When you come to Florida, having a day at the pool, beach, or visiting a water park is a must. The greatest perk of all is when your resort is directly connected to one of the hottest new water parks in Central Florida – Universal’s Volcano Bay. The Florida sun is shining, the crowds are lighter and whether you’re visiting during the hot summer months or the cooler months, you will find that the water is still delightfully warmed to 85° F. Let’s JUMP into Volcano Bay and fun…
Our vacation to Universal Studios Florida was provided in exchange for this sponsored content creation. As always, all opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links.
If you’ve been looking for everything about Universal’s Volcano Bay then you’ve come to the right place. Let me walk you through everything you need to know before your vacation to this water theme park, which will help make your trip as smooth as possible.
How To Get There
Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort.
Volcano Bay can only be accessed by a Universal Studios Resort shuttle or walking. The best place to stay is Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort because it is literally steps from the water park. The great thing about this is that you’re not paying for additional parking or having to fight for a good parking space. If you are not staying at a Universal Orlando Resort you will park in the garage at Universal’s CityWalk and then make your way to the Volcano Bay shuttle stop which is an easy
Tip: Staying at a Universal Studios Resort? You get EARLY Park Admission to Volcano Bay! Arrive up to 1 hour earlier than other guests. Take advantage of this perk for many reasons: lower temps, LESS CROWDS, AND GREAT PHOTOS WITH NO GUESTS IN THE SHOT.
TapuTapu
What the heck is a “TapuTapu” and why do we need it? It is a wearable device that essentially holds your place in the ride line for you. If you decide to switch rides you can do that, you can use it in interactive play areas, access park photos, and link up your credit card for in-park purchases.
You receive your free TapuTapu when entering the park and must be returned when you leave. It is a little bulky but not too bad. My kids and I didn’t mind the size but if Universal could find a way to make the device smaller, that’d be great.
- Virtual Line Access: Virtually hold your place in line for the most popular attractions. Simply visit the attraction you want to ride, click your Tapu and your spot is reserved. You will receive an alert via on screen and vibration when it’s time to ride. I will say, the vibration alert only worked half the time for us so we made sure we kept looking at our TapuTapu to watch the time tick down.
- TapTu Play: You can take part in fun play experiences throughout the park. Your TapuTapu can control streams of water spurting from whales in Tot Tiki Reef, shoot water cannons at guests snaking down Kopiko Wai Winding River, illuminating images in the volcano’s hidden caves and more!
- TapTu Pay: No need to keep going to the locker for money. When you link your credit card (on the Universal Orlando app) to your TapuTapu you can pay for food, drinks, and merchandise.
- Photo Access: Find fun and interactive photo opportunities along with selfie spots throughout the park as well as attraction photos. Your TapuTapu will automatically link those photos and you can view them at your leisure.
- Locker Access: After renting your locker ($15/full day) you can access it all day with the touch of your TapuTapu! No more worrying about losing the orange bracelet locker key we all love to hate.
Tip: You can reserve the Krakatau Aqua Coaster PLUS one other attraction at a time. This allows you a spot in line for the main attraction at the park, as well as another at the same time. You can only reserve one attraction at a time for the other attractions.
Cabanas, Towels, Life Jackets
You virtually do not have to bring in a single thing to the park. Universal’s Volcano Bay has everything you need and more. Rent a private cabana with views of Waturi Beach, rent towels, shop, eat exotic food, drinks, and snacks…
Each cabana offers padded lounge chairs, a small refrigerator stocked with bottled water, a complimentary fruit and snack basket, towels, and a locker. Plus, concierge service is included with an exclusive menu of food and drinks delivered directly to the cabana. One-story and two-story retreats are located throughout the park. These give you the best views along with some much-needed privacy when the park gets busy or a small (but short) afternoon thunderstorm rolls through.
YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN: The Best Rides For Toddlers at Volcano Bay
- Towels can be rented for $4.99 per day, but they must be returned upon departure. They are nothing fancy, so you won’t want to keep it anyway. Personally, we like to save money by bringing our own towels. They’re bigger and I find that my personal towels are more absorbent. Renting is still a great option if you’re on vacation or don’t want to lug around wet towels at the end of the day.
- Premium Seating is available for $29.99 per day (plus tax). This includes a pair of padded loungers with an adjustable shade canopy and includes a built-in storage locker. You also get to enjoy the services of an area attendant who will see to your food and drink orders throughout the day.
- Single Family Cabanas will accommodate up to six people. Choose from upper-level cabanas for spectacular views, ground level cabanas for convenience and accessibility, or stand-alone cabanas that offer a bit more privacy. Prices start at $159.99 per day (plus tax) or go up depending on the season.
- Family Suite Cabanas are for the large family! They accommodate up to 16 people. For $299.99 per day (plus tax) you can split the price among friends and get a great deal and a comfortable place to relax between rides.
- Life jackets are free to use all day, from kids to adult sizes you can feel safe if you aren’t the best swimmer. There are life-jacket stations all around the park so you don’t have to go far to find one and most rides allow you to keep them on except the slides in Runamukka Reef.
TIP: cALL ahead to reserve your Cabana because they do go fast. 1-877-801-9720.
Attractions
Don’t be overwhelmed when you talk into Volcano Bay. It’s pretty easy to navigate since the park is made up of four highly immersive areas. We experienced the attractions as a family so I can let you know that there was something for adults, teens, young kids, to a preschooler. Your family will truly never run out of fun and could spend all day at the park!
With 19 fun attractions, you can’t help but think how tired your arms are going to be from carrying the tubes up all those stairs right? Guess what? Every tube and mat slide has a conveyor belt system that brings them up for you! The struggle of getting your kids to help carry a two-person tube is real but at Universal’s Volcano Bay, it’s one less thing to worry about.
Wondering about rides for toddlers? Check out this post on the Best Toddler Rides at Volcano Bay.
Get ready to live the carefree island lifestyle while comfortably in beautiful Central Florida.
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