Ah, the joys of seeing a theme park for the first time as a child. And that doubly goes for seeing a themed water park, like Universal Studios Orlando’s Volcano Bay. My 7-year-old son Johnny and I recently had the opportunity to visit this amazing park. This was the first time Johnny had ever been, and he had a lot of thoughts he wanted to share with MiceChat.
It’s a beautiful day for a waterpark day!
Entering Universal’s Volcano Bay
There are a few ways to get to Volcano Bay. If you’re staying at one of the resorts at Universal that are walkable to the waterpark (Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls, or Adventura) you follow the signs to the gate. However, if your Universal hotel doesn’t have direct access to Volcano Bay, you have to take a bus to City Walk and then a second one to Volcano Bay. The other option is to drive yourself and pay for parking, which is what we opted to do. After paying the fee, you are directed to parking at the far end of the structure, close to the Volcano Bay bus stop location.
Johnny is ready for a day of water adventure!
Settling in at Volcano Bay
Everyone receives a TapuTapu (a piece of wearable technology specific to the park) when entering Volcano Bay. TapuTapu can be set up for charging purchases and is used to save your place in line, photo ops, and other fun things. Johnny was super excited to get his own TapuTapu and was ready to take on the day, even though I did not give him charging privileges.
We rented private seating for the day. No lockers are needed as there is a lockbox and you can order your meals to have them delivered, but more on that later.
There are also cabanas for either up to 6 or 12 people, which include more amenities and an option to be on the second floor for an amazing view.
There are also plenty of chairs and umbrellas for everyone, and there are lockers nearby to secure your valuables if needed.
Off On Our Water Adventure
We secured our belongings and headed off to explore. First stop, Kopiko Wai Winding River, a lazy river. This kind of water attraction is always one of Johnny’s favorites at any water park. While this river may be lazy, you just never know when you might get sprayed from one of the TapuTapu Play touchpoints.
Next, we were heading for some excitement. But in true Johnny fashion, we got side-tracked by Runamukka Reef. This is an area designed for kids. With 5 different kid-sized slides and plenty of water play, Johnny could have spent all day here.
They also have an area for the littlest adventurers looking for water play.
We head towards our first ride, Ika Moana, and get a return time of 10 minutes. Not bad.
Even with a low wait time, you must tap in with your TapuTapu.
Johnny didn’t want to leave the area with a minimal return time. Luckily, we found a TapuTapu Play location near the entrance, and Johnny was entertained by spraying unsuspecting lazy river riders.
Finally, ready to ride. One of the nice things about Volcano Bay is the storage cubbies near the ride where you can put your shoes, coverups, etc. It’s not secure, but you can bring your phones on the ride if they are in a proper case with a lanyard.
Johnny gives Ika Moana two big thumbs up!
Time to hit Waturi Beach, the wave pool! Johnny is a wave pool pro and is one of his favorite parts of any good water park.
Waturi Beach has three wave options and you see the type of wave by the signage that turns with each change.
Time for Lunch and a Chill Break
After enjoying the Waturi Beach waves, I was ready for some chill time and both of us were ready for lunch. This is where having the private seating paid off. No waiting in lines for lunch! It was a busy day and the food lines were significantly longer than I anticipated.
Luckily, we could place an order through the Universal app and have our food delivered to us! The Island Chicken Salad was delicious!
Johnny really enjoyed his cheeseburger as well.
Thankfully Johnny did let me chill before heading off on our next adventure. He kept himself busy checking out the map and planning the rest of our day.
The Adventure Never Ends at Volcano Bay!
We barely got started when we spotted some TapuTapu Play tap spots! Over at the Reef pool, there are two play features. Tap your TapuTapu and cover all the water as it squirts out of the handprints. 
But be quick and watch out below the bubble are coming!
A second was an underwater feature. Tap your TapuTapu and head underwater for a secret message. There were multiple underwater messages. 
Finally, we made it to TeAwa the Fearless River. Everyone must wear a life jacket for this experience. It is a fast-moving (not lazy) river. Not only does this river move faster than a lazy river, and at times there are waves or rushing water.
However, due to our size differences, Johnny moved a lot faster than I did and once we got pretty far apart and I just couldn’t catch up to him. Luckily another adult grabbed Johnny, stood up, and I was able to catch up. Although the river isn’t any deeper than other lazy rivers, due to the current and life jacket, Johnny could not stand up on his own. Despite this incident, Johnny still enjoyed it and would go on TeAwa again.
On our way back to our chairs, we stopped and grabbed a return time for Krakatoa Aqua Coaster. At 175-minute wait, it was a little long. We decided to wait it out and finish our day with a thrill.
I got a few minutes to chill before we headed back to Runamukka Reef and the wave pool. After 100 minutes, our Tapu Tapu said the wait for Krakatoa Aqua Coaster was still 90 minutes, putting it at a total of 190 minutes total. Johnny decided he was done for the day and we packed up to head for home. Being in the park for almost 6 1/2 hours was a long day!
Our Experience with Volcano Bay
While we really enjoyed our day at Volcano Bay, the lack of spontaneity was difficult, especially for Johnny with a short attention span. You can only TapuTapu rides for return times, there is no standby. While this is maybe great for some, it was difficult for Johnny, and for me to keep him entertained. Johnny was also unsure about riding some of the slides, so he needed to get up his courage before committing to a return time.
By the point he was ready to Tapu Tapu some of the rides, the return times were long. Ultimately, we only went on one slide the entire day. TapuTapu should make you able to enjoy more of the park and its attractions without having to wait in a standby line, but for Johnny and me TapuTapu backfired. On future visits, I will need to be more insistent on getting return times earlier in the day.
We enjoyed our day at Volcano Bay and Johnny is ready to go back and tour his dad all around the park.
Let’s Hear From You
Have you visited Universal’s Volcano Bay? Did you find TapuTapu to be a help or a hindrance when it came to going on attractions? What was your favorite experience or tip? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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