Defunctland: The Demolition of Six Flags Astroworld

Western Junction. This roller coaster, made by Anton Schwarzkopf, featured a large loop in which the train traveled forward once after launch and then backwards again. Two years later, in 1980, AstroWorld would receive another major expansion; Thunder River, the world's first rapids ride, would open in the park. While it is now a common type of attraction, this was the first of its kind and a huge kit for AstroWorld. In 1983, SkyScreamer, an Intamin launch tower, would debut in the Plaza de Fiesta section of the park. The tower was 143 feet tall and dropped guests onto a stretch of curved track.

This same year, the Alpine Sleigh ride would close due to high maintenance costs, leaving the mountain abandoned. The ambitious journey lasted 15 years at AstroWorld. In 1983, Waterworld, an independent water park, would also open next door. The park had a standard variety of slides and pools. A year later, in 1984, AstroWorld took delivery of the Arrow, XLR-8, or Accelerate suspended roller coaster, which would be located in the Plaza de Fiesta area. Their tour would take visitors directly over Lost World Adventure, which had been renamed River of No Return. In its later years, the coaster rotated some of its cars, allowing guests to choose between riding the coaster facing forward or rearward.

This was also the time when Six Flags acquired the rights to the Looney Tunes characters from Warner Brothers, and Time Warner became increasingly interested in the theme park chain. The Houston park was left at the mercy of the Six Flags corporation, but until now, it had treated AstroWorld extremely well, constantly bringing new rides, attractions and experiences. Six Flags was actively improving the park and had more improvements planned for the next few years. ♪Long John Silvers♪ ♪ where your money goes ♪ ♪ The Long John Silver Way! ♪ This fall, make your visit to AstroWorld even further with super savings from Long John Silver's.

Now through November 29, save $4.00 on your AstroWorld ticket with Long John Silver's discount coupons. ♪ where your money goes ♪ ♪ The Long John Silver Way! ♪ In the mid-1980s, a dance club called Studio A would open in AstroWorld. Because it seems that no theme park was safe from the 80s. A Houston MTV-style dance show called Video City would be filmed here. This is also the year that Halloween festivities would begin. In 1987 a new attraction called Looping Starship would debut. A year later, the Tidal Wave water attraction replaced the River of No Return, which had been renamed a wetland a few years earlier.

This marked the end of the attraction's 20 years of operation. In 1989, a new steel roller coaster, Viper, opened in Oriental Village. The roller coaster was 80 feet tall, had a small tunnel on the first drop, and featured an inversion. The following year, another new roller coaster, Ultra Twister, would open. This unique attraction was a tube-shaped roller coaster and had previously operated at Six Flags Great Adventure before being moved to the Houston park. This was the only attraction of its kind in the United States, as the roller coaster originated in Japan. In 1993, AstroWorld opened a major new attraction. The trip was called Batman: The Escape.

This stand-up coaster had resided at two previous Six Flags parks before coming to AstroWorld. Here, it would have the DC Comics superhero as its theme. The main villain of the attraction was The Penguin, who chased guests throughout the entire line and attraction. The queue featured Arctic Park and Gotham City Cold Storage themed areas. The coaster itself had little theme other than color and a short tunnel with strobe lights. The attraction was quite tough and pushed visitors the entire way, but it was extremely popular despite this. Along with Batman: the Escape, Six Flags finally found a use for the abandoned mountain structure left over from the Alpine sleigh ride.

This entertainment building would become the home of the Batcave. Guests heading to Batman: The Escape could enter Bruce Wayne's secret lair and see some of his gadgets, Batman's suit, and even the Batmobile. The same year that Batman: the Escape was released, Time Warner would complete its acquisition of the Six Flags corporation. Few changes for Six Flags parks under new management, as by then they have been using Warner Brothers properties for years. The parks had nothing to worry about at the moment. However, this moment of peace would not last long. In 1995, the indoor roller coaster, Mayan Mindbender, would open at AstroWorld.

This was a fairly uneventful ride, but the darkness added an extra thrill to the experience and the extra theming was appreciated. A few years later, in 1998, an even more detailed attraction would open, a drop tower called Dungeon Drop. This attraction was themed around a castle and had an awesome themed queue. Also joining this year was Taz's Texas Tornado, a Schwarzkopf traveling roller coaster with multiple loops. But all of this was minor news compared to what was happening at Six Flags as a whole. A company called Premier Parks had approached Time Warner. The company, which began operations in 1982, was buying as many regional amusement parks as business-wise possible.

After going public in 1996, they now had the funds necessary to purchase the Six Flags parks from Time Warner. Time Warner, which had recently begun selling other aspects of its business, agreed. Premier took control of all Six Flags parks, bringing the total number of company-owned amusement parks to 31! Kieran Burke, President and CEO of Premier Parks, said: "This is a transformative transaction for Premier, making us the largest regional theme park company in the world. Premier began rebranding its existing parks under the Six Flags label and eventually abandoned the name, Premier, in favor of Six Flags Theme Parks Incorporated.

