Water parks – the like of which you’ve never seen before!

Where to begin? Brand new waterparks. You’ve got em. Old school and still a brilliant day out. You’ve got it. Well step right up!

We thought we would start with the two new kids on the block. Universal’s Volcano Bay and Margaritaville’s Island H20 Live! These have opened just over a year apart and they are the next generation of theme/water parks. Just to call them waterparks is to do them a disservice. They have stepped up to what can and what is going to be done in industry.

Volcano Bay

Universal’s Volcano Bay is the big boy on the block. From the I4 you can see the towering Krakatau dominating the skyline, it’s quite surreal to be driving along and all you can see ahead of you is a Volcano! But this being the theme park capital it shouldn’t be such a suprise…

To gain access to Volcano bay you have to park in the Universal Studio’s parking lot. (Remember to tell the cast members you are visiting Volcano Bay. A different parking lot for V.B). Once parked you simply jump on a free shuttle bus that runs you right to the park gates. So easy. Stroll up to the gates and scan your ticket where you will issued with a “Tapu Tapu”, a wristband that lets you virtual queue for rides and also enables you to pay for snacks/drinks when you link a card to an account. Brilliant idea. No more running backwards and forwards to the lockers for a few dollars for drinks!

The best tip here is not to use the first lot of changing rooms you find. Keep walking around to the left and you will find the next ones along. The reason is that the first lot of changing rooms will be rammed, and trust me having been stuck in here on a hot day, waiting for a shower to free up and get your gear from the locker is a mission in itself.

After getting changed you will stake a claim at one of the many many free sun loungers, we always find one in the shade if possible at the Florida sun is a bit fierce. Once you are all settled its off on your adventures! Do you want a nice little bimble along a lazy river on a ring? No probs there’s a gorgeous gently lazy river to float around in letting the sun warm your face. Do you want to go round the park at a fast rate of knots whilst the music from Hawaii 5-0 is playing as you fly along? Then you’ve gotta head for TeAwa. A life vest MUST be worn, the water is only 3ft deep but there are some pretty strong currents pushing you along! One of our personal faves ever.

Now central to all of this is Krakatau! A 200ft tall volcano that has water running down it all day and at night it’s lava! – a sight to been seen and believed. It’s one of the biggest water parks around at the moment. Over 10,322 ft of of slide track and one of the best water coasters we’ve ever been on. More on that later.

Now the fun bit! The rides. We’ll start with the main big ones – the drop slides. Man oh man these are fun. There are 3 based in the volcano, the twin ones called Kala and Nui are serpentine body slides. Twin trap doors plunge guests down clear intertwining tubes before landing in the pool below. The looks on some peoples faces on these were priceless!! Also worth of a mention is the fantastic views across the area while queuing for these slides. You can see clear into Universal Studios theme parks!! Brilliant. The big daddy of the volcano rides is situated higher and is called Ko’okiri body plunge. A 125ft drop at 30 feet per second! This one is a must. It’s over far too quickly, but it’s worth the climb up all of the stairs. We did these 3 about 3 times… I think after all the climbing we were in calorie deficit!! Even after eating theme park food!!

Some of the family friendly rides were up another level in amazing! The water roller coaster called Krakatau , a 4 person water coaster that twists and turns through the volcano. It has a few pretty quick launches along the way! The ride is possibly one of the longest rollercoaster rides let alone water coaster rides we’ve been on, and it ends with you all plunging through a waterfall. (The water for some reason is quite chilly in that part??)

Next up are the raft rides Maku Puihir, Maku means wet and Puihi means wild, (a little nod to the water park that was nearby a few years ago) – a 6 person raft that makes its way through the volcano spinning faster and faster until getting hit by a geyser and being shot out into the pool. So.much.fun!

Next up is Honu ika Mona. There are 2 slides to choose from, Honu is for people who like to scream and fly high at the same time, it sweeps up some impossibly high walls before twisting and spinning down to the pool at the bottom. Mona is a similar ride but without the “air time”. This one gets you absolutely soaking wet. Again – no bad thing in the heat!

Another little treat are the other drop slides called Ohno and Ohyah. Side by side body slides that you launch yourself off and that end up with a 6ft drop into the pool.

