It had been a while since I last visited Volcano Bay. We arrived early on a Tuesday morning at Universal so we can park and take the bus to Volcano Bay. Our driver Nate was friendly and welcomed us. He drove safely and got us to Volcano Bay without any issues. Upon arriving to Volcano Bay, I immediately went to the Sales/Tickets counter to purchase Mom's and my tickets. I wanted to purchase the tickets with gift cards I had. Gift cards can only be used on site and can not be redeemed online. (I was also able to pay for parking at Universal with one of the gift cards.) Lockers are, of course, available for rent. It was 7 of us so we got a family locker. That didn't work. We had to rent another family locker to hold all our stuff. The family lockers are not big enough if you have multiple bags. Some of the staff are cool. We encountered one team member who greeted almost everyone in the Kopiko Wai Winding River (lazy river). Every time we winded back around to where he sat overlooking and safeguarding the river he spoke. His attitude was hospitable and refreshing. read more

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This is our family's favorite water park. We try to come here every few years and love it every time. The most recent visit was with family friends and we had an absolute blast. Five stars for sure and two thumbs up! read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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Universal Volcano Bay sits in a different category from most water parks, and the difference was apparent from the moment I walked in. The theming is built around a Polynesian island concept centered on a massive volcano, and the level of design detail throughout the park gave it a resort quality that most water parks do not come close to matching. It felt like a destination on its own rather than an add on to a theme park day. The aqua coaster is the standout attraction and the one worth prioritizing. It propelled me through a series of drops and climbs in a way that did not feel like a standard water slide, and the ride length justified the wait. The wave pool generates serious waves and is one of the better ones in any water park in Florida. The lazy river is the easy crowd pleaser that works for every age and is the kind of thing I circled back to multiple times throughout the day. The rapid river lives up to its name and was a different experience from the more relaxed float, worth doing if you want something with more energy. The virtual queue system through the TapuTapu wristband removes the need to physically wait in line for most attractions, which changed the pacing of the day significantly and let me stay in the water or hold a spot while my place in line was held. Arriving early was still the move if I wanted a good chair location without paying for a premium cabana, as the better spots filled up fast. If you are coming as a group of four or fewer, the premium seating option is worth considering for the convenience of a guaranteed shaded base to return to throughout the day. The water throughout the park is kept warm, which made a genuine difference in comfort, and the food options were solid enough that I did not feel like I was settling by eating on property. Volcano Bay is a water park that actually delivers on its theme and keeps you coming back to the slide lineup all day. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Just came back from volcano bay and let me tell you best water park I've visited yet in florida. This was my first visit to this park and i left being a fan. The entrance was quick and easy. We arrived at 10:30 which was way later than the opening time and were able to find great seats by the volcano. We didn't get a locker since we took only a few things. But they do offer lockers. The park wasn't too crazy since it was a Tuesday and the day right after Memorial Day. The lines were very short. I think only maybe two rides had a 35 minute wait which is pretty great. I love how in the bathrooms they have changing rooms and also a changing room with shower where you can rinse off and change. The family rooms are a bit different. They have a bathroom with changing table and shower in them which is very helpful with little ones. The park has these burst of water that shoot at your feet so your feet are always cool. Which i thought was pretty awesome. They have multiple food spots around the park and places to get snack. I got the waturi fusion ice cream and let me tell you it's worth the hype . It has banana, blue raspberry, orange, and strawberry and those flavors worked so well together. We ordered three and our whole family loved it. Our family loved TeAwa, The Fearless River. We spent two hours out of our seven hours at the park there. Everyone must wear a life vest while in that water. Its a 10000/10 highly recommend. In all our first time at volcano Bay was amazing. We loved it and would love to come back again. read more

