Volcano Bay: General Discussion

[Disneyhead]

Yes..but maybe, just maybe the lines wouldn't be 6 hours if the Tapu Tapu system wasn't in place?

Would love to see what would happen if they turned off Tapu Tapu for a weekend to see how the system operates standby only.

As many others have said...Volcano Bay has more rides than Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, and they have never (in my memory) had a 5 hour wait for a water slide.

So something is off. It's possible that UOR is packing the park with people, but to be honest the photos I've seen don't really show wall to wall people.

The lines wouldn't be 5 hours if Tapu Tapu didn't exist. No one would get in a 5 hour line for a water slide if you would be standing in the sun on the stairs the whole time. But with the virtual queue, they tap away.

I am absolutely positive that they have run the models with the park capacity, so if they can get the down times down and the ops up to speed, it will work. This isn't the first water park to be all virtual queue.

 

[12th Man]

Well, at least they're slowly getting rides to run consistently. No more huge backups on the stairs!

 

[Mad Dog]

There may be a silver lining in Tapu Tapu not having a great debut. Perhaps this will get them to pause and rethink the Virtual Line ideas for the theme parks themselves. It works OK for an attraction like Fallon that is almost a perfect fit for Virtual Lines because of it's unique pre shows and queue. But I would not like to see Virtual Lines for the majority of attractions in a theme park. That's just too much reserved/planned times that takes away from the freedom of enjoying a park leisurely. I realize Tapu Tapu is somewhat different but it almost looks like it could portend future theme park virtual lines. And the creative director of Race Through NY did, in a number of interviews, say they were looking at that Virtual Line direction for future attractions.

 

[Evan]

Well, at least they're slowly getting rides to run consistently. No more huge backups on the stairs!

Can we put a rush on getting those stairs finished? Makes my skin crawl, haha.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

Can we put a rush on getting those stairs finished? Makes my skin crawl, haha.

From what it's sounding like, the stair's will be properly treated in the coming months.

 

[JoeCamel]

Well, at least they're slowly getting rides to run consistently. No more huge backups on the stairs!

I wouldn't celebrate yet, probably most folks left to go eat but it does show if you want to ride do it early or late and just float the middle away.

 

[Mad Dog]

I wouldn't celebrate yet, probably most folks left to go eat but it does show if you want to ride do it early or late and just float the middle away.

Heh, that's the way I tour the theme parks.

 

[Evan]

From what it's sounding like, the stair's will be properly treated in the coming months.

I hope it's finished by end of June... I wish, since the park does have a lot of stuff to finish, they would close a full day or two a week for major work. Like Disneyland once did. Maybe that could speed up getting these finishing touches done.

 

[Legacy]

So, I was told VB has letting in well over 10k a day which was described as "significantly over capacity."

Not knowing what capacity is, I can't confirm it, but that may partially explain the lines. Turning people away everyday for its first week may be more damaging than long lines.

 

[Ryan]

I hope it's finished by end of June... I wish, since the park does have a lot of stuff to finish, they would close a full day or two a week for major work. Like Disneyland once did. Maybe that could speed up getting these finishing touches done.

The earliest that Universal can afford to do that is the winter months, a full nine months from now. That's when TL and BB do their refurbs.

 

[Mad Dog]

So, I was told VB has letting in well over 10k a day which was described as "significantly over capacity."

Not knowing what capacity is, I can't confirm it, but that may partially explain the lines. Turning people away everyday for its first week may be more damaging than long lines.

Robert Niles, Theme Park Insider, said he was told capacity is 6,000 at one time....... But as people leave and arrive over the course of a day that the number of people on a busy day could be 10,000 or so.

 

[Ryan]

Anybody have capacity stats for Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach?

 

[Teebin]

Yeah, they can do most of the finishing up at night on interior areas and outer areas during the day... the cabanas and surrounding landscaping etc. They do night and day all the time with the other two parks.

