Volcano Bay FULL TOUR & REVIEW | Ride POVs | Worth a Trip?

a radically innovative water park set  in a beautifully landscaped tropical   environment volcano Bay ambitiously  aims to transcend your typical   water park experience but according to Trip  Advisor volcano Bay happens to be the worst   reviewed water park in Orlando by a fairly  significant margin so is it worth a trip hi I'm the frugal Brit and for this video I'm  gonna provide a breakdown of the good they're   not so good things about universals volcano  Bay to help you decide whether this waterpark   is worth a visit on your vacation in addition to  that I will be providing a full tour of all the   slides and attractions as well as providing  my top tips to help you get the best out of   any visit here don't forget to subscribe if  you're interested in future Orlando vacation   content so volcano Bay is located very close  to International Drive but it is separated by   the interstate 4 highway on the other side of  this it's right next to the giant cabana Bay   Beach Resort complex unless you are staying at  an on-site Universal Orlando Resort you can only   access volcano Bay or via the main transportation  hub over at Universal CityWalk where you'll find   regular shuttle buses taking you to its entrance  if you're staying on-site you will benefit from   the free bus transportation those thing a peg  cabana Bay resort will have special access to   its and dedicated entrance so the theme of  this park is around the culture of the what   Tory Islanders who happen to stumble across  this tropical paradise and decided to make   it their home before adding all the slides and  water experiences that make up the park today   one of the most unique things about this park  is its tapping it's a pool system which is an   interactive bracelet that kind of looks like sort  of a 1990 SmartWatch what this does is it allows   you to tap into a virtual ride hue meaning that  instead of queueing on a flight of stairs in the   blazing storm you can actually do other things  whilst you're waiting in a virtual queue I'll   throw a link in the description explaining taboo  taboo in more detail and how to get it set up all right so now I'll give you a full tour  of the four separate villages at volcano Bay   including the 14 separate attractions in order of  popularity so ending with the thrill rides in and   around the volcano so with that said let's head  over to wave village located between the park   entrance and the base of the Krakatoa volcano  designed for sunbathing and relaxation in my   opinion the most picturesque section of the  park with the lush tropical landscaping and   stunning views of the volcano the centerpiece of  this village is the rotary beach wave pool with   a stunning series of waterfalls that pour  into the sparkling lagoon adjacent to the   rotary beach is the reef which provides guests  with a more relaxing pool area featuring its   own private waterfall and an impressive view  of the Kokiri body plunge drop slide moving   over to the northeast section you'll arrive at  River Village most suitable for families and   young visitors first stop is copy Kauai winding  River which is the centerpiece of this village   and passes through the tropical landscape of  volcano Bay including the crocodile volcano for those of you with any young children in  your group you'll want to check out a run amok   Arif this super playful area which features  overflowing twisting slides bubbling geysers   water slides and more if you have any toddlers  too small for all the chaos of run amok a reef   then you have a top Tiki reef right next door  with a top sized water volcano splash slides   and a family of friendly tikis with spraying  fountains lastly at river village you have aa new   acre muara which features two twisting and turning  multi-person raft slides despite being located in   the child-friendly village these stomach dropping  slides are certainly not short on thrills nestled   along the shores of a river rainforest village  contains an impressive assortment of attractions   for a thrill seekers starting this area you  have maku and poo ehi which are two multi-person   wrath slides machan features three high banked  saucer elements and then over on buoy you'll   cream through a dark winding cavern before  exploding out into the far side of its funnel on the southern end of rainforest village you  have the ono and a yard drop slides where you'll   plummet down through twists and turns and sawed  out into the waters at the base of the Krakatoa   volcano definitely not for the faint-hearted  these are known to take people by surprise as   you're thrown out 6 feet above the water into a  10-foot deep pool at the heart of the rainforest   village is the tea hour The Fearless river  which you'll need a life festival you will   soon understand why as this is one of those  lazy rivers but without the lazy with its   churning Rapids and chopping waves next up we  have tani white shoobs which consists of four   separate Easter Island inspired slides  with rafts for single or double riders the last section of my pocket or easily crack  at our volcano which is opposed the centerpiece   of this entire theme park standing 200 feet high  not everyone is aware that you can actually walk   inside the volcano and even interact with the  island spirit named volume you'd be known to   crack a joke or two the first ride of a volcano is  hunger races where single rider guests are sent on   their manta ray mats sliding down four lanes  through underwater sea caves the first races   across the finish line receives a watery salute  from punga himself next we have color and Thai   Nui which are two high speed twisting body slides  with the trapdoor stars these two slides happen   to be the joint tallest drop capsule slides in  the world at 125 feet next up is cook hairy body   plunge which just like the