Today Universal Orlando has come out with their answer to Disney’s MagicBands, TapuTapu.
In order to give guests the most relaxing time possible at Volcano Bay, Universal has had to change the way that waiting in line works, hence the introduction of TapuTapu.
What is TapuTapu?
TapuTapu is a wearable that will essentially queue virtually for you and save your place in line while you relax doing other things at the park. When it is your turn to ride, the device will alert you and you head straight to the attraction!
On top of the new queuing methodology, these TapuTapu wearables will also activate other experiences throughout the park which include water cannons and special effects that can be found inside the volcano itself.
In the video below it looks like these wearables have a display screen and in order for them to work effectively at Volcano Bay, are waterproof.
While Universal have kept quiet about the impact of these wearables at other Universal Parks, I would expect to see this technology utilised across property if successful here.
Other details revealed today about the park include more detail on the main attraction of Volcano Bay, The Krakatau Aqua Coaster.
LIM technology will be in play on this new attraction that will launch guests into the inside of the volcano in four person canoes. Guests will travel through scenes that include waterfalls, tunnels and caves, sounds awesome!
Tickets for Volcano Bay will also go on sale this month, on November 15th! No word yet on how this park integrates (if at all) with current annual passholders for Universal Orlando.
It is interesting to see Universal go down a similar route to MagicBands but doesn’t come as a huge surprise given the success Disney has seen from them.
What is intriguing is this virtual queuing system and how it plays out next Summer. If it works then it could not only make a day at Volcano Bay an incredibly relaxing one, but also have an impact on how the parks operate in the future.
Here are a few photos I took of the development of Volcano Bay when I was there last month…
Let us know your thoughts on TapuTapu in the comments below!
Ryan has been attending theme parks since as long as he can remember and his first proper memory comes from when he was just three years old sitting in Main Street USA drinking a Nesquik milkshake from a carton while the piano was being played outside Casey’s Corner.
