I'm in the minority as well because I thought it was a ****hole too. All major partks that I have been too kick the crap out of Astroworld.
Nah, there's no thrill rides at Astroworld...just Serial Thriller, Ultra Twister, Viper, Batman: The Escape, SWAT, Texas Cyclone, Dungeon Drop, Diablo Falls, and Greezed Lightning Granted, there's nothing like Top Thrill Dragster, but Astroworld definitely gives visitors good bang for their buck...
As much as I have been wanting to go in the past few years, from all acounts it has turned into thug central. Wasn't there like a huge fight that broke out like 2 months ago that poured out into the parking lot? Good memories though.
Man that sucks. The best rides at Astroworld are the Batman Escape, Cyclone, Bamboo Shoot, Viper, and my favorite The Mayan Mind Bender (for certain reasons)
Back in 1975 I had a summer job at Astroworld making $1.80/hour. I was among the first (if not the first) employees to work 600 hours and thus I got bumped to $1.95/hour. I eventually became a foreman (Le Taxi) and hit the big time at $2.10/hour.
In fact, at the height of the swirling rumors, "Disney actually trademarked the proposed name for the Houston park.... "Disney's America." This action is the reason why some believed they were set to build. I believe it is still an active trademark at this point. Houston is a prime location for Disney due to its central location in the US and close proximity to Central America. Houston also has ports nearby, something that might be pivotal as Disney could dock its cruise ship here as well. The Strand would be an ideal harbour to dock. And now, couple this with the fact that his major metropolitian area has no theme park to serve it....it will be viewed as a gold mine. Someone will build here very soon..... my money says its Disney as I dont expect Six Flags will further invest in a region it already has multiple parks in. I'm sorry to say this but, as much as I will miss Astroworld, its death will be only for the better of Houston, as Astroworld had simply met its boundaries, it couldnt expand no more. Six Flags let the park take its course of neglect after Six Flags couldnt resolve its dispute with the County for parking at the Astrodome campus. After this, they sold large chunks of land they had earmarked for expansion, for development such as the new dealerships that have sprung up in the area. The park, which at one point in time in the 90's, was building new rides every season, stopped recieveing new rides all together. I stil love the place, but its clear that Six Flags wasnt going to do what was necessary for the future success of the park. In short, Six Flags put Astroworld, a heathy money making machine, on life support and is now pulling the plug. Even if Astroworld were saved by say.... Tillman Fertita or someone of his likes, the park would never have the bright future outlook it once had back in its hey, thanks to the poor decisions made by Six Flags corp. So in light of this.....shed your tear Houston and move on.....you will soon get much better. I predict our next theme park will be the envy of the entire state. Good bye Bugs Bunny, Hello Mickey Mouse.
If I remember correctly, Daniel Snyder (owner of the Washington Redskins) recently increased his stake in Six Flags and is pressuring their B.O.D. to "maximize shareholder value." I won't miss it. Been in Houston 18 years and went to Astroworld just one time, very briefly. I've been going to Fiesta Texas the last few years and love it (except the Rattler).
Yep, tigereye. My mom and I were just discussing this... Things seem to be falling into place for Disney. There are tons of spots in and around Houston for them to build. Who else is there to step in with a park? My bet is that Disney could make an announcement within a year or so.
There have been rumors of Disney buying tracts of land in the Greater Houston area for the last 25 years.
Who else is there to step out....Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures. Paramount has the Kings Island theme park in Cincinnati, Kings Dominion in Virginia, Great America in San Jose, Carowinds in Charlotte, Canada's Wonderland in Toronto, and Star Trek Park in Las Vegas. We all know what Universal has. Well the latest rumor has talks between Disney and Houston (I still presume Katy) that were on going as of August. I had put nil stock into it....until Six Flags decided to close Astroworld. Maybe Six Flags knew a deal was immenant and decided to abandon the theme park business in Houston all together for the water park business. Six Flags going head to head with a Disney park would be a mismatch here in Houston heavily favoring Disney. But Six Flags might stand a better chance against Schlitterbahn. Splashtown has room to expand and its own parking. Notice, the Chron article says Six Flags will use pieces of Astroworld to upgrade Spalshtown. And Splashtown will need the major upgrades as a completed Schlitterbahn Galveston will draw big numbers here no doubt. Schlitterbahn Galveston's convinence of never having to step out of the water to get to a ride will win a lot of us lazy people over in this city. Either way, even though Houston will have two water parks, a city of its size will not be without a theme park for long. There simple is too much money to be made here.
