Thrills, relaxing beaches, tropical energy — while that's a huge part of Volcano Bay, the new park also celebrates its craftsmen.
- Volcano Bay water park opened to public May 25
- Krakatau volcano made of carved concrete and steel
- Designers placed tiki carvings all across the park
- RELATED:
The centerpiece of Universal's "water theme park," the 200-foot Krakatau, was hand-crafted by carvers and painters for three years.
"Their specialty is to produce rock," said Universal Creative Vice President Dale Mason, referring to the artists responsible for Krakatau's purposefully-aged aesthetics.
While designers said it's a mountain of basalt and granite, "I can tell you that it's mostly concrete. Carved concrete and steel," said Jason Surrell of Universal creative.
Within and around Krakatau, designers have added details you might not catch at first glance, like tiki carvings into the rock, far up high on the man-made volcano.
"So if you're a tiki enthusiast — and I know there are a lot of them out there, myself included — there are all sorts of design details that you'll be able to find," Surrell said.
Across the park, there are other tiki carvings below eye-level, too. Some are subtle, others obvious.
How many people did it take to pull this off?
"By the time we're done, there were maybe 6,000 people on site," Mason said.
Meanwhile, not everything is going smoothly for Universal during the park’s grand opening: Pictures of the park's TapuTapu wearable devices posted on social media channels showed wait times on rides of more than 300 minutes. News outlets also reported that rides were down at times, too. Universal public relations has not responded to our requests for comment.
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