So happy for you! I’m glad you got that experience!
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If you’re planning a trip to VB, I thought this video was helpful in describing how things are different now that Tapu Tapu is defunct. It answers a bunch of questions like what to do for lockers (they give you a plastic wristband), water spouts and other special effects (they use motion sensors now), how to get photos (link with the app or a plastic card), and the impact of waits. This was filmed on the first day of no Tapu Tapu. I wasn’t able to find much more on how things have been going in the last month since it went away, but seems to be a non-event. An improvement, IMO.
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I don’t even know what that was 
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I’m really torn about this. VB is my favorite park because of Tapu Tapu. I am hoping that the VB construction/shut down is what was promised before COVID and Epic. Without TT the park is pretty basic and the queues have gotten longer at most attractions. I have been watching this A LOT since VB was removed from the AP plans.
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How did the TT affect the rides? I just thought it was a wristband thing.
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Preface to say I am not a big water park fan, so it matters little in this scenario…but if so wanted to go to a water park, the use of the Tapu Tapu is something that would cause me to want to go elsewhere. Just the idea of it is enough to say thanks, but no thanks.
This creates an interesting dilemma for UOR, because you also have folks such as @darkmite2 who feel the complete opposite!
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I suspect that they’ll find that the water park fans are the ones that prefer the Tapu Tapu or something like it. The non-fans are likely to go once and even then mostly go on things that really weren’t impacted by it, i.e. The wave pool, two rivers and rides that generally stay Ride Now or with minimal wait.
The water park fans love that they don’t spend most of the day going very very slowly up stairs.
This group has spent a lot of mental effort on optimizing ride queues. Of the fair ones, I think Tapu Tapu was the best. (By “the fair ones” I’m eliminating the methods that give me a big advantage as a TP-er)
- It was low tech and didn’t require staring at your phone.
- It was fair. Everyone had equal chance of making a ride reservation. You could choose to make a reservation for the water coaster, and not be able to make another one for the 4 hour wait. Or you choose to stick to the ones that had shorter wait times, and ride several.
- There was genuinely interesting stuff to do while waiting. I think everyone loves one of the rivers.
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I’m going to add that I liked that it worked like a Magic Band. You could make payments for food and get locker access with it too!!
I don’t want to stand on any of those stairs just baking in the sun. I’d rather be sipping a cocktail and going on something that is “ride now.”
The only major issue is that you could carry a single reservation all day. Some people would get a time for Krakatu in the morning, but not ride until late afternoon.
The system holds an hourly capacity spot for everyone that currently has a reservation.
Plus, if you left the park or lost your Tapu Tapu without using your reservation the system didn’t recognize it. It would hold a place all day for that wristband to return.
IMHO this issue could’ve been solved by placing a time limit, like 1 hour, to return to the attraction after you get “buzzed” that it’s your turn.
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I’m not trying to stir up a hornet’s nest, but there is actual news on the lawsuit from the family of Kevin Zavala and his death on SFR.
The family has settled for an undisclosed amount and signed a nondisclosure agreement.
I’ve seen reports quoting his girlfriend and TMs on the scene. It’s all speculation.
IME - The public will never have an answer. Kevin’s family will never have a true answer either. Unless there’s another death on the ride this will permanently close the case and UOR will never acknowledge it again.
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I did see a reference to another report that was released in the last week that found that “no criminal acts” were involved ?
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Yeah… The best report I could find said Kevin’s thigh bone became broken somehow. That might have contributed to his torso being thrown around, but no one will ever really know. 
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Reading the actual report, what it sounds like (a tad speculative, but reasonable given the report) was that due to him being wheelchair bound, he likely had weakened bones and muscles in his legs. The way his femurs broke, it wasn’t just a minor thing. It was a bit catastrophic. Most likely due to his bones being so weak.
Anyhow, once his legs broke as they did, his upper body no longer had any means to prevent him from moving forward so that his head was coming in direct contact with the bar in front of him…something that would otherwise be virtually impossible.
This in combination with the specific language changes UOR added to the ride, and we can be rather confident that this was the outcome. Fundamentally, he should have never ridden. But I think the lawsuit which led to the settlement was stemming from the fact that their lawyer felt the existing warnings were not adequate enough.
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100% agree with everything your said. It’s what I wanted to say in my update, but last time I said something similar I made a few people upset. That’s why my update was so brief!
@ryan1 said it!! Not me!! 
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I don’t think you really do that! I think it’s just the topic all together. I know I for one have appreciated your reports and commentary.
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Yup me too. You @darkmite2 have some experience in the area so I appreciate it too. I was nervous to ride after and now I’m not.
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Same. DH is another story though 
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Is it a park closing show or throughout the evening?
Closing / nighttime show.
Celestial “Goodnight". As in see ya later! 
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