Help on Volcano Bay - Cabana - Early Entry

[trandall2_796549]

@josephmatt

Do the slides first, come back for the cabana later

Thank you. Do you (or anybody else that’s still reading) have directions for where best to temporarily store our gear? I want to follow this advice and really get the most out of those first couple hours. I’m seeing us heading in the correct direction for:

• Krakatau Aqua Coaster
• Ko’okiri Body Plunge
• Honu of the Honu Ika Moana
• Ohyah of Ohyah & Ohno Drop Slides
• ika Moana of the Honu ika Moana
• Punga Racers

But we’ll need to drop our backpacks on a lounger or pony up for a temporary locker for 2 hours. Go back and retrieve them, then go get the cabana, and then finally have our place to call home for the day.

Thanks for any advice on how that might work best.

[Sophia818]

If it were me I’d drop my stuff in an undesirable location. Actually that is what I always do. Our home base is the entrance to the Fearless River and that back area isn’t open for EA. So we head to the left when we enter and I dump our stuff in a sunny lounger with no view near the bathroom then go to Kraka-whatever.

[trandall2_796549]

Thank you! Just what I was looking for.

Do you mean here (the red box on the map)?

[Sophia818]

Yeah that is it. It has been still empty when I picked up our stuff. Waited until the first time I got a wait time ~ half hour. We don’t do cabanas (too cheap), so DH would claim some chairs in the deep shade, I’d grab our stuff and DD would do the Fearless River.

[trandall2_796549]

Thank you again. This puts my mind at ease more than it should (I know I’m stressing too much about this).

@Sophia818

We don’t do cabanas (too cheap)

Us too! Just got lucky this time.

[trandall2_796549]

Putting this all together, here’s the morning plan. Please shoot it down if you think it won’t fly.

Be on the lookout for a phone call the day before to set up cabana

Single Cabana locations (info taken from Volcano Bay Cabana Locations):

1. 19 or 22 - good location, good shade, has sand / chairs in front
2. 4 or 5 - near volcano / aqua coaster, no sand, people walking by, not much shade
3. 9 or 10 - at the back of the wave pool, great location for the wave pool, good shade, not much privacy
4. 2 - great for access to rides, not so great for awesome views, not much privacy since you are on a pathway, no sand/chairs

Upon entry - stay to the left and head towards Rainforest Village. Drop backpacks at Puka Uli Lagoon (P) in a sunny lounger with no view near the bathroom.

Early Entry Ride Priority: This list is strategically organized to help make sure you’re able to experience everything the water theme park has to offer.

A - Krakatau Aqua Coaster

B - Ko’okiri Body Plunge (note: this slide isn’t for everybody – it features a drop door, and guests plummet to the bottom in about seven seconds. In addition, if you’re under 230 pounds, Kala and Tai Nui are far more fun/intense and have a lot lower wait times)

G - Honu of the Honu ika Moana

H - Ika Moana of the Honu ika Moana

O, N - Ohyah or Ohno Drop Slide (Ohyah will have a lower wait time, but it drops you only four feet into the splash pool, whereas Ohno does so at six feet. Beyond this, the slides are very similar, and we do not think you need to do both)

D - Punga Racers

Secure Cabana - once wait times increase, time to get the cabana. Go to any of the 3 concierge huts: Rainforest Village (across from Bambu), Wave Village (close to park enter/exit), River Village (near lazy river).

Tip: When you’re waiting for your next major slide, it’s a great idea to join the physical line for one of these attractions:

L,M - Maku Puihi Round Raft Rides

Q - Tonga and Raki of Taniwha Tubes

C - Kala and Tai Nui Serpentine Body Slides

[bebe80]

This is sweet. Nice to know there are other meticulous UOR planners out there.

