The Kala & Tai Nui Serpentine Body Slides are Universal Volcano Bay’s dueling trap-door drop: two riders step into side-by-side capsules 125 feet (38 m) up inside the Krakatau volcano, the floors release together, and both plunge simultaneously into intertwining serpentine tubes that corkscrew down the volcano’s flank.
Where the neighboring Ko’okiri Body Plunge is a straight 70-degree freefall, Kala and Tai Nui trade the vertical drop for speed with twists — the two translucent tubes cross and wrap around each other on the way down, which is exactly why they’re called serpentine.
Key Stats
| Height | 125 ft (38 m) |
| Opened | May 25, 2017 (with the park) |
| Type | Dueling trap-door serpentine body slides |
| Park | Universal Volcano Bay, Orlando, Florida |
A Dueling Drop
The ride is built for rivalry: two capsules, one countdown, two riders released at the same instant into different high-speed paths — Kala’s tube and Tai Nui’s take distinct twisting routes to the splashdown pools. In Volcano Bay’s South Seas story, Kala and Tai Nui are the water goddess’s twin sons, and their slides launch from the same summit chamber of Krakatau that houses Ko’okiri’s capsule.
Second-Tallest Drop Capsules on Earth
Along with Ko’okiri Body Plunge, the Kala & Tai Nui slides are the second-tallest drop-capsule slides in the world at 125 feet, behind only Thrillagascar and Jungle Jammer (142 ft) at New Jersey’s DreamWorks Water Park. Among dueling trap-door slides — where two riders drop head-to-head — nothing taller exists anywhere.
Volcano Bay
The slides opened with Volcano Bay on May 25, 2017, when Universal Creative’s first-ever water park replaced Wet ‘n Wild as Universal Orlando’s water gate. Krakatau anchors the park and carries its three headline drops plus the Krakatau Aqua Coaster. At 125 feet, Kala & Tai Nui share a place on the list of the tallest water slides in the world with their straight-drop sibling.
FAQ
How tall are the Kala & Tai Nui Serpentine Body Slides?
125 feet (38 m). Two riders drop simultaneously from trap-door capsules at the top of Krakatau into separate twisting tubes — the second-tallest drop-capsule slides in the world.
What’s the difference between Kala & Tai Nui and Ko’okiri?
All three launch from trap-door capsules at the same 125-foot height inside Krakatau, but Ko’okiri is a straight 70-degree plunge while Kala and Tai Nui corkscrew down intertwined serpentine tubes — and release two riders at once, dueling-style.
Can you race someone on Kala & Tai Nui?
Yes — that’s the point. The capsules drop in tandem, so two riders race down the volcano on separate paths and compare splashdowns at the bottom.
Photo: Paulo Guereta from São Paulo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)