U.S. residents who bought admission tickets from ragingwaters.com between June 1, 2020 and June 22, 2026 and paid a "Processing Fee" may qualify to claim a pro rata cash payment from the $850,000 Raging Waters drip pricing class action settlement, with no receipts and no Notice ID required. Claims close November 24, 2026, and the deadlines to opt out or object close nearly two months earlier, on September 28, 2026.
Current Status
Claims are open and close November 24, 2026, online or postmarked. The deadlines to exclude yourself or to object come first, on September 28, 2026. The Superior Court of California for the County of Los Angeles has set a final approval hearing for November 9, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. — two weeks before the claim window shuts, which does not shorten it. No final approval order has been entered and no payment date has been announced. Festival Fun Parks, LLC denies any liability or wrongdoing, and the court has not decided who is right.What Changed Recently?
The claim period opened after the court granted preliminary approval on June 22, 2026 in Andrea Velazquez v. Festival Fun Parks, LLC, Case No. 24STCV20667, and directed that notice go out to the class. That date does double duty: the settlement agreement defines the class period as running from June 1, 2020 through the preliminary approval date, which is why the class cutoff is June 22, 2026 rather than a round number.The case was filed on August 15, 2024 and pleads two counts under California law — a violation of the Unfair Competition Law and a quasi-contract or unjust enrichment claim. The complaint alleges that Raging Waters advertised one ticket price and then added a mandatory "Processing Fee" several screens into checkout, after a buyer had already selected a date and a ticket type. In the example pleaded in the complaint, a general admission adult ticket displayed at $47.99 on the date calendar became $51.99 at the order summary once a $4.00 processing fee appeared in small type.
The settlement came after the case survived an early challenge. Festival Fun Parks moved to compel arbitration on December 4, 2024, arguing the named plaintiff was bound by an arbitration clause; the court denied that motion on January 17, 2025 and opened discovery. The parties mediated in Los Angeles on July 22, 2025 without reaching agreement, and accepted a mediator's proposal two days later. Festival Fun Parks denies all liability, maintains that the challenged disclosure practices were not unfair or unlawful, and agreed to settle to avoid the cost and risk of trial.
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Who Qualifies?
The settlement class is all persons residing in the United States who purchased admission tickets from ragingwaters.com between June 1, 2020 and June 22, 2026 and paid a "Processing Fee." Three parts of that definition are worth reading closely.It is a nationwide class, not a California one. The original complaint proposed a California-only class, and the settlement broadened it to U.S. residents — so an out-of-state visitor who bought tickets online for a trip is covered on the same terms as a Los Angeles local. It is also limited to online purchases from the Raging Waters website; tickets bought at the gate or through a third-party reseller never carried the processing fee at issue and are not part of the case. And the fee itself is the qualifying event: a class member has to have actually paid a "Processing Fee," which is what the settlement administrator will confirm against the company's records.
The class is a defined list rather than an open invitation. Festival Fun Parks supplied the settlement administrator with a customer list naming each class member and the total processing fees each one paid, and the administration budget was priced against a class of 157,737 people.
Excluded from the class are anyone who validly opts out; governmental entities; the parties' lawyers and their firms; Festival Fun Parks along with its parents, affiliates, subsidiaries, independent service providers and their officers, directors and employees; the presiding judge, their immediate family and judicial staff; and anyone who already signed a release with the company covering the same processing fee allegations.
This is the second time the same defendant has settled a hidden ticket fee case. Festival Fun Parks also operates Splish Splash on Long Island, and the closed Splish Splash ticket fee settlement resolved a nearly identical processing fee claim under New York law for $1 million. Buying tickets to one park does not put anyone in the other park's class — they are separate cases with separate class periods. OCA is also tracking a hidden fee lawsuit against Busch Gardens and United Parks, which is still at the complaint stage with nothing to claim.
How Much Can You Get?
The settlement documents state no per-person payment estimate, and that is not an omission — the amount genuinely cannot be fixed until the claim period closes. What the documents do give is the formula and every input to it except the claim rate.Festival Fun Parks pays $850,000 into a non-reversionary fund, meaning none of it returns to the company. From that gross fund come four deductions, each an estimate subject to court approval:
- attorneys' fees of up to one third of the fund, estimated at $283,333.33
- settlement notice and administration expenses, capped at $67,000
- reimbursement of class counsel's litigation costs, stated as $13,965.86
- a service award to the class representative of up to $2,500
The entire net fund is then divided among everyone who files a valid claim, in proportion to what each of them paid in processing fees. In the settlement's terms, a claimant's share is their Out-of-Pocket Percentage — their own processing fees divided by the processing fees of all eligible claimants — multiplied by the net fund. The administrator calculates both figures from Festival Fun Parks' records rather than from anything a claimant submits.
