While all amusement parks require significant upkeep to keep the rides both up to safety standards and interesting to new generations of visitors, any place offering water rides will incur specialized expenses due to the constant wear-and-tear that comes when high-volume electrical systems are exposed to harsh pool chemicals and constant moisture.
In some cases, the cost of keeping up aging infrastructure stops being justified when visitor numbers are already low. Some of the water parks that closed in 2026 include CaliBunga Waterpark and Fiesta Village in California’s San José and Colton, respectively.
In both cases, the decline in visitor numbers in a regional community made the rising operating costs unsustainable for the owners.
Wild Waves Theme and Water Park to close off section in September
The other major theme park that will close after nearly 50 seasons of summer fun is Wild Waves Theme and Water Park in Washington State.
Opened in 1977 as part of Oklahoma-based Premier Parks’ move to expand across the country and into the Pacific Northwest in particular, the park has more than 30 attractions and water rides.
The theme park originally operated as Enchanted Village while the water park section was added in 1984; throughout its 50 years of operation, it also had a brief period in which it was sold off to Six Flags before going back to Premier.
The water section of the water park, which includes tube slides, a wave pool and a lazy river, will permanently shut down after Labor Day while the regular rides will operate until the end of the Fright Fest Halloween celebration on November 1.
“Come ride, splash, laugh, make one last memory, and say goodbye,” Wild Waves wrote in a September 4 social media post.
Losses force Wild Waves closure
When the last operating days were first announced at the start of the summer, Premier Parks owner and president Kieran Burke named “the rising cost of ongoing operations since reopening after the COVID shutdown” as the reason for the “millions in losses […that] forces us to discontinue operations at the end of our 2026 season.”
During the last few summer seasons, Wild Waves employed approximately 35 permanent employees and 800 seasonal workers. For guests, any season passes or packages bought this year will continue operating until the park’s last opening day.
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The current plan approved by the local city is to build a one-million-square-foot warehouse on the site of Wild Waves Theme and Water Park once it is disassembled. The proposal immediately proved deeply unpopular among local residents with generational memories of the theme park.
“We recognize the deep history and emotional connection many residents have with the park, and we are committed to ensuring a respectful transition while planning a project that will bring meaningful, lasting benefits to the area,” park co-owner Jeff Stock said to a local media outlet in December 2025.
