NEWS: Universal Volcano Bay Makes a HUGE Change

By Sydney Leever Leave a Comment

We have some Universal Orlando news! Volcano Bay, Universal’s water park, is going cashless at the end of this month. The water park will no longer accept cash transactions and will exclusively take credit, debit, or gift card transactions.

Volcano Bay

This move will not affect the Universal Orlando theme parks — for now. Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Epic Universe will still accept cash for payment for the time being. If you’re headed to Volcano Bay soon, here’s everything you need to know!

Starting on February 25th, 2026, all locations at Volcano Bay will no longer accept cash transactions. This includes all dining, shopping, locker rentals, and photo purchases inside the water park. Guests who bring cash will be required to use Cash-to-Card Kiosks to load their funds onto a Visa Prepaid card, which can be used inside the park, plus anywhere major credit or debit cards are accepted.

Volcano Bay

Currently, Volcano Bay accepts the following cashless forms of payment:

credit or debit cards by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, JCB, and Diners Club
tap-to-pay methods, including Apple Pay
Universal Pay
Universal Gift Cards
Visa Prepaid cards

View from the beach!

The move to a cashless system will create a more seamless experience for guests, according to Universal Orlando Resort. Cash likely isn’t a very popular form of payment at a water park, so this move will streamline operations for cashiers there.

Volcano Bay Entrance

In other Volcano Bay news, the water park will be closed starting October 26th, 2026, with a current planned reopening on or before March 24th, 2027. The closure is for a seasonal refurbishment and maintenance to upgrade the park’s infrastructure. It will improve the park’s wave pools and ride launches, plus its water filtration and technical systems.