What it’s like to visit Volcano Bay Nights at Universal

Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando was my favorite water park long before I set foot inside its gates. I admire the park’s iconic 200-foot-tall Krakatoa volcano every time I pass it while touring the city, especially at night when the towering volcano glows with colorful lights.

I’ve visited Universal’s island themed water park several times and my hunch that there was something special about that volcano and the water park surrounding its base was 100% accurate.

When Universal Orlando announced the limited-time return of its popular Volcano Bay nighttime event, I couldn’t help but enjoy a close-up night view of Krakatoa.

Of course, there’s more than just stunning views at Universal Volcano Bay Nights (although I did stare at Krakatoa most of the night). So here’s everything you need to know before visiting Universal Volcano Bay Nights.

What is Volcano Bay Night?

On select nights in 2026, Volcano Bay will remain open after sunset for guests with special tickets to this limited capacity event.

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In addition to smaller crowds and short wait times, this event offers several amenities you won’t see during a daytime visit, including live entertainment, free snacks and drinks, and character meet-and-greets.

Most attractions are open during the event and, in addition to free snacks, select food and drink outlets are also open to purchase food and drink.

Volcano Bay Night Time

Official event hours run from 7 pm to 11 pm, but guests with Volcano Bay Nights tickets can enter the water park starting at 4 pm to find a spot on the beach and get the party started.

My husband and I arrived around 5pm as most of the daytime guests were on their way out. We headed straight to the beach to get beach chairs in a prime spot near the DJ setting up for the evening. No need to worry about looking for shade because the sun has almost disappeared behind the horizon.

Even before the official start time of 7pm, we rode TeAwa The Fearless River, a “whitewater” ride where you wear a life vest and float through very fast rapids, and the Krakatau Aqua Coaster.

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When we returned to our chairs after the party officially started, the DJ was playing energetic music and the dancers had taken over the beach. During the day, you hear lots of laid-back beach tunes around the park, so the presence of DJs and dancers definitely adds to the party atmosphere at night.

How much does it cost to attend Volcano Bay Nights?

When I went, Volcano Bay Nights tickets were $99 (plus tax) per person. Universal Orlando ticket holders receive a 10% discount on tickets.

Private cabanas are available the day of the event on a first-come, first-served basis, with prices starting at $300. DJs, dancers and characters are all on the beach. While I love the Volcano Bay cabanas, I prefer the free seating on the beach to be closer to the party. After all, we don’t often sit in chairs as we run from ride to ride and eat free popcorn in between.

If you eat dinner before the event (or prepare sandwiches and snacks), you can get through the evening without spending any extra money. The only things you can spend money on are food, alcoholic beverages, merchandise and towel rentals, or locker rentals (both regular and family lockers are available).

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Day tickets to Volcano Bay start at $80 for adults and $75 for children ages 3-9. This event costs just a little more, but you get free snacks and a reusable cup with unlimited refills (these cups usually cost almost $20 a cup).

You can’t put a price on the convenience of not waiting in line for the water slides, but Universal Express skip-the-line passes for daytime visits to Volcano Bay start at $19.99 per person. You can also consider it a savings, as the lines at this event are non-existent.

If you arrive at 4pm, you can spend up to seven hours at the park. Volcano Bay is usually open from 10am to 5pm or 6pm, so you can spend almost the same amount of time inside the park during Volcano Bay Nights. Free stuff and a small number of visitors make up for the small price difference.

What is included in the cost of your ticket?

For a ticket cost of $99, you’ll get the following:

• Access to most of the park’s slides and attractions without a long wait
• Standard parking (you can also use Universal’s free bus transportation)
• Live entertainment and character meet and greets
• Unlimited snacks, including Golden Coconut and Pineapple Popcorn and Island Churro Bites with Mango or Chocolate Sauce
• Coca-Cola Freestyle souvenir cup with unlimited refills

Once you get the cup, you can pay to activate it inside the park to use during your vacation. The cup was great, so we packed it in a suitcase to use at home.

