Volcano Bay: Photos & Reviews

[Andysol]

So I finally went today.

I liked it, didn't love it--I might have if the waits weren't so long. Do the lines get shorter in the slower season/weekdays?

I was able to go on Ko'okiri, Krakatau, Honu, and Punga. From what I experienced, the slide lineup itself stands toe to toe with BB. Tiawa (sp?) the Fearless River was awesome, great way to spend a wait.

Blizzard Beach > Volcano Bay > Typhoon Lagoon

I’ll be there Sunday night and Monday morning.

In regards to the slide lineup standing toe to toe with BB, I’d have to disagree. In terms of total number, VB has significantly more slides. It was likely because you didn’t get to ride everything.

I will say though, as great as VBs kid area is, BB is so unique that it might get the nod. BB also has the best lazy river of the 3.

 

[JungleSkip]

I can’t comment on the kids areas, but outside of the lazy river (both the Disney parks rivers blow VB’s out of the...water), VB is head and shoulders above BB and TL. I think all three are legitimately great, but for my money VB’s slide lineup is more exciting, creative, and varied than either of the Disney parks

 

[Scott W.]

I can’t comment on the kids areas, but outside of the lazy river (both the Disney parks rivers blow VB’s out of the...water), VB is head and shoulders above BB and TL. I think all three are legitimately great, but for my money VB’s slide lineup is more exciting, creative, and varied than either of the Disney parks

I think the Disney parks are more extensively themed than VB but VB is by far the better water park. Every ride in VB is excellent and credit to Universal, this is their first water park and I can't wait to see what they do with their next one.

 

[Scott W.]

Apologies for the double post and I can't tell if this is new or not but Google Earth has updated it's 3D models.

 

[JungleSkip]

I think the Disney parks are more extensively themed than VB but VB is by far the better water park. Every ride in VB is excellent and credit to Universal, this is their first water park and I can't wait to see what they do with their next one.

The theming is probably better at both Disney parks, but I also think theming barely adds anything to either of them or water parks in general (outside the lazy rivers). Hell I’d argue it kind of holds them back a bit, especially since many of the slides are built into the mountains, and therefore aren’t changing ever.

A good portion of TL’s slides are flat-out lame, and yet they can’t be updated because they’re built into the rock work

 

[Scott W.]

The theming is probably better at both Disney parks, but I also think theming barely adds anything to either of them or water parks in general (outside the lazy rivers). Hell I’d argue it kind of holds them back a bit, especially since many of the slides are built into the mountains, and therefore aren’t changing ever.

A good portion of TL’s slides are flat-out lame, and yet they can’t be updated because they’re built into the rock work

BB has the same issue, maybe even worse. The only way for them to expand is to build on a new plot.

There's been plenty of talk about the theme park wars with Potter and Star Wars but I'd love to see a water park war start.

 

[Journey_On]

Do the lines get shorter in the slower season/weekdays?

Oh yes. How I judge whether or not it’s slow in the park? When Krakatau is a “Ride Now.”

 

[Jake S]

I finally got a chance to check out Volcano Bay on my most recent trip and was very impressed. With the caveat that I have not been to either of the Disney water parks, this surpassed my high expectations of what a highly themed water park could be. My group planned to go on Friday and then, because we all enjoyed it so much, we decided to come back Sunday and again on Monday before heading to the airport.

There's a caveat and a couple quibbles to be had, but overall this was the surprise hit of the trip for the three of us. The first caveat is that it was very slow. We functionally didn't need Tapu Tapu at all, save for buying drinks and snacks. On Monday morning I overheard one of the lifeguards saying there were only 700 people in the entire park at 11:30 a.m. It was Very Slow.

I essentially rode the floor-drop slides until I couldn't will myself to walk up the stairs any longer and we were able to ride the water coaster multiple times on each visit. We checked out a handful of the other raft slides, most of which were better than any slides I'd experienced before (Wild Rivers, which re-opened last year, has a handful of very fun large raft slides).

The vegetation has now grown in to the point where I hardly recognize it from pictures I saw several years ago. This is a truly lush theme park that, with the exception of climbing atop a slide tower, does an impressive job insulating you from its environs. My major quibbles are the lack of adequate theming inside the volcano in addition to the lackluster lazy river (the fearless river on the other hand ... hell yes). Otherwise, my last complaint is one I've shared elsewhere: the operations are just not great. The bartenders were largely phenomenal, but otherwise there was little communication when things went wrong.

One example: a raft conveyer was malfunctioning, causing us to stand at the top of the tower waiting for a raft for the better part of 15 minutes. At no point did either employee tell us what was going on, apologize for the delay or do anything other than stand there and look down at the lagoon below. This was a pretty common occurrence during our trip, whether it be at Volcano Bay, Islands or Universal Studios.

But that certainly didn't put a damper on what was a great experience overall. I can't imagine going back to Universal, particularly if we stay at Cabana Bay again, and not spending a couple days lounging by the Volcano.

 

[Mad Dog]

Nice review. Hard to believe the last review was a long 4 years ago.

 

[Frank Drackman]

I finally got a chance to check out Volcano Bay on my most recent trip and was very impressed. With the caveat that I have not been to either of the Disney water parks, this surpassed my high expectations of what a highly themed water park could be. My group planned to go on Friday and then, because we all enjoyed it so much, we decided to come back Sunday and again on Monday before heading to the airport.

There's a caveat and a couple quibbles to be had, but overall this was the surprise hit of the trip for the three of us. The first caveat is that it was very slow. We functionally didn't need Tapu Tapu at all, save for buying drinks and snacks. On Monday morning I overheard one of the lifeguards saying there were only 700 people in the entire park at 11:30 a.m. It was Very Slow.

I essentially rode the floor-drop slides until I couldn't will myself to walk up the stairs any longer and we were able to ride the water coaster multiple times on each visit. We checked out a handful of the other raft slides, most of which were better than any slides I'd experienced before (Wild Rivers, which re-opened last year, has a handful of very fun large raft slides).

The vegetation has now grown in to the point where I hardly recognize it from pictures I saw several years ago. This is a truly lush theme park that, with the exception of climbing atop a slide tower, does an impressive job insulating you from its environs. My major quibbles are the lack of adequate theming inside the volcano in addition to the lackluster lazy river (the fearless river on the other hand ... hell yes). Otherwise, my last complaint is one I've shared elsewhere: the operations are just not great. The bartenders were largely phenomenal, but otherwise there was little communication when things went wrong.

One example: a raft conveyer was malfunctioning, causing us to stand at the top of the tower waiting for a raft for the better part of 15 minutes. At no point did either employee tell us what was going on, apologize for the delay or do anything other than stand there and look down at the lagoon below. This was a pretty common occurrence during our trip, whether it be at Volcano Bay, Islands or Universal Studios.

But that certainly didn't put a damper on what was a great experience overall. I can't imagine going back to Universal, particularly if we stay at Cabana Bay again, and not spending a couple days lounging by the Volcano.

the day w/ 700 folks, just wondering, was that the day the area was under a hurricane/tropical storm warning? I just can't imagine that park being that slow, but it has been many years since I was last a guest there.

I am certain the stairs would stop me from ever enjoying the whole park in one visit.

 

[Jake S]

the day w/ 700 folks, just wondering, was that the day the area was under a hurricane/tropical storm warning? I just can't imagine that park being that slow, but it has been many years since I was last a guest there.

Nope! That was on Monday (Sept. 11). If the date impacted crowds, it certainly didn't show up in the throngs of people cramming into the queue for Hagrid's earlier that morning.