SATURDAY SIX Presents: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of Universal’s VOLCANO BAY NIGHTS

This week’s SATURDAY SIX heads to our overall favorite park in Florida, Volcano Bay, to check out their after hours VOLCANO BAY NIGHTS and see how it compares to other separately ticketed events we have experienced at Universal this year including Rock The Universe, an Orlando Informer Meetup, and HHN’s Premium Scream Night.

First, let’s check out the particulars. Volcano Bay Nights takes place each Friday throughout September and October. The event runs from 7PM-11PM but you can enter Volcano Bay at 4PM with your Volcano Bay Nights ticket.

The price per ticket is $99 plus tax, with no discounted ticket for children under 10.

There are annual pass discounts available, but you have to go to Guest Services to purchase your tickets in order to get the discount. If you purchase your tickets online, there is no discount available. We went to Guest Services after finding out the Volcano Bay ticket booth had no idea about a discount. Each annual pass can buy discounted tickets (10%) for up to 6 guests and you receive physical tickets.

# 6 – Checking In

Each Volcano Bay Nights ticket also includes free parking at Universal CityWalk. For those who have never been to Volcano Bay, the only way to get to the park is by walking from one of Universal’s on-site hotels (guests staying at Cabana Bay have a dedicated entrance to the park, but Aventura and Sapphire Falls have a relatively short walk as well,) or taking a complimentary bus ride from a hotel or Citywalk. The shuttles for Volcano Bay are located on level 1 of the Citywalk parking garage.

The wait for busses is almost non-existent because the ride to and from Volcano Bay is relatively short.

Once at Volcano Bay, there is directional signage directing you where to go.

While Volcano Bay Nights officially starts at 7PM, ticket holders are let into the park at 4PM and I can’t stress how much you should take advantage of those extra three hours.

For those guests already inside the park with a day ticket, they could purchase a Volcano Bay Nights upgrade for $30-$40.

Again, for anyone who has never been to Volcano Bay before, when you check into the park you are given a Tapu Tapu wearable.

However, ticket holders for Volcano Bay Nights are not given a Tapu Tapu, and instead get a wristband.

For day guests, the park closed at 5PM. At around 4:30PM there were announcements letting anyone with a Tapu Tapu know that the park was closing shortly.

The park itself was already emptying out, and at 5PM every attraction at Volcano Bay was turning away Tapu Tapu guests and only letting Volcano Bay Nights wristband holders into the queues.

As far as I can tell, not a single attraction at Volcano Bay closed from 4PM on. They remained open all night.

It was wild walking around the park and seeing almost no guests in any of the lines. As a person who LOVES Volcano Bay, this was  like a dream, and very similar to the surreal “No Waits!” we saw at the OI Meetup.

My personal favorite slides at Volcano Bay are Ohyah and Ohno. I love dropping into the deep pool at the end of the slides. Here is that area with absolutely no one around except the lifeguards working the attraction. Have never seen anything like this before, even when rope dropping Volcano Bay countless times over the years.

Here is a shot of Waturi Beach at 6PM.

There was just a handful of guests in the wave pool. Just incredible.

There was signage in the park letting you know what attractions were open.

# 5 – The Food and Drinks

At 7PM the event officially began and the complimentary food was available. This area was located near the front of the park.

Only a couple snacks are included with Volcano Bay Nights, including churros and popcorn.

The Golden Pineapple Coconut Popcorn was delicious.

The churros were also tasty.

Two different types of dipping sauce were available for the churros. Creamy Chocolate and Creamy Mango.

The Creamy Chocolate was AMAZING.

Mango isn’t something I generally go for, but to each their own and I’m sure most normal people will love it.

Any other food at Volcano Bay had to be purchased. There were several dining locations open during Volcano Bay Nights, including the ice cream stand.

One of the restaurants open during the event is Kohola Reef, a place I stop by pretty regularly during my Volcano Bay trips. They were offering a limited menu during the event.

Picked up one of the longboard pizzas, as one does.

One of the items you get when checking in for Volcano Bay nights is a Coke Freestyle refillable cup.

The cup they were giving out during Volcano Bay Nights feature Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, which closed back in August.

You could use these cups at any of the Coke Freestyle machines throughout the park from 4PM on.

Even the restaurants which weren’t open during the event, like Bambu, had their Coke Freestyle machines available for use during Volcano Bay Nights.

The machines also had the special horror themed Fanta flavors.

One pro-tip for anyone using Coke Freestyle refillable cups at Universal Orlando: you can also get them filled with ICEE at any time. This was also true during Volcano Bay Nights.

# 4 – Entertainment on the Beach

At 7PM, the entertainment on Waturi beach also began. This included a Volcano Bay Nights emblazoned jeep along with several entertainment performers for a dance party. Music was pumping from the jeep. The background music throughout the park also changed from the usual water park music (Beach Boys/Polynesian inspired music) into one featuring “spooky” songs such as Monster Mash and Michael Jackson’s Thriller.

The dancers at the beach were very energetic and pulling people in from the crowd. There were conga lines and limbo during the evening.

Very similar experience to the dance parties we see at the theme parks.

# 3 – The Slides and Rides

I’ve been to Volcano Bay many times since the park opened back in 2017, and for the most part have only experienced “moderate” crowds. The park was busy, but not that busy. The aqua coaster would draw a huge line, but everything else would be under 30 minutes.

During Volcano Bay Nights, there was no wait for anything.

Including the Aqua Coaster!

Personally, I loved being able to explore the inside of the Volcano, and even a run in with our ol pal Vol.

For those who don’t know, Vol took a vow of silence last November, but he still appears in between flames inside Krakatau.

Runamukka Reef at night.