previous two slides on  this tour can also claim to be the joint tallest   drop slide in the world for those of you brave  enough to take the plunge we'll take a 70 degree   fall through a drop door and down hundred and  twenty-five feet of slide and ending in a pool   filled of gases at wave village the final ride  on my park tour which is the signature attraction   at volcano Bay is cracker tau aqua coaster this  is a very unique attraction in that it combines   both rollercoaster and waterslide elements this  ride will propel your foreperson canoe uphill   using induction motors and through dark twists  and turns inside the volcano before emerging   with the plunge to a shimmering waterfall I'll  begin the positives by saying that this park   is absolutely stunning especially with the views  of the volcano as you enter the park through the   wave village very picturesque you've got to give  universal credit and having produced something   truly iconic here it certainly helps that this  park has a reputation for being very clean and   well-maintained which includes the restrooms  lockers and changing rooms one thing that gets   a lot of praise from guests visiting volcano  Bay is how modern it feels when compared to   some of its competitors obviously the taboo taboo  system is the main source of this admiration this   system isn't universally loved for reasons we'll  get into in the next section but I will stick my   neck out here in saying that I think it's a  fantastic conclusion you can use it to charge   your purchases such as food souvenirs and drinks  etc but the main purpose of tapo tapo though is to   make the best use of your time whilst waiting in  a queue so instead of wasting your time climbing   up staircases in the Blazing Sun you can of course  use this time in the lazy river The Fearless River   or getting a bite to eat also the inclusion  of the many interactive tappy tappy points   throughout the park that squirt water blow bubbles  on the water or even play music on the water is a   really nice touch and you find it really hard to  imagine this park without this system one thing   I believe deserves particular praise at this  water park is the number of lifeguards which   you'll find in all the right places and are  known for being highly attentive at this park   I've read many reviews of my TripAdvisor research  where guests have noted how lifeguards had dealt   with some precarious situations impressively in  terms of the attractions on offer there obviously   fantastic as you would have seen from the previous  section so I won't dwell on this compared to   Aquatica and the Disney water parks it's probably  fair to say that there's a slightly better focus   on thrill rides I was also impressed with the wave  pool and the well choreographed rhythmic clapping   to welcome the waves so food my expectations  were pretty low going in but I was pleasantly   surprised by the quality of food at volcano Bay  I think this is an area where volcano Bay fairly   comfortably beats Aquatica in my opinion and it  does seem that many other guests on TripAdvisor   felt the same and unlike a quat occur you are  allowed to bring your own food which gets a big   thumbs up from me given the name of merchants as  outlined in my aquatic a review you are limited to   bringing in very small snacks over there so as I  pointed out in the introduction volcano Bay is the   worst reviewed Orlando water park on TripAdvisor  and I'll be honest I'm not aware of any other   theme parks in in Florida that actually get worse  reviews though I'm sure they exist so why exactly   is that well the first reason is because volcano  Bay had some very serious problems when it first   opened in 2017 the most series of which were  issues with its taboo taboo system and overall   just struggling to deal with the high demand this  far fewer one-star reviews these days but the park   still hasn't quite recovered from having received  so many within the first few months back in 2017 understandably there are people who are a lot  more laid-back when it comes to planning a trip   to a theme park compared with an obsessive like  myself for example some would be quite content to   go on a weekend and or arrive between 10:00 a.m.  and 12:00 most of theme parks find it much harder   to please these guests but I believed volcano Bay  is particularly vulnerable by comparison one of   the reasons for this is that a lot of people are  taken by surprise by the fact that you can't park   or be dropped off directly at volcano Bay unless  you're staying at a universal hotel instead you   have to catch a bus from the main transportation  hub at Universal this adds quite a bit of time   that people often haven't planned for on those  busy days things have been known to snowball   from this point if you've arrived after 10:00  a.m. on a busy day the accused to get through   security and the bus transport is reminiscent of  what you have to endure at the airport when these   guests do finally arrive there changing rooms are  extremely crowded near the entrance and all the   Sun Loungers facing the volcano have been taken  in this scenario the wait times on all attractions   are close to the maximum so yeah these are the  guests that volcano Bay hasn't really struggled   to appease ever since the park opened they've made  some efforts here such as handing out treats to   guests waiting in line to get to the park so they  obviously care but overall it remains a problem   that is hurting their online reviews substantially  I will of course provide some tips to avoid being   part of this sort of scenario in the tip section  of this video so I mentioned earlier that I'm a   fan of the taboo taboo system but some guests were  not as appreciative of this some arguing that its   inclusion is indicative of the parks inability to  meet the demands of its guests on busy days and   that you're often