Florida Guide > Universal Parks
Volcano Bay
This article is not aimed at describing the rides, but rather the basics of getting in and around the park.
Getting there:-
a) If you are staying at one of the Universal resorts hotels, you can make full use of the free buses that run to Volcano Bay from your hotel. (You will also get early access by 1 hour
b) You can be dropped off at the drop-off point close to the multi-story car park, then walk-through to the ground floor Volcano Bay pick up point.
c) Drive and pay the parking charge ($25 at the time of writing). You will be directed on where to park.
With both b) + c), Universal provide buses to and from Volcano Bay from the main car park.
Arrival:-
When you arrive at Volcano Bay, all guests must go through a security screening, this is before your two to three minute walk to the Volcano Bay entrance.
Entrance to the park is the same as the main theme parks, present your ticket and use the finger print scan.
TapuTapu:-
On entry you will be given a TapuTapu. This is a WIFI ' watch' type device. You can associate a credit card to this, (You do need to download and use the Universal app in order to do this) so you can pay for anything with a quick tap.
Also, you use it to check into a ride, if it' s a ' ride now' or register for a slot in a virtual queue in the future. When you arrive at any ride it will give a wait time, so you' ll know how long you have to go off and do other things. Note: you can only have one ride virtually queued at any time, albeit you can change it to another.
Tip:-Make sure it is fastened securely. Mine came off on one of the family raft rides. (You can get another TapuTapu, but you do need your entry ticket so they can associate you with the new one)
The TapuTapu is used for Photo' s when on a ride. It' s similar to an electronic toll system, so when a photo is taken, it knows who it has taken the picture off. You can go to a picture stand in one of the shopping areas to view any photo' s.
You can also use it for ' play' i. e triggering a water spray/jet on a ride. Small children really enjoy this, getting adults wet and vise versa. . . as if we aren' t wet enough already!
When leaving the park, you should hand your TapuTapu back. Even though you may think they look nice, and would like one as a souvenir, they have this covered and you do go through a detector which scans for them.
Lockers:-
Medium - can take one small rucksack. $12
Large - can take a full rucksack. $16 (prices correct at the time of writing)
When you arrive at a locker area, step one is to pay for a locker. If you use a credit card, you can go to any screen in the locker area and follow the instructions. If paying with cash, you have to go the left and rear of the locker area, where there is a single payment station where you can insert cash.
In both cases, initiating payment loads your TapuTapu with the necessary fee, and you can then go onto select a locker.
Once you have a locker allocated, if you have other people in your party, you can link up to 3 more TapuTapu' s to the locker. (Just follow the instructions on the screen) Which comes in really useful if you should lose it. (You need to go to one of the customer service huts with your entry ticket, and they' ll assign a new one)
Tip:-After entering the attraction, do not make for the lockers on the left a short walk away, as there is normally a queue for these. Either turn right or walk past the first set of lockers and go further into the park, where more lockers can be found and more loungers!
Towels:- $5 per towel.
Premium Seating:- 2 loungers and an umbrella, all yours for $49
Cabana:- I' ve no direct experience of these, as I thought the price was a little high, $199 for single unit for up to 6 people, which includes a locker. The family units are $599 for up to 16 people and are more private. One real benefit of these would be guaranteed shade. As it does get scorchio ' hot' at times.
Eateries:- 2 larger quick service eatery' s (Pizza' s, Chicken nuggets, burgers) and 2 smaller, (Taco' s, Nacho' s) and 2 bar's.
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