[trandall2_796549]

Thanks. When I decide to do something, I over-do that something. It’s a blessing and a curse

[trandall2_796549]

This worked out pretty great last Thursday. We didn’t make it out of the hotel room until 805a and I thought we were going to miss the first bus. We were the second to last family to board the first bus. This was at royal Pacific. We were the first bus to arrive. Three people were in line. I assume walkers. We made it first to one of the taps. That cast member scanned my wife in first and she took off to concerierge. I got the rest of us scanned in. She was first at concerierge and we got Cabana 19, our first choice. I felt a little rude to the guy that walked is there as I told everybody to drop their stuff and let’s go. Left him in our dust. Got to ride kraku water coaster with maybe a 10 minute wait. Loved our vb day. It was the best day at uni this trip.

[Jeff_AZ]

Glad to see you were able to get a cabana quickly!

@trandall2_796549

I found one forum post, about a year old, talking about a miserable experience for trying to get situated with a cabana and losing valuable early entry time. Someone even said to skip claiming the cabana first thing. To go and ride those premier slides during early entry and come back later to claim the cabana.

I think this was me! It was definitely one of the worst experiences of our trip, but it was mostly because we needed to get EP set up. In the future I will get EP set up at my hotel the day before, or later in the day after Ride Now slows down.

[trandall2_796549]

Haha. That’s pretty funny. So I was telling the cast member about this story that I heard because she kept urging us not to drop everything in a chair first. That’s what got the plan between her and my wife concocted to get my wife to first in line at the concierge. We didn’t have EP to deal with though for the water park.

[Sophia818]

What had the CM wanted you to do instead?

[trandall2_796549]

Our original plan was to drop our stuff in some chairs during early entry and forgo the cabana until later. We didn’t want to waste precious EE time screwing around with concerierge and cabana hosts.

The CM talked us out of that by getting my wife through the taps asap and she made it to first in line at concerierge. We were able to get the cabana, get to the cabana, secure our stuff, take a wrong turn getting to the water coaster, but still only had a 15 minute wait.

So if your first in line to all that, getting a cabana and still making good use of EE is possible. But if you are not first in line, the original plan is probably still the way to go.

[NaviHeart]

Do you feel the cabana was worth it and how many people were in your party?

[darkmite2]

@trandall2_796549

So if your first in line to all that, getting a cabana and still making good use of EE is possible. But if you are not first in line, the original plan is probably still the way to go.

Totally agree! I use the first 30 minutes of EPA “setting-up camp”. I don’t rent the cabanas, so that time is even more important to stake out my favorite shaded area. That still gives me time to get to Krakatu for a ride, maybe two, before waits get unreasonable

[trandall2_796549]

5 of us. Three boys 14, 11, 7.

Worth it? Yes and no. The week I was there the price for a single standalone was $679. Gulp. Over 7 bills with tax. Gulp.

They are super nice structures. Very nice chairs and seating. And a nice table. Lock box is huge. Can fit two back packs in there. Towels were included. And the best feature is probably the iPad that lets you ‘tap in’ to any ride’s VQ remotely.

I thought they included the one day refillable cups. Nope. I thought they included unlimited water bottles. Nope. TL does so I must have assumed VB would as well. Water was adaquate. 12 bottles I think. We brought a couple home. But c’mon Universal, for $700, you can gift me 5 refillable cups for 1 day.

I wouldn’t do it again for just my family

I would do it again as a treat with other family or friends that are first timers like we were last week.

[NaviHeart]

Wow. That’s a price tag. I’m curious what the premium seating price will be when we go but I’m salty that it doesn’t include towels lol. There’s only 2 of us.

[PrincipalTinker]

I did a single stand alone the first year it opened in October. There were three of us and all day I must have said 20 times “ I am so happy I did this”.

[gingerSnaps543222]

That’s where our cabana was in the red box and it was lovely and private. We were upstairs. I also second without express (we had express so we weren’t rushed) get your cabana later. It took 30 minutes in line eating up the entire early entry to get our cabana stuff at guest services and we weren’t told to go somewhere else like @PrincipalTinker It just took that long even though we were like 6th in line for the back entrance for EE and we went straight there when they let us in. Then we rode Ohno first and hubby’s band came off. They would not let him on a ride without it so back to guest services for another 30 min line to get another. It was over an hour and half before we were back on track.

[Sophia818]

Isn’t the Cabana already assigned to you because you reserved it? Or does your reservation just get you A cabana?