Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord is a seasonal water park located in Concord, California. It was initially developed, owned, and operated by Premier Parks. It is currently owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord
Previously known as Waterworld USA Concord (1995–2003)
Six Flags Waterworld (2004–2006)
Waterworld California (2007–2017)
LocationConcord, California, U.S.
StatusOperating
Opened1995 (1995)
OwnerEPR Properties
Operated bySix Flags Entertainment Corporation
SloganBay Area's Largest Water Park
Operating seasonMay through September
Attractions
Total25 Waterslides, 7 Complexes
Water rides25
WebsiteSix Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord

History

Waterworld California, originally Waterworld USA, opened in 1995.[1] It was developed by what was then Premier Parks, which also leased and operated the original WaterWorld USA (now Raging Waters Sacramento). Premier Parks also owned nearby Marine World Africa USA (now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom). 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. Premier Parks acquired Six Flags on April 1, 1998, and eventually changed its name to Six Flags Inc.[2] In 1998 Six Flags began rebranding numerous properties, however, the Waterworld parks were not renamed until 2003, when they became Six Flags Waterworld. At the end of the 2006 season, Six Flags divested itself of multiple properties including the two Waterworld parks. The Concord park was purchased by CNL Lifestyle Properties on January 11, 2007.[3] Multiple CNL properties, including Waterworld, were operated by Premier Parks LLC — although similar in name, it was not the same company that built the park. In November 2016, CNL sold its recreational assets, including Waterworld, to EPR Properties. Premier Parks LLC continued to manage Waterworld.[4] On April 27, 2017, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation announced it would take over the park's operations from Premier Parks, LLC.[5] On February 22, 2018, Six Flags announced the name of the park would change to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord.[6]

Due to the growing concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Six Flags announced a suspension of operations across the company on March 13, 2020.[7] In early August, the water park announced on their social media that the 2020 operating season had been canceled and that Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord looks forward to open again in 2021.[8] This would be the first season for the water park to not operate since its inception in 1995.

Incident

On June 2, 1997, the Banzai Pipeline collapsed after students piled into the water slide in an attempt to break a school record. A section of the slide gave way under the weight of the students, all of whom had congregated in the section in particular, resulting in the group falling several metres to the ground. The collapse of the water slide resulted in 32 injuries and the death of 18-year-old Quimby Ghilotti.[9][10] It was stated that the slide experienced weight forces three times greater than what it was designed for. This incident was featured on an episode of Dateline.[11]

Park names
  • Waterworld USA Concord (1995–2003)
  • Six Flags Waterworld (2004–2006)
  • Waterworld California (2007–2017)
  • Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord (2018–present)

Rides
  • Big Kahuna - A WhiteWater West Family Faft Ride, opened 1999
  • Break Point Plunge - 2 ProSlide SuperLOOP launch capsule slides, opened 2015 [12]
  • Breaker Beach - Wave Pool, opened 1995
  • Caribbean Cove - Kids Play Area previously named Treasure Island, opened 2018
  • Honolulu Halfpipe - A Waterfun Products Sidewinder, Opened 2002 [13]
  • Hurricane Slide Complex- 4 Body Slides, 2 WhiteWater West AquaTubes and 2 Giant Slides, opened 1995
  • Kaanapali Kooler - Lazy River, opened 1995
  • Splashwater Island - A WhiteWater West RF4RB kids play structure, opened 2018 [14]
  • Tornado - ProSlide Tornado 60 Slide, opened 2005
  • Typhoon Slide Complex - 4 Two Person WhiteWater West Tube Slides, opened 1995

Former Rides
  • Cliffhanger - 2 Speeds Slides, a WhiteWater West Speed Slide and a Freefall Plus, opened 1995.[15] Closed in 2019 and demolished in 2022 due to part of the structure breaking and the ride being deemed unsafe to operate.[16]
  • Diablo Falls - WhiteWater West Drop Slide into pool, opened 1996, closed in 2017
  • Dragon Tails - WhiteWater West Family body slides removed in 2017 for Splashwater Island
  • Lil' Kahuna's Waterworks - Small kids play area that was removed in 2017 for Splashwater Island
  • Treasure Island - SCS Interactive water playground that was removed in 2017 for Caribbean Cove

References
  1. WATERWORLD CALIFORNIA - Celebrating 20 Splashy Years of Fun in Concord. ACE NorCal. August 12, 2015. GEpCyIwVNCI. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  2. "Time Warner Completes Sale of Stake in Six Flags for $440 Million in Cash | Time Warner Inc". Time Warner.
  3. "Six Flags owner to sell 7 parks for $312M". St. Louis Business Journal. January 11, 2007. Retrieved February 19, 2012.
  4. "CNL Lifestyle Sells Ski Resorts, Recreation Assets for $830M". Commercial Property Executive. November 5, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  5. "Waterworld California Becomes Six Flags' 20th Property". Six Flags Entertainment Corp. April 27, 2017. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  6. "Concord Water Park is Now Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord" (Press release). 22 February 2018.
  7. "BRIEF-Six Flags Entertainment Says Made Decision To Delay Opening Or Temporarily Suspend Operations For Certain Parks In Response To Coronavirus Outbreak". Reuters. March 13, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  8. "Hurricane Harbor Concord Park Update". Facebook. August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  9. "One dead, 30 hurt in water slide collapse". Archived from the original on 2012-11-19. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
  10. Fimrite, Peter (June 4, 1997). "Napa High Mourns Loss Of Caring Honors Student". SFGate.
  11. Dornin, Rusty (June 5, 1997). "Expert says water slide carried too much weight". CNN. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015.
  12. "ProSlide - SkyBOX".
  13. "The Sidewinder MKI | Waterfun Products".
  14. https://www.whitewaterwest.cn/drive/uploads/2016/08/AquaPlay-Brochure.pdf
  15. "Body Slides for a Range of Thrills and Ages".
  16. Six Flags Hurricane harbor Concord Updates 2022 | new attraction rumors??, retrieved 2022-06-01
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