Summer is in full effect here in Southern California. To celebrate one of the coolest places to be, I’m sharing all the details about Knott’s Soak City now open in Buena Park, California.
As a Knott’s Ambassador, I receive complimentary admission to facilitate reviews. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
The Knott’s Waterpark, Soak City, is our favorite place to beat the heat and have fun worth splashing about! The Orange County, CA waterpark recently expanded, offering guests acres more slides and fun.
If you’re visiting for the first time, this epic guide to Knott’s Soak City has everything you need to know about your visit. If you’re returning, I’d love to hear your best tips. Just share them in the comments.
As a Berry Blogger, or Knott’s Berry Farm ambassador, I’ve had the pleasure of spending many a summer day exploring the water park. I love daring my teens to races on the huge water slides and then making my way around the lazy river.
Best Soak City Rides
Best Soak City Rides For Families
- Gremmie Lagoon Little ones will enjoy splashing and sliding through Gremmie Lagoon. The water play area is perfect for preschoolers who can wade through the water and enjoy color play spaces, designed just for them. There are age appropriate slides and adorable animals with water spots.
- Sunset River Relax together on the Sunset River, where you can float for 1,780 feet around the park.
- Tidal Wave Bay If you’re looking to make waves, head to Tidal Wave Bay. The wave pool features a zero-drop entrance. You can dive in as far as you’d like for the perfect wave-to-smile ratio.
Best Soak City Rides for Big Kids & Tweens
Height requirement for these Soak City rides: 42 inches
- Beach House For kids looking for more thrills, head to the Beach House. Featuring three stories of slides, spouts, and splashes, the Beach House is a great choice for taller kids who have outgrown Gremmie Lagoon. Beware the bucket that drops 500 gallons of water!
- Bonzai Falls Slide down 41 feet on Bonzai Falls. The open-air 6-lane racing slides are a great introduction to bigger water slides.
- Laguna Storm Watch Tower Grab a friend and hope for good weather. The Laguna Storm Watch Tower tubes blast you down three enclosed tubes on an inner tube.
- The Wedge Being able to ride together was a great way to get my bigger kids to feel comfortable on water slides. The family-friendly rafts for The Wedge seat six.
Best Soak City Rides for Teens & Adults
Height requirement for these Soak City rides: 48 inches
- Malibu Run With both open and enclosed slides, Malibu Run will have you shrieking “Surf’s Up!” from the tube slides.
- Old Man Falls Three fast action slides await at Old Man Falls. Lie back, cross your arms, and sail down for fun.
- Shore Break A hot trend in water slides are water chambers where the floor literally drops out from underneath you like those in Shore Break. The free fall drops you down seven stories. Shore Break also features two dueling slides.
Soak City Dining
Soak City features two dining options: Portside Pizza and Longboard’s Grill.
Portside Pizza Grab a slice of pizza or a salad to fuel your Soak City fun! If you’re ordering for a family, grab an entire pizza for additional savings versus individual slices.
Looking for Dining Plan options? Try these at Soak City:
- Cheese Pizza Wedge Slice & Side Salad
- Pepperoni Pizza Wedge Slice & Side Salad
- Caesar Salad & Breadstick
Longboard’s Grill The surf is up, and the grill is on. Head to the newest dining location at Soak City, Longboard’s Grill for burgers, chicken tenders, hot dogs, and more.
Dining Plan options include:
- Cheeseburger & Fries
- Grilled Chicken Burger & Fries
- Hot Dog & Fries
- Hand Breaded Chicken Strips & Fries
- Fish & Chips
Some additional things to consider when planning your meals at Soak City:
Outside food and drinks are not permitted. You can, however, pack small snacks in sandwich bags to bring in.
There are two main dining options and they get busy. Avoid crowds by skipping peak dining times.
Knott’s Berry Farm reusable bottles can be used at Soak City.
Dippin’ Dots counts as lunch during the summer.
Is there alcohol at Soak City?
Yes, for guests 21+ there are alcoholic drinks available for purchase. Beer, including Brewery X selections, plus wine and slushies are available.
What to Pack for Knott’s Soak City
Bring your bathing suit, towel, and a big smile! Packing for Soak City isn’t tough, especially when you consider there’s a store to pick up anything you’ve forgotten.
Some things to keep in mind when packing for your day at the waterpark:
- Bring flip flops or water shoes The ground gets HOT! Bring a pair of flip flops to leave by the ride entrance. Water shoes are permitted on some rides, but not all.
- Life jackets/vests Life jackets or vests are required for those under 48″ tall or who are inexperienced swimmers. There are complimentary life jackets available. However, you may bring your own granted they are US Coast Guard approved.
- Sunscreen Sunburns are not great souvenirs.
- Waterproof phone case Grab a waterproof phone pouch like this one from Amazon to capture your family’s favorite memories.
For the official guidelines to Soak City, check out the Knott’s website.
Knott’s Soak City Cabanas
Finding the perfect spot to call home for your day at Soak City can take some planning. I recommend getting to the park before opening so you can take advantage of shorter lines, but also get a good spot.
With a younger child in our family, we tend to head to the “grassy” area near Gremmie Lagoon. Umbrellas are permitted, so you can stake your spot and have a home base for your time at the park.
Otherwise, you can claim lounge chairs throughout the park to deposit your belongings and relax slide-side.
The best way to enjoy Knott’s Soak City for a whole day of fun is by renting a cabana.
