SOUTHLAND WATER PARKS SET TO MAKE A BIG SPLASH.

Byline: Jerry Rice Staff Writer

This summer at the Southland's six major water parks, guests will be encouraged to soak up the sun. Sure, you can still get soaked, too, but no new super-duper slides will be unveiled.

Instead, the parks (Hurricane Harbor, Raging Waters, Wild Rivers and three Knott's Soak City U.S.A. locations) will have a lineup of activities and entertainment.

``You have the opportunity to lie around in the sun all afternoon if you want, or go out on different types of slides,'' says Soak City spokeswoman Michele Wischmeyer. ``I don't want to equal it to a hotel swimming pool because it's not quite that sedate. But you still have the opportunity to relax in the sun and intersperse it with some activity.

``Another good thing is you can pick a spot to call 'home' for the day,'' she adds. ``Get some lounge chairs and you have a home base for the day. But in a theme park you're on the go all day - moving from attraction to attraction.''

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

If theme parks are your game, Hurricane Harbor and Soak City in Buena Park have big ones right next door.

``A lot of families are buying the two-park combo ticket, and coming over to Hurricane Harbor from 10 (a.m.) to 6 (p.m.), then they venture over to Magic Mountain when it's cooler and watch the parade, fireworks and the evening activities,'' says Six Flags spokesman Andy Gallardo.

Knott's Berry Farm also has a park-hopper pass, and both venues have added hotels to their mix in the last couple years to attract overnighters.

Here's a closer look at what's in store at Southland water parks:

Knott's Soak City U.S.A.

Where: 8039 Beach Blvd., Buena Park; 1500 S. Gene Autry Trail, Palm Springs; 2052 Entertainment Circle, Chula Vista.

When: All three locations are open daily through Labor Day, and select days after that.

Cost: $21.95; $14.95 for ages 3 to 11. Ages 2 and younger free. Season passes are good at all three parks.

Information: [phone] for Buena Park, [phone] for Palm Springs, [phone] for Chula Vista; www.soakcityusa.com.

Congratulations are in order for Cedar Fair, the giant theme park concern that operates Soak City and Knott's Berry Farm; it has triplets.

A year ago it acquired the former Oasis Water Park, and after a $2 million make-over from top to bottom, it reopened in March under the Soak City U.S.A. banner. It joins sister water parks in Chula Vista and Buena Park.

``It's completely different,'' says Wischmeyer. ``Everything was painted, the slides and the facades were redone, and then we put in the Fun House.''

If you want to set up camp for the day, cabanas are available at the Chula Vista and Palm Springs locations. They come with wait service and other amenities for parties up to eight.

``It provides a little opportunity to be pampered,'' says Jim Stellmack, Soak City's director of marketing. ``They really are a unique, fun feature.''

Cabana prices start around $40 for the entire day.

A side note: If you haven't figured it out already, the name Soak City U.S.A. plays off Huntington Beach's nickname, Surf City U.S.A.

Raging Waters

Where: 111 Raging Waters Drive, San Dimas.

When: Open through Monday. Reopens daily for the summer May 31 through Sept. 2.

Cost: $26.99; $14.99 for children shorter than 48 inches. Ages 2 and younger free.

Information: [phone]; www.ragingwaters.com.

Shades of the popular ``Dive-in Movies'' are back - this time with a twist. New Cartoon Network cartoons will be shown on Friday nights next to the wave pool on a 20-by-20-foot screen.

``It's a new technology that gets a greater resolution so you can see it better,'' says Angela Berrigan, the park's director of marketing. ``The Cartoon Network has a heavy rotation of classic cartoons, but there are also new cartoons. And this is a prime opportunity to introduce those new cartoons to a core audience of theirs.''

Cartoon time and dates: 6 to 8 p.m. June 28, July 12, 19 and 26.

The feature is part of a summer of fun activities at Raging Waters. They include:

--Disc jockeys spinning records from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays, and again at the same time Saturdays.

--A swing band performing from 2 to 4 p.m. Thursdays in July and a surf band taking the stage on Saturdays.

--``Mommy and Me'' entertainment from 2 to 4 p.m. Mondays with magicians, mimes, bubble fun and magic aimed at the little ones.

``It gives them an opportunity to enjoy the park early in the day, and then as things are winding down there's entertainment for the kids,'' Berrigan says.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor

Where: 26101 Magic Mountain Parkway, Valencia.

When: Open daily through Sept. 2. Then, weekends the rest of September.

Cost: $21.99; $14.99 for children 48 inches and shorter and seniors. Ages 2 and younger free. $52.99 for two-park combo ticket (good for Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor).

Information: [phone]; www.sixflags.com.

Hurricane Harbor's big attraction remains Black Snake Summit, a 75- foot-tall tower with five water slides coming out of it. Two of them - Twisted Fang and Coiled Cobra - are 500 feet long and billed as the tallest enclosed speed slides in Southern California.

Black Snake Summit, part of the park's 1997 expansion, is aimed at ages 12 and older.

Tyke-friendly Shipwreck Shores offers a different kind of fun.

``It has a lot of things that are interactive,'' says spokesman Andy Gallardo. ``It has a lot of things you can squirt, pull and dump water out of.''

The biggest splash at the pirate-themed attraction (geared toward ages 2 to 10) is the giant skull at its high point, which dumps thousands of gallons of water on kids and adults down below.

``That area is unique in that it's formed as an island,'' Gallardo says. ``On the outside of that island is a lounge chair/sundeck area so parents can sit down, relax and read a book while keeping their eye on the little ones who are right in front of them playing about in the water.''

Other things to check out include Bamboo Racer, with six lanes so riders can challenge their friends to see who gets to the bottom first; Taboo Tower with three different body speed slides (including one called Daredevil Plunge); Arrowhead Splashdown, with three twisting and turning open-tube slides; and, of course, a lazy river.

``The attraction of Hurricane Harbor is there's a good mix of product for all ages,'' Gallardo says. ``If you were to go to a beach, and you weren't old enough to swim by yourself or bodyboard or surf, you really don't have much to do other than play in the sand. But here you've got a lot of options.''

Wild Rivers

Where: 8770 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine.

When: Open weekends through June 9; daily schedule runs June 12 through Sept. 4.

Cost: $25; $18 for children under 48 inches.

Information: [phone]; www.wildrivers.com.

Entertainment is also the name of the game at Wild Rivers, where a number of themed days are planned. Among them:

--Home School Day (May 31), as the name implies, a day set aside for home-school families.

--Police and Fire Games: Competitor and family night (June 18).

--Waterpark Challenge and 5K (June 22), where entrants take part in various competitions (including the kids, who have a 1/4-mile fun run to complete).

The park boasts 40 slides and attractions, including The Patriot, a seven-story tower with a two-story vertical drop.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) Raging Waters' El Nino sends riders down a 75-foot descent at speeds up to 40 mph.

(2 -- color) Kids have fun on Bamboo Racer at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor.

(3 -- 4 -- color) Above and below, Soak City U.S.A. in Buena Park has 22 major water rides and attractions, including the 1,250-foot-long Sparkletts Sunset River and the Gremmie Lagoon water playground for kids and parents.