Soak City is the 35-acre water park inside Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, and it’s included free with every Kings Island ticket and season pass — no separate water park admission required. With 36 water slides, two wave pools, a lazy river, a dual-racing water coaster, and dedicated kids’ zones, it’s one of the largest water parks bundled into an amusement park admission anywhere in the Midwest.
This guide covers everything you need to plan a visit: when Soak City is open in 2026, what parking and admission actually cost, the full ride lineup with height requirements, and practical tips on cabanas, lockers, and what to bring.
Quick Answer
Soak City is Kings Island’s on-site water park in Mason, Ohio, included at no extra cost with any Kings Island admission ticket or season pass. For 2026, Soak City’s opening weekend is May 23, and the water park generally runs through Labor Day weekend on a shorter, weather-dependent schedule than the main park. It features 36 slides, two wave pools, the RiverRacers water coaster, a lazy river, and five kids’ play areas across 35 acres.
Is Soak City Included With Kings Island Admission?
Yes. Every standard Kings Island day ticket and every tier of season pass includes access to Soak City on days it’s open — there’s no separate water park ticket to buy, and no water park-only admission option exists. That makes it a notably better value than most standalone regional water parks, which typically charge extra for admission on top of any theme park ticket.
Kings Island now operates as part of the combined Six Flags park network (following the 2024 Six Flags–Cedar Fair merger), so tickets, season passes, and current pricing are sold through the official Kings Island Soak City page rather than a separate water park site. The things you do pay extra for are comfort upgrades: cabana rentals and locker rentals. Lockers use a keypad you set yourself, so bringing your own padlock isn’t necessary or useful.
Soak City Hours & 2026 Season
Soak City runs on a shorter calendar than the main Kings Island park because it’s a seasonal, weather-dependent operation. Soak City’s 2026 opening weekend is confirmed for May 23, with the water park typically continuing through Labor Day weekend, expanding to more days per week during peak summer and scaling back to weekends during the shoulder periods in late May and August.
Because the schedule shifts week to week, always check the official Kings Island calendar and hours page before you go — Soak City hours are listed separately from general park hours and don’t always match. Soak City can also close early for weather (including lightning, which shuts down all water attractions immediately) even on days the main park stays open, so it’s worth checking the app or website again the morning of your visit.
Parking at Soak City & Kings Island
Parking is shared with the main Kings Island lot — there’s no separate water park parking fee. For 2026, general parking runs $35 plus tax, and Preferred Parking (closer to the front gate) runs $45 plus tax; both are single-day rates payable by credit or debit card only, since the park no longer accepts cash at parking booths. Note that there are no Preferred Parking spaces located near the Soak City entrance specifically, so even Preferred Parking guests will walk a similar distance to reach the water park.
Season pass holders can often add a parking pass for the year rather than paying per visit — check current options on the official Kings Island parking page, which has the up-to-date rates and any preferred-parking availability.
Full Ride and Slide Guide
Tropical Plunge is the park’s signature structure — a multi-tower complex nearly seven stories tall added in 2016, combining six distinct slide experiences from body slides to enclosed tube rides in one footprint.
RiverRacers, added in 2025, is Ohio’s first dual-racing water coaster: riders board side-by-side rafts, get launched by a conveyor belt, and drop down a 33-foot, 47-degree first plunge before racing through banked turns to the finish. Minimum height is 42 inches.
Thunder Falls and Zoom Flume are the park’s classic open-air flume rides, both dating to the water park’s original 1989-1990 buildout — riders fly down winding, zigzagging tube slides on an inner tube. Zoom Flume seats up to four riders together on a group raft and has a 40-inch minimum height; Thunder Falls carries the same 40-inch minimum, with a life vest required for riders between 40 and 52 inches.
The two wave pools anchor the park’s open water: Breakers Bay (added 1997, formerly known as Surfside Bay) and Tidal Wave Bay (added in the 2012 expansion) both cycle through timed wave sessions for body-surfing or floating. Splash River, the park’s lazy river, offers a slower loop around the property, tube-optional.