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I got to visit the park as a chaperone for a field trip. Parking was $35. The lots were pretty easy to navigate and signage was easy to follow, after picking up our tickets near the universal entrance we walked a bit to find the tram buses that transport you from the parking garage to the volcano Bay entrance itself. The tram was a short and comfortable ride. Once we arrived at the entrance, we moved very quickly through security and entered the park. Our first stop was a locker station so we could secure our belongings. Locker pricing ranges, depending on the size that you need. For a family size locker, the largest size they offer. It was a flat fee of $25. You are provided a wristband which you then tap against the old tapu tapu stations in the locker area. From there it prompts you to insert a credit card. After purchase, anytime you tap your wristband against the tapu station your locker promptly opens. There are two versions of the "lazy" (or not so) river. One you can leisurely enjoy with or without a float of your choice. The other has a life vest requirement and various "Look Out!" signs that keep you aware of what is ahead of you along the river. Bumping against the walls tore a small hole in my water shoes. Since we went on a Tuesday, it was not crowded or difficult to find good seats near the volcano. It was a pretty cloudy day, which wasn't the best, but we made due. Wait times were low allowing for back to back rides on some of our faves. I had heard great things about the food here but we had plans to eat dinner at CityWalk before heading back with our students so the goal was just to get a snack, however, all of the snack carts in the park were closed down except the ones selling ice cream. I had seen pretzels online and was super bummed when I couldn't get my hands on one now that I was actually visiting the park. The coaster style ride was hands down my favorite. I'd consider bringing my son this summer when we have some guaranteed bet weather. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

This water park was awesome. Great food, atmosphere, and the rides were great. The sand felt real if sand was ground up wood chips. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Volcano Bay is a water park like no other! Great for all ages & even wheelchair accessible!! The have water slides and an aqua coaster for the thrill seekers & even the lazy river and regular pools for those looking to relax Here's a few tips before you go to have the best experience... 1. Bring water shoes! - they aren't required but walking in the hot pavement all day does a toll on your feet. 2. At all quick service locations, you can ask for a free water cup to stay hydrated or even bring your own water bottle in & refill it with water for free at the freestyle machines in the restaurants! (Hydration is key) 3. They have showers in the restrooms so you can always shower & change at the park so you can be nice & clean before leaving/going to another park. 4. Downloading the Universal app is the best way to navigate the park! You can check wait to times, find nearest attractions & restaurants, or even pre order food online so they have it ready for you to pick up. Volcano bay is truly enjoyable for all, but please remember to wear sunscreen & stay hydrated!! read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - The volcano - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Visiting on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons in mid-May made for quite the experience at Volcano Bay. There were so many ride options, and minimal-to-no waits. Our longest wait was for Krakatau, and we still went twice in an hour. It is an awesome water coaster (unless you ask my 4 year old, who was terrified -- whoops!). Other favorites included the Puihi Round Raft Rides, especially the green line. I think we rode this one five times in an hour today, and twice yesterday. Ika Moana is conceptually similar, and also excellent. Overall, Volcano Bay may be our favorite of the four Universal Parks. I'm shocked to be saying that, since I've come to Universal several times, and never been tempted to visit Volcano Bay. Nevertheless, I need to say it; this is a legit great water park. read more

Me and my beautiful lady had a blast here! Fun rides, good drinks and food! Not to crowded as we went during the week so we weren't waiting long at all. Got on everything we wanted to and had time to enjoy the lazy river and sun bathe for a bit. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

My fiance had never been to Volcano Bay so I made sure we stopped by on a recent trip to Orlando. The park is pretty big and if you don't reserve a cabana, then you're going to have a hard time finding a chair. We walked around in circles for almost an hour trying to find a chair for our towels. A lot of people take advantage of there being no policy on them and drop their towels in the morning and don't return to the chairs until they are getting ready to leave. It was pretty frustrating. Right now they have the taputapu which is a watch that allows you to tap into the virtual queue for the rides. The hare getting rid of that soon so I'm not sure what the new system will be like but it was nice to be able to tap in and then relax while we waited. When it was our time to go to the slides, there was probably about a 20-30 minute wait. The bigger slides like the drop slides and the aqua coaster were never under a 2 hour wait so we had to pick and choose what we did. We did the big drop slide in the volcano and that was a 4 hour wait. We used the time to hang out on the rivers and have lunch. The winding river is fast and you have to wear a life jacket in it. It can get a little rough. The lazy river is relaxing but it's hard to get a tube. You kind of just have to hope one floats by you. The lifeguards don't let you wait around the beginning where people are getting off. The food was decent for theme park food and the drinks were pretty good. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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What a fun waterpark! It is well worth the cost and to spend a whole day there. Plus, you feel like you're in Hawaii without having to get on a plane if you're in Florida...lol! You have to pay separately for parking and there is a wristband you can wear for wait times. It actually is pretty helpful and can only be used for one ride at a time. There are plenty of slides, a humongous wave pool, lazy rivers, raft rides, and several variety of food options as well as beverages. We didn't have to wait long for most of the rides and there is always something to do if you don't want to take a break ;) The family locker we stored our stuff in throughout the day was $25 and was well worth it. I definitely recommend Volcano Bay for a fun day under the sun. read more

