Wild Rivers Review

I took my first visit to Wild Rivers in 2007 due to the fear of the park closing, and let me tell you. It was really freaking awesome!!! Almost every single slide I rode blew my mind. Nothing really seemed dull or ordinary. Every single slide seemed unique, cool, and totally badass. Nothing seemed standard or felt like I rode it at another water park. One cool fact about Wild Rivers is that with the exception of Bazooka Bowls, every water slide there is either a tube slide or made of rubber. So the only ways you can scratch your back is by riding Bazooka Bowl or getting thrown off your tube on Congo River Rapids. And while the park does get crowded, it doesn't nearly as bad as it does over at Raging Waters. I was so impressed with the park that I returned to the park again in 2009 just to make sure the park was as good as I remembered it. And once again, Wild Rivers did not let me down. Everything about the park was just as good as I remembered it. Hell, I've been going yearly ever since just because the park was that awesome. And even though I didn't expect to discover more hidden gems at Wild Rivers, I did. No wonder they filmed Malcom in the Middle here. I really enjoyed the three visits I had here and I can assure you that there will be another visit before you know it.

The Major Waterslides

There is a link to a review of all the Major Waterslides I've ridden at Wild Rivers.

Abyss Review

Bazooka Bowls Review

Bombay Blasters Review

Congo River Rapids Review

Nairobi Express Review

Patriot Review

Surf Hill Review

All the Other Waterslides

Here are the reviews of all the other water slides at Wild Rivers. First up, we've got Switzer Falls. Picture the tall straight slide you'd find at your local playground, Multiply the height of it by 4 or 5, make the slide very wet and slippery, and have it land in your backyard pool, and you've got Switzer Falls. Another fun water slide they have is a water slide called Wipeout. One Wipeout, you just sit there waiting to go down, when the ride operator releases a s**tload of water that makes you take off!!! The course has a lot of helixes and fun stuff like that. And next to Wipeout is Cobra. This slide has some of the craziest laterals you'll ever find on a water slide. If any slide will make you go 90 degrees, it's Cobra. Another water slide they've got at Wild Rivers would be Whatubee. Wahtubee is a very simple slide. Take your slide to the top of the slide and then it's just three small drops into the splashdown. It's not that intense or anything, but it's still a fun slide. And finally, we've got Chaos. Chaos is hidden from all the other slides at Wild Rivers as to get to it, you have to walk out away from all the other slides and into the kiddy area and then once you get out of the kiddy area, you just see Chaos just sitting there, right next to some abandoned lake. Chaos is definetly not something worth going out of the way for. There's a reason Wild Rivers isolates Chaos from the rest of their water slides. It's a pretty forceless and pointless waterslide. It's almost like a tube version of Vortex at Raging Waters. And then theres a bunch of kiddy slides in the kiddy area. But we never rode them for obvious reasons.

This should give you a better idea on what Switzer Falls is like.

Dining

At Wild Rivers, they've got pretty typical food. Greasy Burgers, Hot Dog, Nachos, Pizza,it's all greasy, it's all typical and it's all at Wild Rivers. I forgot my 2007 meal, but I had a hot dog when I was there in 2009. It was actually pretty good. It was nothing special, but I still thouroughly enjoyed it though. I will admit that Wild Rivers does have some other intersting things to it. They've got a make your own Icee Machine over by the kiddy area. So that gave me a chance to go nuts and create some f**ked up Icee flavor that turned out really good. They also have some REALLY good smoothies. They serve them in a pineapple and fill it with whipped cream. Though it's really expensive and costs like $10.00. However, it's their other thing that really makes them stand out was a little something the people at Wild Rivers like to call a Funnel Dog. A funnel dog is basically a corn dog, except instead of the hot dog being coated in some corn bread, they get coated in funnel cake batter and deep fried. Now I know this sounds gross, but it kicks ass!! I know this because I tried it in my 2010 visit. Not only does it kick ass, but it's great dipped in jelly. (Same goes to French Fries.) So yeah, don't miss out on this unique and delicous cuisine at Wild Rivers.

Eat this. It's delicous.

And drink this. Best smoothie I ever had.

Theming and Other Attractions

Here are the reviews of all the other stuff at Wild Rivers. Well for theming, there is this abandoned lake that looks pretty over by Chaos. And if you're in line for Patriot, you can look at a Ferris Wheel that Irvine has to offer. But that's about it themeing wise. As for other attractions, Wild Rivers has the typical water park set up of a lazy river, many kids areas, and a wave pool. However, they've also got a new upcharge attraction in 2009. If you are willing to spend $5.00, you can go boogie boarding in a special boogie boarding pool. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention Liquidator in the theiming.

Here you can see the people that were willing to spend $5.00 to Boogie Board.

In Conclusion

Wild Rivers is a COMPLETELY AWESOME WATER PARK!!!!!!! The slides are amazing and unique, the food is good and unique as well, the crowds are under control, and the rubber slides are really nice on your back. I would TOTALLY recommend you go to this water park if you are in Southern California. I'm almost suprised that it doesn't get more love from the Travel Channel, especially since they've interviewed many water parks that look like crap.

Tips

*If you see Nairobi Express running and you want to ride it, STOP WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING AND GET IN LINE!!!!!! It most likely will NOT be open for a very long time.

*Wear flip flops and sunscreen. It'll most likely be hot when you visit.

*If you must ride Abyss, ride it in the morning to avoid the long line for it

*Have Fun!!!

Location

Irvine, California, USA

Last Day Visited

July 18, 2011

You can find videos of Wild Rivers in Volume 3, and Volume 4

Here's a Wild Rivers Downloadable. (Volume 4)

Here's a link to the parks website.

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