For younger kids, Splash Landing is an interactive splash-pad-style zone with kid-sized slides and a tipping bucket that periodically dumps water over a play structure. Splash River Junction, added in 2025 alongside RiverRacers, adds seven gentle Salamander Slider slides plus Bluegill Lagoon, a reimagined swimming-hole area with a leaky water tower, along with Tadpool/Castaway Cove and a Riverbank slide-out area. Altogether the park counts five themed children’s areas among its 50-plus water activities.
Height Requirements at a Glance
RiverRacers: 42″ minimum. Thunder Falls and Zoom Flume: 40″ minimum, with a life vest required for riders between 40″ and 52″. Splash Landing and the other kids’-area slides: roughly 36″ minimum, aimed at younger children with an adult nearby.
Because height rules can be adjusted by the park and are measured in bare feet at the ride entrance, double-check current signage or the official Kings Island ride height chart the day you visit, especially for Tropical Plunge’s individual towers, which can vary slightly by slide.
Cabanas, Lockers & What to Bring
Cabana rentals range from smaller poolside options seating around 4-8 guests up to larger Beach Party-style cabanas built for bigger groups, generally including a welcome package of towels, bottled water, and sunscreen, with food and beverage service available at an added cost. Cabanas can be reserved in advance through the official Soak City cabana booking page linked from the park’s site.
You can generally bring your own tube or float for the lazy river and wave pools (check current-season policy, as personal flotation device rules can change), while tubes are provided at no extra cost for tube-slide attractions like Thunder Falls and Zoom Flume. Small lockers are available near the entrance and café areas and use a self-set keypad code, so you don’t need to bring your own lock. Water shoes are worth packing — the pool decks get hot in peak summer, and Ohio’s water park season overlaps with the hottest stretch of the year.
History and Growth
Soak City opened in 1989 as WaterWorks, a 12-acre addition with 15 slides and a lazy river — the first new themed area at Kings Island since 1976. A 1990 expansion added Zoom Flume and other slides, and the biggest single leap came in 1997, when the park nearly doubled in size and gained its first wave pool, later renamed Breakers Bay.
The park was rethemed as Crocodile Dundee’s Boomerang Bay in the mid-2000s before a $10 million 2012 renovation brought a new entrance, a second wave pool (Tidal Wave Bay), and the current Soak City name. The most recent expansion, in 2025, added the RiverRacers water coaster and the Splash River Junction kids’ zone — the park’s first major addition in nearly a decade.
Soak City Kings Island FAQs
Do I need a separate ticket for Soak City at Kings Island?
No. Any Kings Island day ticket or season pass includes Soak City admission on days the water park is open — there is no standalone water park ticket.
What are Soak City’s hours for the 2026 season?
Soak City’s 2026 opening weekend is May 23, generally running through Labor Day weekend with more operating days during peak summer. Hours vary by date and can differ from the main park’s schedule, so check the official Kings Island calendar and hours page before you go.
How much is parking for Soak City?
Parking is shared with the main Kings Island lot. For 2026, general parking is $35 plus tax and Preferred Parking is $45 plus tax, both payable by card only; there are no Preferred spaces near the Soak City entrance specifically.
What is the height requirement for RiverRacers?
RiverRacers, Kings Island’s dual-racing water coaster, has a 42-inch minimum height requirement.
Can you bring your own tube or float to Soak City?
Generally yes for the lazy river and wave pools, though personal flotation device policies can change by season, so check current rules. Tubes are provided free for tube-slide rides like Thunder Falls and Zoom Flume.
How much do lockers cost at Soak City?
Small lockers are the most affordable option and use a self-set keypad code rather than a physical key, so no rental or personal padlock is needed. Larger and jumbo lockers are also available at a higher rate; current pricing is posted at the rental kiosks and on the official park site.
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