Tot Tiki Reef at night.

# 2 – A Storyline Featuring The Scooby Gang

Believe it or not, going into Volcano Bay Nights I had absolutely no idea there was going to be any involvement with Scooby Doo. After I bought the tickets, TouringPlans’ own Joseph Matt told me he was excited to see how “the Scooby thing is, because it sounds bonkers.” I was like, what are you talking about?!

Apparently I have been living under a rock for the last month or so because Universal advertised that the latest run of Volcano Bay Nights would include Scooby Doo and Mystery Inc. As a long time Scooby fan, it was mind blowing seeing Shaggy drive the Mystery Machine into Volcano Bay. This was the mashup I never knew I wanted. Just fantastic.

Scooby and Shaggy (rotating along with other members of Mystery Inc.) were available for photo-ops throughout the night.

These guys are an absolute blast.

One thing Shaggy said when we first met him was, “Keep your eyes out for that clown. Big mystery tonight!” Later we saw what clown he was talking about, skulking in the landscape!

The Ghost Clown character is straight from the very first run of Scooby Doo back in 1969. He was featured in the episode “Bedlam in the Big Top.”

The Ghost Clown would surprise and interact with guests. Sort of a tamed down version of an HHN scareactor. He was very playful with guests, which reminded me of Art the Clown over at this year’s HHN.

The entire Scooby Doo storyline culminated near the end of Volcano Bay Nights. The entire Mystery Inc. team was dancing on the beach…

…and eventually caught and unmasked the Ghost Clown.

Even better? THEY DID THE LINE!!!

# 1 – Indescribably Beautiful

I’ve always wanted to experience Volcano Bay at night, but thought that day may never come with all the theme parks reducing hours over the last few years. As I said when starting this article, Volcano Bay is my favorite park in Florida, and being able to enjoy the park at night takes that love to a new level.

It’s just absolutely gorgeous.

You also have the side benefit of no sunburning, which is definitely a positive.

The no waits for any attraction is what every single theme park guest wants. This is like the VIP tour experience that guests have to pay big money for at the Universal and Disney parks (trust me, I’ve done it.)

Being able to just walk around and take in the entire park in such a serene setting was magical.

I mean, how great is this?

Also got to see things I had never seen before at the park, like signage being lit up. Volcano Bay is one of the most beautiful parks there is, and it takes on a whole new life once the sun goes down.

It is important to note that the night we went to Volcano Bay Nights, the weather was perfect. However, the state of Florida can have wild changes in weather, especially during Hurricane season. Something to keep in mind.

Honorable Mention: Merchandise

Unfortunately, there is no unique merchandise for Volcano Bay Nights. However they do bring out a bunch of Scooby Doo related merch (all of which you can get back in the regular theme parks.)

A shirt or hoodie like this with the Ghost Clown and Volcano Bay Nights logo would have been cool.

Or just a print of this Volcano Bay Nights logo. Love it.

Volcano Bay actually released a lot of new merchandise for the first time in a LONG time earlier this year. Universal is smart to go with the classic Volcano Bay logo, which is so much better that “new and improved” one they came up with last year (which you can see on the jeep earlier in this article.) I like this VB swim shirt design, but not sure how many ladies are buying that dress next to it.

One of my favorite “little things” is when Disney and Universal put the extra effort in and have branded logos inside the shirts. For a long time this type of thing was only reserved for prestige brands like the Wizarding World, Pandora: The World of Avatar or Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, but we’re seeing it more and more on merchandise at the parks.

Love this Volcano Bay artwork that reminds me of the artist Shag who has done a ton of work for Disney. Very retro inspired and you can get on Tumblers, keychains, magnets, t-shirts and more.

That’s it from Volcano Bay Nights. Is it worth it? For me, definitely. Got to check off a bucket list item in seeing the park after dark. For those who love a “no waits” experience like you get at an OI Meetup, this is for you. Volcano Bay Nights removes any “negative” part about the park (standing in lines in your swimsuit, sunburn, walking on hot pavement etc) and just gives you the good stuff.

So there you have it: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly of VOLCANO BAY NIGHTS! See you next weekend for the latest installment of the SATURDAY SIX, where we’ll look at something fun from the world of Disney and Universal. If you enjoyed yourself, be sure to check out the THEME PARK ENJOYMENT INDEX, giving a monthly recap of all the theme park news you need to know (and a lot more you don’t need to know, but we’re gonna tell you anyway). You can also follow Your Humble Author on BlueSky (@derekburgan).

If you enjoyed this article, you will surely like the following: 

Theme Park Turkeys of the Year Archives

The SATURDAY SIX Celebrates 10 Years of @bioreconstruct

SATURDAY SIX Tribute to Josh easyWDW

SATURDAY SIX Tribute to Ian Barritt

Special Thanks to The Elite Brandon Glover, Digital Maestro Scott Walker, the bio-est of all reconstructs @bioreconstruct, Captain Cruiseline Scott Sanders of the world famous Disney Cruise Line Blog, my personal protege Hunter “Elvey” Underwood, artist @SonderQuest, the mighty maven of merchandise Hedgehog’s Corner, the SAT SIX Fun Squad of Parkscope Joe and “the Dadalorian” Nick, hot shot Michael Carelli, charter member of the Universal Four @Nitro230, the permit princess Alicia Stella, master cartographer Tommy Hawkins, and Hermione Granger’s tutor Megan Stump for their invaluable assistance with this article. Absolutely no help was added by SeaWorld Influencer @SuperWeenieHtJr. The SAT SIX is inspired each week by goofballs Aengus Mackenzie and LitemAndHide and you Potterheads will enjoy Meg’s other blog work over at the Central Florida Slug Club.