WITH THE ARRIVAL of cooler weather and the winter holidays just around the corner, it’s unlikely that giant water slides, wave pools, and lazy-river rafting venues are top of mind for most people. They are, however, top of mind for several Tucker Paving team members. Among the many items on our current list of construction projects — it’s great to have lots to do — Tucker Paving is one of the subcontractors for the exciting Volcano Bay water theme park at Universal Orlando Resort.
Here are some things you might not know about the theme park — a quick list of Volcano Bay facts and figures:
• Volcano Bay is being built on approximately 28 acres of Universal Orlando Resort property, near the Cabana Beach Resort.
• The theme park will replace Wet ’n Wild, a Universal-owned Orlando water park that will close on Dec. 31 this year.
• The vision for Volcano Bay was shaped by visits Universal executives made to other water parks and tropical resorts all around the world — in Bali, in the Middle East, in Europe, and throughout the United States.
• The centerpiece of Volcano Bay will be 200-foot-tall volcano named Krakatau. The volcano will showcase cool and majestic waterfalls by day and fiery lava flows by night.
• Volcano Bay will have four themed areas featuring Polynesian influences gathered from Hawaii, Easter Island, New Zealand, and other locations. The themed areas will be The Volcano, Wave Village, River Village, and Rainforest Village.
• Key attractions will include the 70-degree-fall and 125-foot-long Ko’okiri body plunge; the Kala and Tai Nui serpentine body slides; Waturi Beach for swimming, splashing, and relaxing; Honu and Ika Moana, each a twisting and turning multi-passenger slide; the Kopiko Wai lazy winding river; the Ohyah and Ohno drop slides; the Maku (“saucer”) and Puihi (funnel) raft rides; the thrilling whitewater ride of TeAwa The Fearless River; and the four twisting water slides of the Taniwha Tubes.
• Specialty attractions for toddlers and young children will include Tot Tiki Reef, a play zone with spraying fountains, slides and a kid-size volcano; and the Punga Racers, a high-speed race that will take riders through four enclosed slides on manta ray-shaped mats.
After reading about all of this excitement, who wants to skip Christmas and go straight for summertime water park fun?
The Volcano Bay promotions have listed plans for an opening in June 2017. You can be sure that Tucker Paving employees on the Volcano Bay construction crew are doing everything on their part to make that happen.
On the Web: www.universalorlando.com/theme-parks/volcano-bay.aspx