AstroWorld continued business as usual, hoping that the changes at the company would have only positive effects on the 30-year-old park. Years after Premier's acquisition, Six Flags AstroWorld was largely the same. The last major attraction the park received was 1999's Serial Thriller, a suspended Vecoma roller coaster. Aside from a couple of new carnival rides and a few repainted rides, AstroWorld was stagnant. The park had undergone many changes in the last 37 years. Many fan-favorite attractions were removed, such as Excalibur in 1998 and even Astroneedle in 2000. Still, most of the park's iconic attractions remained, including Dungeon Drop, Looping Starship, Tidal Wave, Thunder River, AstroWay, Bamboo Shoot, The Antique.

Taxis, The 610 Limited, Mayan Mindbender, Greezed Lightnin', Batman: The Escape, XLR-8, Viper, Serpent and Texas Cyclone. The park had entertained many visitors in the nearly 40 years it had been in operation. Although the park had received less attention and experienced more problems, the citizens of Houston and visiting guests still loved it. And none of them could have expected what was about to happen. Turn out the lights, the party's over, 37 years of Houston history have come to an end. Six Flags AstroWorld closed for good tonight. While they said it would happen around 6:00, it took longer because some fans just didn't want to say goodbye. 11 News reporter Jeremy Desel was there tonight for the final ride.

He joins us now to tell us about the finale. Jeremy? Well, that's right. It took about two additional hours to get people out of the lines for those attractions and out of the park. Certainly, AstroWorld over the years has been known for all its thrills and screams and on its closing day, you can add tears to the list. On September 12, 2005, CEO Kieran Burke announced that AstroWorld would not reopen for the 2006 season. Many reasons were cited for its closure, including declining staff quality, increasingly rude guests, lower attendance, and a circumstance unfortunate. Since AstroWorld was separated from Astrodomain after it was acquired by Six Flags, the park had been renting parking at the complex.

Unfortunately, when the Houston Texans were created in 2002, a new stadium was built next to the existing Astrodome. Not only would this be used for football games, but it would also host Houston's biggest events, including the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. This led to parking disputes between AstroWorld and the new stadium. All of these issues led Six Flags to decide it was time to close the park... ...or maybe it was something else. Perhaps all of the aforementioned problems weren't just a series of misfortunes that Six Flags had to endure; In reality it was quite the opposite. While Six Flags was quick to point out all the problems the park was facing, they failed to mention that their company was more than $2 billion in debt.

Premier had not stopped buying parks after obtaining Six Flags. The company continued its acquisitions, both in the United States and abroad, at a pace that was unsustainable. The turning point came in the early 2000s, when the company's debt became so enormous that shareholders began to take notice. In an attempt to avoid bankruptcy, Six Flags began selling many of its international parks and looked within the U.S. to see which ones it could do without. AstroWorld, which had been neglected for a long time, caught his attention, even though the problems were his fault. The poor management could be attributed to a lack of attention from businesses, the poor attendance was due to little or no investment being made in the park for almost a decade, and the rude behavior of visitors could be due to the park reduced the price of its season pass, turning Aparca into a cheap babysitting service for parents in the area.

Furthermore, there were many potential solutions to the parking dispute, but Six Flags, now owned by a company with a finger on the trigger and $2 billion in self-imposed debt, saw its window; Since AstroWorld was right next to Houston's new sports and events complex. The company felt it was the perfect time to sell, as property values ​​around the stadium were at an all-time high. They expected to receive $150 million for the land and planned to send many of AstroWorld's attractions to different parks, potentially increasing revenue at those locations. AstroWorld would see its last guests on October 30, 2005, and

demolition

would begin the next day.

Some of the attractions, such as Dungeon Drop, Tidal Wave, Serial Thriller, Batman: The Escape, Mayan Mindbender, and Greezed Lightnin', were relocated. Others were not so lucky. Casualties included Thunder River, Bamboo Shoot, AstroWay, XLR-8, Viper, Serpent, and even the Texas Cyclone. Many of the relocated attractions never reopened and remained in storage. Many of those that resumed operations have since closed. AstroWorld cost about $20 million to demolish, and the land was sold to a local land development company for just $77 million, nearly half of what Six Flags expected. This led to the sacking of Kieran Burke and a new chief executive was left in charge of the disaster.

The following years would be difficult for Six Flags, as many of the parks were closed or stripped of the company's branding, but AstroWorld's story was now over. As of 2018, the lot formerly occupied by the park is empty and rarely used apart from infrequent special events. It is used occasionally, and ironically, as overflow parking for the stadium on the other side of the interstate. The neighboring Astrodome suffered a similar fate and is now unused, leaving almost the entire Astrodomain abandoned. AstroWorld is a rare case of an entire park being demolished, and is especially shocking given its size.

Not only were numerous rides and attractions lost, but the world they inhabited was also lost. It's not ruined. It is not abandoned. It's just... gone. The loss of the park has left a void in the hearts of many locals, especially as they celebrate what would have been their 50th birthday. While AstroWorld may have been physically destroyed, it lives on in the memories of those lucky enough to have visited it and those who long to return to Houston's wonderful world of fun. ♪ Let your problems disappear, ♪ ♪ Let's be happy for a day. ♪ ♪ AstroWorld is waiting for you, every time you say, hello. ♪ ♪ Dancing in the moonlight, ♪ ♪ playing in the sun. ♪ ♪ We make people happy. ♪ ♪ AstroWorld. ♪ ♪ AstroWorld. hello.

There is no one available to answer your call. Please leave a message after the tone. (beep) Kevin. Is the time. IsTime to sell everything... ...again.