...but then again, what if I have a spot coming up 3 hours away and want to leave the park and return later??? Hmmm...

I don't know what happens when they are turned in; however, I don't think they get to them too quickly, since you drop them off in a bin. There's currently no way for the user to cancel a ride. The Tapu has no buttons and really no choice mechanism, currently. You can't manipulate your reservation at the reservation kiosks either.

 

[Liljo22]

I don't know what happens when they are turned in; however, I don't think they get to them too quickly, since you drop them off in a bin. There's currently no way for the user to cancel a ride. The Tapu has no buttons and really no choice mechanism, currently. You can't manipulate your reservation at the reservation kiosks either.

Since you can use it to make purchases, how is that handled? Is there a pin number when you purchase? Seems like dropping it in the bin is risky but I am sure there are checks and balances.

 

[soniam]

Since you can use it to make purchases, how is that handled? Is there a pin number when you purchase? Seems like dropping it in the bin is risky but I am sure there are checks and balances.

I don't know when they actually disable them after being dropped in the bin. However, just like Magic Bands at WDW, you have to enter a pin when making a purchase.

 

[isabelleB]

good morning

we visited Volcano Bay yesterday. We stayed at the Cabana Bay which has a special access to the volcano bay park, well worth it .
They told us to go as close as 8.00 AM as possible. We were not thrilled, my teenagers like to stay up very late and start their day at noon, but we made an effort and were in the park at 8.20 AM
It was not really crowded at that time , the hotels guests could go left while entering the park, non hotel guests were heading right where they could wait on the beach from what we saw.

We had unlimited express passes that we purchased online 1 month ago, there was a lot of people at the concierge booth at the entrance of the park, so we went to the one at the back. The employees are not well trained we were told there were no such thing as express passes, finally we found someone that uploaded them in our tapu tapu.

We were really not happy with our day!
First we came for the thrill attractions, everything was closed : the three launch rides at the top of the volcano closed
later like at 10.00 am they closed another 2 slides, krakatau broke down and the wave pool closed
by that time we decided to leave the park at soon as possible.......after doing a few other rides

The wait times were decent from 9.00 to 9.30, as from 9.30 there was a line of 30 - 45 minutes in most of the slides we entered , the tapu tapu prevent a part of the queue but not all
we were told at each ride that our express passes were not loaded correctly so we had to go back to the concierge several times, and it was never fixed .
our express passes were great to enter any queue at any time once the employees finally realise we were entitld to use them
We paid $60/ person for this express pass
we never got to do rides more than once because too many people
when we exited the park at 11.00 the wait times were at 2 hours for most rides and long lines in each of the staircase to the top of the slides , the best rides still closed ( they opened that day really late like 4.00 from what we heard later)
mot of the beach chairs, cabanas were empty and the park was far from being at capacity, we never want to see it when it is crazy busy!!!!!!!
on our way out we stopped at guest servies : 2 employees to service 40 furious guests ..... I waited
I heard many people complaining they were in the park for 4 hours and couldn't ride anything , the rides breaking down and extending their wait time on tapu tapu ......
they were given out paper fastpasses to access rides
some were there wanting to buy fastpasses but employees said they are not on sale anymore
I asked to be refunded for my quick queues tickets , and they gave me instead 5 park ticket to come back anytime
they were lovely and helpful
My kids both said that they prefer aquatica : real express tickets with no queues , better rides ( at the exception of the volcano bay thrill rides that look insane, and we will be back to do just those)
the kids didn't like that you mandatory have to stay in a tube on the fast river ( which is not so fast)
also in most of the rides we were asked to leave our shoes at the entrance, well I do not like to walk without my water shoes ..... I want to use them in the queues and hold them in the slides
they won't let you do that in Volcano Bay
the park is lovely , they are already working on the extension , and yes there were some areas of volcano bay that were not finished, with tools, and unfinished constructions spots , but globally so all in one gorgeous but really not ready imo to welcome guests.

the cabana bay is great for volcano bay , it was not our first time at this hotel but now that it is all finished it is one of the best hotel of universal

 

[bobbie68]

good morning

we visited Volcano Bay yesterday. We stayed at the Cabana Bay which has a special access to the volcano bay park, well worth it .
They told us to go as close as 8.00 AM as possible. We were not thrilled, my teenagers like to stay up very late and start their day at noon, but we made an effort and were in the park at 8.20 AM
It was not really crowded at that time , the hotels guests could go left while entering the park, non hotel guests were heading right where they could wait on the beach from what we saw.

