4 Things We Learned From The Volcano Bay Story Reveal At Universal Orlando Resort

2. The Culture Of Volcano Bay

Despite Volcano Bay being set in a fictional place the team were inspired by the real world of the South Pacific. Dale was clear how important the story of the Waturi and their long journey to find their home in the South Pacific was key in getting the design of Volcano Bay just right.

The story... informs every aspect of our design, all our buildings and details. Because the culture is made up of many different cultures all over Polynesia, it allows us to create a new look and a new design which is a fantasy version of Polynesia.

Universal Creative wanted to create a place that although fantastical, is grounded in reality. They mixed real cultures together to create something both familiar and completely new. It seems Volcano Bay really is your ultimate fantasy island.

Every building is a collision of different cultures come together. A building might start with a Thai stilt house structure but then the roofs are made of thatch from Tahiti. Our buildings all have fabric on them canopies with bright, beautiful patterns on them, that come from the Mauri people, and the Hawaiian culture. So there is this collision of all this design detail, makes them really unique and beautiful.

It's not just the cultures of the South Pacific cultures that will be present in the parks. The story of the Waturi and the mythical Krakatau will be all around:

Everywhere throughout the park, all of our details and all of our design thinking reflects back to these stories.

There will be carved stone markers around the park telling guests of the history of the Waturi tribe and also elements around the park will reveal more about them. Dale explained just how the the Waturi, albeit fictional have a real presence on the island;

A lot of the buildings, like our bars... we have a really fun ice cream stand... are actually built on boats. The Waturi have pulled the boat up on the beach and decided to set up a little bar shack on top of it...Complete with sails.