South Bay Shores is a water park located at California's Great America amusement park in Santa Clara, California. The water park is owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation and opened as Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay in 2004. The name was shortened to Boomerang Bay in 2007. For the 2021 season, it was expanded and renamed South Bay Shores.
| South Bay Shores | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Pup's Pier (then Jackaroo Landing) (2015) | |
| Location | California's Great America, Santa Clara, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 37°23′46″N 121°58′15″W / 37.3962°N 121.9708°W |
| Owner | Six Flags |
| Opened | 2004 |
| Previous names | 2004–2006: Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay 2007–2019: Boomerang Bay |
| Operating season | May to September |
| Area | 11 acres (45,000 m2)[1] |
| Pools | 2 pools |
| Water slides | 11 (excluding kiddies) water slides |
| Children's areas | 2 children's areas |
| Website | Official website |
History
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Crocodile Dundee's Boomerang Bay opened in 2004 as the first water park in Northern California to be included within an amusement park.[2] Originally covering 2.7 acres (11,000 m2), the water park was expanded the following year in 2005 to 11 acres (45,000 m2) with the addition of a lazy river ride, two water slides and a 150,000-US-gallon (570 m3) swimming pool. Following Cedar Fair's (now Six Flags) purchase of Paramount Parks properties in 2006, which included California's Great America, the name of the water park was shortened to Boomerang Bay for the 2007 season.
On August 8, 2019, California's Great America announced that Boomerang Bay would be renamed South Bay Shores and expanded for the 2020 season with several new additions, including a six-slide complex, eight kiddie slides, and other amenities within the complex.[3] The park did not operate in 2020 or in the first half of the 2021 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and two stay-at-home orders issued by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
In 2022, Cedar Fair sold the land occupied by the park to Prologis, announcing intentions to permanently close Great America by 2033.[4] Cedar Fair stated that the sale will help them lower the company's corporate debt to $2 billion.[4]
List of attractions
edit| Intensity rating[5][6] (out of 5) |
|---|
| 1 (low) 2 (mild) 3 (moderate) 4 (high) 5 (aggressive) |
Note: Number ratings assigned per California's Great America, while the colors are unique to Wikipedia. For more details, refer to the California's Great America Guest Assistance Guide.[6]
| Name | Year Opened | Description | Former Name | Manufacturer | Model | Rating[6] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barracuda | 2021 | Solo inner-tube water slide with a drop at the end. Part of Pacific Surge six-slide complex. | N/A | WhiteWater West | Open Flume | 5 |
| Breakers Bay | 2007 | 355,000-US-gallon (1,340 m3) wave pool. | Great Barrier Reef | Wave Pool | 4 | |
| Coastal Cruz | 2004 | Four-person raft water slide | Didgeridoo Falls | WhiteWater West | Family Raft Ride | 4 |
| Feeding Frenzy | 2021 | Solo inner-tube water slide with a bowl at the end. Part of Pacific Surge six-slide complex. | N/A | WhiteWater West | Super Bowl | 5 |
| Mission Falls | 2004 | Two-person inner-tube water slide | Down Under Thunder | WhiteWater West | Boomerango | 4 |
| NorCal Wipeout | 2004 | Fully enclosed, two-person inner-tube water slide | Tasmanian Typhoon | WhiteWater West | Water Coaster | 3 |
| Otter Trotter | 2004 | Children's "spray-ground" with interactive fountains and other water activities. | Kookaburra Cay | WhiteWater West | AquaSpray | 1 |
| Pup's Pier | 2004 | Family-oriented, multi-level water fortress complete with slides, bridges, and rope ladders | Jackaroo Landing | WhiteWater West | Rain Fortress 5A | 3 |
| Reef Racer (1st Slide) | 2005 | 30-foot tall (9.1 m) body water slide with enclosed chute and a 45-degree drop, relocated from the former Manteca Waterslides. | Ripsnort Ridge | ProSlide | PLUMMET | 4 |
| Reef Racer (2nd Slide) | 2005 | Fully enclosed body water slide over three stories tall featuring twists and serpentine curves, relocated from the former Manteca Waterslides. | Screamin' Wombat | ProSlide | TurboTWISTER | 4 |
| Rushin' River | 2005 | Lazy river ride | Castaway Creek | Wave Pool | 2 | |
| Shark Reef Plunge | 2021 | Four fully enclosed drop capsule body water slides. Part of Pacific Surge six-slide complex. It is similar to the installations at other Cedar Fair parks including Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Carowinds, Cedar Point, Knott's Berry Farm, Worlds of Fun, and Kings Island. | N/A | WhiteWater West | AquaDrop/HSAT | 5 |
| Tide Pool | 2005/2021 | Family-friendly 150,000-US-gallon (570 m3) heated lagoon with a tropical theme. 8 new kiddie water slides added to the lagoon in 2021. | Boomerang Lagoon | WhiteWater West (Slides) | Mini Slides | 1 |
References
edit- ^ "Water Park Facts". Ultimate Waterpark.com. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "Paramount's Great America to introduce "Boomerang Bay" water park in 2004". Roller Coaster Database. 21 August 2003. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 16 November 2011.
- ^ "South Bay Shores Waterpark | California's Great America". www.cagreatamerica.com. Retrieved 2020-02-14.
- ^ a b Jennings Moss, J; Nguyen-Fleige, Chelsea. "Cedar Fair sold the land beneath Great America to Prologis for $310M and intends to eventually close the park". Silicon Valley Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2022.
- ^ Ratings assigned per California's Great America, where "1" is the least intense and "5" is the most.
- ^ a b c "Guest Assistance Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2013.