We just went to Wild Rivers Thursday with DD10's Girl Scout Troop. I too love TL and BB so my opinion on our local one's is jaded by those.
WR was pretty nice as far as a regular water park goes. They definitely have a
lazy river and it is way superior to Soak City. The one at Soak City is pretty small and you MUST ride in a tube. At WR you could go tubeless. The river is located in the kid's area to the left as you first enter.
Unfortunately when we went June gloom was still with us and the sun didn't come out until 3 p.m. Needless to say I did not go on any of the rides. (and at BB and TL I am in the water constantly). I did go up to my ankles in their wave pool and it was freezing cold.
Here are the things I didn't like about Wild Rivers-
Parking-$10!
Wave Pool-park opened at 10 but the wave pool didn't until 11. It only runs the waves for about 10 mins. and then is calm for 10 mins. while they switch the waves over to the wave board pool (you have to pay extra to rent a wave board
) Also you couldn't have 2 people on one tube.
Hurtness (not really a word!) My DD10 complained about various body parts getting hurt on the way down (elbows, back, butt, etc.) as her body came in contact with the slides on the way down. Some were raft rides, some were small body slides.
Amount of rides-not really very many-a much smaller selection than TL or BB. There was only a few rides that DD liked well enough to ride more than once.
Food quality-we purchased meal vouchers and were limited on our choices. We both had the burger which was just okay. Over cooked and dry and there was some kind of filler with the meat. Pretty good bun. Even though this hamburger was just okay it was far superior to the ones we had a few years ago at SC in Palm Springs. (we've been to SC BP as well but didn't eat there). We were there on a summer day and one of the two main food locations were closed all day.
Lifeguards (ride attendants)-inconsistent. My DD10 was too short to go into the wave pool without a life vest (must be 54" tall). This actually brought her to tears as the rest of the troop was tall enough to not wear the vest and therefore they could go past the "red line" into deeper water. One of the times the girls were in the wave pool I watched as the "lifeguard" had her back turned to the measuring pole as 6-10 kids went in that were too short to enter without a vest. When I pointed this out to her she said "oh, I'm sorry" I told her that she needed to pay more attention and be more consistent. There is nothing in the brochure mentioning the min. height requirement.
Also in one of the warming pools that was posted "no horseplay" as you can imagine there were many kids in the pool before the sun came out. Kids were splashing and swimming under the water (no heads allowed under water per sign). The "lifeguard" just sat there and never once told them to knock it off.
Rafts-like many of the non-Disney water parks, they offer tube rentals. If you go on a busy day and want to have a tube to use at all times you will probably need to rent one.
BATHROOMS-cleanliness, state of repair-In a word the bathrooms were
GROSS. I used one just after the park opened and 2 of the stalls were unusable and the one I picked didn't even have a toilet paper dispenser (didn't realized until I sat down
). Other locations had 1 of the 4 stalls "Caution taped" and faucets that didn't work. The bathrooms have signs about not using them as changing rooms but the seems to be ignored by most. The floors of the restrooms were all pretty wet. I never saw any drying the floors off. You definitely want to wear your shows inside the restrooms.
Water Tempis basically really cold. Think about how cold the water is when it comes out of your garden house. Even in the small kids play zone the water was just below freezing. Way too cold for small ones.
What I liked-
The girls had fun.
The lazy river was nice. Once our legs got used to the really cold water (in other word-numbness set in
) it was enjoyable.
Plenty of shade and chairs.
Changing Room-were nice and dry. A little far removed from most of the park but not too bad.
Kid's play area-where the lazy river is is pretty nice. This is the area we should have set up our camp.
Warming Pools-These were great-basically jacuzzis without the bubbles. One is located between the wave pools and 2 are in the kid's play area.
Other info.
When we were there there were at lot of kids groups there. Busloads. Once they cleared out about 3 p.m. the park was really nice. Hardly any crowds.
They have cabanas for rent all over the place. The posted price is $100 for M-TH and $125 otherwise. I heard they were offering a special for $85 when we were there. I don't know what's inc. but I saw 2 chairs, maybe an ice chest, and you get a cabana attendent from 10-3. Food not incl.
Sunscreen-even if the sun isn't out make sure you wear sunscreen. Several of our girls didn't have sunblock on and did get slightly sunburned.
Food-expensive but no more so than other theme parks.
When we left we went a little south of Wild Rivers to Lake Forest Dr. to Del Taco for dinner. Totally made up for the unremarkable lunch.
Haven't been to Raging Waters. I hear it's nice. Looks like they offer some good deals. I hear it can get very crowded.
As far as towel rentals go at SC, I don't think they do.
What should I remember to bring?
For your protection and comfort, Knotts Soak City recommends you bring sunscreen, sunglasses, beach towels and sandals. If you forget any one of these items, you can purchase them in our Wipeout Surf Shop inside the park.
Since you've decided to go to SC I rec. leaving the park and getting some fried chicken at the Chicken To Go store location next to Mrs. Knott's There are picnic tables in the area you can use.
