Raging Waters Aims Neptune’s Fury at Both Kids and Parents

Johnathan Garcia was simultaneously excited and nervous as he waited in line not long ago to experience Raging Waters’ new attraction, Neptune’s Fury.

The personable 8-year-old was about to try the 600-foot-long water ride, which plunges participants into total darkness through a 108-inch-diameter tunnel.

As it turned out, Neptune’s Fury and its 60-foot drop at 30 mph proved to be a perfect fit for Johnathan. After disembarking from the round raft along with his mother, Lisa, and sister Errin, 12, he proclaimed the ride one of his favorites at the San Dimas water park.

Mom and Errin also gave Neptune’s Fury a thumbs up. For Errin, who enjoys the park’s extreme rides, it was exhilarating enough to warrant repeat visits. Meanwhile, Lisa gave it high marks for being family-and parent-friendly.

“It’s a ride for Mom,” she said with a laugh. “It’s not as scary as some of the other rides. I’ve gone on some other rides with the kids, and I won’t go on them again.”

Though it may not be suited for preschoolers, Neptune’s Fury is an ideal ride for families with older children like the Garcias, who live in nearby La Verne and have season passes to the park. Indeed, the attraction was designed to appeal to a wide age group as well as varying levels of thrill-seekers.

“The unique thing about this ride, and it may be unique to any other ride in the whole country, is the disorientation factor,” said Terry Mackey, general manager of Raging Waters. “[As you enter complete darkness] you never know what direction you’re going. You don’t know if you’re going sideways, backwards, forwards. There’s that element of surprise: You don’t know what’s coming next.”

Neptune’s Fury replaces two rides that date to Raging Waters’ early ‘80s beginnings. El Nino and Tree Top were removed.

Mackey said both rides had become outdated and less popular over time. They were more straightforward, single-person rides that didn’t have the sense of unpredictability that’s built into Neptune’s Fury. The Neptune’s Fury experience varies according to where one sits in the circular raft, which seats up to four. The water-and gravity-propelled ride is like a junior version of shooting a river rapid.

“Depending on where you sit in this raft, the ride experience is different every time you ride it,” he said. “I love riding backwards because you still feel like you’re going forward. You have no idea that you’re really riding backwards until you get to the end of the ride and you’re getting ready to come out [into the light]. Then you realize that you were riding backwards instead of forwards.”

Recognizing that many people prefer experiencing rides together rather than individually, the trend at Raging Waters has been toward more communal rides. Neptune’s Fury is a prelude to bigger expansion plans for Raging Waters over the next five years. Right after the park is closed for the year at the end of September, the parking lot will be transformed into space for additional rides and attractions. A new lot will be built elsewhere. A second wave pool will be created in the new area

Cathy Scherbarth, Raging Waters’ director of marketing, said a roller coaster also will be constructed as part of the park’s expansion plans.

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* Raging Waters, 111 Raging Waters Drive, Bonelli Regional Park, San Dimas. Sundays-Thursdays, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Through Sept. 21. Over 48 inches tall, $25.99; under 48 inches tall, $14.99; age 2 and under, free; season pass, $49.99. Parking, $6. (909) 802-2200 or https://www.ragingwaters.com.