SOAKING IT IN An overhead bucket tips to douse the crowd.

Legions of kids within driving distance of Gurnee have been counting down to Saturday 28 like they count down to Christmas. Finally, the day is here: Six Flags Great America unveils Hurricane Harbor, its colossal new outdoor water park.

Every kid worth his water wings can already rattle off the highlights of the 13-acre mecca: The Caribbean-themed park features 25 waterslides, a 500,000 gallon wave pool and high-speed body slides that can propel you with lugelike intensity at speeds of up to 40mph. (Can you say wedgie? Atomic wedgie?) But wait, that's not all, or even close—there's also a 42,000-square-foot river complete with waterfalls, rapids and geysers, plus multistory slides for inner tubes, mats and rafts.

The epicenter of it all is a two-acre behemoth called Skull Island, which Six Flags says is the world's largest interactive water-play structure. A tree-house motif features eight intertwining slides, 17 towers connected by climbing nets and swinging bridges, and hundreds of water sprays and blasters. For added yuks, three giant overhead buckets fill with water and tip every ten minutes to drench unsuspecting waders.

For day-tripping families from Chicago, Hurricane Harbor offers a convenient alternative to the Wisconsin Dells, which lay claim to having the world's largest concentration of water parks (21 indoor and outdoor). Parents will be glad to know admission is included in the daily general admission price to Six Flags Great America (separate tickets are not available), though at $44.99 ($29.99 for seniors and kids under 54 inches), it's still pretty steep. If you plan on visiting often, the $89.99 individual season passes (good for unlimited visits during the 2005 season, plus admission to 20 other Six Flags parks) are a relative steal. Purchasing four season passes drops the price to $79.99 each. Online promotions are also available at www.sixflags.com/parks/greatamerica.

Six Flags Great America is at 542 North Route 21, Gurnee (847-249-4636).