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Love love love this park. My favorite water park by far The food for this theme park is amazing I love the fact that I can tap into a line and enjoy the wait time in a River or wave pool or just relaxing Kahola reef is my favorite restaurant. The only downer is the bus ride from the parking lot but I guess that's a play in the remote island feel I love that they have a full open bar. Their rapid River really is a rapid River There are so many interactive spots throughout the park that is nice too I do wish they had more umbrellas throughout the park especially for all the rain we get here in Florida read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

There is a noticeable difference between the Universal crowd and the Mouse crowd. And if you want to see it--really see it--this is where the contrast shows up in high definition. Universal's Volcano Bay wants to play in the premium sandbox. Big ticket prices. Big promises. Big tropical mythology. And for a moment--just a moment--it almost gets there. Let's talk history, because context matters. Volcano Bay opened in 2017 as Universal's answer to Disney's Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon. This was supposed to be the next evolution of water parks: fewer lines, more immersion, smarter tech. Enter TapuTapu--the wristband system that let you "virtually" queue so you could roam, relax, and pretend you weren't still waiting. At first? It worked. It felt futuristic. It felt like someone actually thought this through. Then... it didn't. The wristbands became clunky. Return times stretched. The magic thinned out. What was once clever started to feel like a workaround instead of a solution. Premium pricing, middle-of-the-road execution. That gap? You feel it. Now--about the crowds. Universal guests are different. More chaotic. Less patient. More "let's wing it" energy. And Volcano Bay doesn't always have the infrastructure or polish to absorb that chaos the way Disney does. The Mouse herds people like cattle with a PhD in crowd psychology. Universal tries... and sometimes shrugs. That said--credit where it's due. The theming is cool. Krakatau volcano is genuinely impressive. The sightlines work. The music, the Waturi backstory, the tropical escapism--it's all there. You can feel the attempt, and that matters. This park wants to be great. It's just not fully cooked yet. When it hits, it hits. When it misses, you're standing there thinking, "For this price, I expected better." read more

Super clean bathrooms & area! Everyone seemed very friendly & happy to be there. This was my first time after years of seeing it be open and i'm glad I finally came. It's a bit more pricey than any water park i've been to ($95), but definitely worth it if you get here early and spend the whole day here! Tip: Park in Universal city wall parking then take the free shuttle straight to Volcano Bay! read more

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Had an AMAZING time with Mr. Ray today at Universal's Volcano Bay. Park was not busy got on all the rides. The park staff was friendly and security was tight, Orlando's finest on the job. It was an amazing day at the park, October is the best time to go during the week, kids are in school, lol. If you ever get a chance to go to Volcano Bay, GO. You won't be disappointed! read more

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When you are in a theme park, the food option is pretty limited. For Universal, I heard Volcano Bay has the best food among the four parks; we will soon find out if that is true or not. For Volcano Bay, there are 4 main restaurants. The most popular is Kohola reef. They have burgers, sandwiches, pizzas, and this coconut chicken curry bowl. It is surprisingly on the good side (the bar is also low). The rice has a strong coconut flavor, the curry is okay, and I like the plantain that comes with it. Another restaurant that serves Asian dish(es) is Bambu, but the quality is far behind. I ordered this chicken katsu bowl and it tastes nothing like chicken katsu. The bowl also comes with a little bit of cucumber, edamame, some greens, and seaweed salad. The sauce is not katsu sauce even. And finally, youtube bloggers really hype up this Waturi fusion ice cream, which is like a combination of different flavors, but I didn't like it at all; it's sweet and I just don't like the taste. My favorite attractions are: Krakatau, Honu of honu ika moana, Puihi raft rides. read more

