Season pass and membership holders seek Splashtown refunds to no avail

SPRING, Texas (KTRK) -- It's been two weeks since Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring was forced to close after a chemical leak that sent over 30 people to the hospital.

With the summer winding down and many families feeling unsafe to return, some season pass and membership holders say they feel they are getting shortchanged.

D'Anne Baldwin Rivera spent $280 on season passes for her family and then spent another $100 on meal passes.

"My kids are six and three, and they only play in the kids area where the chemical spill happened," Rivera said. "I don't feel like it is safe to go back. I understand that it was an accident, but if it can happen once, it can happen again, and that's not a chance I am willing to take with my children."

Rivera contacted Six Flags to get her money refunded.

Guest relations responded to her email saying, "I am very sorry you feel that way, but our team is not offering refunds at the moment. We have a strict no-refund policy."

Many families believe the chemical leak should call for an exception.

"As long as we are paying, they're happy," Patrick Saldivar said.

Saldivar and his wife decided to cancel their membership for their family, including six of their children, after the chemical spill.

Although they canceled the membership, they still have to pay for the months of July and August.

During COVID-19 they tried to get a refund because they paid for the year before the pandemic hit and the park was forced to close.

Instead, Saldivar said Six Flags gave them an upgrade from season passes to a membership, which includes more benefits at the park.

"At that point, they gave us a small upgrade, but we spent over $1,000 for time that was never spent," Saldivar said.

Saldivar and his wife said the chemical exposure was the last straw, and they want their money back.

And it's not just about the money, but the lack of communication that has them frustrated.

"They never sent the members a heads up," Saldivar said. "We are going to closed for X amount of time or even keep us up to date on the investigation. We found everything out from the news. We feel they can do better, and how many more people are paying and that's the customer experience they are getting?"

Splashtown has been ordered to stay closed until the investigation is completed. ABC13 has reached out to officials for an update on whether or not they will consider offering refunds to season pass and membership holders.