 

[fryoj]

I don't think the time thing works unless you go full FP with it and do assigned ride times. If a ride says come back at 1 to ride, people are going to plan around being there at 1. It sounds like times fluctuate, so that would mess with people. I know the same thing can happen with "120 minutes" but thats something people will check to see how much time they have left. They won't check as much with a specific time.

And, as someone else pointed out, it seems to me like the underlying problem is everyone in the park is in line at the same time. Instead of stopping and eating and going to the bathroom or doing the wave pool instead of standing in another line, everyone is in line and doing those things. A 200 minute line is something that most everyone would avoid, but if you can just tap and come back later, sure! tap away. I'm sure ops aren't at full speed yet, and express has got to go, and if the reports of them overselling capacity don't help either. Almost everything can be fixed though. It might mean they need to lower the amount of tickets they planned to sell daily though to account for that.

 

[Mad Dog]

Anybody have capacity stats for Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach?

I don't know what capacity is, but if you look at their attendance they average in the vicinity of 8,000 guests a day if you take closed for refurb times in consideration. So I would guess that during summer & non winter holiday times, spring break etc. they average well over 10,ooo a day. And probably under 8,000 a day for slow periods..... That would be apx. 8,000 Typhoon & 8,000 Blizzard

 

[rhino4evr]

I don't think the time thing works unless you go full FP with it and do assigned ride times. If a ride says come back at 1 to ride, people are going to plan around being there at 1. It sounds like times fluctuate, so that would mess with people. I know the same thing can happen with "120 minutes" but thats something people will check to see how much time they have left. They won't check as much with a specific time.

And, as someone else pointed out, it seems to me like the underlying problem is everyone in the park is in line at the same time. Instead of stopping and eating and going to the bathroom or doing the wave pool instead of standing in another line, everyone is in line and doing those things. A 200 minute line is something that most everyone would avoid, but if you can just tap and come back later, sure! tap away. I'm sure ops aren't at full speed yet, and express has got to go, and if the reports of them overselling capacity don't help either. Almost everything can be fixed though. It might mean they need to lower the amount of tickets they planned to sell daily though to account for that.

I guess UOR could "stop" tapu reservations after a certain number per hour. This may force riders to tap other rides while they wait for it to "re open".

Sounds more and more like they should adopt a Disney way of doing this.

As much crap as fast pass gets, it does work in some respects.

 

[Ryan]

Fastpass also had teething issues when it first debuted.

 

[Teebin]

I don't know what capacity is

Hate to sound like a scratched record, but we have newer members here. Back 2-3 years ago, they were planning on an average hourly ride capacity of 15,000. That included the rivers and the kids play area etc. plus multiple rides by individuals within an hours time. Of course this has nothing to do with park capacity which would be far lower.

 

[Eckert]

As of today you were no longer allowed to have a wait time for Krakatau while already having another, which in turn positively effected all the wait times in the park. Some rides stayed between 'Ride Now' status and ~20 minutes throughout the day. Still hitting the triple digits for the major attractions, though. (Honu, ika Moana, Krakatau, Kala & Tai Nui)

 

[Frank Drackman]

So for those of us that will be there in the next few weeks, I'd love to get some strategy advice. Obviously get there when it opens. Reserve Krakatau once you get in the park? Or knock out some other slides first and then try Krakatau? I'd hate to be 'stuck' with a reservation for Krkatau if the wait is too long, it limits what else you can do.

Are you staying on site? I think some of the 'get there early' talk came from a review where the person had early entry (on site guest), but I thought someone mentioned things changing at 10 when the park opens to all.

I just bring this up as I think it could impact the coaster wait time at 'rope drop'.

I have not been yet, but I imagine I would play it by ear, try for the coaster 1st, but me, if it was already at 2 hours, I might pass and see what other slides show. I do not know if there is an APP with wait times, but if there is and you can only get in with the GP...I would use that to see what the early entry folks are up to and judge how crowded it looks at the gates to get in (knowing that group would must likely head for the coaster (or open chairs).