Universal Orlando Shares New Volcano Bay + Jimmy Fallon Ride Details

© Universal Orlando

New details have been revealed for Universal's Volcano Bay water park, opening in "early summer" 2017.  While the park gave out many of the details of the their attractions a while ago with the release of the official website, there was still plenty more story to tell.

© Universal Orlando

Volcano Bay will feature plenty of water slides, pools, and interactive play areas, but one major ride was kept a secret until now.  We've seen what appeared to be a water roller coaster being installed in recent construction photos, but now the Krakatau Aqua Coaster has been announced.  The ride will feature an elevated station area where riders will board 4-seater custom designed canoes.  From the station the rafts will plunge downward then the use of "linear induction motor technology" will blast the canoes back up hill and into the interior of the park's central mountain.  The rest of the layout will include more downhill and uphill section as riders blast through waterfalls and more.

© Universal Orlando

The park is being designed to bring relaxation to its guests, which means eliminating long lines from the start.  Guests will wear TapuTapu wrist bands that will allow them to check in for many big rides ahead of time, then play in the lazy rivers and other interactive areas while they wait.  The bands will also be used to unlock special magical effects like images in the caves beneath the volcano (seen above) and plenty more.  Best of all, the use of the TapuTapu bands is included in park admission.

This recent round of Volcano Bay announcements also included the release of this video.  It shows much more detail than was previously released and has me more excited than ever for this park!

© Universal Orlando

This past week also saw more details and new concept art released for Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon, the ride currently under construction at Universal Studios Florida.  The outside of the building has been under partial cover for some time, but now we can see just what the finished product will look like.

As for the ride inside the building, it will still be a simulator attraction as announced previously but we now know that the queue starts with a visit to Studio 6B and will feature interactive elements like dancing with Hashtag the Panda, creating your own Thank You Note, live entertainment and more.

The ride has the world's first "flying theater" that takes guests on a trip alongside Jimmy through the street and skies of New York City.  For more on the new attraction, including a behind the scenes video, click here.