VOLCANO BAY.....INFO AND QUESTION THREAD........

They make you take all shoes off for certain rides - where they don't want the shoes to rub the slide.
 
We had EPs at Volcano bay on June 20th. My plan was to get the Regular EP, not the EP-plus. The regular EP only allowed you to ride SOME of the rides and the Plus would've allowed us to ride them all. It does only work one time for each ride, but it is NOT attached to your tapu tapu. When you check-in at the concierge desk, you are given a wristband with a picture and name of each ride on it. When you approach the ride to tap in, your tapu will light it up red, which means it's not your turn to ride. You tell the attendant that you want to use your express pass and they will enter an override and now the tapu thing lights up green. The attendant then takes a marker and marks out that ride on your wristband so you can not use it again on that ride.
So, yes, you can be tapped into one ride and use your EP on another ride without losing your place in the first ride. Also, if the ride has a no wait time aka 'ride now', then you don't have to use your express pass to ride. You can save it until later in the day when there are wait times.
The EP does not shorten your line, it just turns every ride into a 'ride now' ride.

But, really, most of the slides on the regular EP were 'ride now'for most of the day anyway. We rode Krakatau right when we got there at 9am and there was no wait. We went on a Wednesday in June. We stayed the entire day! The crowds were bad from 12-6. We used that time to eat and relax. My kids love digging in the sand, so they did that for awhile. We rode every slide once and a few slides more than once. We spent a lot of time in the faster river.

At first, I reserved a Cabana for $450. Then, I decided that I wanted the Express Passes and I couldn't afford both. So, I cancelled the cabana and got the Express Passes and 2 sets of Premium Seating. As I mentioned, the EP's really weren't that much benefit since we spent the whole day there anyway. And, the premium seating didn't offer any shade in the afternoon because those covers are not adjustable. The afternoon sun was SO hot! So, in retrospect, I wish I had just kept my cabana and not gotten express passes. But, we still had a great time! I think it was my favorite day of our 4-day trip!

One last thing to the question about sending one person to get all of the Express Passes for your party. I tried to take the wristbands and the concierge person was adamant about putting them on each person herself. So, in my instance, each person had to be present to receive the EP.

Thank you for the feedback. We have a cabana reserved for August and I had been debating cancelling and getting the EPs instead. I really like the idea of having somewhere with some shade, though, especially in the middle of the day. I am really hoping that when we go, a Tuesday at the end of August, it will not be too busy. We have early entry also, since we are staying onsite so I hope I won't regret my decision.
 
I'd love some advice on visiting VB without EE or express pass the first week in August? I'm really on the fence about going at all. I won't ride any slides but DH and the kids will. However DH just told me he doesn't want to go if he has to stand on 2 hour lines for everything. Is it worth it to go w/o EE?
 


I'd love some advice on visiting VB without EE or express pass the first week in August? I'm really on the fence about going at all. I won't ride any slides but DH and the kids will. However DH just told me he doesn't want to go if he has to stand on 2 hour lines for everything. Is it worth it to go w/o EE?

Hi I just went to VB last week and I went the first week of August last year. I had the old EP last year which was great. This year however, we did not have it. It will not be as crazy as last year but I do believe you will see long lines. When we went last week the aqua coaster was running about 110 minutes and the family raft rides were about 15-45 minutes. There were some that were ride now. I did go later in the day on Wednesday and EE on Thursday. I believe it was a little slower last week then it will be the rest of the summer. I could see an influx of people in the regular parks by Monday. When we drove by VB on Monday afternoon there was a lot more people.

If you are not going to use EP then you need to be there at EE or right when they open. You usually get till about 10 am before the lines start. Another idea is if you have multiple days going I would go once in the late afternoon. It clears up a lot. I suspect there could be long lines on a couple of the more popular rides then. During the week is way better than Friday-Sunday. a

The wave pool and lazy river are good and can be used any time. The fearless river is any time and it was so much fun. We spent a lot of time in that river.

If you go make sure you tap into the aqua coaster and family raft rides one after another if they are not ride now.

It's a hard call whether you will experience the kind of lines that your husband wants to avoid.

Good luck!
 
Hi I just went to VB last week and I went the first week of August last year. I had the old EP last year which was great. This year however, we did not have it. It will not be as crazy as last year but I do believe you will see long lines. When we went last week the aqua coaster was running about 110 minutes and the family raft rides were about 15-45 minutes. There were some that were ride now. I did go later in the day on Wednesday and EE on Thursday. I believe it was a little slower last week then it will be the rest of the summer. I could see an influx of people in the regular parks by Monday. When we drove by VB on Monday afternoon there was a lot more people.

