Our History

Wild Rivers first opened in July of 1986.  It was built on the land that was formerly occupied by Lion Country Safari.  The first year there were no wavepools.  Wild Rivers introduced the first side by side wavepool in the country in 1987.  During the 27 years of operations, The Abyss, Chaos, The Patriot, Bazooka Bowls and Buccaneer Bay were all added.  

During our 27 year run about 10,000,000 guests visited Wild Rivers and we established ourselves as one of the premiere waterparks in the country.  Wild Rivers was also the largest youth employer in Orange Country.  We became a beloved member of the community known for superior customer service and safety.   It was because of our reputation that the City of Irvine decided to lease us the land to build the new Wild Rivers.

Situated on nearly 20 acres, 50% more than the previous park, the new Wild Rivers will open with an unprecedented four 6-person family raft rides.  We will also have just about every type of experience you can have at a waterpark…open and enclosed body slides (some with translucent and aqua-lucent sections), mat races, bowls, AquaSpheres, Rattlers, Constrictors, Pythons, Boomerangos and a water coaster.  For the kids there are kiddie slides, play elements and a 500-gallon tipping bucket on a giant 30-foot play structure. Wild Rivers is also planning for the future.  We have an option to expand our footprint by adding another 3 acres of land for even more attractions.

But our guest-centric approach will not change.  Having great rides is one thing but not having to wait in long lines to ride them is the key to a fun day.  Wild Rivers will control the attendance level in the park to ensure that our guests have a great experience.  Our goal is the make Wild Rivers not just the best waterpark in California but the best waterpark in the USA!