Raging Waves Waterpark — Attraction in Bristol Township

So there are pros and cons to this waterpark:

Pros: The waterside are really fun, and i like nearly all of them

Staff seem laid back and friendly, and I love the Australian theme

On a good day, lines aren't horribly long but roughly a 20-minute wait, which is ok-ish

Finally, my hands down favorite slide is the bowl one. I absolutely enjoy that, and my second favorite is the big blue funnel

Cons:

Once upon a time, you could come to this waterpark, and parking was absolutely free. There is no need for the $20 fee

Once upon a time, admission was nowhere near the $60 they charge today.. absolutely outrageous.. it used to be around $40 in person

Although I mentioned lines this place on a busy day on popular rides will have you waiting at least over an hour. Do not come on summer holidays you will hate yourself for that. (July 4th, im looking at you)

On top of the over $60, entree plus $20 parking unless you're here with granny who will watch all the belongings. you are looking at an additional $15 for lockers. That's already $95, and you haven't even touched a waterslide yet. It is a very overpriced waterpark, and it annoyed me so much that I starved myself all day. I ate at 9 am at home and by 3 pm I was so darn hungry but I knew that food price was going to make me mad so I didn't eat 9 hours. Checkmate raging waves! You're not getting my money for your pricey food!

Another thing I really hate is how kids love to try to cut you in line. I purposely stance my arms on the railings and don't let anyone from behind me go in front of me.

The signs are no joke for PJ'S plummet that checkered yellow and blue drop rude will get your back in the pretty bad pain. People with back issues do not take that ride granted YES its exhilarating and fun. The only con to that ride is how much it makes your back hurt. The 2 slides that go around it are a better choice.

Lastly, the waterpark will not answer phone calls. I tried to call abkut questions, and I didn't know certain rides were 2+ people, so I went there alone, and I had to ask random strangers to go down bigger slides with me because I went alone.. I hate to say this, but you're really, really limited to things as a single rider because the 2 best rides are 2+ people. Luckily, i managed to find some strangers who were willing to let me go with them down the bigger slides and made my day more fun, but it took a while. People can be so weird with such a simple request.. I am not asking you for money. Im asking you for 15 seconds of waterslide action to have a fun memorable moment. Well, thankfully, im very extroverted, so I didn't give up until I found a group of individuals who let me tag along --- with this being said, raging waves answer your phones so I can ask questions in person

Good waterpark but clearly some obnoxious details, which forced me to write a 2-star rating. It may sound contradicting, but I would go back with a companion this time so that im not alone restricted to smaller slides. It's still a fun place bit you need 2+ people to make it more fun.

Ultimately, cost...

This was our first trip to Raging Waves.

First of all, we got half off tickets this week because it was the week after all the students left to go back to school so less lifeguards. I did not realize what this meant or I would have waited.

It was not a bad line on a Friday this past week to get in, but you pay for the experience. Honestly, even at half off, it felt like a rip off. Pay for parking, pay for all food because you can't under ANY CIRCUMSTANCES bring your own food in.

Waterpark: wave pool was just OK. Had a great movie screen, would be fun on their pool and movie nights but NO INNER TUBES. Not sure why but it seems those would be nice to have. I get the liability bit but it was just OK.

Two slides were closed due to students not being there to run things. And....lazy river. CLOSED. If I knew this I wouldn't have gone. I guess the fine print says this week, we let you get in half off for no lazy river. We had kids running the park and sweat it out in the chairs because we didn't want to leave our towels and stuff. Pay for the lockers? Sure, it already cost over $200 to get in.

Food: ONE HOUR LINE FOR FOOD IN THE SUN. It was hot AH and we stood waiting with hungry kids asking us for food. They played in the water while we waited for them. Then I got food tickets ahead and was told my daughter couldn't get her tender meal with the pass. It was not included. As is, it was $15 per meal deal. And? No lids or straws for drinks. the line was long because....short staffed.

For me...if you are short staffed, don't open. Don't close the biggest lazy river to riders and close every other food place to shuttle everyone to ONE SPOT when you are only open 6 hours. We waited 1 hour of that time for food plus eating so we lost time because reduced hours and staffing.

Overall, it was a decent park. Kids had fun and lines weren't super long this time with school in session (imagine standing for lines when it's super busy).

Also, I have to say another annoying issue was though we knew park closed at 5 pm, there were ZERO ANNOUNCEMENTS park wide. Kids and others will not realize the time because you can't wear your watch on rides really if you want to go so people don't know what time it is. You're there to have fun and relax. They need a SOUND SYSTEM because my kids got separated and we couldn't find them to tell them to get ready to go. My friend is hard of hearing and needed some alerts it was time to go even though we were helping each other with time. ZERO CLOCKS anywhere but GET A SOUND SYSTEM FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. Give people 30 minutes, 15 minutes and 10 minute warnings. That helps give people time to gather belongings and people to get out on time. Even at exit from the park, nobody walked up to us to say a reminder of closing. The staff were just folding up chairs and acting like people weren't there.

We may or may not return at all due to the SKY HIGH PRICES but once is enough. Sadly, I may never get to experience the...

Paid full price for half a park. On a 90°day in mid-August, multiple slides and the lazy river were closed, and there was ZERO real food available besides half-melted ice cream and $12 funnel cakes. Nearly every food stall/kiosk was closed. No signs posted, nothing mentioned on social media, staff were apathetic and unhelpful when asked.

New ownership does not seem to care about the customer whatsoever. No outside food allowed, yet no food available inside the park? Really? My only option is to walk 10+ minutes with my young child across a hot parking lot to eat out of a cooler when I've already spent well over $300 to get in? Why not invite food trucks into the "premium" parking lot ($30 extra dollars to park there... it was nearly empty, by the way...) so that families have options and you can still cheap out on hiring extra staff? Expecting families with young kids to make it 5+ hours in the sweltering heat with no sustenance is unacceptable and borderline sadistic. They are lucky no one had a medical emergency. Very disappointing - and it was the subject of conversation among the majority of guests today.

It's clear that Bowlero - the new owners who called the park a "superb, very profitable property" when they bought it in 2024 - is more interested in squeezing every last dollar out of its patrons than building long-term relationships with its customers and giving families a safe, fun, enjoyable experience. We won’t be back until they take a serious look at their operations and make some big changes - and every family I spoke to today said the same thing. It's too bad, as the park itself is well-designed and has great potential. I guarantee they lost hundreds of returning customers today. Shame.

Update: Here is the response from RW: "Hello **,

Thanks for reaching out. We are so sorry to hear of your recent visit to our park. We strive to keep all attractions open for our guests. Due to a number of local high schools returning to school in August and September, the staffing situation is still being evaluated on a day-to-day basis. Please note that certain attractions may be closed on a given day, but we plan to still give you the best experience possible! We do not know which attractions will be closed (if any) until the day of. Closed attractions are posted on the day of as well.

We hope this clears up your concerns. If you do have any other questions, please let us know.

Have a great day,"

To clarify - Closed attractions were not posted anywhere online, social media, or outside of the park. We only discovered that the lazy river, medium-sized slides, and several of the large slides (approximately half of the attractions) were closed after paying and entering the park. There was also nothing posted about limited food and drink options anywhere online or outside of the park, and they did not acknowledge this very serious safety and health issue in their response. Very apathetic...