Cabanas at volcano bay?

[saratogajan]

Just booked our cabana for September 14th and it does guarantee entry even if park is at capacity.

[Friday'sChild]

Thinking about the 16 person one for August, would take a lot of the stress out of trying to beat somebody to a sun bed

[gjdjud]

I emailed about priority seating getting guaranteed entry and they replied saying that info wasn't available

[Guest]

Originally Posted by Friday'sChild

Thinking about the 16 person one for August, would take a lot of the stress out of trying to beat somebody to a sun bed

See more...

They only have two of these in the entire park, so I would get on it as soon as possible if you are thinking about it.

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

So after much deliberation I rang and spoke to Universal about booking some sort of add on thinking it would guarantee entry...

They confirmed that IT DOESN'T guarantee entry, but they reckon the park won't get busy enough that they have to close it due to capacity, if you arrive early enough you will be fine.

They didn't have any of the larger cabanas available for the day we plan to visit, so offered us 2 smaller cabanas to accommodate our group of 8 one at $299 + tax and one at $399 + tax = $698 + tax... I don't think so!

We then proceeded to discuss other options and we offered the loungers at $69 + tax per pair. I felt this was still quite expensive as we would need 4 pairs at $276 + tax for all 8 of us. However they said we don't need to book all 8 loungers, we could just have 4 between us as not all the group would be at the loungers at the same time. I queried this as I know for the likes of Blizzard Beach etc all your party have to book in for preferred seating to be allowed in the area. I can't see how Universal are saying you can book less loungers than your party size, because surely people will just push the rules and you will get large parties in the area having only booked a couple of loungers and therefore making these "preferred" areas not as quiet / relaxing / upgraded as they are meant to be?

I was very skeptical of what I was being told and didn't want to book only a couple of loungers to then turn up on the day and have the rest of the party turned away from the preferred seating area because I was given wrong information by the booking team. We have therefore decided not to bother booking any add ons within the park and just hope turning up early for rope drop will ensure entry and we can find some sort of seating for free in the park.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by ICECUBEQUEEN

So after much deliberation I rang and spoke to Universal about booking some sort of add on thinking it would guarantee entry...

They confirmed that IT DOESN'T guarantee entry, but they reckon the park won't get busy enough that they have to close it due to capacity, if you arrive early enough you will be fine.

They didn't have any of the larger cabanas available for the day we plan to visit, so offered us 2 smaller cabanas to accommodate our group of 8 one at $299 + tax and one at $399 + tax = $698 + tax... I don't think so!

We then proceeded to discuss other options and we offered the loungers at $69 + tax per pair. I felt this was still quite expensive as we would need 4 pairs at $276 + tax for all 8 of us. However they said we don't need to book all 8 loungers, we could just have 4 between us as not all the group would be at the loungers at the same time. I queried this as I know for the likes of Blizzard Beach etc all your party have to book in for preferred seating to be allowed in the area. I can't see how Universal are saying you can book less loungers than your party size, because surely people will just push the rules and you will get large parties in the area having only booked a couple of loungers and therefore making these "preferred" areas not as quiet / relaxing / upgraded as they are meant to be?

I was very skeptical of what I was being told and didn't want to book only a couple of loungers to then turn up on the day and have the rest of the party turned away from the preferred seating area because I was given wrong information by the booking team. We have therefore decided not to bother booking any add ons within the park and just hope turning up early for rope drop will ensure entry and we can find some sort of seating for free in the park.

See more...

Thank you very much for taking the time to find this out and to post their answer.

I find it hard to imagine a world where having spent $600 on a cabana that they wouldnt let you in. There is probably something buried in the T&Cs which states that it doesnt, but surely practicality must win out, or a guaranteed refund if not used.

The lounger thing is interesting. I would happily get 2 for 5 people as I am the only one that uses them and I end up being bag lady. But would only be worth doing if I was a) guaranteed shade by doing it, b) guaranteed that all 5 of us could get to the loungers.

As you say, I am sure that everybody has to have an armband in BB and TL for example.

Would be interested in your trip experiences as you will be amongst the first to experience it. Enjoy !

[gjdjud]

Originally Posted by ICECUBEQUEEN

So after much deliberation I rang and spoke to Universal about booking some sort of add on thinking it would guarantee entry...

They confirmed that IT DOESN'T guarantee entry, but they reckon the park won't get busy enough that they have to close it due to capacity, if you arrive early enough you will be fine.

They didn't have any of the larger cabanas available for the day we plan to visit, so offered us 2 smaller cabanas to accommodate our group of 8 one at $299 + tax and one at $399 + tax = $698 + tax... I don't think so!

We then proceeded to discuss other options and we offered the loungers at $69 + tax per pair. I felt this was still quite expensive as we would need 4 pairs at $276 + tax for all 8 of us. However they said we don't need to book all 8 loungers, we could just have 4 between us as not all the group would be at the loungers at the same time. I queried this as I know for the likes of Blizzard Beach etc all your party have to book in for preferred seating to be allowed in the area. I can't see how Universal are saying you can book less loungers than your party size, because surely people will just push the rules and you will get large parties in the area having only booked a couple of loungers and therefore making these "preferred" areas not as quiet / relaxing / upgraded as they are meant to be?

I was very skeptical of what I was being told and didn't want to book only a couple of loungers to then turn up on the day and have the rest of the party turned away from the preferred seating area because I was given wrong information by the booking team. We have therefore decided not to bother booking any add ons within the park and just hope turning up early for rope drop will ensure entry and we can find some sort of seating for free in the park.

See more...

When I booked I said I needed four for the four of us. They said I only needed 2 for the four of us as we can share. What it actually meant was they come as a pair so we'd only need 2. I'm pretty sure they won't let more people into the area than you have loungers.

[ICECUBEQUEEN]

Originally Posted by gjdjud

When I booked I said I needed four for the four of us. They said I only needed 2 for the four of us as we can share. What it actually meant was they come as a pair so we'd only need 2. I'm pretty sure they won't let more people into the area than you have loungers.

See more...

That's what they told me, that I could book less loungers than the party size but we would all be able to use them. They suggested booking 4 loungers so 2 pairs of 2 to accommodate our party of 8 as not all 8 of us would be a to the loungers at any one time so we could share the 4 loungers between us. I agree that I'm sure they wouldn't let more people into the area than loungers booked hence why I was skeptical of what I was being told so decided against booking anything as I felt I was being sold misinformation.