Now if none of these float your boat there is always the Waturi beach lagoon. The “lagoon with a view ” and what a view it is. Surrounded by lush tropical plants and the sound of the waves lapping up to the shore line its the most relaxing place after a few hours of running around like a lunatic! Central to this lagoon is the volcano. That view never ever gets old. The beach is one and a half football fields wide, curving gracefully around the bay. A children’s play pool is situated next to it for the little ones. A strange thing happens here as well – they have a wave machine that kicks in at intervals with a tolling bell to warn you , but for some reason people have started to greet the waves by standing and slow clapping till the waves are unleashed. Very funny!

A little bit about the lagoon area. There are lots of seating areas laid out right in front of the bay, but not much really in the shade. I know this this sounds like a complaint. It’s not, its just that if you have small children you need to get them out of the sun. The sun beds DO come with a parasol in between every 2 beds. That is a well needed break from the suns fierce glare. You can also rent a Cabana, these are situated all around the periphery of the lagoon. These are fully stocked with a tv, fresh towels a fridge and concierge service for bringing drinks and snacks etc.

As for food there are quite a few restaurants around the park, ranging from quick service to full restaurant service. Prices are normal theme park range. You can get sandwich and fries/chips (crisps) and a drink for around $16 +tax. (Nearly everything is “plus tax”). Plenty to choose from for all budgets and lots of shaded or cool areas to sit in to cool off. If you have a 3 park 14 day Universal ticket purchased in the UK the Volcano Bay water park is included in that price so you can visit it at no extra cost.

Margaritaville – Island H2O Live!

Next up is the new water park in the area called Island H20 live! This is situated on the 192 by the new Jimmy Buffet resort called Margaritaville. This is billed as a fully interactive waterpark. We have been looking at this for some weeks now to see how it looks now it is open, as when we went to Orlando last year we were seeing it under construction. We have yet to go here and are very excited to visit on our next trip -it looks amazing.

It is all themed around “Social Media” with slides and raft rides named Hashtag Heights, Profile Plunge, Reload Rapid, Reply Racers and Follow me Falls. You can check out their website for a full list of the rides and also take a look at The Tim Tracker as he has done a vlog from there which looks fantastic.

You can also rent cabanas, it has DJ parties, live entertainment and surprise guests. As you’d expect from a water park named after social media the park is fully interactive with games and experiences that let you earn points which can be redeemed for food and merchandise. You can also take part in the Live feeds that they stage. It sounds like a full on party atmosphere and we cannot wait to visit. At only $49.99 plus tax for an adult we think it will be a fabulous way to spend a day. We’re always looking for new places to visit each time we go and we look forward to telling you all about in the future.

Disney’s Water Parks

The Disney water parks are we suppose a little less up to date and interactive than the newer water parks, which is to be expected, but they are nonetheless still fabulous and cute and very Disney – and they still hold a very special place in our hearts. The bigger newer water parks have so much in them you really go to spend the day there, the Disney ones are a bit more compact and you can easily pop there to cool off for a couple of hours and still probably do most of the rides, slides and attractions. They also have a lot of slides and areas specifically for younger children and so they are great for families. Again, these also come as part of your 14 day UK purchased Disney tickets and so won’t cost you any more, so absolutely perfect for a couple of hours, or a whole day if you fancy a chilling out day after a manic few days in the theme parks.

Typhoon Lagoon

This park is themed around Tilly – a marooned ship that has been stuck on the top of a reef following a tropical storm. It is the siren and the geyser of water shooting out of the top of the funnel on Tilly that alerts you to the fact that the waves are about to start in the main pool themed around a secluded cove surrounded by a reef – very pretty. You walk off a “fake” beach into the wave pool so it really is like walking into the sea. And the waves – what can we say about the waves – they are more powerful than they look. We always have great fun here, and you need to be a strong swimmer to go into the deeper part of the pool when the waves are on. (There are a lot of lifeguards in this area so it’s very safe and well supervised). But don’t be fooled by the shallow end, it has so far knocked one off us off our feet (Rob) who lost his new Oakleys in the process and scrambled around trying to find them in the receding waves. We also saw it wash a woman off a rock while she was reading a paperback book – we tried not to laugh too much!

There are lots of little bays, covered wooden decks, beaches etc with sun beds and umbrellas for lounging, sunbathing and catching your breath – and cleaning you sunglasses when you actually find them.

