Six Flags New Orleans

[PAcpl]

Just saw this article and thought it was interesting......

Abandoned Six Flags Video

 

[PrincessKsMom]

Sad and eerie, isn't it?

 

[Planogirl]

It's very sad and illustrates what a complete fail of a company Six Flags is IMO.

 

[PollyannaMom]

It is sad, but I really don't see it as meaning that all of the other Six Flags parks are failures.

I can't imagine that redoing that particular ruined park would have been a sound financial investment at the time. The few people who were traveling to New Orleans were there to help, not spend money at a theme park, and the locals were trying to rebuild their homes, again not spending money at a theme park. I bet if they had reopened it, it wouldn't have been able to support itself.

It's a shame it took this long to tear down, though! I bet the city could have used the land for something else.

 

[Mimi1965]

It's very sad and illustrates what a complete fail of a company Six Flags is IMO.

It was in the area hardest hit with Flooding during Katrina

Tourism is finally back-but its not economically prudent to rebuild that park

Baton Rouge is now the biggest city in LA-not New Orleans

 

[Jennasis]

Creepy.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Six Flags is already struggling to stay alive with their parks. Anyway they said that the park was about 100% loss so not much they can do.

My dd went to China over the summer on a geology tour in conjuction with universities. Part of the tours were the areas hit by earthquakes. She said it was utter devastation and a lot of it STILL has bodies in the rubble more than likely.

While it is sad to see the aftermath of Katrina, it could be worse I suppose.

 

[NotUrsula]

The story said it was in the 9th Ward, but it really isn't; the site is in New Orleans East, near Lake Forest Blvd @ Michoud. NO East has been in trouble for a LONG time, since well before Katrina. It was a boomtown in the early 1970's, but had already started tanking after the 1980's oil bust. (See Lake Forest Plaza for a prime example.) Building a theme park there in the first place was a profoundly stupid idea.

This park had never been really viable; it was in a area of high crime and low income where well-heeled visitors really didn't want to venture. It was originally opened by a private investment group as Jazzland, but it was sold to Six Flags at a fire sale price after only 2 years because it was about to go bankrupt.

(PS: Yes, technically in the political sense the park is located in the 9th Ward, but that part of the 9th is not geographically what is known to locals (or to the post-Katrina national press) as the 9th. By local definition, the traditional "neighborhood" definition of the 9th is the Industrial Canal. West of it you say that you live in the 9th, but east of it you say that you live in Gentilly or NO East. I'm old as dirt, and I remember the era before I-10 was built. In the old days, there was almost nothing east of the Canal except some fishing camps and a two-lane road that led to Mississippi. That is why it is so very large compared to the other wards.)

 

[Mimi1965]

The story said it was in the 9th Ward, but it really isn't; the site is in New Orleans East, near Lake Forest Blvd @ Michoud. NO East has been in trouble for a LONG time, since well before Katrina. It was a boomtown in the early 1970's, but had already started tanking after the 1980's oil bust. (See Lake Forest Plaza for a prime example.) Building a theme park there in the first place was a profoundly stupid idea.

This park had never been really viable; it was in a area of high crime and low income where well-heeled visitors really didn't want to venture. It was originally opened by a private investment group as Jazzland, but it was sold to Six Flags at a fire sale price after only 2 years because it was about to go bankrupt.

You nailed it-the tourists with $$ stay near the French Quarter

 

[Disfan1]

What I found sad was how much of the damage appeared to be from vandalism. The grafitti, the windows that looked like they had been broken with rocks, the computer that looked like it had been thrown on the ground...

I grew up near Six Flags Atlanta and it is just sad to imagine a park that I had so many happy times in getting into that condition one day.

