On Sunday, the big and small rides at AstroWorld took one final dip, loop and spin and then they came to a halt — and at 6 p.m. the public bid farewell to the park that opened 37 years ago.
There may be other places to have fun in Houston, but "this was the spot," said Tiffany Simmons, who was at AstroWorld with her husband, Frank, and their two sons.
While attendance at AstroWorld has declined over the years, the real estate value of the park property has risen substantially. The park said Sunday's attendance was 18,645.
Since Six Flags Inc. announced in September that it would permanently close AstroWorld to sell the 109-acre site across the South Loop from Reliant Park, thousands have passed through the gates for one last thrill.
Astroworld was the place for fun growing up in Texas in the 70s and 80s. All the cool kids in podunk Columbus had those big poster maps on their walls--the kids with the latest editions (Does yours have the Greezed Lightnin'?) were looked upon as blessed by the gods. I remember Marvel McFey, a Yosemite Sam character interpreted by way of Mardi Gras, who served as the park mascot long before anyone had ever heard of "Mr. Six." Every summer my family took a trip to Astroworld for vacation and had a blast. One year we went to Six Flags in Arlington instead, because we'd always heard how it was "so much better." Big mistake. I've lost track of how many band and Boy Scout and Spanish club and church groups I went to the park with. Lisa and I even went right before we had Calista. It was always a great deal of fun.
As a kid, my favorite two rides were the Alpine Sleigh Ride, which was a mountain-themed roller coaster, and the River of No Return, which was a boat ride that boasted fire-breathing tiki statues and an enormous King Kong mockup barely restrained by a timber fence. Alas, the Alpine Sleigh Ride was dismantled in the mid-80s, and the River of No Return slowly deteriorated, becoming a "Nature Tour Boat" in the early 90s before finally being shut down and filled in a few years later.
I never liked the famous Texas Cyclone wooden roller coaster. Too rough. Too jarring. Too violent. As far as traditional roller coasters went, I always enjoyed the venerable Dexter Freebish, which was renamed the Excalibur in the 80s and renamed again to something else in the late 90s. There wasn't anything particularly special about it, but it was always dependable. My favorite of the Astroworld coasters, though, was the Greezed Lightnin' which boasted a single loop that shot you through forward and backward at 60 mph. That one was fun. I'd ride it over and over every chance I got. It was also the first looping coaster I ever rode, so even though the Shockwave at Six Flags up in Arlington is technically superior in every respect, I'd still choose the Lightnin'. I also got a kick out of the XLR-8, a suspended coaster that was quick and smooth. It was one of the first of the slick, next-generation coasters that are so elaborate. Perhaps it's not quite so clever or inventive as others of its ilk, but it was innovative for its time.
And you really have to wonder about the motivation of Six Flags for closing the park:
This followed the Sept. 12 announcement by Oklahoma City-based Six Flags (which took over the park in 1975) that it would close AstroWorld, preferring to sell off this now-valuable real estate and not invest in the new rides necessary to bring in more business.
When Astroworld opened in 1968, it was on the very outskirts of town. Watch the movie "The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training" if you don't believe me. Across the highway from the Astrodome, it was literally surrounded by flat cow pastures. Today, it is built up and developed beyond belief. High rises everywhere. Sure, those 109 acres are extremely valuable. But if that's the rationale, then certainly the acreage up there in Arlington is worth just as much, if not more? Or how about Six Flags Magic Mountain over in Los Angeles? When a company is saying "Yes, it can be competitive, but we'd rather not invest. Instead, we'll run it into the ground then sell it at a profit," well, something's wrong there.
I'd hoped to be able to take my kids there in a few years, to ride the rides such as the Gunslinger I glommed onto as a kid. Looks like that will no longer be an option.
Rumor has it that most of the rides will be dismantled and shipped to other Six Flags parks. I can only hope Fiesta Texas lays claim to Greezed Lightnin'.
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