Benefits of cabana rentals:
- Your own private area to relax and unwind
- A secure place for your belongings
- Food service personnel will take your order & bring your food to your cabanas. Plus, they’ll keep your pitcher of water filled.
- Personal inner tubes
- Shade
Typically we spend the morning and early afternoon at Soak City. If we have a cabana, we can stretch the fun to last the whole day. It is an added expense, but can be divided upon your party down to a very reasonable rate.
An important note: There is a one-time $18 charge for ordering food from the cabana service. All-day dining and meal plans are not available in the cabana.
Soak City Prices
You do have options when selecting tickets for Soak City. The best way to enjoy the park is to pick up a Season Pass so you can enjoy both Knott’s Berry Farm and Soak City all summer…and all year long.
You can check out current Soak City prices here.
What about you most looking forward to about summertime at Knott’s Berry Farm and Soak City? Share it in the comments!
59 Comments
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We’ve never been but love knott’s berry farm.
Hi Sasha! It’s a lot of fun. If you are really motivated, you can do both in one day!
My boys and I have never been, but it sounds like a place we need to check out this summer. Floating around the ‘Sunset River’ sounds good right now!
We need to change that! Your water-loving family will have so much fun.
Hi Melanie I would like to participate for the raffle not sure if I did everything correct. I hope so this is amazing never been to knotts but it looks like so much fun. 🙏 my Daughter Valerie & Melani would love it
I love that we can check at how busy they are before we head down on the videos they live stream.
That is a great feature! Sometimes I watch the live streams just for fun. 🙂
Have never been but I’m sure my daughter would love it.
Last couple weeks of summer to enjoy our weekdays with the kids!
We were just at Soak City today! We love being able to cool off in a fun place!
Perfect day for Soak City! Glad you had fun!
This mama of four loves floating the lazy river
I always love the raft rides I can go on with my kids!
Never been to soak city but we’ve been to knott’s, we love all the events there, last time we were there was the christmas event last year. Would love to surprise the kids with soak city for the summer!
I love enjoying all the water slides with my family and making memories to last a lifetime.
We have not been to Knott’s or Soak City in over a year so we are dying to go! I miss the food & my boys LOVE all of the rides, especially Hang Time!
I’d love to win!
We have never been to Knott’s Soak City but we would love to go!
Thanks for doing a giveaway, could never go otherwise!
We have never been, but my kids would love the raft rides and lazy river!
We have not visited this summer yet. I look forward to the wave pool.
We would love to take the kids here before school starts.
We’ve never been to Soak City, but it looks like it’d be a blast! Love doing the log ride at Knotts on the hot summer days.
We have not visited Soak City yet but my kids luv Waterparks. We are excited about visiting Knotts Berry farm for the 1st time so adding this to our trip would be fantastic. Thank you for the chance to win!
Never been to Soak City, but we have made Knotts Berry Farm a family tradition for years!
My fav thing about Knotts is enjoying a boysenberry churro while watching my kids faces comming off the roller coasters !!!!
Never been there but I would love to take my family.
My 2 year old loves the Toddler area with his age-appropriate slides. Its the warmest water in the park. I love all the thrill rides, which thankfully typically have a much lower wait time than the tube rides.
I’m looking forward to enjoying the park through my kiddos eyes. I grew up visiting them but haven’t taken my children yet.
We have never been to Soak City but boy, oh boy, would the kids flip out if we got a chance to go this summer!!
This looks like so much fun!
My family last visited Knott’s Berry Farm 5 years ago. Now my boys are old enough to ride the big rides and I am really looking forward to making so many new memories.
What an awesome giveaway!!! We haven’t been to Knott’s. My boys love splash pads and we haven’t been to a water park yet. Love the recommendations in the article to get us ready to go.
I love the lazy river and wave pool
I’ve never been to soak city, and it’s been many many years since I’ve visited a water park. I’d love the chance to take my family. Thank you for the opportunity to win!
I have actually never heard of this place! Looks super fun! I’m looking forward to hanging out in the kid area with my little kids!
We have never been but would love to try it!
But it looks like so much fun!
I LOVE KNOTTS AND SOAK CITY IN THE SUMMER BECAUSE MY FAMILY AND I GET TO MAKE SOME FUN MEMORIES AND GOING TO KNOTTS REMINDS ME OF GOING AS A CHILD SO MUCH FUN💕💕💕💕💕🙌🙌😊😊
Never been there, but the water slides look amazing!
We have never been but it looks like a blast!
I’ve never been to a water park, but my little loves the water! I can’t wait to check this out.
My kids would love this place. They love water parks!
I love the Lazy River at Soak City and thankfully my kids do too bit its been way too long since id been able to take them.
I’d be stoked to win a soak city giveaway!!! Thanks a bunch for the opportunity!
We have never taken our kids to Soak City. My son would love to win this for the water slides!!
We’ve never visited but I’m looking forward to taking my kids to their first water park visit ever.
i love knotts but have never visited soak city. i’d love to go!
I have always wanted to check out the water park! It looks so relaxing. And the food looks yummy
I am excited about the Soak City Cabanas.
I haven’t been to Soak City but been to Knotts and love it. Thanks for the chance
Never been, but always love a good lazy river!
We have never been, but we are looking forward to the lazy river!
We’ve never been to Soak City, but Sunset River sounds like something the whole family will love!
Sounds like fun!
Will go this summet