CaliBunga’s opening was initially slated for June 29, but park officials said some last-minute electrical equipment failures pushed the schedule back.
“While we rebuilt 14 of the 22 pumps and replaced every piece of kitchen equipment in here, and made major changes to the water supplies and the sewer, some of the equipment is just old, and once we turned everything on, it gave up, so we had to go back in,” CEO Steve Dooner said.
“It’s kind of like the movie The Money Pit. Every time you turn something on, something else breaks,” he said.
Overall, Dooner said the park’s new operators, a private investment group based in Sacramento called California Dreamin’ Entertainment Inc., have put about $6.5 million into making repairs, upgrades and touch-ups to help refresh the park and make it run smoothly.
New paint has been applied, new furniture is being put in place, including cabanas, umbrellas, shade structures, and hundreds of new lounge chairs, and the attractions including slides, rivers and pools have been checked closely for function and safety, Dooner and Sells said.
“Regulars will notice we have gone through and reinforced all the structural aspects of all the towers and attractions. So where the staircases used to be wobbly in the past, they’re rigid, all the mounts that the slides are on have been reinforced, and basically, it’s been set up to last for another 25 years,” Dooner said.
Two rides won’t be available on opening day due to ongoing upgrades, including Barracuda, a raft ride planned to open later this month, Sells said, and the Bombs Away ride will open next year.
“We’ve just been working around the clock to get the park open, and we’re excited to welcome the San José area,” Sells said.
Raging Waters closed in September, as its parent company, Palace Entertainment, walked away early from their lease with the city after running the park since 1985. The company also gave up operations of the Raging Waters location in Sacramento at the state’s Cal Expo site in 2022, where Dooner said California Dreamin’ is eventually planning to completely demolish the prior park and rebuild a new park.
Palace still owns Raging Waters Los Angeles in San Dimas, Los Angeles County, Dooner said.
CaliBunga, at 2333 S White Rd., spans about 23 acres on a portion of the city’s Lake Cunningham property. In late February, the city council voted to award California Dreamin’ a temporary contract to run the park through September 2025, with an option to extend it by six months after that.
The city will collect rent from the park operators equal to 6% of total sales. In the first year, California Dreamin’ expects to have total sales of about $6.4 million, city reports said. If California Dreamin’ hits its revenue goals, the city could see $350,000 in rent payments and an estimated nearly $50,000 in additional income from parking fees, all of which the city said will go to operations, maintenance and improvements to Lake Cunningham Regional Park.
In late 2024 or early 2025, the city council plans to consider proposals from contractors to operate the park for a longer-term lease, including California Dreamin’, city reports said.
