Washington DC, the nation's capital, though not a city for thrill seekers, many parks tried to be built in the area. In the early 1970's, Marriott proposed to build one of their Great America parks (see Paramount's Great America and Six Flags Great America). Though in the early 1970's as well, Paramount's Kings Dominion opened up just a drive south from Washington. But 12 years later, an unsuspecting water park by the name Wild World would become open to the public in 1982. Primarily a water park with many slides and wet family fun, years later some dry rides would come into the mix as well.

The early years brought many flat rides to the park such as the classic Himalaya ride, wave swingers, and a Cyclone spinner ride. But in 1985, Paragon Park in Boston, Massachusetts closed along with one of John Miller's greatest coasters, the Giant Coaster, but what would this mean for Wild World? Wild World would get it's first coaster, and the next year brought one wild ride to this wild park. The ride, The Wild One, a classic and revolutionary twisted John A. Miller design was moved. Aside from Miller's help in designing Giant Coaster nearly 60 years ago at that time, the Dinn Corporation helped out with rebuilding the ride as well. With heights nearing one hundred feet and speeds of sixty miles per hour, it remains to be a gem in the industry and remains to be the parks only coaster that isn’t a clone.

Throughout the late eighties, the park slowly began to be a failure and in 1991, Wild World closed due to bankruptcy and doesn’t reopen for the 1991 season. For an entire year, Wild World (more like Mild World) sat dormant until one small investment group, the Tierco Group, decides to buy Wild World out in 1992. The park was saved, and the park finally reopens for the 1992 season. During the off season, the park became a more traditional amusement park than a water park. Themed sections rose up which include International Plaza, Pirates Cove, Coyote Creek, Moroccan Village, and A Day at the Circus kids area. The next year, the park finally saw two more roller coasters. The first and main addition was Python (defunct), an old Arrow Shuttle Loop coaster that was the top portion of Six Flags Great Adventure’s Lightning Loops (also defunct). A small launch down a small hill into a loop, then going through the layout again, backwards. Also added in 1993 was a kiddie coaster for the Circus area, Cannonball Run (also defunct), a Molina and Sons kiddie coaster.

The next year brought a major change to the park, the parks name is changed to Adventure World. The water park portion was renamed to Paradise Island as well. Also, the park’s owner, the Tierco Group, changes its name to Premier Parks. In 1995, the park gets a new, state of the art, roller coaster to attract people back to the Maryland park. Mind Eraser opens up in the park’s Coyote Creek area as one of America’s first Vekoma SLC’s (Suspended Looping Coasters). With inverted thrills boasting heights of over 100 feet and a twisted course of five inversions and top speeds nearing fifty miles per hour, Mind Eraser became so successful, Premier decided to clone the coaster to other parks in the chain. Also in 1995, one of the parks flat rides, the Curving Dervish, is removed.

In 1996, doom came to Adventure World as Tower of Doom, the areas first freefall ride, came to the park. Coming from Intamin as one of their freefall tower models, Tower of Doom took riders to (literally) their doom as riders are rose up in the air at heights over 140 feet. The following year, 1997, brought even more unique thrills to the park as Intamin came back to the park again and made another big thrill for families. Typhoon Sea Coaster, an Intamin reversing log flume ride, was built. Almost considered a water coaster and being one of the first out there, Typhoon Sea Coaster took riders to a soaking plunge throughout this unique ride. Also added in 1997 was a new family activity area called Crocodile Cal’s Outback Beach House was added to the Paradise Island water park.

Roaring through the park in 1998 came a twisted wooden creation that became a top ten wooden coaster amongst enthusiasts. In 1998, Roar, a GCI wooden twister coaster, was built and opened to rave reviews with many intense moments and a layout so twisted, there is barely any straight track. But 1998 would spell out change for the park, as two of the parks coasters, Python and Cannonball Run, would be removed and forever lay in the scrap yard. In October of that year, the park announces that they are becoming a Six Flags park and transforms from Adventure World to Six Flags America. Why was it named Six Flags America? Because it was only twenty minutes away from Washington DC, the capitol of the United States.

On May 1st, 1999, the park opened under the new name of Six Flags America. With the name change, many new changes occurred at the park. The most obvious of the changes other than the name change being three brand new roller coasters. The first big coaster for the 1999 season was Joker’s Jinx, a Premier LIM (Linear Induction Motor) Launched “spaghetti-bowl” coaster. Themed around the Batman villain, Joker’s Jinx launched riders up to speeds of sixty three miles per hour through a twisted spaghetti bowl consisting of four inversions and many twists and turns through the mass of green track and purple supports. Though cloned as Paramount’s Flight of Fear coasters and Six Flags Fiesta Texas’ Poltergeist, Jokers Jinx was one big hit coaster for the park.

