Tell me about Volcano Bay rides

[cornflakegirl]

We are staying for 5 nights at HRH and the kids would love Volcano Bay BUT I do swim but not very confidently and my DS9 is a non swimmer although pretty fearless. So my question is what rides are good for those less confident? I see the big ones and my fear is splashing at the end into 5 feet of water and panicking . I'm also pretty apprehensive about lazy rivers
Needing some guidance as to rides and reassurance if possible

[Pantaloons]

There are a number of rides and pools alike
Firstly,

The main wave pool, you and the family can easily sit in the shallows or on the beach and enjoy the magnificent views of the volcano.
Honu and Puihi are both family raft rides, albeit a bit more extreme than the ones you would find at Disney. As you exit the ride its into a very shallow pool at the end with life guards.
Runamukka Reef is great for the toddlers
Punga Racers are basically slides you ride on your front with a matt
Krakatau (Aqua Coaster) is an absolute must for the whole family.

Personally, I would stay away from the following if you are worried about swimming

KoOkiri Body Plunge - mainly because there will be height restrictions, and you fall at a very fast speed and hit the water with some force
Kala and Ta Nui - similar body slides but not as fast or steep
Oh Ya and Oh No - they are tube slides but also have a sizeable drop into a deep pool
Fearless River - very fast, lots of waves (maybe head over to the less energetic river that comes with tubes and life vests)

[ratmanscoop]

I wouldn't undersell Kala and Ta Nui - from having ridden Ihu's Breakaway Falls at Aquatica this sort of slide is very intense, moreso than any theme park ride, and these two are bigger than Ihu's. Ko'Okiri may be the fastest of the lot but it's over a lot quicker.
I would probably advise against any of those three because unlike most other park's drop slides, they land in a pool rather than a braking trough. Much more comfortable, but it's very difficult to breathe when travelling at high speed through an enclosed body slide, so you usually end the ride gasping for air. That's fine if you're sitting in an inch of water gathering your senses, but if you're going to land in a pool you're going to need to be able to swim to safety quickly or it's going to be a very unpleasant experience indeed!

Ohya and Ohno are far less intense slides, but drop you into deep water so the same rules should apply there for non-swimmers.

The good news is that pretty much everything else should be fine - it's very unlikely you'll come out of one of the large rafts due to their weight. Even if you come out of a tube on Taniwha tubes when you get to the end you can still hold onto it and the water won't be that deep. Punga Racers and Krakatau will be a non-issue as there isn't a pool at the end (that I know of).

The slow lazy river should be fine as they're pretty sedate and there's flotation aids available. The fast lazy river (Te Awa) will still be safe with a flotation aid but might be a bit unnerving for someone that doesn't swim well, so probably best avoided.

There's still plenty for you to do at VB if you're not a confident swimmer, and better yet, you will avoid most of the rides that have the longest waits


When it comes to people's fear of intense rides in theme parks, I'm usually relatively pushy because if you don't try you'll never know, and you'll still be safe regardless as long as you meet the height requirements. Water rides, however, are another matter entirely. There may always be a lifeguard on hand to help out, but fast body slides are definitely not for everyone!

[cornflakegirl]

Thanks both for your replies thats been really helpful! I love coasters and do all the rides on dry land so to speak, but the water is the unnerving part I don't want to pass my fears onto my kids so would rather be forewarned and know what to expect. Sounds like we would still have plenty to do to enjoy a morning there anyway. Thanks again

[DFussy]

Don't let this put you off vb as a whole, but I would be cautious about the fearless river. we normally hold each others rings as we go round, but the current was so strong that this wasn't possible and we got separated from our v slim 10 yr old.

she fell through her ring several times, and needed a bit of help from the lifeguards to help her back in. as the current had pulled us ahead of us we didn't see and couldn't help her.

[returnplanning]

Very useful replies on this thread, although i am not the OP (considering VB when we go back)

[Rescuer]

Really useful thread. We are visiting in the next couple of weeks and dh doesn’t swim.

[nolypops83]

Originally Posted by cornflakegirl

We are staying for 5 nights at HRH and the kids would love Volcano Bay BUT I do swim but not very confidently and my DS9 is a non swimmer although pretty fearless. So my question is what rides are good for those less confident? I see the big ones and my fear is splashing at the end into 5 feet of water and panicking . I'm also pretty apprehensive about lazy rivers
Needing some guidance as to rides and reassurance if possible

See more...

Go on YouTube and check out some of the on ride video's. That'll give you a good idea of what to expect.

[rjhsteel]

Great advice. I can swim, but not 100% confident in water, nor are my children tbh, so handy to know.

[Forkbeard]

Apparently the average height for a 9 year old boy is 52.5" (just Googled it for US boys at least). So your son might be tall enough for the biggest slide there. It is a brilliant ride and you can just wait for him at the bottom. It looks way scarier than it is (less scary than Summit Plummet). I watched a few adults/children chicken out at the top and they had to walk back down the stairs bless 'em

As others have said OhYah and OhNo end up in deep pools so not good unless you are a confident swimmer. Other than that I think it's all great fun.

This is a neat little attraction guide:
universalorlando/web...ders-guide.pdf