But there's a big difference.....for most of the last 25 years, Houston has had a rather successful theme park that Disney would have had to compete with. Now, there is no competition in one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas. If you dont see the $$$, dont ever run a company.
May god help Houston by not razing the property and building a Wal-Mart...or apartments...or a mega-cinema. Lots of interesting info here, but take it for what it's worth (not much) since it's from 2003 and mentions Eisner being interested in pursuing the park. So looks like the only way is the health and stability at Disney Corp. Some interesting quotes from the above site:
Ive been to many six flags, universal studios, disney land, kings dominion (va), busch gardens (va). and truly, astroworld was one of the best. all those haters out there, yall have no taste.
So many good times at Astroworld. I'm gonna miss that place, Texas Cyclone-Grease Lightning-Dungeon Drop-Looping Starship-Ultra Twister-Viper and you can't forget the oldschool rides: Skyscreamer-Xcalibur-XLR8. This is anything but ample evidence. I'm not trying to put down Katy or anything, but it wouldn't be wise for Disney to build all the way out there. 1. A mall and movie theatre? I don't think that's enough to lure Disney out there. It's too far out in the boonies and way to far from the airport. 3. I-10 is going under major renovation, but they are not doing it for Disney. Having a 2-lane freeway in Houston is just not feasible. Getting onto I-10 from the Beltway is one of the heaviest traffic spots in town. That should be the main focus of the renovation, not near Katy, there isn't all that much traffic out there. 4. I'm sure Disney and co. are real excited about the 2 red clay courts they put out there, probably more excited to hear their h.s. is winning. 5. As far as the aiport goes, it's about time they renovated that thing. Bush International Terminal is beautiful, but the domestic terminal is still very, very old. Houston has enough money and enough resources to renovate it to one of the nicer airports in the nation. Like I said, I'm not trying to put down Katy in any form. But those are not very good pieces of evidence. There is a very logical and more probably reason for each. One thing Katy has is space. I think the only reason why Disney would be there is because there isn't a whole lot of space anywhere else.
Great post. I agree, that it is in the best interest of Houston. I love Astro World, but I more than welcome a new theme park. A Disney park would be cool. No more having to go to Florida.
There are tons of memories in the old Astroworld for me... from 1974 on... I remember the ski shows in the center of the park, and a dude lighting himself on fire, then diving into the "lagoon." Yep, and the wacky haunted house, the alpine ride with the abominable snowman... classic, and cold! The good old bumber cars... the antique cars, the stupid videocity with 93Q... I remember running through the sheets of rain and continuously riding the sixgun swing ride, because it was about all they'd keep running... I remember being the "honorary captain" on the river of no return... king kong, alligators (then they hung the XLR-8 over it... which ironically always slowed down & stopped instead of really accellerating)... the dolphin show over near what became the XLR-8 plaza... It really was better before the looney tunes arrived... Anyway, for what it's worth, I grew up near Angleton, south of Pearland on SH 288... now called the "South Frwy" and that area has been said to be largely owned by Disney since I was a kid... 20 plus years ago... But the Frelsburg story seems more legit... here's a map of where it is... and if you look it up yourself, there are already train tracks right to the area... By the way, looked up the "Disney's America" name yet?
bullet train . . . .did someone say bullet train?!??!?!?! YES!!!! rocket river been a proponent of this for several years now "I smell Cake" - lady in commercial
After googling Disney's America, I found that it was supposed to be an American History-themed park in Virginia. They were on the verge of breaking ground in Virginia before calling it off. It was Eisner's project himself. I think that is an awesome idea for a park, and I'm sure something like that would be welcomed in Texas, although an old-school state like Virginia seems like a way better place to put that sort of park....
...an American History themed park? ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ That's just what kids want to do on a Saturday afternoon or on their Summer vacation, learn more about US history... Disney would make logical sense. They already have a major influence on the East and West coasts, and Houston is warm enough to have a theme park open at least 9 months out of the year. I just hope Disney doesn't wuss out and build a kiddie park like Disney World
