Wild Waves Theme & Water Park closes for good on Sunday, Nov. 1, ending a nearly 50-year run as the region's only major amusement park.

The Federal Way park opened in 1977 as Enchanted Village, built by Byron Betts, who operated the merry-go-round at Point Defiance Park, according to The News Tribune. It grew into a 70-acre complex with roller coasters, water slides and a wave pool that drew families from across the South Sound for generations.

Premier Parks LLC, the Oklahoma City-based operator, announced in December 2025 that the 2026 season would be the park's last. Kieran Burke, president and owner of Premier Parks, said in a press release that "the rising cost of ongoing operations since reopening after the COVID shutdown has generated millions in losses."

The water park section closed Sept. 7. The dry rides and annual Fright Fest, a Halloween event with haunted houses and themed roller coasters, continued on weekends through the fall.

Though Wild Waves sits in King County, it has long been a fixture for Tacoma and Pierce County families.

Matt Wakefield of Visit Tacoma-Pierce County told Tacoma Weekly the park functioned mainly as a local day-trip attraction, not a driver of overnight tourism. He said the organization does not expect a significant decline in regional lodging-tax revenue but acknowledged the closure would leave a gap for families who grew up with the park as part of their summer routine.

UW Tacoma student Katie Evans visited Fright Fest during its final run and told The Tacoma Ledger it was her first time at the event, making the shutdown feel especially bittersweet. Even with long lines from the final-season crowds, Evans said the visit was worth it.

Elvis Meyer, another UW Tacoma student, grew up going to the park with her family. Meyer told the Tacoma Ledger she felt disappointed that future kids would not have a nearby water park to visit in the summer.

The park employs about 35 full-time and 800 seasonal workers, according to the December 2025 press release. The closure's impact on those jobs has not been detailed.

What replaces the park has sharpened the loss. Plans filed with the city of Federal Way propose demolishing Wild Waves and building a warehouse of more than 1 million square feet, called Podium I-5, as first reported by the Federal Way Mirror. Development company Panattoni would lease the land from Jeff Stock, the longtime property owner, who told the Mirror he was "emotional" when he learned the park was no longer viable.

Stock said he explored a hotel or convention center but found little interest. He wanted something that could be built faster than the three to four years those alternatives would require. A geotechnical report cited by the Mirror described the project as a 1,033,680-square-foot industrial building with dock-high loading on two sides.

The warehouse proposal triggered public concern. At a July 7 meeting, the Federal Way City Council unanimously passed a one-year moratorium on data centers after residents worried the warehouse could become one, according to the Tacoma Daily Index.

Council President Susan Honda said before the vote that Stock told council members he had no interest in a data center on the property. Whether the warehouse project has received final city approval is unclear from available records.

Once Wild Waves closes, the Seattle metro area will be the second-largest in the country without a major amusement park, according to Sean Randall, the Northwest representative of American Coaster Enthusiasts, speaking to The News Tribune.

The park's last day is Sunday, Nov. 1.