It is really sad to see this place go in its current form. I went on an epic theme park/waterpark trip this summer and went to all the top rated places. Wild Rivers was much better than most and should easily be in the top 5 in America.
I spent 7 years working at Wild Rivers and believe me the place was extremely popular and had a huge season pass base.
Unfortunately as stated previously the irvine company had other plans. With the original lease ending in 2001, the irvine company would only renew for 1-2 years extensions. This came much to the irritation to both Camp James and wild rivers as Verizon wireless amphitheater/irvine meadows, the neighoring concert venue, had a long deal going in to the late 2015-2120... Something like that.
Every year wild rivers had to renegotiate to extend another year or so... It doesn't take an MBA to realize the owners/partners of the park did not want to invest in any new rides... Causing bazooka bowls to be the last major investment. Surprisingly the park managed to do great despite this and It is due to all the great people who worked there.
It is sad to see the irvine company finally pulled the trigger, all I can hope for is that the new park they build will be better than ever, unfortunately some of the rides that were grandfathered in, that we're perfectly safe and amazing, simply cannot be built in the same way today.
