Volcano Bay is in high gear for its grand opening today
Construction workers scurried amid inquisitive members of the media and bloggers Wednesday in a last-minute push to get Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay water park ready for its grand opening today.
Rides and slides were open sporadically at the 28-acre attraction for the four-hour media preview. In between, visitors splashed in the wave pool at the foot of Krakatau, the 200-foot-tall volcano centerpiece, and explored the South Seas-themed park.
Absent from the landscape was the giant crane that stood next to the mossy structure for weeks during construction. Universal Orlando officials said they were confident that Volcano Bay will be full strength for today’s opening.
“We feel very comfortable about that,” said Thierry Coup, senior vice president for Universal Creative.
“We always push the envelope so much as far as creativity goes. We feel we’re there,” he said. “All the rides will run. … The few little details we have to take care of, we will have done by tomorrow. And
tomorrow’s the grand opening.”
Workers were stationed along the banks of a lazyriver attraction and hammering at the base of a slide. Team members swept dust from the walkways.
Kevin Maw, editor of Total Orlando.com, said he often drives by the Volcano Bay construction site, which has been bustling with workers on the volcano and with heavy machinery. But what he saw inside the park surprised him, he said.
“I’m seeing a very complete, picturesque and enjoyable immersive land,” he said. “That’s not what I was expecting.”
The Krakatau Aqua Coaster, which launches from ground level and up into the volcano via a system that uses magnetic force, was among the attractions sporadically working Wednesday. Riders were occasionally seen on the tubing, which rises and falls on the back side of the volcano.
More reliable during the preview time were raft rides such as Maku Puihi, which runs near Interstate 4, and the Tawani Tubes.
The green and yellow halfpipe-style Maku Puihi has been notable to Central Florida motorists for its proximity to Interstate 4. And its name is a nod to recent Orlando history. The words are Maori for “wet” and “wild” and also the names for the two slides of the attraction.
Volcano Bay essentially is the replacement park for the long-standing Wet ’n Wild water park, which closed Dec. 31 across I-4.
Up on the Maku Puihi slides, riders get mere glimpses of the highway as they’re heading into the big slopes and between drenchings. From high on its launching platform, visitors can see onto nearby International Drive, and, in the distance, Epcot’s Spaceship Earth.
From the ground level of the water park, it’s difficult to spot those cars zipping westward on the interstate.
“Making it a lush, tropical paradise helped a lot because we used the vegetation to our advantage,” Coup said.
The experience of creating the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was valuable in knowing how to put a full attraction into a small space, he said.
“We basically took everything we knew and developed and took it to the next level,” Coup said.
Other closed or frequently closed attractions during Wednesday’s preview included Punga Racers, which puts riders on manta-shaped mats; toddler play areas; and the two river attractions.
More stable appeared to be drop slides, such as Ohyah and Ohno, which spew visitors out several feet above a waiting pool; the intense 124-feet long Kala and Ta Nui Serpentine Body Slides; and the dramatic Ko’okiri Body Plunge, which emerges out of the Krakatau volcano.
The immersion and detailing also appealed to April Woods, publisher of Orlando-based MamaLoves Food.com. But access to the slides had been an issue.
“Rides have been a challenge,” she said.
Instead, Woods sat with colleagues at the Dancing Dragons Boat Bar and watched the occasional splashdown of folks conquering the Ko’okiri Body Plunge, which drops 125 feet at a 70-degree angle.
“They’re very excited when they come off — full of adrenaline,” Woods said.
Nate Price pumped his fists in the air after his Ko’okiri landing.
“You don’t get a chance to take a breath for about seven seconds,” said Price, who works for EU Jacksonville, an entertainment magazine.
He dismissed any notion of danger during the descent, although he said he did it on a dare from his wife.
“It’s closed, so you’re not going to fly off,” Price said.
What did he see on the way down?
“I didn’t open my eyes.”