Wild Rivers Water Park: Irvine, California

“The tans will fade, but the memories will last forever.”

(We were hosted by Wild Rivers, but all opinions and photos are mine)

We love adventures and family friendly places to take our kids. Over a decade ago my husband and I went to Wild Rivers Water Park: Irvine, California and loved it. Then they had to tear it down back in 2011 and find a new location, but it is back and better than ever before.

We had the pleasure of exploring the park before it’s official grand opening and we recently went back this summer to see what is new and we are here to tell you that we are big fans! It is 50% larger than the original park, spanning 20 acres with an additional 3 acres for a possible expansion.

We already gave a sneak peak of our day on my Instagram page, which you can see here, but now I am going to go into more detail about our day and all the questions you may have.

What Can you expect at wild rivers?

You can expect new, clean, wide open spaces. Lots of chairs to leave your towels, plenty of canopy’s and umbrella’s for shade, lockers if you want to secure your personal items, cabana’s (for an additional cost) but great for parties, lots of slides and fun for all ages.

What are the height requirements at wild rivers?

Here is a list of the activities that all ages/heights can do…

• Lazy River
• Wave Pool
• Cook’s Cove: anyone can play in this area, but must be 40″ to ride the slides
• Kontiki Cove: anyone can play in this area, but must be between 36″ – 54″ to ride the slides. A perfect area for the little ones that want to try out some very mellow slides.

Requires heights to be 40″

• Tala & Mano

Requires heights to be 42″

• Tomcat Racers
• Aquaconda
• Bora Bora Boomerango
• Tortuga
• Typhoon

All rides where heights need to be 48″

• Bombay Blasters
• Tahitian Toucan
• Fiji Falls
• Pelican Plunge
• Pipeline
• Samoan Serpent
• Tiki’s Revenge

What can or should you bring to wild rivers water park?

You will definitely need towels and sunscreen. I do suggest wearing flip flops around the park because the ground does get hot, then just leave them at the bottom of the stairs for each slide since you can’t wear them on the actual slides. OR you could wear water shoes. Bring an EMPTY water bottle to refill once inside or an UNOPENED sealed water bottle. ONLY baby food is allowed in the park, as well as food FOR PEOPLE WITH FOOD ALLERGIES. You could leave the park and have a picnic in your car if you can’t find something everyone will like at the different restaurants there.

WHAT KIND OF FOOD CAN I FIND AT WILD RIVERS?

There are a few options for food at Wild Rivers. The main restaurant is Pacific Grille. It has options like pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken tenders, chicken wrap and two salads. If you are gluten free like me the only option would be the Strawberry Summer Salad. There is also Island Sweets, which offers soft serve, fried funnel cake and more. The last option is the Mustang Bar which offers snacks and alcoholic beverages.

Was it busy/how long were the lines at wild rivers?

We didn’t feel like it was overly busy. Lines ranged from 5-25 minutes. We never had to wait for a tube for the lazy river or wave pool, there was always plenty. We did go on a weekday, so I would think weekends would be slightly busier.

Can we leave and Come back in the same day?

Yes, they do allow re-entry. Simply scan your wristband or admission ticket to be re-admitted.

What are the prices at wild rivers water park?

Children age 2 & under and seniors over the age of 62 are FREE. Tickets sold online are less than tickets sold at the park, so buy them in advance!! Online general admission starts at $49 for anyone 48″ and over, $40 for anyone under 48.” Parking in advance is $20, if you wait to pay until you get there it will cost $25. At the gate general admission is $75 for anyone 48″ and over, it is $50 for anyone under 48.”

Does Wild Rivers ever have deals or annual passes at wild rivers?

Annual Passes cost $149 per person, so if you plan to go more than three times, an annual pass would pay for itself. I think this is a great option for locals who could go weekly to enjoy all of the fun! I could see us doing annual passes in the future and letting our kids run around with their friends while the parents just hung out at the lazy river all day!;) I also saw THIS DEAL on Groupon, go snag it now!!

HOW long will Wild Rivers be open for summer?

Wild Rivers is open every day from June 1st- August 23rd 2023, then only weekends from August 26th-October 1st 2023.

Any other info you should know about wild rivers water park…

Some of the slides are for two or three to six people. If you are a single parent with only one child, you may want to invite another friend so you can still go on the larger raft rides.

What do you think of Wild Rivers Water Park: Irvine, California? Will you be going to check it out? I know it is a little pricey, especially if you have a large family, but we really did have a great time and we are going to look into annual passes in the future. If you are looking for a water proof phone case before you go, you can find one HERE. Let me know if you have any more questions below.