The Krakatau Aqua Coaster will occupy the park's iconic central volcano. The first of its kind in Florida, the coaster will use LIM technology to launch riders upward into the volcano's interior. Visitors will ride in four-person "canoes" through a variety of themed scenes, including tunnels, caves, and past waterfalls.
And no one will have to wait in a line to ride. Universal also announced that all Volcano Bay visitors will get "TapuTapu" wearables that they will use to reserve their places in the park's virtual queues. The wearable will alert visitors when it is their turn to ride.
Visitors also will be able tap the TapuTapu wearable (get the name, now?) to activate "tap to play" experiences through the park, including water cannons and special effects inside the volcano.
In Universal's promo video, we see that TapuTapu is kinda of an Apple Watch meets MagicBand, a waterproof wristband that seems to include a display screen, presumably to let you know when to return to a ride.
If you are wondering about the patent implications with Disney's MagicBand system, Universal three years ago did file a patent application for a virtual queue management system that included wearable devices. IANAL, but it seems that the addition of the display screen would represent enough of a substantial difference from the MagicBand to protect Universal from any infringement action over these wristbands.
Finally, if you want to get your tickets to Volcano Bay, you won't have to wait long. Universal also announced that tickets will go on sale Nov. 15.
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TapuTapu is a cool name to go with the Volcano Bay theme, but doesn't seem like a good choice for a name when it is inevitably rolled out in the regular parks at some future point.
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