Six Flags selling Astroworld

I say move the Jet Scream (SFAW's Viper) back to SFStL.

So whick park's next after SFNO? SFEG?

Given its location and the value of its real estate, I wouldn't rule it out...

-'Playa

I've never understood how the land costs at SFEG could make sense being so close to downtown Denver...

Can GADv please bring back Ultra Twister and Shockwave?

On second thought no thanks send them to other SF properties.

Adventureland should buy the Texas Cyclone and rename it the Iowa State Cyclone :) I'd really like Greezed Lightning and XLR-8 too.

With all due repects to Houstonians, good ridance to this park. It was the dirtyist and ill managed park I have ever been too. Hopefully someone better then SF will step in to fill Houstons new need.

It's a sad day when an amusement park closes, even if that amusement park is a second-tier theme park and not something historic like LeSourdesville Lake. Besides, Astroworld IS pretty historic as far as theme parks are concerned.

I'm sure most of the rides will be relocated. I can see quite a few of the rides going to some of Six Flags' smaller properties- maybe the mangers of The Great Escape and Enchanted Village will duke it out for the SLC that they probably already have their eyes on? Personally, I'd love to see the Schwarzkopf shuttle loop come to New Jersey- heck, I'd give up Kingda Krap for that thing!

Burke says that this isn't setting a precedent but I can't take that comment at face value. If the company is willing to give up on one of their parks because they can make a quick buck, who's to say they won't do the same with others? I'm sure Great America's land is worth a fortune- does he honestly expect people to believe that he wouldn't entertain a decent offer for that park or for any others? Then again, seeing as how Astroworld has received basically nothing since the SLC, I'm willing to bet this has been the plan for quite some time. Makes you wonder why SFKK and SFDL haven't received anything new in the past few years.

What's depressing is the fact that one of the park's most important rides will probably be ignored- the Texas Cyclone. Long after all the steel coasters are shipped off to other locations, the Cyclone will probably still stand, waiting for the bulldozers to arrive. I'm sure it's not the best wood coaster in the world but with PTC trains and some TLC, I'm sure it could slightly resemble the legendary ride it once was. With the loss of Hercules and now the Texas Cyclone, it just goes to show that NO wood coaster is safe, even if it resides in a theme park.

For THAT shuttle loop, Cyclone, Viper, Mayan Mindbender, and SWAT, there should be new homes SOMEWHERE. Even the SLC will end up moving, although the recycling plant isn't necessarily a bad option. XLR-8, despite the cool name, WAS more boring than Iron Dragon, which is SAYING something (and not something good, LOL)... Ultratwister, who knows? Unique, but not necessarily good capacity OR easy to maintain...and let's not forget painful.

Diablo Falls and some other assorted flats, they could go anywhere...

For the management team that destroyed the park (which based on ALL indications once was a really nice well-run park)....well...wherever they end up, PLEASE let it be in another industry - and NOT the hospitailty industry!

"It was the dirtyist and ill managed park I have ever been too."

You must not have been many places. Anyway, Astroworld was pretty clean and nice looking the last two years. They were given virtually nothing for new attraction expenditures so they spent most of their money on paint and landscaping, etc.

IntrepidationAW - Calling Houston the 4th largest city in America is a little mis-leading. I don't know about land area or actual city size, but it is much further down the list when it comes the population of its metropolitan area. Metro area populations definitely give a better understanding of the size of a city than does actual city population. Take Ohio for example. Columbus is technically the biggest city, but it is obvious to anyone who has been to the 3 largest cities in Ohio, that Columbus is the third biggest. Cleveland and Cinci just have smaller land areas in the actual city, so more people live outside the city limits.

Word- You are correct that the Houston area is not the fourth largest market. It is actually the 6th or 7th largest. My point remains the same: It is way too large a market to be without its own amusement park.As to its land area- I believe the state of Rhode Island can fit within Houston City limits.

Houston City Limits Population: 2,009,690 (census bureau 2003)

Houston-Baytown-Sugarland Population: 4,715,407 (census bureau 2003)

Houston Market area- College Station -Huntsville -Cleveland -TexasCity -Galveston -Lake Jackson -Sealy: Who knows how large...~6 million is my guess.
*** This post was edited by IntrepidationAW 9/13/2005 12:44:45 PM ***

I just hope all of the classic and historic rides are saved at AW....Greezed Lightning, etc.