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I had an awesome time here getting wet, riding rides, and wandering around the park. It's nice that you are specifically awarded first floor parking. I got there around 7:50am. They wouldn't let anyone through security until 8am. Then, you have to stand in line and wait until 8:43am when we were able to get on a bus (no one loads before then, unless you have early entry). It's about a 10 minute ride from the parking garage to Volcano Bay entrance. Once inside, get a TapuTapu wristband and then immediately go to Krakatau Coaster and tap in. This is the best and most popular ride at the park. Later in the day this ride line will be 300+ minutes and/or they'll just shut down the queue. After that, you'll want to tap in at Ko'okiri Body Plunge. This is the 125 foot plunge in 6 seconds from the top of the volcano. It looks scary, but it isn't so bad. The ride you absolutely do not want to do ever in your life are the green and blue tubes next to the red tub atop the volcano which are named Kala & Tai Nui Serpentine Body slides. This is a nightmare. It feels like you're in a car crash. You are going so fast, and turning so hard it is hard to breathe. I literally thought I might drown and die. I was wobbly and dizzy for a few minutes after the ride. Not enjoyable at all. The 2nd best ride at the park is Puihi of Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides. Make sure you're in line for the GREEN slide. This 5 seater is super fun and you will get wet. Lots of shade standing in line The 3rd best ride is Honu of Honu ika Moana. You want the BLUE slide. Very similar to the ride above where you're in a big tube with multiple people. Also, lots of shade standing in line. The 4th best ride is the Ohno of the Ohyah and Ohno Drop slides. You want the PURPLE slide with the 6 foot drop. I loved getting a random tube and floating around in the Kopiko Wai Winding River. Locker rental is $20. It does get crowded quickly. Lastly, I had an excellent lunch at Kohola Reef Restaurant & Social Club. Make sure you order the $14.99 Mango BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich Platter. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Kohola Reef Restaurant - $14.99 Mango BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich - Delicious - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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Went here for Volcano Bay at night. This is a new offering that will be on the certain dates below. The timing is 7pm-10pm & you can enter the park as early as 4pm. April 12th and 26th May 3rd, 10th, and 17th All ages are welcomed and it's a bit more than the regular Volcano bay tickets $99 plus tax per person. This price includes, entry, souvenir cup with free Coca Cola freestyle refills, live DJ, games, and Dreamworks characters meet & greet. There is a specialty drink menu that comes with a souvenir cup for $18. We also tried the specialty swamp snack, Shrektzel (Shrek shaped salted pretzel + green cheese). This was a nice snack while at the park. Parking is like the rest of the Universal, enter the parking garage and be sure to go into the very first parking garage that's color coded red for Volcano Bay, this area leads to the Volcano Bay shuttle that's closer walking distance vs. walking far from the other two garages where Universal/Island of adventure folks are going. We had a blast! I'm not sure if I'll make it back before it ends in May but I do hope they roll out more dates in the Summer. read more

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Highly recommend the special nighttime event, Volcano Bay Nights. Earlier this month the tapu tapu virtual line wait wrist watch was sadly discontinued, resulting in having to spend more time waiting in physical queues. But attending the Nights event resulted in no line for any slide. Everything was walk on. Furthermore they changed the music to more modern party music, scooby and the gang were dancing on the beach, and the park provided complimentary and unlimited popcorn, soda, icee, and churros. We had a blast enjoying the tropical theming at night and best of all, no sunscreen required! read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Nighttime park overview - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Universal VB located in Orlando was very easy to follow to register. We booked a family adventure online, loaded the app and was able to enjoy the fun in the park. Parking was expensive but allow you to exit and come back with extra charge. The shuttle busses are east to navigate and a short drive from the parking to the park. The only hard part was reading the small signs posted to find the correct park. Highly recommend to download the app to your phone after you purchase the tickets. Prices are higher if you purchased in the app. We spent the whole day there and plenty of seats and lockers to store your valuables. Average adult ticket was $90. read more

We had a great time exploring this waterpark. It was busy but the line queue using wristband was nice ability to enjoy other slides while the big slide krakaoa has a long wait. Best ride by the way. All staff were kind and happy. Big difference than rest of universal parks. Prices for drinks of course are high. Just wanted to get their drink without souvenir cup and they didn't have different price. read more

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Volcano Bay was AMAZING!! This was our first time ever visiting and we're already planning to return soon again. When you arrive at Volcano Bay, you receive a TapuTapu to wear on your wrist. You'll use the TapuTapu to join a virtual line for any ride you want. You're then free to enjoy anything else while this device keeps your time and counts down the minutes until it's time to return and enjoy the ride. There's so much to do in the 3 main villages; wave village, rainforest village, and river village. We enjoyed the wave pool, several water raft rides and slides, and both the winding river and the fearless river. Truly enjoyed the park and can't wait to return and continue to explore. read more