We had unlimited express passes that we purchased online 1 month ago, there was a lot of people at the concierge booth at the entrance of the park, so we went to the one at the back. The employees are not well trained we were told there were no such thing as express passes, finally we found someone that uploaded them in our tapu tapu.

We were really not happy with our day!
First we came for the thrill attractions, everything was closed : the three launch rides at the top of the volcano closed
later like at 10.00 am they closed another 2 slides, krakatau broke down and the wave pool closed
by that time we decided to leave the park at soon as possible.......after doing a few other rides

The wait times were decent from 9.00 to 9.30, as from 9.30 there was a line of 30 - 45 minutes in most of the slides we entered , the tapu tapu prevent a part of the queue but not all
we were told at each ride that our express passes were not loaded correctly so we had to go back to the concierge several times, and it was never fixed .
our express passes were great to enter any queue at any time once the employees finally realise we were entitld to use them
We paid $60/ person for this express pass
we never got to do rides more than once because too many people
when we exited the park at 11.00 the wait times were at 2 hours for most rides and long lines in each of the staircase to the top of the slides , the best rides still closed ( they opened that day really late like 4.00 from what we heard later)
mot of the beach chairs, cabanas were empty and the park was far from being at capacity, we never want to see it when it is crazy busy!!!!!!!
on our way out we stopped at guest servies : 2 employees to service 40 furious guests ..... I waited
I heard many people complaining they were in the park for 4 hours and couldn't ride anything , the rides breaking down and extending their wait time on tapu tapu ......
they were given out paper fastpasses to access rides
some were there wanting to buy fastpasses but employees said they are not on sale anymore
I asked to be refunded for my quick queues tickets , and they gave me instead 5 park ticket to come back anytime
they were lovely and helpful
My kids both said that they prefer aquatica : real express tickets with no queues , better rides ( at the exception of the volcano bay thrill rides that look insane, and we will be back to do just those)
the kids didn't like that you mandatory have to stay in a tube on the fast river ( which is not so fast)
also in most of the rides we were asked to leave our shoes at the entrance, well I do not like to walk without my water shoes ..... I want to use them in the queues and hold them in the slides
they won't let you do that in Volcano Bay
the park is lovely , they are already working on the extension , and yes there were some areas of volcano bay that were not finished, with tools, and unfinished constructions spots , but globally so all in one gorgeous but really not ready imo to welcome guests.

the cabana bay is great for volcano bay , it was not our first time at this hotel but now that it is all finished it is one of the best hotel of universal

Hi thank you so much for that great detailed report. I am sorry you had so many problems still. We also had purchased EP for our trip in July/August. We have premium chairs our first day then a cabana the second. I will see from posts here over the next couple of months and then our first day there if we will return the second day. It is so sad they rushed this opening. It is clear they really needed more time to work things out. We decided to come back to UO this year because of VB so I am hoping that by July/August it will have more kinks worked out.

We are staying at Cabana Bay and will use the special entrance. I have a question is this entrance for all resort guests or just Cabana Bay guests? Thanks for the tip about the guest services in the back of the park.

 

[isabelleB]

Hi Bobbie,

I'm sure your experience will be great for July / August, by that time they probably will have fixed many of their technical issues
We were told by the hotel the special entrance was for cabana bay only , the other hotels have their own shuttles that drop their guests at the other entrance
there was no one at this gate and we were in in seconds! I do not know if they would turn down other univeral hotel guests , probably not, but anyway it is a breeze
The entrance is on the side of the Americana building, so you better request that section if you can, it is just next to the indoor parking at the very end of the building

we were ok with the issues, I understand it is brand new and they have issues, we were just not too happy to have spent lots of money on EP that were kind of useless for us because of all the rides closure.
we would have felt better if their thrill rides were opened yesterday. Looking at them and not being able to do them was the worst hahahahahha
in fact we had a better time at the cabana bay pools which are super lovely and the best of all the universal hotels!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi Bobbie,

I'm sure your experience will be great for July / August, by that time they probably will have fixed many of their technical issues
We were told by the hotel the special entrance was for cabana bay only , the other hotels have their own shuttles that drop their guests at the other entrance
there was no one at this gate and we were in in seconds! I do not know if they would turn down other univeral hotel guests , probably not, but anyway it is a breeze
The entrance is on the side of the Americana building, so you better request that section if you can, it is just next to the indoor parking at the very end of the building

we were ok with the issues, I understand it is brand new and they have issues, we were just not too happy to have spent lots of money on EP that were kind of useless for us because of all the rides closure.
we would have felt better if their thrill rides were opened yesterday. Looking at them and not being able to do them was the worst hahahahahha
in fact we had a better time at the cabana bay pools which are super lovely and the best of all the universal hotels!

