When Filipinos visit Orlando in Florida, the theme park that they really don’t miss to visit is the famed Disney World. “You have never been to Orlando if you have not visited Disney World,” my sister, Marilou T. Eplite, told me a week after I arrived at her place in Deltona. It takes about one-hour to travel to Orlando by car.
If Disney World is so popular, then there’s nothing for me to write about. Besides, there’s more to Orlando than just Disney World, I found this out few weeks later when we went there a couple of times.
On the second time, as we went home, I noticed a “volcano” amid the city, spewing some smokes. “What is that?” I inquired. “That is Universal’s Volcano Bay,” my brother-in-law, David, replied. “We will be going to that place, Manoy, one of these days,” my sister added.
When we arrived, I immediately did some research. It is actually a park, theme around a 200-foot-tall artificial volcano “Krakatau,” it’s main representative as it is displayed on the logo.
Volcano Bay was opened to the public last year, on May 25. The source said: “The volcano houses three drop capsule slides, Ko’okiri Body Plunge, the tallest body slide in America ranging at 125 feet tall, and also the first to travel through a pool full of guests. Krakatau also holds the Kala & Tai Nui Serpentine Body Slides which travel throughout the midst of the volcano winding around the Krakatau Aqua Coaster.”
That’s very fascinating. But what makes it more interesting is that the park, according to the video that was shown in the bus we were riding going to the place, utilizes the TapuTapu experience.
TapuTapu is a wristband wearable distributed at the entrance at the park; it can be used to hold your place in line instead of standing in long queues for attractions. In addition, it comes with other features including TapTuPay, which links a credit card through the Universal Orlando app to the wearable, thus allowing you to pay throughout the park for merchandise, food, and drinks. The wristbands can also be used to interact with environmental features, set off water springs, or illuminate lights.
Now, I was looking forward to that day to come. It did. When I saw my sister’s best friend, Adriana Castro, I was so excited. She was asked by my sister to drive us all the way to Orlando since Marilou is afraid of driving in the interstate roads (having figured in two car accidents before). When we arrived, we immediately looked for a parking area. Since it was still early (the park opens at 10 in the morning), we found a good parking spot. Then, we proceeded to the bus that would bring us to Volcano Bay.
The trip took us about five minutes. We got down and immediately paid the entrance fee of US$80 plus tax. After doing so, we joined the queue at the entrance to get our TapuTapu, which looks like a watch. Inside the bay, we were mesmerized by the artificial volcano before us. My sister and Adriana went to the rest room area where they changed their clothes. Coming out, they were already donning their sexy swimming attires. From there, we looked for three beach benches where we left our things. Before us was the Waturi Beach, a wave pool at the base of Krakalau volcano. I told my sister they could ahead since I won’t be swimming yet since I will be taking photos.
I trailed behind them. There were so many things to do but they opted to start swimming at the Kopiko Wai Winding River, where you drift along the river through a tropical landscape.
From there, they proceeded to the Honi Ika Moana and took the Ika Moana, where you go experience a twisting, turning raft ride. But before you could do that, you must climb several steps following a stairway. The two didn’t go for the Honu as the raft sends you up to two massive walls while going down.
“It was fun, Manoy,” my sister told me. We walked some more and we came to Krakatau Aqua Coaster, where riders go inside the heart of the volcano, before plunging through a shimmering waterfall.
Without reading the brochure given to us at the entrance, my sister inquired: “Is it scary?” “Not so,” the watcher replied. And so, the two joined the queue while I was on my way to other areas to take photos.
A few more minutes, I went back to the place where I had left the two ladies. When they saw me, my sister blurted: “It was scary. We had two sudden drop off (as she pointed the top of the volcano).”
From there, we went to the Rainforest Village, the final section of the park that contains a large number of thrill slides, including Maku (a multi-passenger raft slide, described as the first of its kind in North America with three high-banked “saucer” elements), Puihi (another multi-passenger rafts that drop into multiple tunnels, then two funnels and a final drop), Ohyah and Ohno Drop Slides (body slides with tall drops into the splash pools), Taniwha Tubes (four raft slides ridden solo or in pairs), and Puka Uli Lagoon (a pool intended for relaxation).
It was in this place that I tried the TeAwa The Fearless River; it is actually a raft ride simulating white-water rafting.
After all the thrills and fun, it was time to go.