Costerguts, actually a 140ft. standup was in the masterplan for SFA. Guess what took its place? Batwing. Whoever gets the rides, it's nice that many of them have been repainted in recent years, including some of the coasters last year (XLR-8, Ultra Twister, and Batman the Escape). We must have hit AW on a two good days on the Zombie trip in '02, because we actually enjoyed ourselves, and the park was getting plenty of TLC put into it the days we were there (shops being repainted etc.). I don't remember it being dirty either, but perhaps because we were there in May we experienced the "SFA effect". In other words, when the park's not that crowded it's not a bad place to go. While I feel for the people of Houston, whatever park gets the rides we'll be the real winners out of this deal. It's just funny to me that some of these rides will be making their fourth trip. That's called getting a lot of bang for your buck.I don't know the economic status of Houston, but from what I saw from the airplane, there are a lot of very wealthy people in Houston. I do know that Houston has one of the best medical centers in the country (doctors make good money), so to say that people won't travel three hours to go to another themepark when they probably have the financial means doesn't make sense to me. On the east coast we do it all the time. Three hours? That's a trip to BGW, or SFGadv., from Baltimore.

What I forgot yesterday is that I would love SFA to get its hands on the logflume, which I remember being really good. Typhoon Seacoaster is still not that reliable after the sensor fix and there aren't enough boats to satisfy capacity.
*** This post was edited by Intamin Fan 9/13/2005 1:22:00 PM ***

Fierce Pancake: Ive been to quite a few parks, and there is only one park I would never go back to: Astroworld. However, I was there in 2002.

UNBELIEVABLE! I have not visited there since 1987, but it is still a loss to me. I DO remember that being one of the more interesting parks as they had a LOT in a LITTLE space. It has the world's first river rapids ride. It's where I rode my first suspended coaster and Cyc-clone. I had/have many friends from the park from my days in SFGAm's Management.

It is a loss for our community and the city of Houston. I look forward to seeing some of SF's smaller properties developed with SFAs' attractions. (SFSL, Frontier, old Funtime parks, etc.) We'll see, I guess.

Wow, I couldn't believe it when I saw the news. I suppose that SWAT will be getting a new home soon, so will the Penguin's River or whatever it's called. The SLC will definitely move, as will the shuttle loop, but everything else is anyone's guess. I have a feeling Cyclone will be a loss, hopefully smaller parks will get the other rides and not the dump.

I-Fan... I'll take a stand up over Batwing anyday of the week and twice on Sunday. I also agree with you on the Log Flume. It's about the only water ride SFA doesn't have and we both know how popular the water rides are at SFA.

(I'm still scratching my head about why RR was closed since July and why PBR was closed labor day weekend).*** This post was edited by coasterguts 9/13/2005 3:00:31 PM ***

I would love to see the Bamboo Shoot saved but it is so old, the flume is patched all over, and scuffed to death.

I just dont see it and Tidal Wave doing anything but becoming trash!

"I'll take a stand up over Batwing anyday of the week and twice on Sunday."

Just wow! B:TE is my least favorite stand-up in N America. I'd take EVEN the hated Iron Wolf or PKD's PoS Sh**wave over B:TE...

Of course, I'm a sucker for the Vekoma flyers, too, so my opinion needs some *discounting*... ;)

I do not see SFEG getting this treatment for a couple reasons:

1: SFEG owns its parking lot, and in the offseason makes a lot of money as a parking lot for Broncos, Nuggets, and Avalanche games. That is a lot of off-season profit.

2. We hold our own in attendance-this year we were up a lot from last year and with a few exceptions for weather, we beat our budget attendance every day. Our guest service was one of the most improved in the chain this year.

3. Although they were smaller ones, we have gotten capital expenditures in the form of two (1 and a half?) coasters in the last 4 years.

I'm not saying that it won't happen to SFEG, but the park does have a lot going for it despite its smaller size.

rollergator, I love the layout of Batwing. I like it better than the S:UF. However, the constant inability of the ride to run anywhere near capacity is upseting. I would much rather have a dependable ride in the rear of park that has no restroom within a 10 minute walk than a undependable ride and guess if it's running or not.