Wild Rivers (water park)
| Wild Rivers | |
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Wild Rivers Water Park in 2010
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| Location | Irvine, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°38′35″N 117°44′54″W / 33.6431889°N 117.748411°WCoordinates: 33°38′35″N 117°44′54″W / 33.6431889°N 117.748411°W |
| Opened | 1986 |
| Closed | September 25, 2011 |
| Previous names | Lion Country Safari |
| Website | Official Website |
Wild Rivers was a water park in Irvine, California, United States. It opened in 1986 on the site of the former Lion Country Safari. Following the expiration of its lease with The Irvine Company, it closed permanently on September 25, 2011. Since the closure, there have been plans to recreate Wild Rivers in Irvine on or near the Orange County Great Park have been under development.
Before Wild Rivers was built, the land was a drive-through zoo called Lion Country Safari, which went bankrupt and closed in 1984. Construction on Wild Rivers "Mountain" began in 1985 and the park itself opened in 1986.
In early 2011, Wild Rivers announced that it had lost its lease with The Irvine Company. Both the park and the adjacent Camp James were scheduled to close at the end of the 2011 season. The park was planned to be demolished with 1,750 apartments being built in its place. A new water park was planned to be built on public land near the Orange County Great Park, and was scheduled to open to the public in May 2014.
Since 2012, there have been attempts to redevelop Wild Rivers on or near the Orange County Great Park. It was originally slated that a Wild Rivers park would open in May 2014, but it was then delayed a year later to May 2015 before it was cancelled altogether due to financial and land approval issues. In March 2016, the plans were revived and three months later, on June 26, 2016, the Great Park Board proposed two sites: one 35 acres and the other 60 acres. In late April 2017, Wild Rivers successfully negotiated a contract with the Irvine City Council, acting as the Orange County Great Park, paving the way for their return to Irvine, estimated to take place in summer 2019.
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