There are also several dining locations and snack stands open during the event with many of the same food and drink menus available throughout the day. We both ordered coconut curry with chicken for dinner at Kohola Reef, but I saw flatbreads, pizza, sandwiches, burgers and more available at other joints. Dueling Dragons’ full bar menu is also available if you want to purchase beer, wine or cocktails.

How is it different from visiting during the day?

I can’t overstate how short the lines are, which is one of the biggest differences between visiting during the day and visiting at Volcano Bay Night.

A regular daytime visit to Volcano Bay includes a Tapu Tapu bracelet that you wear for the day. You can tap your wristband on the water slide to find out when to go home instead of waiting in line. Your Tapu Tapu band will vibrate when it’s time for you to ride.

However, during Volcano Bay Nights, there is no wait time. “Wait time” is how long it takes you to walk to the top of the stairs and get on the slide. The longest wait that night was the Krakatau Aqua Coaster. I believe there were two or three groups ahead of us, with a total wait time of five minutes.

You can easily ride every attraction available during your visit and still have time to eat, drink, and party on the beach.

There is also plenty of space to swim and float in the Waturi Beach wave pool, Kopiko Wai Winding River (lazy river), and TeAwa Tak Takut River whitewater as there are fewer visitors.

Short lines aside, it was fun to see the characters inside the water park. We took photos with Scooby and Shaggy in front of the Mystery Machine and I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw them appear on the beach with the rest of the gang. They even danced with the guests (especially the kids) while the DJ played music.

Wherever Scooby and friends are, criminals are always there. During Volcano Bay Nights, Ghost Clown does what criminals do best—creeping around the park to avoid getting caught. Ghost Clown’s behavior is very funny and scary.

We even heard rumors that you might have a chance to see this villain “unmasked” like in an episode of the Scooby-Doo cartoon. If you don’t want to miss this special moment, ask a team member when and where you’ll be attending the last big moment before the night ends.

Scooby and friends felt like a good fit for the spooky season, but when Universal introduced the show in the spring, guests could meet DreamWorks characters, so that could change again if the show returns in the future.

Is Volcano Bay Nights good for kids?

We saw some kids at Volcano Bay Nights and most of them were still partying when we decided it was time to go back to the hotel to sleep. As mentioned, you can enter the park from 4 p.m. Even if you don’t think your kids can stay up late, you can still get a lot done in a short amount of time because it’s not too busy.

The atmosphere is family friendly. The Tot Tiki Reef and Runamukka Reef children’s play areas were open during the event and we also saw children dancing on the beach and playing in the sand.

Tips

Here are some tips to help you make the most of your time at Volcano Bay Nights

• Arrive between 4pm and 5pm – This will give you plenty of time to sit and familiarize yourself with the layout of the park if you have never visited before. The park closes to day visitors at 17:00, so you can enjoy some attractions between 17:00 and 19:00.
• Bring your own towel – Volcano Bay does sell towels or can rent towels, but you can save by bringing your own towels from home or the hotel.
• Get a waterproof cell phone pouch – If you want to capture Volcano Bay memories using your cell phone, bring a waterproof cell phone case. You can buy it for less than $10 on Amazon, but it’s almost $35 at Volcano Bay.
• Choose a hotel close to Volcano Bay – If you plan to stay at a Universal Orlando hotel, choose Universal Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal Aventura Hotel, or Lowes Sapphire Falls Resort. Cabana Bay would be my top choice as many rooms have views of Volcano Bay and are closest to the walking trail that leads to Volcano Bay. You can also access walking trails from Sapphire Falls and Aventura.
• Parking details: If you drive to Volcano Bay, you’ll park in Universal’s main security garage and take a bus to the water park. If you are staying at one of the Universal hotels, you can take free bus transportation to CityWalk and transfer to the Volcano Bay bus.

Universal will offer Volcano Bay Nights on select nights in 2026. When the dates are announced, you can bet I’ll be there at Waturi Beach so I can enjoy the nighttime volcano views again.

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