The only downside I saw was how many gang-member types showed up here. Even two cast members said that today ( 04/17/2026 ) seemed different from other days, a rowdier crowd that were trying to buy drinks for their under-aged friends. About eight people linked arms in the lazy river and started chanting "Get out da way!" which is great if you like hearing Ludacris lyrics by groups of pushy thugs. That aside ( I can't blame the park for that ) the park is amazing. I've been to many waterslide parks across the US but this is now my favorite. I love the design of putting so many attractions into one tower then theming it to a volcano to conceal that the real intent was the all-in-one design. Brilliant. I've never seen a park with two lazy rivers and use the term "lazy" kind of loosely for the second river. That thing is far from lazy, it's a river rapids. That was the highlight of my trip. I'll be back for that alone. ...on a day with less criminal element clientele, though I'm not sure how I can predict when that is. read more

We had a great time here, but unfortunately the place is so crowded. It seems like they oversell tickets for each day. Even with the taputapu we couldn't get on all the slides and you are also waiting sometimes hours before you can even get in line for some slides. They dont have any details explaining the difference between two similar slides like a rating of more intense or calm so we found a few times that we got on the less extreme slide, but you only know this once your at the top. The lazy river and rapid river were a lot of fun. They also dont have enough chairs, but thankfully we didnt need one really. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

Water park was busy for a Friday , We had lunch from the keys in the premier seating area , food delicious but they never gave us any napkins, food was dripping from the bun as it had slaw so it was messy , also the server took my credit card away for a long period of time, I wish they wouldn't do that , would of been 5 stars if not for the none napkins or the server taking my card read more

We visited Volcano Bay this past Sunday with a group of six, and overall had a really fun day! Luckily, the park wasn't too crowded, so we were able to find seats near the volcano without much trouble, which was a huge plus. The rides were fun, not super thrilling in my opinion except for the Krakatau Aqua Coaster and the Ko'okiri Body Plunge, which were definitely the standouts! The downside of the day was definitely the food and drinks. Like in most aprks, the food was overpriced and pretty disappointing, the chicken tenders were mostly breading with barely any chicken, the burger buns were stale and of course the burger itself tasted like plain boiled ground beef. The drinks were ridiculously expensive too, and the cocktails barely had any alcohol, just a lot of sugary mixers. Also, some bartenders were asking for IDs inside the park, which didn't make much sense considering it's a waterpark and people usually don't carry their wallets around after passing the main entrance check. It would make more sense to assign a wristband or TapuTapu marking for guests 21+. That being said, we would definitely go again! Just probably with adjusted expectations about dining & drinking and maybe planning to eat elsewhere before or after the visit. read more

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I am NOT a water park fan. While I do love the water and swimming; I don't care for body slides and such. However, I was pleasantly surprised with Volcano Bay. They had two rivers (one lazy, one with more current) and a wave pool. Though there are tons of other seemingly fun adventurous rides; I stick to the simple things. We had upgraded our passes because we thought to try it for a year and see what we thought. I can see myself (and husband) going here a lot more than expected. They have plenty of food and drink options, locker rentals, and places to just chill. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

I hate water parks and was skeptical to even come, but I'm so glad I did! Tickets are only $80 + tax. It was $170 total for two tickets. Which I think is a really good price for Universal! Plus $32 for parking and they have a shuttle that takes you to the water park. My one complaint is that the park closes at 5:00PM. I wish it stayed open until the sun went down. 5PM just seems so early to close and I didn't get to ride all the rides I wanted to that day. What I like about Volcano Bay is that for the rides that have a 1.5 hour wait, you can tap your wristband, that they provide you, and it puts you on a digital wait. It shows the countdown of minutes until it's your turn. When it's time, you go up, scan the watch, and ride! This eliminates waiting in long lines in the heat and you can go ride other attractions while waiting (: The food and drinks are a little pricy, but not overly priced. An IPA beer was $13.50. If you get a private cabana, you have a personal server and a safe place to keep your stuff. LOTS of water bottles are provided and there is a fridge! The cabanas are expensive, but not a bad price if you get a large group to pitch in! The rides and two lazy rivers are a lot of fun! I went on a Tuesday in May so it wasn't packed with people. Not sure how it is on the weekends though. Will be back if I'm ever in Orlando! read more

Such an awesome water theme park! I've never been to such an interactive and cool water park in my life! You never wait that long for the rides, and there's food and drinks and a wave pool you can do with a life jacket! There's a talking volcano ! It's just awesome! Go!!! read more

