The Challenge
July 2022 marked the return of Wild Rivers Water Park to Irvine, CA, a reinvention of the original park that held a spot in the city for 25 years but closed in 2011. With a challenge laid out to bring back to life a bigger & better version of the beloved original, the new $60 million, 20-acre Wild Rivers park is 50% larger than its original and designed to incorporate all the latest in technological advances while still paying homage to the parks nostalgic roots in the community.
The Solution
Working with the owners and developers, ADG designed the park to offer a number of exciting new rides, while also keeping some favorites from the original, including replicas of iconic slides like the Bombay Blasters and Switzer Falls.
From new high-tech features like a water coaster with virtual reality capabilities, to the tried and true lazy river and wave pool attractions, the new Wild Rivers offers a creative mix of “chills and thrills” surrounded by ample deck & lounge space and a plentitude of food and drink options to satisfy every guest.
- Pelican Plunge – A 550-foot-long 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 – Side-by-side body slides 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
The Result
The long awaited return of Wild Rivers was met with much enthusiasm from the local community with season passes selling out well in advance of opening day. And while evoking the feel of the original park was key, it’s the state-of-the-art features that Mike Reidel, Owner of Wild Rivers, is most excited about. “The stuff we’re bringing in is so cool, it’s ridiculous!”
Despite delays due to the economic and transportation issues that effected virtually all construction projects taking place in the 2020-2022 seasons, the park opened their gates as planned with nearly every attraction up and ready to go. And thanks to some creative logistical planning, construction on the couple of the attractions and F&B outlets that were unable to be completed on time were able to be worked on throughout the summer with minimal disruption to guests.
