I was really looking forward to our day at Volcano Bay. For one, we’d been there a couple times in 2018 and thought it was the best water park we’d ever seen. For another, I had rented a cabana this time, as a Father’s Day present for Andy, and was anxious to experience that. Neither the park nor the cabana failed my expectations.
It was an early morning for us, as we had to check out of Hard Rock that day and transfer to the hotel I’d booked nearly a year ago for dance nationals. We managed to get up and moving on time, and the girls went to pick up Voodoo Doughnuts while Andy and I waited for bell service to take our bags until we returned. The doughnut part of the equation went well, but I think bell services forgot about us. After nearly half an hour of waiting, I called the front desk to ask if I could leave the bags in the room for them. I was told I couldn’t, and then I received an almost immediate call from bell services saying someone would be right up. He was, and I sped-walked to the bus stop and made it with about two minutes to spare.
The bus to the park was not the best part of the day; it never is. But it went pretty quickly. We had to go through security to get in — I don’t remember that from last time, and then the gates were still closed when we arrived at the entrance, so we stood in a long line waiting for the park to open. When it opened, the line moved slowly. At Volcano Bay they give every person a little bracelet called a Tapu Tapu. It allows you to get into a virtual queue for a ride, rather than standing in line for a long time. It’s a really good idea. But, it means that every person entering the park has to have a Tapu Tapu linked to them, so entry takes a while.
Soon we were through and when we asked about the cabana, we were told we had to stand in line at the Concierge to check in. That line also moved slowly. And then we had to wait for a different person to escort us to our cabana. Someone doing an efficiency review of the parks could definitely find a way to make that process faster. We’d already reserved a cabana and paid for it, and when we asked if we could request a specific area, the guy told us that they’d already been assigned. Universal could simply give us the cabana number so we could go straight there. Our cabana attendant could check our ID, if that’s the concern. But I don’t run Universal, so we waited.
The cabana was worth the wait. It was spacious, with two chairs and a long cushioned bench. There was a small movable table in the middle, and in the corner a cabinet with a safe inside. The safe key had a wrist band so you could take it with you on the rides. Under the safe was a refrigerator already stocked with bottled water, which we relied on heavily throughout the day. And soon, someone delivered a welcome basket with fruit, pastries, and a welcome cookie.
Our cabana attendant, Stephen, was immediately there to introduce himself and let us know how things worked. When I booked I didn’t realize it, but each cabana also has a tablet where you can get in the virtual ride queue without going to the ride itself. That saved us many steps throughout the day, and I don’t really understand why Universal doesn’t advertise that as a benefit of the cabanas. Although maybe they don’t have to, because each time we’ve been to Volcano Bay the cabanas have been sold out.
We went straight to the Krakatau Aqua Coaster, but by that time there was already a small wait, so we hopped in the Fearless River while we waited to be called back. The Fearless River, as the name implies, is like a lazy river, only it’s more interesting. Instead of using inner tubes, you have to put on a life vest. The current is pretty strong and carries you along quickly, and there are waves in one part, and small rapids in another. It was a favorite in 2018 and again this time.
After two trips around the river, we were called back to the Aqua Coaster. I wasn’t sure whether I’d like it, but it was very fun. All five of us fit in one car and went down together. It was plenty fast, with several turns and one fairly decent drop. Not scary at all to me, though, which was fine.
The girls wanted to do a raft ride next, so we did Ika Moana. That was a large raft that fit all five of us to go down a big tube slide. It was fun, except I ended up being the one going down backwards, and I don’t do backwards very well. Because of that, I was ready to hang out in the cabana for a while and eat lunch.
We had read that we could order food from any of the Volcano Bay restaurants to be delivered to the cabana, but Stephen said we were limited to the menu he’d given us in the morning. I got a yummy tropical drink and a Cobb salad, which was just ok. Still, having it delivered to the cabana while I rested on the bench was truly fabulous.
Andy and I did a mild water slide called Punga Racers while the girls did their own thing, and then everyone (including Stephen) was pressuring me to do the big scary drop slide, called Ko‘okiri Body Plunge. This slide starts about six floors up (a sign proclaimed that there are 209 steps to the top). You stand on a floor in a tube at the top, and then the door closes and the attendant drops the floor out from underneath you, and away you go. It was pretty fun, but I was trying to hold my breath the whole way, in anticipation of plunging into the pool at the bottom, and that didn’t work. So I’d gulp air and hold my breath again. I think I did that twice on the way down. It’s one of those rides where people stand at the bottom and watch because it’s so unbelievable that anyone would actually do the thing. But I did it! And knew I wasn’t doing it again, at least that day.
After that I was ready for a break and actually napped a little bit in the cabana. Andy and I did another slide similar to the plunge one. It starts in the same area (another 209 steps!) but has more curves going down. As a result, I had to gasp air a lot more times on the way down. I think next time I go I’ll enjoy those plunge slides a lot more, now that I know what to expect.
We discovered a slide that throws you out into the air before dropping you into a pool, and Andy wanted to do that. While he did, I walked around taking pictures. But the sky started turning dark, and the wind picked up as I was trying to get back to the cabana. It took longer than it should have because the sidewalks were packed with people trying to leave the park.
Our plan had been to eat dinner at the park, but when I got back the girls were at the cabana and had asked Stephen for our check. Soon it was raining sideways into the cabana, from the one side that did NOT have a curtain we could close. Ellie and Francesca wanted to return to the hotel and eat, but Madeline wanted to stay and ride more rides. We ended up splitting up. I exited the park with the big girls, while Andy and Madeline hung around to wait out the rain.
The exit was miserable. We thought we had brought ponchos, but somehow there was only one in Andy’s bag. So Francesca and I got soaked (Ellie wore the poncho) while we waited in a huge line just to get out of the park and to the bus stop. The stop was covered, but the bus took a while to arrive. At this point the rain had mostly stopped, and I knew we’d made the wrong choice. Still, the girls were starving, so we left.
At the Hard Rock we stayed in our bathing suits because all of our belongings were still with bell services. We went to The Kitchen, but there was a long wait for seating, so we ordered carryout and ate it on the balcony overlooking the pool. When Andy and Madeline left Volcano Bay I ordered them food, too, and soon the bartender and I were on a first-name basis. Once we’d all eaten we got our bags, loaded up the rental car, and headed to our second hotel, the Residence Inn Orlando Convention Center, where we arrived around 9 pm.
This was the worst Marriott hotel I’ve ever stayed in. There was a general lack of care that was first apparent when we loaded the luggage on the luggage cart. It had a flat tire, so basically we were dragging the cart through the hallway. The hallway smelled bad, and when we entered the room, it smelled too. Because we were going to be there for a week with a lot of dance hair and makeup, I’d booked a two-bedroom suite with a kitchen. That part was nice, although there wasn’t nearly as much room as you’d think. They left us three bath towels, one bath mat, and no extra linens for the pullout bed, where the big girls were going to sleep. When Andy went to the lobby to ask for extra linens, it was packed with no attendant in sight. He came back to try again later, but all night there was a huge line at the desk. We were exhausted and ended up just making do with what was already in our room. But the problems didn’t end there. Andy’s and my bed was broken; the light in our bathroom didn’t work; there was a hair in our shower indicating it wasn’t cleaned very carefully; there was a big stain on the couch footstool; and there wasn’t a single butter knife in our “fully stocked” kitchen.
We were too tired to make any changes that evening, but Andy and I talked about calling Marriott in the morning to see if they would move us to another property. It was that bad. Still, after a really great day at the water park, we all slept fairly well and were excited about the dance competition starting the next morning.