It's the type of news that no one wants to hear. But yesterday, it hit us all: Six Flags AstroWorld, one of the larger theme parks in Six Flags' reign of fifteen scattered across America, would be closing forever. Not since Nashville, Tennessee's Opryland back in 1998 had we seen this happen to such a large park in this country, and yet that was still on a much smaller scale. How did it come to this, and what are the implications for the future of this chain?
Sure, we've all known about Six Flags' financial problems for years. In 1999, the chain held back no expense in the bold move of acquiring and converting one smaller amusement park after another around the world into the industry brand that's second-most-reconized only to Disney. Millions were poured into each of the newbie parks, and then the "Flaggings" would take place the following year as well. And then came the unfortunate ripple effect: debt, more debt, and lots of it. Hundreds of millions of dollars of debt.
Yet, who would have expected that it would be one of the original Six Flags parks that would go on the chopping block when worse came to worse in the way of finances? It was true, however: due to the state of Texas' two other Six Flags parks and the rising cost of property in Houston, one of the parks that made the chain money to begin with would be gone. Back in 2003, it was the newest of the Six Flags properties that were sacrificed, yet they were turned over to other operators to continue their missions of thrilling. Now, at the end of the 2005 season, it was time to sacrifice yet another park. But this time, the scene wouldn't be such a pretty one.
As thousands of fun-seekers and families enjoyed the nine coaster tracks, water rides, water park, and other thrill rides at AstroWorld, Six Flags management discussed the tough possibility of putting an end to all of this behind closed doors. Who would have suspected that this season would be the last? Probably no one who saw the park grow from its debut in 1968 on with the Coney Island Cyclone-inspired Texas Cyclone, built for 1976 after plans to buy the original fell through; one of the first shuttle-looping coasters, Greezed Lightnin', in 1978; one of the original two successful suspended coasters in America to open in 1984, XLR-8; the only "pipeline" coaster on the continent with UltraTwister in 1990; and the legendary Thriller portable coaster from Germany renamed and moved to AstroWorld in 1998, Texas Tornado.
But despite the innovative rides, AstroWorld also became known as a "dumping ground" for second- and third-hand rides such as Viper in 1989, Batman: the Escape in 1993, Mayan Mindbender in 1995, and the aforementioned UltraTwister and Texas Tornado in the nineties. The park continued to fizzle out as Tornado was removed and sent to Six Flags Marine World, the classic mine train and family favorite Excalibur was scrapped in favor of Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster number 101 Serial Thriller, and new rides arrived fewer and farther between.
In the press release yesterday, Six Flags cited the irony of the park being worth more dead than left alive, yet the true irony is in Six Flags' own management of AstroWorld. While the land around the park was revitalized and thus skyrocketed in value along with the theme park's property, the actual business lost value due to the lack of capital improvement that is necessity for any park located in close proximity to a major metropolis. Instead of increasing the theme park's value, the sad fact now was indeed that the land it sat on could be better managed out of the hands of Six Flags.
Yet if there is a bright side in the tale, it may be the effects on the other Six Flags parks. Whenever the rare and tragic occurance of a theme park being lost takes place, other parks can delight in the spoils of the dozens of homeless rides. Six Flags has been known to take pride in their ride distribution in the past between parks, so the closure of AstroWorld will most likely mean some goodies for the rest of the chain. The larger, older Six Flags parks most likely won't see many if any of those goodies as they get the major new, innovative rides, but a few of those other neglected Six Flags parks might want to get their hands on some rides, even second-hand rides, if it could mean escaping the same fate as this one Houston park.
Up for grabs this time: two classic German steel coasters, a nice fit in any park; one highly-rated vertical ride with only two years of wear and tear under its belt; one average Intamin freefall tower of 230 feet; one well-rated wooden coaster most newer Six Flags parks could use; one compact family coaster with or without its surrounding themed building; one rare Japanese coaster; one rare suspended coaster; one inverted coaster that none of the Six Flags parks want since they've all ready seen way too many; and one stand-up coaster that might be better off recycled into soda cans. Oh yes, and then there are all of those flat rides and the water rides that can be salvaged.
The moral of the story: don't let 109 acres of valuable theme park property waste away while you use its profits to invest in more parks than you can ever afford to buy. Six Flags has learned their lesson, but unfortunately, thrill-seekers in Houston may just have to drive 200 miles now to get to the nearest thrill park instead of simply stepping into their back yard. AstroWorld: you helped further the theme park cause while you lasted, and you will be missed. Will your future developers always remember what used to sit on the ground of their apartments, shopping malls, office buildings, fast food restaurants, or all of the above. Rest in peace.