If you are not going to use EP then you need to be there at EE or right when they open. You usually get till about 10 am before the lines start. Another idea is if you have multiple days going I would go once in the late afternoon. It clears up a lot. I suspect there could be long lines on a couple of the more popular rides then. During the week is way better than Friday-Sunday. a

The wave pool and lazy river are good and can be used any time. The fearless river is any time and it was so much fun. We spent a lot of time in that river.

If you go make sure you tap into the aqua coaster and family raft rides one after another if they are not ride now.

It's a hard call whether you will experience the kind of lines that your husband wants to avoid.

Good luck!
Thank you very much for all the info! The fearless river sounds fun! Maybe we will give it a try after all. I really appreciate your feedback!
 
Thank you very much for all the info! The fearless river sounds fun! Maybe we will give it a try after all. I really appreciate your feedback!

If it helps, I don't like water parks and usually don't do water slides. We went 3 times last summer and plan to go again in October. It was actually really fun. Even if you just want to hang out, the park is pretty, has good music, and really good food and drinks. The lazy and not-so-lazy rivers are amazing. If they would serve me drinks without me getting out, I would sit in those all day:)
 


Just here to complain a little, I’m sorry lol i just called and they still don’t have dates for end of September for cabanas. We have a 7th member in our group that might come and inquired if we would be able to pay a fee to have one extra person. I got a definite no, and because we would be one person over the limit for a single cabana we would need to upgrade to a SIXTEEN PERSON family cabana. I understand policy, but this just seems ridiculous.. I’m pretty sure a family cabana is just an upper and lower together correct? So if you get that it’s ok to have 8 people on each level, but for a single you can only have 6...
 
Just here to complain a little, I’m sorry lol i just called and they still don’t have dates for end of September for cabanas. We have a 7th member in our group that might come and inquired if we would be able to pay a fee to have one extra person. I got a definite no, and because we would be one person over the limit for a single cabana we would need to upgrade to a SIXTEEN PERSON family cabana. I understand policy, but this just seems ridiculous.. I’m pretty sure a family cabana is just an upper and lower together correct? So if you get that it’s ok to have 8 people on each level, but for a single you can only have 6...

Actually, no, the family cabanas are stand-alone larger units. I do agree that it seems ridiculous that you can't add just one person to a 6-person cabana, but then again, where would they draw the line on how many people you can add?
 
Hi I just went to VB last week and I went the first week of August last year. I had the old EP last year which was great. This year however, we did not have it. It will not be as crazy as last year but I do believe you will see long lines. When we went last week the aqua coaster was running about 110 minutes and the family raft rides were about 15-45 minutes. There were some that were ride now. I did go later in the day on Wednesday and EE on Thursday. I believe it was a little slower last week then it will be the rest of the summer. I could see an influx of people in the regular parks by Monday. When we drove by VB on Monday afternoon there was a lot more people.

If you are not going to use EP then you need to be there at EE or right when they open. You usually get till about 10 am before the lines start. Another idea is if you have multiple days going I would go once in the late afternoon. It clears up a lot. I suspect there could be long lines on a couple of the more popular rides then. During the week is way better than Friday-Sunday. a

The wave pool and lazy river are good and can be used any time. The fearless river is any time and it was so much fun. We spent a lot of time in that river.

If you go make sure you tap into the aqua coaster and family raft rides one after another if they are not ride now.

It's a hard call whether you will experience the kind of lines that your husband wants to avoid.

Good luck!

You are allowed to tap into all the rides at once? I thought it was one ride, wait till its your turn, ride and then tap into another?
 
You are allowed to tap into all the rides at once? I thought it was one ride, wait till its your turn, ride and then tap into another?

You can tap the water coaster and another ride at the same time. Other than that, it is one at a time
 
You can tap the water coaster and another ride at the same time. Other than that, it is one at a time
Okay, so special for the water coaster then? So tap water coaster and then any other ride you can also select? So you can basically always have the water coaster queued up?
 
Okay, so special for the water coaster then? So tap water coaster and then any other ride you can also select? So you can basically always have the water coaster queued up?

As far as I understand it, yes
 
Hello again almost a year later! So, last September I enjoyed Cabana Bay & a Volcano Bay day enough that pre-anniversary cruise this September hubby & I plan to do it again. He didn’t end up joining friends and me last year so it’s all new to him. So YAY!

Looks like there’s been some changes since last September....Express Pass! Ive been reading back a bit & think I’ve got a new VB plan of attack hatched. Get to the gate ahead of early entry. Check. Hit slides bambambam as soon as we can. (It was AMAZING how much we did those first 2 hrs last year!) Now here’s where my questions lie. If we have EP, when those first 2 hrs of going are up we can go to the hut & get the EP. Then we can be tapped-in anywhere PLUS be utilizing our EP rides. Right? Does this sound like a good use of time?

