What on Earth is TapuTapu?

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If you plan a visit to Universal’s Volcano Bay in the near future, you’ll definitely need to know about the TapuTapu™. The TapuTapu is an integral part of your experience within the park. If you are wondering “What is the TapuTapu?”, “How do you TapuTapu?”, and “Who wears the TapuTapu?”, you are in luck!

We used the TapuTapu wearable at our recent visit to Volcano Bay on our Family Forward trip and here’s what you need to know!

The TapuTapu™ wearable is a waterproof bracelet designed to enhance your day at the Florida water park. It’s innovative, fun, and best of all, designed to remove hassles and make your day easier. It eliminates the need to stand in long lines, carry a wallet or credit cards, and a locker key. Awesome, right?

Step 1: Download the App

Wondering how to set up your TapuTapu and link it to your credit card and Universal account? It’s actually really easy. All you need are:

Official Universal Orlando Resort App
Credit Card
Volcano Bay Tickets

Set this up before you arrive to the water park – it will save you time!

Simply go to the Universal Orlando Website or the Official Universal Orlando Resort App, and then click “create account.” Be prepared to provide your full name, date of birth, email address, and password. Then, once you have your Volcano Bay tickets, you can link your ticket to your account in the “wallet” section by scanning the barcode of the tickets or typing in the ticket number for each person.

Next, you can add your credit card information. If you feel uncomfortable adding your credit card information to the TapuTapu, it’s not mandatory; you can use your credit card and cash in the park, too. If you do add your credit card, there’s a cool option that allows you to set a spending limit. You’ll also have to have the extra security when you create a pin, which is extra protection. Thanks to the pin, should you lose your TapuTapu wearable, no one will be able to charge anything to your account. They’d have to know your pin, too, as it works just like a debit card.

Step 2: Get the TapuTapu Wearable

You’ll get your TapuTapu wearables {waterproof bracelet} at the entrance of Volcano Bay when you show your tickets at the door. The attendant will scan your ticket and link the taputapu to your ticket for you. So when you put it on it should be all ready to use!

Once you enter the park, you will be given a TapuTapu for each member of your party aged 3 or over.

Video: See the TapuTapu in Action!

How to Use the TapuTapu? The TapuTapu allows you to save your spot in line, purchase items within the park (including food), and open your locker. Yep, it’s really that easy. {snicker}

Time to TapuTapu ~ An Interactive Experience:

Tap to Play ~ Water Canons, Squirt Guns, Music
Tap to Pay ~ Food, Drinks, Towels, Merchandise
Tap to Ride ~ Skip the Lines
TapTu Snap ~ Pictures
Tap to Open ~ Lockers

When your day is done, you’ll return your wearable and any rented towels at the exit on your way out.

Tap to Play

Activate totem squirters and other interactive objects. Throughout the park there are huge totems that when activated are water guns which squirt water at people as they are enjoying different rides. It’s hysterical and so much fun. They are kind of hidden and we were at the park for hours before we realized what they were and how water was spewing from different place with random giggles in the background.

The key to activating these totem squirters, water cannons, light shows, and more is your TapuTapu! To activate these fun “surprises”, just tap the Volcano Bay logo with your TapuTapu when you see it to trigger squirts of water or other fun interactive treats that will make you smile!

Image Credit

Tap to Pay

Replaces your wallet. You also can use your TapuTapu to pay for drinks, snacks, meals, rent lockers and towels, buy merchandise and more as long as you’ve linked it to a credit card. Thanks to the spending limits you’ve already selected and the pin number, your taputapu will act as a debit card of sorts.

I’ll tell you it was such a relief to not have to worry if my boys had money to get lunch or drinks when I wasn’t right there with them. I knew that at any time they could get into our lockers, stay hydrated, and meet any needs within the boundaries that I had already set. Stress free.

Tap to Ride

Skip the lines. At Universal Volcano Bay™ you can use your TapuTapu™ to save your place in line. This is a life-saver since some rides can have HOURS long waits! You’ll find a TapuTapu station at each ride that will tell you about how long you’ll have to wait to ride the ride.

Just tap your TapuTapu onto the station at the ride, and you’ll be put in a virtual line. Your bracelet will let you know when it’s time to come back and head onto the ride. Once the Tapu Tapu says “ride now“, you have about one hour to go on the ride. There seems to be some wiggle room as some of our friends where able to go past the hour but it’s good to have a general idea of when the tapu tapu will expire.

Photo Credit: Photo op using TapuTapu technology.

TapTu Snap

Take exclusive pictures.

If there is one park that you don’t want to have to deal with a camera/phone, it’s a water park! Volcano Bay makes it super easy to get exclusive images of your party without worrying about carrying around a camera or your phone. The system is called the TapTu Snap, and it works in tandem with your TapuTapu. TapTu Snap automatically links your ride photos, interactive photos, and selfie-spot photos with your TapuTapu. Then, you can look at, purchase, and share you photos straight from your Universal account!

Tap to Open

A key for the lockers. There are 2 sets of lockers, on at the front and another smaller set near the back of the park. Lockers cost around $8-15 a day. I also love that and you don’t have to carry around a key, since your tapu tapu triples as locker key, credit card, and express pass for rides.

Pros: I love that the locker pops open wide by itself when activated by the TapuTapu. It made it easy to know which locker was yours among the many choices. HA! You can get into the locker as many times as you need to without any additional charges.

Cons: The lockers are provided by a 3rd party vendor and therefore not run by Universal and have a few little kinks. they will work out.

My Tip: Make sure you “link” everyone’s wristbands to the locker before your family splits up. I had the hardest time gathering my family just to link them up.

This video was playing in a loop on or TV when we checked into our hotel and it was so cute and fun I had to show it to you.

If you Lose Your TapuTapu™

The TapuTapu has a tendency to fall off, so be sure to pay attention to it. If you lose your TapuTapu, then head on over to Guest Services. Unfortunately, you’ll have to also gather everyone in your party because Guest Services has to verify which ticket belongs to which band before they can issue a new one.

My TapuTapu Wish List

There are some issues with the wearable which is understandable since it’s the first of it’s kind for Universal. For the second version, I hope it has a couple of these added features:

The wearable bracelet falls off
It needs a name on it or some indicator so you know which is yours.
It needs to be touch screen. Is that too much to ask? HA! I kept touching it expecting it to interact with me.
It needs a button for families = meet at chairs, lunch time

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What on Earth is TapuTapu? | Universal Orlando Volcano Bay