Raging Waters Sacramento


Raging Waters Sacramento is a water park located on the Cal Expo grounds in Sacramento, California. The park is owned and operated by Palace Entertainment. The park has been formerly known as WaterWorld USA and Six Flags Waterworld.

History

The park opened as WaterWorld USA in 1980. The park was owned by Cal Expo, where the park is located, and Premiere Parks leased and operated the park. Premier Parks also owned WaterWorld USA in Concord, and Marine World Africa USA. The three parks were operated by the same management, and their close proximity made for deals so that season passes to Marine World also worked at the WaterWorld USA parks. Although Premier Parks bought Six Flags in 1998 and began renaming their parks with the Six Flags brand, the WaterWorld parks were not renamed until 2003, when they became Six Flags Waterworld. At the end of the 2006 season, Six Flags announced it would not renew its lease. The lease was taken over by Raging Waters in November 2006. In May 2007, the park reopened as Raging Waters Sacramento.

Incidents

On August 15, 2011, 20 people were injured in the park after a high concentration of chlorine was released into a wave pool. The chlorine quickly became airborne and a gas cloud formed. When people in or near the pool inhaled the gas, they became ill with symptoms such as eye irritation, burning in the throat or lungs, and difficulty breathing. The park was evacuated and an investigation was conducted. The cause was identified as a faulty pump—when a backup pump was activated, the chlorine that had accumulated was released all at once.

Slides and attractions

Because the park is located at Cal Expo, the park does operate during the California State Fair. Guests are required to first purchase admission to the state fair before purchasing admission to the water park. New for the 2011 season, premium season or Sacramento season passholders get free state fair visits.