My view right now:
I will love Volcano Bay more the further removed we are from this morning. Quite the hassle getting in which was exacerbated by the two younger DDs being in a MOOD. But now everyone is happy and we’re just waiting for the food I ordered to be delivered to our premium seating.
Details:
We arrived at the bus stop before 9, just in time for a short wait and arrival at the security checkpoint at 9:15. There might have been an earlier bus and if so we should have gotten on it cause everything else spiraled because of it. The security line was quite long and DD4 was scream crying because she “had an itch on her head.” 
She is the one with the most unpredictable tantrums, but the only thing to do with her is wait it out.
We made it through the tapstiles and entered the park for Early Entry. Then we had to wait in line for Concierge to get our Express Passes linked to our Tapu Tapu bands and also to get our premium seating. This line was WAY too long. I’ve heard there are other concierge desks in the park but I was told this was the only one that was open (could have been a lie). In any case, the line was nowhere near as long as it took for them to link our bands. Apparently since I bought my tix separately from Express Pass, it wasn’t linked automatically. That was unpreventable for me due to the pandemic, but in the future I would definitely buy direct to save that hassle.
Then we had to wait again to be assigned our seats. At this point, DD2 was also having a good cry for no reason (she has had crowd anxiety this whole trip - that’s what happens when you live your formative years in lockdown and no crowds!).
So it was almost 11 before we were finally able to do anything. I find that whole situation unacceptable. They are selling too many tickets and / or don’t have enough staff to handle concierge in the morning. You completely miss out on the “no wait” period in the morning. I would almost recommend going straight to the regular seating, ride some rides, and THEN go to concierge later to claim premium seating.
Anyway, thankfully we have Express Passes so we don’t have to worry about Tapu Tapu availability. With four kids, two of whom can’t ride any rides, it would be impossible to do everything otherwise with having to scan for a wait time then come back later. Even as it is the adults have to take turns riding so we can watch the kids.
We have only done one ride so far (Ika Moana). The older kids liked it but they were very scared on their way up! The stairs are intimidating.
The kids love the reefs. I think this will be their favorite day after they forget all the waiting this morning. Me too.