Mrlittle Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Someone posted a Texas Cyclone video on my Facebook today and then I see this report. Talk about a lot of great memories. Thanks for sharing the photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I was browsing the internet when I found a photo of the parking lot entrance. I noticed a mistake in the logo. Welcome to Five Flags Astroworld! LOL that was right at the end, after they stopped caring (a quick google shows this is from a photo report on Flicker from 9/17/05). so I guess the pink flag fell off on the right and just didn't bother fixing the sign, since the park was about to shutter anyways. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cfc Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 ^Have a Five Flags Day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapfordakids Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Thanks for posting these. I was fortunate to visit this park twice when I was younger. I was also lucky enough to ride Thriller *Taz Tornado* there as well. Astroworld had such a unique collection of coasters and thrill rides and the park had such an old school charm to it. She didn't deserve to die like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 (edited) My only visit there was Columbus Day weekend, 1992. The standup Batman was the new coaster that year. (EDIT) And Greezed Lightning! Another shuttle loop of love! And I rode my first suspended cars coaster there, XLR-8. And the Ultra Twister, too! So many firsts for me there, in that one visit. I think I still have that park map around here, some where... Edited January 24, 2016 by Nrthwnd Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsAstroworld Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 My only visit there was Columbus Day weekend, 1992. The standup Batman was the new coaster that year. And I rode my first suspended cars coaster there, XLR-8. And the Ultra Twister, too! So many firsts for me there, in that one visit. I think I still have that park map around here, some where... Yeah. They had unique rides there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterkid124 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Astroworld didn't deserve the fate that it received. It was one of the nicer looking Six Flags parks and had a unique collection rides too. If Grand Texas ever comes to be, it looks like it will be a great park. But I don't think it will ever be able to replace the special memories that people reminisce on from Astroworld. It won't be the same and it won't have those same wonderful rides that people enjoyed through their lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bert425 Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 Astroworld didn't deserve the fate that it received. It was one of the nicer looking Six Flags parks and had a unique collection rides too. If Grand Texas ever comes to be, it looks like it will be a great park. But I don't think it will ever be able to replace the special memories that people reminisce on from Astroworld. It won't be the same and it won't have those same wonderful rides that people enjoyed through their lives. they had MASSIVE gang problems. I grew up going every year with Season Passes (even before it was Six Flags' Astroworld -- back in the "Marvel McFey and Friends" days) we were there literally EVERY DAY they were open, dropped off in the morning, and picked up at night. in the late 90's, myself and everyone I knew from back then simply stopped going (and I moved up to Austin in 85, and still maintained a Season Pass, since Austin was a short drive to Astroworld, SFoT & Fiesta Texas). . . why did everyone of my friends, as well as I, stop going? It didn't feel "safe" to go there anymore. your mileage may vary, but yeah, it turned into a very scary place to go, just to hang out. And tho they certainly started to address the gang issues, it never really go over that reputation. So yeah, it sucks that it got sold and shut down (due to a shady development thing that never happened anyways (the area is STILL just an empty field). . and it may have had great attendance still. . . but the regulars (who spent money IN the park), stopped going. that's my take on it as a Native Houstonian, who grew up less than a 2 miles from the park (fond memories of climbing up on the roof of my house at night to watch the Astroworld fireworks when i wa younger), and practically lived there every summer growing up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intaman Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 I never had an opportunity to visit Astroworld, but it's pretty awesome to see a shuttle loop and ultra twister together. Anyway, this was a very cool retro trip report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Which Park received the "dry park water slide" that was right next to Viper? I cant remember what it was called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsAstroworld Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Which Park received the "dry park water slide" that was right next to Viper? I cant remember what it was called. I think you mean Diablo Falls. If so, it was relocated to Six Flags New England as SplashWater Falls I got to ride it during the 2008 season, so another Astroworld ride crossed off the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nrthwnd Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 It seems strange to think of it now, but when I visited the park in 1992, I was at a convention at a hotel site, right within walking distance of the park. And yet, I do not remember anybody except myself, who took some time from the con and visited the park. Times change, hmm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prozach626 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Thank you very much for posting the pictures. It was neat seeing them in a contemporary trip report. I've never seen so many views of the park. It looked really clean. It seems like much more of a loss, now. The 18 flags trip seems pretty awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapfordakids Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 