 

[JLTraveling]

I worked there briefly in 2003, as part of the opening crew for Six Flags after they acquired the park from Jazzland's investment group. I was a Ride Supervisor, in charge of several attractions. But truth be told, I didn't last long. I was supposedly hired for my expertise, having been in attractions at WDW and Universal for a number of years, but no one would listen to me. I was rather appalled at Six Flags' policies and procedures on everything from guest service to basic ride safety. Of course, it didn't help that most of my staff consisted of kids from the neighborhood who didn't have the foggiest idea how or why they should greet a guest or check a seat belt. I suggested a week-long training camp on basic customer service and safety issues (the opening crew was assembled at least a month before opening), but the company didn't want to spend the money. So I walked away from the whole mess.

I say that not to bag on Six Flags, but to give some idea of where the park was at even before Katrina. As others mentioned, it was located in troubled New Orleans East, in a high crime area far from the tourist district...and New Orleans East IS in the 9th Ward. The park's in the Upper 9, not the Lower 9 that got so much press. But anyway, not a good location from the start. I lived in the French Quarter and, like most Quarter residents at the time, didn't have a car. So I had to take the city bus, which was okay except for the bus change in a bad neighborhood.

Anyway, I think Jazzland was originally meant to be a mostly-locals park to hopefully revitalize some of New Orleans East. But of course, if the locals don't have money to go, then the only way to make money is to attract visitors. Supposedly Jazzland's problem was that they didn't have marketing funds. So Six Flags bought the place out and launched a huge marketing campaign, but of course that didn't overcome the original problems.

The entire neighborhood took over 20 feet of water in the storm. We went back three weeks after Katrina to take care of some personal matters, and we drove out as far as we could in that direction to try to see the park. We couldn't get very close, as everything was STILL submerged. It took over a month to drain the water.

What was really sad, though, was what happened after the city reopened. Over 70% of the housing stock was heavily damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans East, there was almost NOTHING left. So FEMA sent up trailer villages all over town. One was located literally in the parking lot of Six Flags. Can you imagine being a 5 year old kid, having lost everything, having to wake up every morning and SEE all those rides, but not being able to go on them?

We drove down there when we were back in 2007, but never got brave enough to go inside and look around. Just from the street, though, it was easy to see that the place was just destroyed. Of course there's graffiti and vandalism, it's an attractive nuisance. But it was beyond hope before all that. Rides just aren't meant to be submerged in standing water for weeks on end.

With the problems that the park was already having, there was no way Six Flags was going to go in and pay to rebuild it. The problem was, they had signed a 99-year lease. And with the city in dire straits, no one was too eager to let Six Flags out of the lease. So the property has sat empty and unmaintained while the battle raged between the park and the city.

Although I hear Six Flags is in some trouble now, because they allegedly went in and removed some salvageable property that wasn't really theirs--it had belonged to Jazzland--for use in other parks. Supposedly it was in the contract that they could USE whatever had been there, but they couldn't remove it. That's all hearsay, so take it with a grain of salt.

But there you have it, the saga of Six Flags New Orleans.

 

[Planogirl]

It was in the area hardest hit with Flooding during Katrina

Tourism is finally back-but its not economically prudent to rebuild that park

Baton Rouge is now the biggest city in LA-not New Orleans

I'm still taking it personally that they tore down Astroworld in Houston. It was not the worst performing park but they let it get very run down and decided to spread out the rides and destroy it. I realize that they are struggling but I see that and not rebuilding the New Orleans park as failing. Don't these companies normally have insurance?

 

[PAcpl]

What was really sad, though, was what happened after the city reopened. Over 70% of the housing stock was heavily damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans East, there was almost NOTHING left. So FEMA sent up trailer villages all over town. One was located literally in the parking lot of Six Flags. Can you imagine being a 5 year old kid, having lost everything, having to wake up every morning and SEE all those rides, but not being able to go on them?

Wow, what an interesting story. Thank you for sharing. I feel terrible for those kids waking up and seeing a destroyed park.

 

[ahutton]

The video does have a creepy feel to it, but I get the impression that was intentional. I give kudos to the team that put it together because it was visually fascinating, some great shot and very interesting.

It is sad to me that any place that was meant to bring such joy never did to the people in the area.