Two consequences follow, and they point in opposite directions. Because payment tracks fees paid rather than being a flat amount per person, a family that visited six times over the class period collects roughly six times what a single-visit buyer collects. And because the fund is exhausted no matter how many people claim it, a low claim rate raises every individual payment rather than leaving money on the table — which is the reverse of a settlement with a fixed per-person benefit, where a heavy claim rate is what triggers a pro rata cut. The complaint puts the fee at $4.00 per ticket as of June 2024; a class member's own total across the six-year class period is what their share is built from.
Money that goes unclaimed after distribution does not go back to the company. Settlement checks expire 180 days after they are issued and can be reissued where appropriate, and whatever remains from uncashed checks after that period is sent to the National Consumer Law Center under California Code of Civil Procedure section 384.
Separately from the money, Festival Fun Parks changed its Raging Waters processing fee disclosures for California consumers in June 2024 and agreed to keep disclosing such fees in compliance with California's drip pricing statutes going forward.
What Proof or Notice ID Is Required?
No documentation and no administrator-issued identifier are required, which is why this page marks Proof Required: No. The official claim form asks for a first and last name, street address, city, state and ZIP, an email address and a phone number, followed by a payment selection and a signature. Its only identifier field is labeled "Notice ID (if you received a Notice)" — conditional on the wording of the form itself — so a class member who never received a notice, or discarded it, can still complete the form.There is nothing to upload and no receipt to find. Eligibility rests on a certification signed under penalty of perjury that the information submitted is true, accurate and complete, and that the person signing is a member of the settlement class and has not opted out. The notice states the same test: a claimant attests that they were a United States resident who purchased admission tickets from the Raging Waters website during the class period and paid a processing fee.
The reason no proof is asked for is that the amount does not depend on the claimant's own evidence. Festival Fun Parks handed the administrator a customer list carrying each class member's name, contact details and total processing fees paid, and the settlement agreement directs the administrator to determine each claimant's share using the company's records. A claim form supplies identity and a payment method; the dollar figure comes from the defendant's own data. The administrator may ask a claimant for additional information where it suspects a fraudulent claim, and the form's certification includes an agreement to provide it.
One practical note follows from the same mechanic: the mailing address on the claim form does not have to match the address used for the original ticket purchase, and the form says so explicitly.
What Is the Deadline?
A claim is due November 24, 2026. It can be submitted online through the settlement website or completed on paper and mailed to the settlement administrator, postmarked no later than that date. The official documents give the date without specifying a timezone.The deadlines to leave the case or to challenge it come nearly two months sooner, both on September 28, 2026. An exclusion request has to be mailed to the settlement administrator, postmarked by that date, and must state the sender's name, address and phone number, carry their own personal signature rather than an attorney's, and unambiguously ask to be excluded while naming the case. An objection is due the same day, also by mail and also postmarked by then, and carries a longer list of required contents including the grounds for the objection, whether the objector intends to appear at the hearing, and proof of class membership or a signed statement under penalty of perjury that they paid a processing fee during the class period.
The postmark is what counts on both, and an illegible postmark makes a submission untimely unless the administrator receives it within two calendar days of the deadline. Anything that reads as both an objection and an exclusion request is treated as an exclusion request.
How Do You Take Action?
Claims are filed on the official settlement website, Raging Waters Settlement.com. The site hosts the online claim form, a printable version for anyone who would rather mail it, and Spanish-language versions of both the claim form and the long-form notice.Fill in the contact fields, choose how to be paid, sign the certification and submit. A class member who placed more than one order during the class period submits a single claim form — the notice and the form both say so, and filing once does not reduce the payment, because the administrator credits the total fees from every qualifying purchase.
Payment options are selected on the form: a prepaid Mastercard sent to an email address, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or a physical check mailed to the address on the form. The digital options each need the email address or mobile number tied to that account. Keeping the contact details current is the claimant's responsibility — a payment cannot reach an address or an account that has gone stale, and the form makes updating that information the class member's job.
A class member who wants to keep the right to sue Festival Fun Parks separately over the processing fees has to mail a signed exclusion request by September 28, 2026, following the instructions in the notice. Doing nothing means staying in the class, giving up the released claims, and receiving no payment.
What Happens Next?