So, by the looks of the picture of the car (with that awkward moment LOL) I'm guessing that one side of the harness stayed stationary while the other is size adjustable, right? Edit: and it looks like a B&M ride because of the track, really is it an Intamin? You are correct about the restraint, look at the open restraints in this picture and you can see how they work. http://rcdb.com/189.htm#p=54982 And yes, it's an Intamin. I've always heard that B&M had a hand in the design of those Intamin stand-ups as they were still working under Intamin at the time. Not sure if that is true or not though. The restraints also look somewhat similar to Iron Wolf restraints, that boxed looked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaellynn4 Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Thank you very much for posting the pictures. It was neat seeing them in a contemporary trip report. I've never seen so many views of the park. It looked really clean. It seems like much more of a loss, now. The 18 flags trip seems pretty awesome. I agree with this sentiment. I (perhaps unfairly so) always viewed Astroworld as a "secondhand" park - an unofficial dumping ground for rides other SF parks didn't want. Seeing how nice it actually was in some of these pictures helps understand why some view the park as such a loss. SFGAdv had a BIG gang reputation in the late 80s, but fortunately was able to shed it over time. Shame Astroworld was never able to shake that stigma. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsAstroworld Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Is it possible to buy back the land and rebuild most of the rides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarienLaker Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Is it possible to buy back the land and rebuild most of the rides? Not really since, most of Astroworld's rides were scrapped and I don't know about the status of the land that the park once stood on is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfkk Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Also, they would have to essentially build a new park, which is just too much money and too big of an investment to do in the United States anymore on a large scale. The only thing I think we will see in the future is FEC's becoming more like theme parks such as Fun Spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I grew up in Dallas and would always bother my mom until she drove me down to Astroworld. This was taken in '88, obvious by the gentleman's attire in the background, on one of those trips. It was really sad to see the park be torn down especially since the land isn't used for anything. I don't think we can count on Grand Texas being more the a sports complex at this point, but it would fill the theme park void in Houston. I'm on the left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historyfreak92 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 What a great picture! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Peck Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Thank you very much for posting the pictures. It was neat seeing them in a contemporary trip report. I've never seen so many views of the park. It looked really clean. It seems like much more of a loss, now. The 18 flags trip seems pretty awesome. Thank you. Yes, the 18 flags of texas + sea world trip was pretty awesome, but a whirlwind and a whole lot of driving. We flew in from Ohio on friday early afternoon, saw a movie to kill some time (Corpse Bride... hey, it was Halloween time), got to Astroworld before the 6pm opening and we worked our way clockwise starting at Serial Thriller. It was running one train, so it was a good 20 minute wait, and since it was their newest coaster, we wanted to get it done first due to the line. We rode in order: (each 1x, and it was busy, most rides had one train on) Serial Thriller Log Flume Serpent Mayan Mindbender XLR-8 Ultra Twister Texas Cyclone Batman Greezed Lightning We left the park close to 11pm, drove part of the way to SFoT and stayed at a hotel. We continued on to SFoT in the morning. I thought it opened at Noon, but misread the times, so it opened at 10am, so we had long lines once we got there. It was a full day at SFoT, we missed a lot of the credits due to lines, but we did get on The Parachute tower 3 times and Texas Giant. We drove part of the night to San Antonio and stayed at a hotel The next morning we finished our trip to San Antonio and started with Sea World and since it was not busy, did what we wanted to do (Loved Steel Eel) and headed to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. That was fun. We flew home from San Antonio the next morning. The End! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yay101 Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Thanks for the report! I realy wish I had been to Six Flags Astroworld! It's sad that are no Ultra Twisters in America as I really want to try one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VegasBaby Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Great trip report, thanks for posting it. My buddy and I did a Texas road trip in college back in 1999, so I was lucky enough to visit Astroworld before it closed. I remember it being a fun park with some pretty unique rides (Ultra Twister, Texas Tornado, Greezed Lightning, Viper, etc). It was weird when I went to a Texans game last year to see a big vacant lot where the park used to be. Houston is one of the largest cities in the country and it's a shame that they don't have a proper amusement park, especially since it could be open almost year round. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapfordakids Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Here's a good time line of the park http://www.sixflagshouston.com/timeline/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SixFlagsAstroworld Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Can anyone give me a COMPLETE list of what happened to all of the Astroworld rides? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now