There are a ton of great water parks in Florida, but Volcano Bay is the best of them all. A gorgeous destination with the icon Volcano, plus fun slide types and the Krakatau Water Coaster. The Tapu Tapu lets you virtually get in line for big slides and allows you to pay for items in the park without bringing your wallet along. This is a must-visit destination for warm weather fun! read more

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Came here with a group of 8 adults and 2 children (3 years old and under). We had a cabana situated right near the kids area. With the cabana rentals you get access to the park 1 hour before opening which would make you think you had a huge advantage to ride the rides. Unfortunately that was not the case, the 1 hour access was ultimately just to "check in" at the concierge desk then wait over 30 minutes for someone to escort our party to our cabana. Nonetheless our large party had to wait, standing in the sun. There was no seating area around and no shady. Once we arrived to the cabana we had to then wait for the refrigerator get unlocked. On a positive note, the cabanas give you tap in access to the rides without having to go to the rides themselves. The service at the cabana was not great. We texted in some drink orders that seemed to have taken a while to arrive. A guest of our party asked for a lid to a cup that never came. The food was delivered pretty timely after that. Around 4pm we were given our bill and were told by our service rep that she would be right back and the bill needed to be closed by 4:30pm. We thought "right back" would be 10 minutes but instead she came back at exactly 4:30pm for us to close out our check. So we were waiting around wasting about another 30 minutes of our time. The wave pool or beach area the water is extremely cold (coming from a native Floridian). The lazy river had no rafts. I walked it twice and people are literally fighting for rafts. Lifeguards are telling people not to wait for a raft and to find one, yet there's no rafts available. Overall, volcano bay is a great water park. There are perks of having the cabanas but there seemed to be a lot lacking. Members of our party came around the same time last year, rented a similar cabana, but their cabana location somewhere else in the park, and their service was impeccable. In comparison to their experience last year, they said that last year's service was by a far better experience. It was really disappointing to spend so much money for service that was "okay" standards. I would truthfully contemplate purchasing a cabana for future visits. read more

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Had the time of my life with my loved ones, I would definitely recommend this water park to all people, it was so fun and we had a blast. Good customer service, amazing foods it was perfect for a sunny day. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - The view of a cabana - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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We will come again ! Several of us all had a great time on all the rides and I could barely stand up after the tallest tube plunge. A brief storm shut down the park for an hour and during which time we dined and one of our beers was skunked which the bartender politely replaced. Still we stayed all day and didn't want to leave. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - Big Drop - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

We had such a good time here. We've been debating whether or not to visit this place for several years. We finally gave it a try and were not disappointed. Arrive early, as soon as they open! Immediately use your Taputapu to get in line for one of the attractions that has the longest wait: KRAKATAU, or one of the drop slides. Next, go get a locker, food, chairs, etc. We LOVED the taputapu system. I wish all theme parks used this. I wish there has been a bit more shade in the actual Bay Area near the volcano. We were able to get some chairs, but we had to walk through the burning sand to get to them. Also, do not wait until the end of the day to leave--this is when EVERYONE leaves and you will be waiting at least an hour and a half to exit the park. Food was pretty good, the $20 souvenir cup was a great deal given that you get free refills for the whole day. read more

Universal's Volcano Bay - The volcano! - Water Parks Near Me - Orlando, Florida

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REALLY REALLY FUN! the staff was nice i guess and the rides were safe, also the rides and pools and rivers were awesome! read more