Hi thank you again for answering my question, the tip on the building and the review. I will hope that for everybody visiting they will get these technical things worked out soon. We do love Cabana Bay that's where everyone wanted to stay this year.

 

[soniam]

good morning

we visited Volcano Bay yesterday. We stayed at the Cabana Bay which has a special access to the volcano bay park, well worth it .
They told us to go as close as 8.00 AM as possible. We were not thrilled, my teenagers like to stay up very late and start their day at noon, but we made an effort and were in the park at 8.20 AM
It was not really crowded at that time , the hotels guests could go left while entering the park, non hotel guests were heading right where they could wait on the beach from what we saw.

We had unlimited express passes that we purchased online 1 month ago, there was a lot of people at the concierge booth at the entrance of the park, so we went to the one at the back. The employees are not well trained we were told there were no such thing as express passes, finally we found someone that uploaded them in our tapu tapu.

We were really not happy with our day!
First we came for the thrill attractions, everything was closed : the three launch rides at the top of the volcano closed
later like at 10.00 am they closed another 2 slides, krakatau broke down and the wave pool closed
by that time we decided to leave the park at soon as possible.......after doing a few other rides

The wait times were decent from 9.00 to 9.30, as from 9.30 there was a line of 30 - 45 minutes in most of the slides we entered , the tapu tapu prevent a part of the queue but not all
we were told at each ride that our express passes were not loaded correctly so we had to go back to the concierge several times, and it was never fixed .
our express passes were great to enter any queue at any time once the employees finally realise we were entitld to use them
We paid $60/ person for this express pass
we never got to do rides more than once because too many people
when we exited the park at 11.00 the wait times were at 2 hours for most rides and long lines in each of the staircase to the top of the slides , the best rides still closed ( they opened that day really late like 4.00 from what we heard later)
mot of the beach chairs, cabanas were empty and the park was far from being at capacity, we never want to see it when it is crazy busy!!!!!!!
on our way out we stopped at guest servies : 2 employees to service 40 furious guests ..... I waited
I heard many people complaining they were in the park for 4 hours and couldn't ride anything , the rides breaking down and extending their wait time on tapu tapu ......
they were given out paper fastpasses to access rides
some were there wanting to buy fastpasses but employees said they are not on sale anymore
I asked to be refunded for my quick queues tickets , and they gave me instead 5 park ticket to come back anytime
they were lovely and helpful
My kids both said that they prefer aquatica : real express tickets with no queues , better rides ( at the exception of the volcano bay thrill rides that look insane, and we will be back to do just those)
the kids didn't like that you mandatory have to stay in a tube on the fast river ( which is not so fast)
also in most of the rides we were asked to leave our shoes at the entrance, well I do not like to walk without my water shoes ..... I want to use them in the queues and hold them in the slides
they won't let you do that in Volcano Bay
the park is lovely , they are already working on the extension , and yes there were some areas of volcano bay that were not finished, with tools, and unfinished constructions spots , but globally so all in one gorgeous but really not ready imo to welcome guests.

the cabana bay is great for volcano bay , it was not our first time at this hotel but now that it is all finished it is one of the best hotel of universal

Sorry to hear about the rides. I know when we were there that they would come and go. It sounds like they were more come than go for you I think the fearless river speed really varies. The first day we went on it the first time, it was barely faster than the lazy river. Later that day and sometimes on the next day, it was actually really fast. It was so fast that it was pulling people from the entrance who were waiting for tubes out into the river without a tube. It was also so fast that it was really difficult to actually even exit. However, when it got really packed on our second day, they actually were shutting down the wave machine and the jets, so that it was slow. When the jets and wave machines are going full bore, it's really fun. However, with the number of people in there, it was actually fairly scary and stressful. I gave up at some point, because it just wasn't fun at that point. I saw several people get injured and get pulled under. No one drowned, but I could easily see it happening.

