14
Credit: Raging Waters San JoseA popular park in California has closed its gates for good, shocking local residents.
Florida may be the theme park capital of the United States, but California comes in a close second. Ever since its oldest location, Knott’s Berry Farm, opened in 1920, the state’s accumulated a total of 33 theme parks across the state.
Related: The “Best Theme Park” in California Isn’t Disney or Universal
Today, California is home to the world-famous Disneyland Resort, with Disneyland Park and California Adventure attracting guest from across the globe. It also boasts multiple Six Flags theme parks and Universal and SeaWorld’s first theme parks, Universal Studios Hollywood and SeaWorld San Diego.
If a lineup of 33 theme parks sounds impressive, California has even more impressive roster of water parks. You can currently find 102 water parks across the Golden State. However, as of September 6, this number has officially dipped to 101.
On Wednesday, Raging Waters – Northern California’s largest water park – announced its permanent closure. A statement on its website reads “thanks for the memories, San Jose” and confirmed it will not return in 2024.
Raging Waters San Jose is closed for the season and will not be reopening in 2024. We are thankful for the San Jose community and for our outstanding Team Members for helping us bring Northern California’s Largest Water Park to life for nearly four decades.
Related: Florida Theme Park Announces Its Closure Two Hours Before Opening
First opened in 1985, the 23-acre theme park featured 14 water slides and a 350,000-gallon wave pool. Its closure comes a year after the Sacramento location of Raging Waters closed. However, recent reports have suggested that the latter may be revived as a new water park named “Calibunga.”
The announcement reportedly came as a surprise to officials as the park was on year 39 of its 40-year lease. District 8 Councilmember Domingo Candelas told San José Spotlight that it will be deeply missed by the local community, and that conversations are ongoing with its owner, Palace Entertainment, about an exit strategy.
Palace Entertainment currently owns 24 amusement destinations across the United States, including Raging Waters Los Angeles, Wet’n Wild Emerald Pointe in North Carolina, and Pennsylvania’s Dutch Wonderland and Kennywood. It also owns an additional Raging Waters location in Sydney, Australia.
The organization also previously owned Miami Seaquarium, home to the famous killer whale Lolita (AKA Tokitae) who recently passed away short of plans to release her back into the ocean.
Have you ever visited Raging Waters? Let us know in the comments!