Slides and rides – well they’re a plenty! Crush n Gusher is a 2 person water coaster based in an abandoned fruit processing plant – choose from three slides, coconut crusher, banana blaster and pineapple plunger. Great fun as you are pushed along by water jets uphill and down into a plunge lagoon where you try and get out of the inflatable with a bit of dignity – never happens! Humunga Kowabunga is a 3 side by side body slide, a 60 degree 214 foot drop in the dark. There’s also Mayday Falls which is a single rider tube slide and Misadventure Falls which is a family raft ride – look out for the talking parrot on the way round! Three body slides called Storm Slides which zip and twist from a 3 storey start into a waterfall finale. Great fun all round!

There’s also one of the best lazy rivers at Typhoon Lagoon, called Castaway Creek – its a 2000 ft route which meanders through grottos, waterfalls and a very dark tunnel, you can hop on and off at various landing stations which enables you to whizz round the perimeter of the park to all the rides.

Plenty of options for food and drink – usual Disney fare and prices. There are lots of fast service drinks and snacks kiosks as well as places for lunches etc. As with all the Disney parks you can buy a refillable mug for a one day price which enables you to fill it as many times as you like for that day from any of the soda stations dotted round the park. Perfect when it’s crazy hot and you need to keep hydrated.

It’s themed very well and looks fantastic – lots of photo opportunities with surf themed characters and in fact you can actually book surfing lessons here first thing in a morning. They also now do after hours water park parties in the dark for a separate fee and these look like great fun as lots of Disney characters turn up for photo ops and the parks look lovely lit up at night – plus the crowds are much lower than the day time crowds and it’s cooler – win win!

Blizzard Beach

The other of Disney’s themed water parks, this one based around a snow covered alpine ski resort – complete with a seated chair ski lift to take you to the top of the resort. We love this! Always look forward to our little chair ride up to the top of Mount Gushmore. Fantastic views from the top all around the Disney parks and hotels, and also gives you access to Summit Plummit, the Slush Gusher and Teamboat Springs rides without having to walk up loads of stairs – bonus.

Slush Gusher is a 90 foot high water slide from the top of Mount Gushmore – suitable for all ages. Summit Plummit is the BIIIIIIIG slide which makes you think you’re Eddie the Eagle about to jump off a ski jump. It is in fact a 12 storey almost straight down 360 foot drop at high speed – best of luck retrieving your swimwear – board short are turned into speedos by the time you get to the bottom. Teamboat Springs is the family raft ride – 1,200 feet of twists and turns in a giant raft built for 4 to 6 riders. It rotates pretty randomly – going backwards and up and down the sides of the tube is a right giggle – you never know what’s coming.

There are loads of other slides, rides and attractions, some on tubes, some body slides and one of our favourites on mats!! The Toboggan Racers is a 250 foot long race head first on mats in 8 lanes to the bottom of Mount Gushmore. Great fun if there are a few in your party – race to the bottom.

There is also a fantastic area for children in this water park. Ski Patrol Training camp is a fantastic fun place with a little zip line, mini water slides, and a thin ice training course to see if you can walk across “ice” floats. All in very shallow water – and as you’d expect from Disney very heavily lifeguarded. There is also Tike’s Peak for very young children under 48 inches tall and this has miniature slides, inner tube rides and little snow chutes. You can also start water fights at the igloo fortress with pop up water jets.

There is also a more gentle wave pool here – the waves don’t actually break onto the beach so you can bob about in a rubber ring just chilling and watching the Florida sun. Of course there’s a lazy river round the park – look out for the sneezing crocodile with a cold in his house on the way round! There’s also lots of areas to lie on a sun bed, lie in the shade, relax, read and generally kick back and enjoy.

Again, usual food and drinks – snacks, cakes and drinks options as well as lunch menus. Got to mention the Joffrey’s tea and coffee kiosks again – the giant delicious soft squidgy and sweet yum yums sold here washed down with an iced-latte – a perfect snack to have in your swimwear in the Florida sun.

A long water park blog today folks as we cannot begin to tell you all how amazing they are – and we love a waterpark day – as exiting as a theme park, but can also be a relaxing day too.

Keep yourselves well protected with sun screen – it’s an obvious thing to say but in the water you sometimes forget how the fierce the sun can be. Keep yourselves and your kids hydrated and keep them covered and wearing hats where possible.

Can’t wait to go to all of these water parks again – we’re craving yum yums – and we are very very excited to go to the H2O Island Live park on our next trip.

If you have any questions or want any further information just give us a shout!

We’re going to have a good look through our photos for the next blog – probably about SHOPPING!!! Woooo hooo!