Volcano bay- a fairly positive post and tips!

[btrek]

Thank you so much for fantastic detail in your review.
We have some water ride junkies travelling who are mad to go ..but with a 22 month old , shade is imperative .
I am still firmly on the fence

[Guest]

Can you go to VB in the afternoon after spending the morning at US or IoA when not staying on site?

[tiger01204]

Originally Posted by TKR

Can you go to VB in the afternoon after spending the morning at US or IoA when not staying on site?

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Yes you can, as long s you have the park hopper tickets (or the 14 day Uk passes)

[Guest]

Originally Posted by tiger01204

Yes you can, as long s you have the park hopper tickets (or the 14 day Uk passes)

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We do 😀 Think it may be a good idea to pack the water park gear when we visit the other parks

[MARL]

Originally Posted by Niki T

Thank you for your detailed review. Can I ask what the lazy rivers were like on your evening visit? x

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Both lazy rivers were quiet late afternoon. The 'fast river' is great fun but IS pretty fast. Our6 yr old DD can swim but we put her in a life jacket for this and the wave pool. She did struggle to stay up on the tire in fast lazy river so we only did that one once with her. Our two DS's and my DH LOVED the fast river as did I.

[MARL]

Originally Posted by mike230652

Thank you for the extensive and expansive review, much appreciated.

However, there's nothing in the review that would induce me to even contemplate going to VB. Sounds like a bun fight to even get there and get a place to sit and have shade.

Unfortunately, we don't have anyone ' fleet enough of foot ' to leg it over to the various slides etc and ensure we get decent access times to said rides.

Allied to the extortionate food and drink costs, I reckon we'll give VB a miss this holiday, even though the late afternoon visit definitely sounded more appealing.

It'll be there next time and hopefully much less of a battle zone!

Great review, though! Thank you

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I agree with your comments. Anyone with any mobility difficulties and arriving for park opening may struggle to secure a lounger however I think you can walk to the right of the park before opening where you may find the crowds lower who are waiting for the rope to drop. Certainly on our first day we say lots of people walk past us heading to the right. I'm guessing they had visited before! However as novices we were concerned re: leaving the areas that looked to contain the most loungers in one place. The other areas were small pockets of say 30+ loungers and chairs. Alternatively I would suggest going late afternoon as all the families are leaving and access and loungers were available in abundance. Another option would be budgeting for the two covered loungers. I believe that these can be booked in advance and are reserved with your name attached prior to arrival. This would mean that there is no need to arrive early or rush for cover. They also included a security box between them thus no need to find a locker.

The food we purchased was very tasty albeit expensive however there were plenty choice for less pricey options available. Unfortunately due to getting up at 6am we were ravenous by the time we were able to eat. Our 2nd day, we went for something to eat before entering the park. :-)

[MARL]

Originally Posted by Fitz

Great review and appreciate it. I love the look of Volcano Bay and the rides look great etc, but I'm still struggling to find the desire to go. The more I read about it the more i'm put off by it. Water parks for me have always been rest days effectively and this park sounds far to rushed and manic in terms of rides and layout. These virtual queues have me so underwhelmed. Maybe its just as the park is new and the kinks are still being worked out, it will settle.

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Other than our long wait at the coaster ride on our first day, any other queue we only waited approx 20mins and no hauling of tyres etc. Some of the tube rides are pretty high and take some climbing and a few flights of stairs (there is a lift for anyone who needs it but we only saw life guards using this)! We have visited typhoon lagoon and blizzard beach many times over the years and have queued in an actual ride for up to an hour. What I liked about the Tapu bands was that it did seem to half the time you would be physically standing in the queue. The down side is that you can only do one at a time this way HOWEVER we always managed to find a 'ride now' slide to do. :-)

[MARL]

Originally Posted by btrek

Thank you so much for fantastic detail in your review.
We have some water ride junkies travelling who are mad to go ..but with a 22 month old , shade is imperative .
I am still firmly on the fence

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There is a good little toddler wet area towards the back of the park next to the under 12 years play area at 'runamockareef' (sp!). There are also pockets of loungers around that area or you could pre-hire a covered 2 seat lounge area which includes a security box between the two loungers for $70. :-)

[Guest]

Many thanks for doing this. Very helpful!

I have a quick question about the bands...hopefully somebody else hasn't asked already. Do you drop them in a basket (or something) on your way out (like you do with 3D glasses)? Or do you keep them to reuse on subsequent visits?

[Smitfire]

Many thanks for your detailed review and taking the time to answer questions, much appreciated.

I've got a question, too

How does the faster lazy river compare to the speed of Roa's Rapids at Aquatica?

We can spend hours in Roa's Rapids chasing each other through the current. (We invented a chasing game based on The Terminator... don't ask )

All the best.