Universal’s Volcano Bay is set to open after its seasonal closure on February 27, 2021, and it will be interesting to see if there are any operational changes as the water park goes into its second opening during the pandemic.
In case you aren’t aware, face coverings at Volcano Bay are encouraged, but not required when Universal Guests are visiting the water park. And considering many Guests may not feel comfortable walking around a park without a mask, one major change that may occur is the closure of Volcano Bay’s wave pool.
At the moment, the wave pool at Volcano Bay, Waturi Beach, is currently the only section of the water park fenced off by pylons. Although this does not mean that the wave pool will be closed when Volcano Bay reopens, it is a possibility.
During its first opening, Waturi Beach remained open to Guests, but, the question of whether or not it should remain open may be interesting to take a look at.
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Again, masks are encouraged when visiting the water park, but not required for the Universal Guests. At this moment, the only time face masks are required is when at food locations or stores. Although the park will reopen at a reduced capacity, the wave pool is a crowd gathering area of the water park that, at times, may be difficult to social distance in.
Back in August 2020, Guests flocked to the wave pool to cool off during the hot Florida month, which you can see below in a photo posted by Bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct). This photo shows Waturi Beach at capacity.
Aerial view of Volcano Bay at capacity today. pic.twitter.com/8UVYUeucgw
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) August 23, 2020
If we look at Universal Orlando Resort hotel pools or even Disney World for that matter, both theme park resorts do not require their Guests to wear masks when in their pools, so why would Universal’s Volcano Bay wave pool operate differently?
For one, the amount of Guests using the wave pool is typically larger than those who are using the resort pools. As someone who is currently writing from my hotel room at Cabana Bay on a gorgeous hot day in Central Florida, I can confirm that the pool is a gathering area for Guests.
Plus, in a wave pool, you have Guests sticking around the same spot for a longer amount of time. Although Waturi Beach will likely open on February 27 as it previously has, it is interesting that it is the only section that is currently closed off on the property.
We also went ahead and polled our audience on Instagram to see if they would feel comfortable going to a water park, knowing the current mask policies in place, and it seems that the majority would prefer to stay away for now.
If you want to take a vacation to Universal Orlando Resort and visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios and Universal’s Islands of Adventure, or ride Punga Racer or Krakatau at Volcano Bay water park — you can get started today! Click here and begin planning your adventure.
Do you feel comfortable visiting a water park without a mask? Let us know your thoughts below!