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There were no fireworks or confetti bursts to mark the opening of Volcano Bay, Universal Orlando’s new water theme park that is a celebration of South Pacific culture.
Instead, Tonga drummers set a pulsing heartbeat, indicating to everyone gathered on the sandy shore of Waturi Beach, with the Krakatau volcano towering beyond the turquoise wave pool, that the dedication of Volcano Bay had begun.
A tattooed Maori warrior stepped forth, piercing the moment of silence following the drums with a long blow into a conch shell, the soulful sound calling forth Maori singer Maisey Rika. Though few gathered understood the language of Rika’s song, no one missed its spiritual significance. She was soon accompanied by the rhythmic splashing of women dressed in woven fronds, their heads crowned in yellow orchids, waist-deep in the water. Maori men emerged from the waterfalls, gracefully paddling on boards across the lagoon to join the others on the beach.
The gathering culminated with the tribe’s chief bestowing a symbolic stone from the ocean off New Zealand’s coast to Universal Orlando president and CEO Bill Davis. The gift was sealed with a hongi, the traditional touching of foreheads and exchange of each other’s spirit. The moment was complete.
“We’re used to grand openings,” said Jim Timon, Universal Orlando’s senior vice president of entertainment, “with fireworks and fighter jets and such, but this is unlike anything we’ve ever done.”
After a week of rehearsals with award-winning kapa haka artists representing South Pacific cultures, Timon commented how much they’ve shared of their “powerful, rich cultural traditions,” and how they’ve led to “one of the finest things Universal Entertainment has ever done.”
Now that Volcano Bay is open, Universal Entertainment is looking for opportunities to bring South Pacific cultural entertainment to guests each day.
Volcano Bay is a water park where guests are immersed in the land of the Waturi people, a fictional group of South Pacific voyagers whose travels include Polynesia, Easter Island, Hawaii and New Zealand to find their new land, dominated by the Krakatau volcano.
Universal has rolled out new technology, loaning guests a TapuTapu waterproof wristband that enables them to virtually stand in line, use as payment for goods and services, access lockers and interact with attractions.
The park sits directly beside two new towers with 400 rooms at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort, offering immediate access to the entrance of Volcano Bay.
Sоurсе: travelweekly.com