The next scheduled event is the final approval hearing on November 9, 2026 at 9:00 a.m., in Department 6 of the Spring Street Courthouse in Los Angeles. The court will consider whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and adequate, will hear any timely objections and anyone who has asked to speak, and will decide how much to award class counsel and the class representative. The notice warns that the hearing date can change without further notice to the class and that the hearing may proceed virtually, so the settlement website is where to confirm it.Class members do not have to attend, and class counsel appears on the class's behalf. Nothing is paid unless the court grants final approval.
Payment comes later than approval. The settlement agreement sets the effective date at the point when the time to appeal has run with no appeal filed, or when any appeal has been resolved in a way that leaves the approval order standing. The administrator begins paying valid claims no later than 30 days after that effective date. The notice cautions plainly that appeals are always uncertain and that resolving them can take time, perhaps more than a year, and no payment date has been announced.
One clause could still unwind the case. If the court declines to grant preliminary or final approval, or the settlement otherwise fails to reach its effective date, the conditional class certification is void, the money in the escrow account returns to Festival Fun Parks apart from notice and administration costs already incurred, and the case returns to litigation. Nothing in the documents indicates that is expected.
Sources and Verification
- Court-authorized long-form notice, claim form, class action complaint and settlement agreement — Andrea Velazquez v. Festival Fun Parks, LLC, Case No. 24STCV20667 (Los Angeles Super. Ct.)
- Official settlement website — Raging Waters Settlement.com
- Online claim form — official claim submission page
- Frequently asked questions — official settlement FAQs
- Settlement agreement, notices and orders — Important Documents page
Questions
How much will my payment actually be?
The settlement documents give no per-person estimate, and the reason is that the amount cannot be known until the claim period closes. Each claimant's share is their own processing fees divided by the processing fees of everyone who files a valid claim, multiplied by the net fund. Two things move it. The first is how much a claimant personally paid: someone who bought tickets on six visits paid roughly six times the fees of a single-visit buyer and receives roughly six times the payment. The second is the claim rate, and it works in claimants' favor — the whole net fund is distributed no matter how few people file, so a low claim rate means larger individual checks. The processing fee shown in the complaint was $4.00 per ticket in June 2024.
Why is the claim deadline after the final approval hearing?
It is unusual but intentional. The settlement agreement sets the claim deadline at 120 days after the notice date, while the court scheduled the final approval hearing on its own calendar, and the two land in the wrong order — the hearing is November 9, 2026 and claims stay open until November 24, 2026. Nothing about that shortens the claim window. A class member can still file for two weeks after the judge has heard the case, and the deadline does not move up if the court approves the settlement at that hearing. Payment timing is unaffected either way, because no money is distributed until the settlement becomes final and any appeals are resolved.
Do I need receipts or a Notice ID to file?
Neither. The official claim form asks for a first and last name, street address, city, state, ZIP, email address and phone number, then a payment selection and a signature. The only identifier field on it reads Notice ID (if you received a Notice), so it is conditional rather than required, and someone who never got a notice can complete the form without it. There is nothing to upload. Eligibility is established by certifying under penalty of perjury that the information is true and that you are a member of the settlement class, and the payment amount is computed by the settlement administrator from Festival Fun Parks' own records of what each class member paid in processing fees.
I bought Raging Waters tickets several times. Do I file more than one claim?
No. The notice and the claim form both state that a class member who placed more than one order during the class period needs to submit only one claim form. Filing once does not cost you anything, because the payment is not a flat amount per claim — it is a share proportional to the total processing fees you paid across every qualifying purchase, which the settlement administrator totals from Festival Fun Parks' records. A frequent visitor who filed a single claim form is credited with all of their fees.
What happens if I do nothing?
Doing nothing costs something here. A class member who does not file gets no payment and is still bound by the release if the court approves the settlement, which means giving up the right to sue Festival Fun Parks over the processing fee claims in this case. The settlement agreement is explicit that the release attaches whether you submit a claim form or do nothing. The only way to keep the right to sue on your own is to exclude yourself in writing by September 28, 2026, and excluding yourself also means receiving no payment.
Can I object to the settlement and still get paid?
Yes, and the notice says so directly: a settlement class member who objects stays in the settlement class and will still receive a settlement payment if they submit a valid and timely claim form. Objecting and filing a claim are separate steps, so an objector who wants to be paid still has to file by November 24, 2026. Excluding yourself is the opposite situation — someone who opts out has no basis to object and receives nothing. An objection is due September 28, 2026, and the court can only approve or reject the settlement as written, not rewrite its terms.
