With a soft opening held on Sunday, July 10, it’s safe to say Wild Rivers was a splash with the Irvine community.

“After more than a decade, it was amazing to welcome back guests to Wild Rivers in Irvine. Wild Rivers means so much to so many people and to see all those smiling faces on opening day was a dream come true. We’ve heard from many of our guests that the opening day experience exceeded their expectations. We can’t wait to welcome back everyone to the new Wild Rivers with 20 acres of WILD wave pools, water slides, lazy river rides, and more at Irvine’s Great Park.” – Mike Riedel

While a grand opening date has yet to be announced, Wild Rivers is advising the community to monitor its website for more information on the official grand opening, along with more information on the current list of open attractions. 

(Photo courtesy Wild Rivers)

A few weeks ago, Mike Riedel, owner and operator of Wild Rivers, emphasized that the water park would not open until it could provide a well-rounded experience, even if it was not fully completed.”

(Photo courtesy Wild Rivers)

“We’re not going to open unless we have almost all of the rides available. We know that the little-kiddie slides are probably not going to be ready on the 20th. But we have an area for little kids,” he said. “But it’s definitely not going to be like we open and there are two rides open. Our goal is to deliver everything we can. We’re not going to deliver a substandard project.”

“It’s a mad scramble, the whole thing has been extremely challenging. When I walk through the park with my general manager – we just look at the park and go, ‘This is so amazing.’ We’re so proud of the product that we’re bringing out there, I can’t even express it.”  

Last year, Riedel spoke with Irvine Weekly, admitting that acquiring the necessary funding was a “rocky road.” While the project was supposed to break ground in April 2021, the official groundbreaking took place on July 7 and was expected to take 12 to 13 months to complete.

While the public looks forward to the official grand opening, the community was able to get a few rides in on the side-by-side Tomcat Racers, got a good soaking under Cook’s Cove 500-gallon bucket dump, a nice float in the lazy river and some breathtaking family fun on the Aquaconda family raft adventure.

(Photo courtesy Wild Rivers)

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