We’re going on Friday, Sept 14th. If it was like Monday thru Thursday I’d think EP wouldn’t be needed. I’m just uneasy about a Friday crowd. After that 2nd or so hour last September on a Tuesday or something weird like that it really did fill up. Thoughts on whether EP would even be necessary? Or, what if we played it by ear. If it starts to fill up can we go somewhere in the park and buy EPs?

Also. Last year we set up camp in front of the big volcano pool all the way to the right kinda behind that bar. Once it filled up that spot was really busy with foot traffic. And people hovering like vultures, giving us the stink-eye a little. It was just not what I would consider the best spot. If the premium loungers guaranteed good shade I’d pounce on those but from what I’ve read that’s just not the case. So I’ve been looking at maps & trying to remember smaller, less populated areas tucked away where shade can be had with less foot traffic. Trust me. We are pasty freckled gingers. Shade isn’t optional. And a post-lunch nap in the shade is one of our favorite things ever. Well, naps are our favorite vacation thing ever. LOL! Yes, like cranky 1 year olds a solid nap can make or break us old farts. Any suggestions? Experiences with good out-of-the-way spots?

I’d love to just grab us a cabana but that’s whole lot of drinky-drinks on the 2 weeks I’ll be on the Fantasy so not wanting to go there. Ya know?

Thanks in advance for all the help, friends. This board was seriously a Godsend last September. I have faith in the peeps here.
 
Hello again almost a year later! So, last September I enjoyed Cabana Bay & a Volcano Bay day enough that pre-anniversary cruise this September hubby & I plan to do it again. He didn’t end up joining friends and me last year so it’s all new to him. So YAY!

Looks like there’s been some changes since last September....Express Pass! Ive been reading back a bit & think I’ve got a new VB plan of attack hatched. Get to the gate ahead of early entry. Check. Hit slides bambambam as soon as we can. (It was AMAZING how much we did those first 2 hrs last year!) Now here’s where my questions lie. If we have EP, when those first 2 hrs of going are up we can go to the hut & get the EP. Then we can be tapped-in anywhere PLUS be utilizing our EP rides. Right? Does this sound like a good use of time?

We’re going on Friday, Sept 14th. If it was like Monday thru Thursday I’d think EP wouldn’t be needed. I’m just uneasy about a Friday crowd. After that 2nd or so hour last September on a Tuesday or something weird like that it really did fill up. Thoughts on whether EP would even be necessary? Or, what if we played it by ear. If it starts to fill up can we go somewhere in the park and buy EPs?

Also. Last year we set up camp in front of the big volcano pool all the way to the right kinda behind that bar. Once it filled up that spot was really busy with foot traffic. And people hovering like vultures, giving us the stink-eye a little. It was just not what I would consider the best spot. If the premium loungers guaranteed good shade I’d pounce on those but from what I’ve read that’s just not the case. So I’ve been looking at maps & trying to remember smaller, less populated areas tucked away where shade can be had with less foot traffic. Trust me. We are pasty freckled gingers. Shade isn’t optional. And a post-lunch nap in the shade is one of our favorite things ever. Well, naps are our favorite vacation thing ever. LOL! Yes, like cranky 1 year olds a solid nap can make or break us old farts. Any suggestions? Experiences with good out-of-the-way spots?

I’d love to just grab us a cabana but that’s whole lot of drinky-drinks on the 2 weeks I’ll be on the Fantasy so not wanting to go there. Ya know?

Thanks in advance for all the help, friends. This board was seriously a Godsend last September. I have faith in the peeps here.

The EP is apparently a wrist band now, where they manually check off each ride with a pen/marker. So, it's not tied to the Tapu at all, and you can use both.

I like the area in front of the fearless river, near a lifeguard, and near the back concierge hut and Bambu. I also like the area in front of the lagoon with Ohno & Ohya, where there's a kiddie water play area.
 
The EP is apparently a wrist band now, where they manually check off each ride with a pen/marker. So, it's not tied to the Tapu at all, and you can use both.

I like the area in front of the fearless river, near a lifeguard, and near the back concierge hut and Bambu. I also like the area in front of the lagoon with Ohno & Ohya, where there's a kiddie water play area.
I’m thinking wait until after we’ve done the initial mad dash after entry to go get the EP wristband. That way we don’t spend any of those early hours fetching a band we won’t need until the crowds build. So we can tap into something, grab lunch, get the bands, and proceed. That seems logical, yeah?
 
I’m thinking wait until after we’ve done the initial mad dash after entry to go get the EP wristband. That way we don’t spend any of those early hours fetching a band we won’t need until the crowds build. So we can tap into something, grab lunch, get the bands, and proceed. That seems logical, yeah?

That sounds like a good plan.
 

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