If that’s all you wanted to do- VB certainly wouldn’t be a good choice. You could easily do that at one of the “secondary” pools at VB- but then what’d be the point.
The alternative is go the first couple hours and commando it- then grab lunch early- then go hang by a secondary pool and you’ll have ridden rides, eaten without a wait, and then gotten to relax- all while not having to use your Tapu Tapu at all. Still completely relaxing.
There are ways to make it a relaxing experience- but it certainly isn’t what Universal, its advertising or the guest had expected. A “different water park experience” is certainly true- but not in the good way
Again- my experience- the Friday before Irma- is one that likely no one will ever replicate. It was a one time ever event. The only cabana, while every ride was open and all ride now. I never checked into a time.
But that allowed me to take in the park in a different light. The rock work is a given, as are the exposed slides and the views of I4. But what I got to see that many others likely didn’t was- The waterfalls everywhere are unprecedented in a water park. The music is great. The woodwork is also unprecedented.
I was telling my wife this morning that I couldn’t believe I did all three drop slides back to back to back. No wait. So I climbed those stairs three times within ~7 mins total time. That last climb my heart was pumping and I had to go hands to knees when I was a couple flights from the top. It was in that moment that I wished there were a few more people in the park. I’m ruined, as I’ll never wish for that ever again