The second big coaster for the Six Flags conversion was Two Face: The Flipside, also themed to a Batman villain. Taking the place of Python as the parks only shuttle coaster. Two Face: The Flipside is an Invertigo coaster coming from Vekoma. The ride is nothing more but an inverted version of Vekoma’s popular Boomerang coaster, but the seats are face to face, giving riders a good view of each other screaming throughout the ride. The orange track and teal supports take riders through a Cobra Roll and a Vertical Loop twice during the ride, flipping riders over six times, heights of 137 feet, and going through speeds of fifty five miles per hour.

The third coaster is a kiddie coaster coming from Zamperla called The Great Chase. The Great Chase was a part of the package of the transition of the park’s A Day at the Circus kids area to Looney Tunes Movie Town. A part of that themed area’s conversion included a package of either new or rethemed kids rides in the section. Other rethemed areas include Main Street 1776 which provides the park with a new entrance, Olde Boston, Nantucket, and the Moroccan Village area gets rethemed to Southwest Territory. Over thirty million dollars went into retheming Adventure World to Six Flags America and the new millennium would bring another D.C. Comics superhero to the park.

The year 2000 came and the 21st century kicked off with the Man of Steel soaring over the park’s skyline. Superman: Ride of Steel, an Intamin Mega coaster, took riders soaring like the Man of Steel to heights over 200 feet and bullet speeds of over seventy three miles per hour. The rides layout is nothing more but a clone of the version found at Six Flags Darien Lake, which was built there back in 1999. Nonetheless, Superman: Ride of Steel became another hit coaster for the park, boasting moments of insane airtime throughout the rides course. Also added in 2000 were three new flat rides, including Krypton Comet, Penguin’s Polar Street, and Octopus.

2001 Came around and Six Flags America’s latest coaster came to the park as the area’s first flying coaster came to the park. The Dark Knight, Batman, took riders soaring to new heights on Batwing. Coming from Vekoma as a modified version of their Flying Dutchman coaster, the ride is similar to X-Flight, which was also built in 2001 at Six Flags Worlds of Adventure (now Geauga Lake). The course of yellow track and purple supports consists of five inversions as riders go soaring over heights of 125 feet and speeds of over fifty five miles per hour as riders throughout the course either lie on their backs or be suspended in a flying position. Also in 2001, the Rainbow Falls waterslide complex gets renamed to Deer Park Plunge and a Skycoaster upcharge attraction is built.

The next year, 2002, brought the Fastlane system to the park and the removal of the SkyEscaper flat ride, which was a Huss Enterprise. 2003 brought another family thrill to the park, Penguins Blizzard River was built. Coming from White Water West being one of the first spinning rapids rides built. Riders go through a course of wet turns before plunging into a pool of water below. Also in 2003, two flat rides are renamed, Penguin’s Polar Express is renamed Alpine Bobs and Tilt-A-Whirl is renamed The Tilt. 2004 brought no new additions to the park, but the next year, a hurricane of thrills would touch down at the park and be one of the biggest changes to the park since the Six Flags conversion.

In late 2004, it was announced that Paradise Island, the parks longtime water park, would close for good. Being a staple of the park since it first opened, Six Flags rethemed the area to be branded as Six Flags’ Hurricane Harbor water parks. In May 2005, Hurricane Harbor opened its doors to a brand new and renovated water park. Many parts of the old Paradise Island park were renovated and renamed to Hurricane Harbor standards. The revamp included three brand new wet attractions, the star attraction of the park being Tornado, a Proslide Tornado that takes riders through a giant funnel. Also added included a new family slide complex, Bahama Blast, and a new kids area, Buccaneer Beach. Also added is another upcharge attraction, The Wall, a basic rock climbing wall. Touchups came to two of the park’s coasters as well, Joker’s Jinx got a fresh coat of paint and Mind Eraser gets a new paint scheme of yellow and red.

Six Flags America has became the nation’s capital of fun with over seven big thrills and an action packed water park. Who knows what the park has up its sleeve next? If your looking for the nation’s capital of family fun, spend a day at Six Flags America, it will probably be the most fun you could ever have in the nations capital.