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Our first time visiting Volcano Bay and we actually had a pretty fun day -- just me and my husband. I'll start off by saying that we are locals and are not really waterpark people, so we haven't been in rush to check it out in the last 6 years (wow, has it really been that long already?!). We decided to go on a whim on a random Sunday in September. Not sure if it's because school was back in session, but they had pretty reasonable Florida Resident rates that day. We really lucked out with nice weather that wasn't too hot and the park wasn't overly crowded. Those two factors alone can make or break your experience at any theme park, so we were grateful. I didn't realize you still had to park at Universal's City Walk, but they have plenty of busses running to transport you from the parking garage to the park entrance. That part was a breeze even though parking still costs $30. Once you make it through the park gates, they give you the TapuTapu waterproof bracelet to wear for the day. This is how you tap into the virtual line queues for the slides and if you setup your account & payment info on the Universal app, you can also make all your purchases throughout the day just by tapping your wrist (so you don't have to carry your wallet around). We unfortunately could not get ours to work with the app. When we first arrived, there were employees trying to upsell us on premium seating and cabanas. We asked how much a cabana costs just for kicks and they start at $619... um we're good, thanks. Based on other reviews, it does sound like seating can be an issue during peak season/high traffic days, but we were able to easily find chairs in any area we went to that day. Be sure to BRING YOUR OWN TOWELS. If you don't have one, they charge $7 each for towel rental. Additionally, lockers to store your belongings are also not free. Large lockers are $20, but we managed to cram our things into a mini one for $10. It does feel like they nickel & dime you for every little thing. We had already spent an additional $50 from just parking and getting settled in which was annoying. We rode a few raft slides and the wait times were never more than 10-20 minutes. The longest wait time of the day was the Krakatau Aqua Coaster which had a 220 minute wait. It was still early enough in the day when we tapped in to join the line and were able to find plenty of other things to do in the meantime. I think our favorite attraction of the day was the Fearless River though. Opposite of the lazy river, this is a more fast paced adventure and everyone is required to wear a lifejacket before entering. We had so much fun coasting around, we probably did like 6 loops that day. We grabbed lunch from the Whakawaiwai Eats quick-service counter. Pro tip: Place the order through the app and skip the line. It was much faster. We got the pretzel dog combo (foot long hot dog, pineapple salsa, and bacon on a toasted pretzel bun) and the jerk shrimp mac & cheese (pan-seared shrimp tossed with pasta shells in a creamy white cheddar cheese sauce). The food was decent for theme park food. I also got a flaming hot cheetos corn dog later in the day which really hit the spot. SKIP the shaved iced from the ice cream kiosk. It was basically an inedible snow cone with no flavor... just terrible and I had to throw it away. Getting a cocktail from one of the two bars was also a challenge. They must not want people to drink lol. One of the bars even closed early at like 4pm which we thought was strange. We ended the day by walking through the volcano which was pretty cool. We were not brave enough to do the Ko'okiri Body Plunge (125 foot drop slide) in the volcano, but it was fun to watch others do it. Maybe next time! read more

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It's a good time, clean, and the cabana is worth it, but there's not a lot of attractive people to look and and there's a lot of kids. Some swingers party this was. read more

We went here on the first Saturday of Spring Break... doing this on your first visit to the park is not recommended lol... we survived though! We knew it was going to be crazy. Besides the insane amount of people, we really enjoyed ourselves. It definitely takes some time to get used to the layout. We bought annual passes so after a couple times, we knew exactly where everything was. We all know the star of the show is the water coaster. Definitely get there early, use your Tapu Tapu to get in the virtual line and then go on and ride the "ride now" attractions. For me, the regular lazy River is a pass-- only because each time we went, there were just too many people. The fast River though... hold on.. to your life vests? This one is no joke and soo much fun! It's pretty intense- you've been warned. The food is pretty good for food at a water park. I think it's a solid water park if you're into water parks. read more

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Place was full of white ppl it was scary the food was mad expensive there was 6 dollar water that tasted like the pool water, the tap watches they had for the rides were really smart and good, the big red plunge slide hurt my ass, expansive ass gift shop like what the hell , there's two lazy rivers one is calm and fun and you use normal donut flotties byt for the other one you use just a life vest to float the waves are really strong i scrapped my foot really badly my mom lost her glasses, place looked nice read more

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We added Volcano Bay as part of a 4-day family park visit to Universal Orlando and we SO GLAD we did! This isn't just a water park, it's a city! Every ride was better than the last! TapuTapu makes it easy to enjoy the park without waiting in traditional lines, your wristband will buzz when it's your time to return to the ride! The grounds were AMAZING, so gorgeously maintained! Tube escalators bring your tube up to the top of the ride for you! WHAT?!?! AND...the walkway misters meant you never had to burn your tender feeties walking between attractions, too! We liked the lazy river, and LOVED the crazy river! Plenty of tubes, chaises, white sugary beach areas, and room to play, relax and enjoy here! I'd also like to give a #UOFistBump to Karl, the concierge locker attendant who was a shining example of friendly and personable guest services! Staff like him make a difference in a guest's stay, keep him!!! This park exceeded our every expectation and now makes our hometown waterpark look like a sad little kiddie pool LOL! If you have a chance to add Volcano Bay, DO IT! Very different vibe and great change of pace from the crowds & coasters, it felt like a vacation day! read more

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