The shoe thing was annoying. Even if I left my shoes at the entrance, I had to walk on the hot pavement to go back to the entrance. Some of those exits are pretty far from the entrance, like Maku & Puihi. I burned a blister on my foot on the first day because it was so hot. I don't think all of the pavement misters were working properly either.

We had a good time on both of our days, but more rides were up for us. We are heading back in late July. I hope you guys get to give it another chance, probably next summer. I think it will be great then.

Hi thank you so much for that great detailed report. I am sorry you had so many problems still. We also had purchased EP for our trip in July/August. We have premium chairs our first day then a cabana the second. I will see from posts here over the next couple of months and then our first day there if we will return the second day. It is so sad they rushed this opening. It is clear they really needed more time to work things out. We decided to come back to UO this year because of VB so I am hoping that by July/August it will have more kinks worked out.

We are staying at Cabana Bay and will use the special entrance. I have a question is this entrance for all resort guests or just Cabana Bay guests? Thanks for the tip about the guest services in the back of the park.

I spoke with some guests at the park that said they were not allowed to enter through Cabana Bay. I think they had walked from somewhere else. Ryno said that he tried once and wasn't allowed but then he was allowed to enter through there one day, maybe during the AP preview. So, I think it depends.

 

[brios86]

So there is a separate gate for admission for Cabana Beach guests? I thought there was just a walking path that connected the resort to VB.

 

[isabelleB]

So there is a separate gate for admission for Cabana Beach guests? I thought there was just a walking path that connected the resort to VB.

YES!!!!! they will check your rooms card when you approach , it is a the end of th Americana building , there is a direct entry to the park from Cabana Bay, with a separate security checkpoint. They are trying to avoid people parking at the hotel to avoid universal parking and the shuttle bus .

 

[soniam]

So there is a separate gate for admission for Cabana Beach guests? I thought there was just a walking path that connected the resort to VB.

I don't know about a specific separate entrance, because they have bag scanners and metal detectors at the entrances. There is at least a separate walkway that they sometimes do not allow non-CBBR guests to use.

EDIT: Nevermind

 

[isabelleB]

about the speed of the fearless river, when it is crowded it goes slower , we noticed that as well.

Not related but last Saturday we were at aquatica , I was sitting at one of the entrance of the Roa river , kids were having fun on their own ( they are 14 years old , lol so they love their time with friends, alone . So I was with my friend chatting and relaxing on our loungers and we couldn't help noticing this family next to us with like 6 really small kids, maybe 2 years old, they were running at the entrance of the river without any supervision, some of them had life jackets some not, and I told my friend, I hope they do not go into the river coz it goes fast......Mt friend wanted to say something to the parents, but you cannot really do that and the parents kept going away to chase their older kids.
Well barely 15 minutes after we saw lifeguards running mad all over the river , and a lot of security people rushing towards us.
They pulled out of the water one of the 2 years old little girl, she was unresponsive , at that point we started crying and we couldn't watch anymore the scene, we felt guilty too......
The parents of the little girl were watching their child unresponsive on the floor but did not seem to panick they did not react , we were so sad.
I have to say seaworld staff reacted so well, within 30 seconds they had doctors, security assistants, all kind of persons rushing, the little girl was still not moving but was barely breathing. After like 5 long minutes she woke up and they had her stand up, the parents asked the baby " why did you go to the river"? The doctors had to push back the parents because they were angry against their innocent 2 years old, who was still in a kind of comma and drawned, come on parents..... this was really shocking.
After 10 more minutes they invited the whole family to go to the medical center , and they all left one hour after for the ER ., we know as they blocked the whole parking lot at 6.00 PM to evacuate everyone . We were really really shocked, so were our kids and their friends.
the little girl flipped on her stomach and was not able to exit the current or flip on her back to breathe.
She surviVed, I hope she is 100% fine.......

My son max told me he helped a 5 years old boy who was also drowing in the wave pool, fortunately max spot him under water , he plunged and rescued him and brought him to the lifeguard
and I also saw a 4 years old boy lost in the roa river, a man found him and dropped him next to the lifeguard on the side, the lifeguard screamed " what are you doing" you cannot climb o the rocks" , he answered he rescued this boy and now the lifeguards need to help him further. The lifeguard jumped in the water , held the boy and toured the river to find the parents .
So scary when waterparks are too crowded!!!!!!