Longtime Southern California residents may remember the Wild Rivers water park in Irvine. It closed back in 2011, but now a longtime effort to reopen the park has finally come to fruition, as Wild Rivers will reopen tomorrow, July 10th. The Orange County Register has shared some more details.
What’s Happening:
- The new $60 million Wild Rivers water park that has been in the planning stages for more than a decade will finally open after a number of starts and stops in a new location that offers more space, water slides and summer fun.
- The original Wild Rivers opened in July 1986 at the Lion Country Safari animal park in Irvine. The former water park closed in 2011 when the Irvine Company decided to build the 3,700-unit Los Olivos Village neighborhood at the location.
- At 20 acres, the new water park will be 50% larger than the original Wild Rivers with 3 acres set aside for future expansion.
- The new Wild Rivers will have a 1940s South Pacific theme that pays homage to the former El Toro Marine Corps air station that operated from 1943 to 1999 at the Great Park location.
- Here’s a list of the attractions that will await guests at Wild Rivers:
- Pelican Plunge – A 550-foot-long Master Blaster water coaster with water jets that power riders up slopes
- Shaka Bay – The 25,000-square-foot wave pool that reaches a depth of 6 feet
- Tomcat Riders – A 6-lane mat racer slide with a 360-degree spiral tube at the start
- Cook’s Cove – A 30-foot-tall rain fortress play structure with an 800-gallon tipping bucket
- Castaway River – A quarter mile-long lazy river with inner tubes
- Aquaconda – A 600-foot-long slide with six-person circular rafts
- Bora Bora Boomerang – Raft slide with a 25-foot-tall wave wall
- Tortuga – Raft slide that travels through oscillating spheres in the 90-degree corners
- Typhoon – Raft slide with a 20-foot-diameter mega tube
- Tiki’s Revenge – A 225-foot-long tube slide with a super bowl element
- Samoan Serpent – A 400-foot-long serpentine tube slide
- Fiji Falls – A 350-foot-long double tube slide
- Pipeline – A 350-foot-long tube slide
- Tahitian Toucan – A remake of the side-by-side Sweitzer Falls body slides at the original Wild Rivers with a 4-foot drop into a splash pool
- Bombay Blasters – A pair of enclosed drop body slides
- Tala & Mano – Side by side body slides
- Kontiki Cove – Tiny tots pool with five kiddie slides
- When Wild Rivers opens on July 10th, it will be in a technical rehearsal phase, so a limited number of attractions will be available. They include: Shaka Bay, Tomcat Racers, Cook’s Cove, Castaway River, Aquaconda, Bora Bora Boomerango, Tiki’s Revenge, Samoan Serpent, Fiji Falls and Pipeline.
- Only one of the three food and beverage locations will be open during the soft opening:
- The Pacific Grille quick service restaurant will offer a limited menu of burgers, hot dogs, pizza, chicken tenders, tacos, pulled pork barbecue sandwiches and Philly cheesesteaks.
- Island Sweets — serving ice cream, churros and funnel cakes — and the Mustang Bar — with craft beer, wine, frozen concoctions and tropical cocktails — will open at a later date.
- Wild Rivers will be open daily from July 10th through August 21st and on weekends through September 25th during the 2022 season.
- During the soft opening, admission is $65 for visitors 48 inches and taller and $40 for kids under 48 inches. Children 2 and under as well as seniors 62 and older get in free.
- Season passes are sold out for the 2022 summer season.
- Tickets will be available by advance reservation and at the front gate if the water park hasn’t reached attendance capacity. Season passholders are required to make advance reservations.