required to wait in line before  sometimes then having to wait in a real line when   you enter the queue also the taboo taboo bracelets  have been known to malfunction on occasion but if   that ever happens to you though I hear they are  very efficient at sorting this out I think one   of the issues with taboo taboo is that people  will naturally see the wait times and compare   those to what you deal with that say one of the  Disney parks which is an entirely fair comparison   because unlike with Disney wait times you can  actually do stuff whilst waiting rather than   just waiting in a line so an 18-minute wait time  is much easier to tolerate at volcanoe bait one   area where volcano Bay deserves a bit of criticism  in my opinion is the hidden costs of visiting the   park so when you arrive you'll be hit with the 26  dollar parking fee if you've driven if you forgot   your towel that'll cost you $6 per towel and if  you intend on using a locker for your valuables   that's gonna set you back thirteen dollars for a  miniscule standard Locker or sixteen dollars for   a reasonable sized locker I was debating whether  or not to refer to these fees given that all the   competing water parks in Orlando have similar  fees but I do feel they should all be called out   for the blatant exploitation one criticism that  this park has received by a fairly substantial   proportion of guests is how difficult it is  to navigate around the park especially for   first-timers the layout of the park isn't the  easiest to understand and there isn't a great   deal of information to direct you this isn't ideal  given that you'll often be queuing for rides you   haven't been to yet many of which have names that  are the easiest to remember I do agree with many   on Trip Advisor that it would be nice if there  were a few more maps spread around the park in   my Aquatica review I did mention that I felt that  Aquatica had a slightly better family vibe to it   in retrospect though I don't know how fair this is  really I can't really put my finger on why because   both parks do have suitable attractions for  babies and young kids I think it's possibly due   to it being a universal theme park which typically  appeals more to teenagers compared to the other   parks in Orlando so before I get onto my tips to  help you get the best out of any trip to volcano   Bay allow me to summarize very briefly unless  you're planning to arrive at volcano Bay early in   the morning the chances of having a disappointing  experience is a bit higher than it probably should   be for the price to be honest but if you plan  ahead and take note of some of the tips in the   next section of this video I can assure you that  this stunning waterpark is absolutely worth a trip   so my first tip which will be no surprise to you  at this point is to arrive ahead of park opening   so let's assume the park is listed as opening at  9:00 a.m. then you'll want to make arrangements so   that your shuttle bus drops you off at 8:45 at the  latest but ideally 8:30 because they are known for   letting people in before the official opening  time alternatively if you have the luxury of   visiting at Universal Orlando over several days I  would highly recommend heading to this park after   4 p.m. but the wait times will be significantly  lower and it's also cool to check out this park   at 9:00 if you do have a flexibility of which  day to travel I would highly recommend picking   a Monday if you can as mondays are the quietest  days for water parks because people generally   arriving on their vacations over the weekend are  less likely to pick a water park on one of their   first days before you get to the park I would  recommend creating your Universal account online   and to connect your credit card if you plan to  use the tap to pay functionality of the taboo   taboo this will make things a bit simpler for  you when you enter the park be sure to pack a   towel with you and if possible also pick up one  of those waterproof phone cases that I'll link   to in the description so as you enter the park  the common mistakes that people make are to head   to the first changing room over on the left which  gets really crowded and also to pick a Sun Lounger   over in rotary Beach facing the volcano instead of  these choices you should instead of pick changing   rooms towards the back of the park but before you  think about any of that what you should be doing   is heading to the wave village sign checking which  rides have the longest way time before tapping   into the queue for one of those attractions so  then you can effectively enter the virtual queue   whilst you're getting changed and finding some  good lounges with shape a lot of people recommend   heading right to the back to get changed and find  a Sun Lounger but personally I'm quite partial to   getting changed in this area in the rain forest  village if you can get there super early and   finding a Sun Lounger in this particular shaded  area however if you have some young children in   your group you'd probably be better off heading  to this changing room over in River Village and   setting up camp over around here ok well that's it  for this review thank you so much for watching if   you're headed to Orlando soon I hope you have the  most amazing vacation if you do have any tips of   your own that you'd like to share please further  them in the comments and if you're interested in   future parkour views and all that Orlando  vacation content don't forget to subscribe

Channel: The Frugal Brit - Orlando

Views: 401,844

Keywords: Volcano Bay, Universal's Volcano Bay, Volcano Bay Review, Volcano Bay Tour, Orlando Water Parks, Universal water park, Florida Water Parks, Orlando Florida, Krakatau Coaster, best water park orlando, ohno ohya, things to do orlando

Id: libz5lzUlbI

Length: 18min 46sec (1126 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 10 2020