I’ve read that the sun shade isn’t very adjustable on the premium seating at VB, but that there are hacks to keep it in front when the sun is at the highest point in the day. Can anyone share what some of those hacks are? I’m assuming it has to do with keeping weight on the bar that moves the shade up or down.
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Welcome and what does VB stand for? Thanks.
Volcano Bay
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From the pictures I saw, it looks like the shades are attached directly to the headboard of the seat, so I can’t imagine moving it unless you physically moved your chair. But I welcome any other feedback folks who have been there might have.
I see what you mean:
“the canopy itself, while listed as adjustable, wasn’t as adjustable as expected. It will raise as pictured, and it will lower to leave the loungers completely exposed. It will not, however, angle forward at all to adjust for the moving sun. So after about 1:30 p.m., we were sitting fully in the sun with virtually no shade on our chairs.”
https://universal.wdwinfo.com/a-guide-to-premium-seating-at-volcano-bay/
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It isn’t attached to the back, we rotated it as far forward as possible then hung towels on the back portion to the seat to extend the shade. Had to use a couple spare shoes to keep it from rotating back, but better than sunburn I guess.
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Oh wow that’s way different than the photos I saw. Much better.
Here is the photo from Universal’s site. From this angle my brain imagined it being completely different. The angle of your photo is much better.
We have the same things at a local park, so picked up on the towel trick. It’s nice if you want a bit of shade and breeze from both directions. Worked well at VB, but for us the walking around all the time didn’t make the value great. When you reserve an area they don’t guarantee it. We reserved at the wave pool because kid spends 80% of the time there, ended up at the lazy river seating and tracking back and forth too much. Only arrived 30 minutes after they had opened.
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I saw a picture the other day of Premium Seating where the awning was rotated past the obvious stopping point. I’ll see if I can find it again and repost if I do. One thing that stuck out was that the shade was disconnected from the silver side bars. Not sure if that is allowable, a hack, or just broken lol. After calling yesterday and at the current prices though I figure it’s not worth it for our needs. We will EE with enough time to get a shady group of chairs in a strategic location, and anchor our portable safe box to the chairs.
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Out of curiosity what was the pricing like. The EP for VP went to $74.99/ person for late June 
$140 for Wednesday 5/19
Cabana’s starting out at $540
I understand dynamic pricing, but it’s getting wildly expensive to get the extras.
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WHAT! They want to charge you $140 for premium seating for Wed 5/19? I pre-paid for this back on 4/4 and only paid $69.99 (well $74.54 with tax & fees). Do they inflate the charge later or something? If you do end up getting it - we are going the VB on the same day!
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Thank you for the helpful tips! We paid $170 (taxes incl) for one set of premium seats on 6/1 and that seemed like a lot, but we are fair skinned and worried about finding shade so we splurged. I got a quote on the cabanas as well but they were going for $700! 
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I paid similar to what you paid for the following Wednesday. And yes, they do inflate prices for that as well as EP as the dates get closer and people buy up the passes!
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If you go for Early Entry and the Premium Seating seems expensive, there are free seats that you can claim that is under a roof the same size as the cabanas. I am a pale, practically-sun-phobic redhead, so shade is important to me. We spend most of our time on the Fierce River or the Kraka-whatever ride. So, I like the seats at the main entrance to the Fierce River. There are cabanas nearby, but you’d have to climb stairs since they are on the second floor.
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ETA: I don’t know if this is always true, but when we arrived for EA at VB, when they were dividing people into the EA and nonEA groups “Cabana reservations” was added to “onsite” and “passholders”. My guess is that since standing in line to get the cabana will take so long, they figure they might as well let you start it ASAP.
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Those that have done premium seating this month, I would love a review. How did food service work? That and the locker are the main reasons for my booking it. Love the idea of being served at the chair instead of waiting in the long lines I’ve read about.
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I’ll be there Wednesday and hopefully remember to let you know! I will have a trip report going as well so keep an eye out for that.
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I used this service on Wednesday and it was amazing!!! Definitely do not stand in the line to check into concierge (like the Universal bookers tell you), but instead take a right at the pathway after you check in & you’ll find a sandwich board in green saying Premiere seating right in front of the volcano. They have their own check in booth!!! Saves time!!! The private locker is in between the two seats and will fit a backpack. The food and drink service is amazing, so quick. You just put up your flag on your seat & they come over. While walking around, I noticed soooo many people standing in lines for the alcoholic drink huts & food (only about half the huts were open)… so this service with the waitstaff is worth it!
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