User blog:RCTFan2002/What If? Episode 6: What if Six Flags Astroworld remained open?

Hello everyone, hope you all had a merry christmas, happy hanukkah, and/or are having a happy kwanzaa! Just yesterday, I finally finished my long-delayed episode 5 of the "What If?" series, concerning Six Flags staying in charge of "Walibi Belgium". To make up for the long delay, I am instantly starting the newest episode today (hey, that rhymed! XDD). Originally I said I was gonna do one of the "Geauga Lake" scenarios I brought up in an old blog post next, but after some discussion with Stacy4554, we mutually decided to move it back one because we got hyped up for the "Six Flags Astroworld" scenario instead.

I really don't think I need to say what this scenario is about, but just in case, read below...

History
In 1968, "Astroworld" opened right across the highway from the famous Astrodome stadium. It operated independently for a couple years, until in 1975, Six Flags bought the park and renamed it "Six Flags Astroworld" - this also makes the park be the very first park SF bought in the chain's history, having built their 3 previous parks from scratch. In 1983, "WaterWorld" opened right next to "Six Flags Astroworld", becoming the park's waterpark. Both of these parks operated under Six Flags' ownership for several decades, until 2005. At that time, the company was going through financial issues and had been forced to start selling some of their parks. It also didn't help that "Six Flags Astroworld" was having parking issues with the Astrodome next-door, since both places used the same parking lot. However, instead of selling "Six Flags Astroworld", SF closed the park PERMANENTLY after the 2005 season and immediately got to work relocating some of the rides and coasters, reducing the once glorious theme park/waterpark area to a massive empty lot, which is all that remains of the area to this day. But suppose Six Flags didn't decide to shut down the park. What if it stayed open and reopened like normal in 2006? What new coasters and rides would have been added to the park? How could the parking issue be solved? Well you're in luck, because we're going to speculate right now what would've happened if "Six Flags Astroworld" remained open!

Year-by-year predictions
NOTE: Since Six Flags never closed the park in this scenario, all of Six Flags Astroworld’s rides and attractions that were closed/relocated after the 2005 season will stay at the park)

2006 - Waterpark Capital, New Parking Garage: As much as I really wanna say the park gets a new coaster or thrill ride of some sort, given that this is the time that Six Flags was going through their financial issues, I think that this year we wouldn't see much of a new park addition except for a new waterslide of some sort at "Waterworld". I predict that for this year, the only new ride opening at the park would be a ProSlide Tornado waterslide built in the empty v-shaped plot of land in-between "Jurahnimo Falls" and the wave pool. This would give the waterpark a classic, yet exciting water ride that nearly all the other SF waterparks already have, causing it to attract a lot more guests during the hot Texan summers. Also, I feel that adding this sort of ride in particular would make it feel more like a "Six Flags-style" waterpark, since this ride is at a lot of other SF waterparks as well. Also, I predict that for this year, regarding the parking issues w/the nearby Astrodome, Six Flags would try to improve the issue by building some sort of parking garage next to the park - whether above-ground or underground, that's up to you to decide. Since there just so happens to be some sort of car dealership business built right next to the park (it's still there, you can see it on Google Maps), I say that Six Flags could just simply have the car dealership torn down and build the parking garage right on top of it, as well as a bridge/walkway of some sort leading straight to the park's main entrance. Bam, parking issues solved. This would no doubt help improve the parking situation for both "Six Flags Astroworld" and the Astrodome, as well as provide a much closer and easier entrance to the park for guests coming in.

2007 - Gerstlauer spinning coaster, Park Stadium removed: Yes, I know that Six Flags' two other theme parks in Texas already got a Gerstlauer spinning coaster this year as well...which is exactly why I figured I might as well add one to "Six Flags Astroworld" as well, to fit in with the "trend" of the other parks, as you might say. However, since the park is pretty much "locked" on all sides by roads, the only vacant plot of land that I can think of that'd be the best spot for this ride is a small vacant piece of land in the "Nottingham Village" area, near the entrance plaza of "Serial Thriller". The park's railroad ride also cuts through that spot, though given the usual small footprint of this type of coaster, I don't believe that that would really matter much. This type of coaster would be the perfect type of coaster appealing to both families and adrenaline junkies alike, being not too tall, fast or intense for kids, yet having a very thrilling spinning ride experience. Also, since the ride is located in the park's medieval area it could have a really cool medieval theme and name to it as well, making it stand out from other Gerstlauer spinning coasters at other SF parks. And since the ride's location would be near the Route 610, people will see it right from the highway as well, which would make the park look even more attractive and appealing to people passing by. However, now that the TRUE last empty plot of land has just been filled up with more rides, I believe that the park would demolish the arena stadium in the USA area, to create some more room in the park for future expansion.

2008 - New Kids Area (Wiggles World) added: Another popular trend for Six Flags around this time was opening up new kiddie areas in each of their parks based off "The Wiggles" or "Thomas & Friends", due to them recently purchasing the licenses. Because of this, I would not be surprised in the least if "Six Flags Astroworld" eventually also became one of the parks during this time period to open some sort of new kiddie area (plus the Looney Tunes area that the park already has is somewhat lackluster IMO) and that's why I predict that this year would be the perfect time for "Six Flags Astroworld" to get their second kids area, replacing the old stadium in the USA area of the park - hey, the land is certainly big enough to accommodate for what's gonna be a small area anyways. I also predict that this new area will be themed to "The Wiggles" and called "Wiggles World", just like the ones popping up at other SF parks during this time such as "Six Flags Great Adventure", "Six Flags New England", "Six Flags Great America", and so on. For some reason, I think it would just make more sense.

2009 - Park Improvements, New Park Entertainment, Looping Starship removed: Giving SF is still going through their financial woes at this point and just starting to recover, I don't predict that we would see a massive new addition this year, like a new area or coaster like the last 2 years did. Instead I believe that for this season, "Six Flags Astroworld" would focus solely on park improvements, like new paint jobs on the rides and buildings, and really try to spruce up the overall atmosphere of the park, to make it look nicer and more appealing to new guests coming in. I also predict that this year, the park would focus on new entertainment as well, such as a new nighttime event of some sort that would seem exciting to park guests. One very good possible idea is the "Glow in the Park" parade event that "Six Flags Great America" also had around this time period. Both this new nighttime event as well as the overall park improvements happening this year would no doubt make the park look at least a little bit more appealing and entertaining to park guests, especially families and children who watch the event. While this may not seem as exciting as, say, a new coaster, it would no doubt help retain the park's reputation and make it look more impressive to new guests. Finally, I predict that this year, the park's Intamin Looping Starship ride would, unfortunately, be removed, since it's over 20 years old at this point and the land it's sitting on would be extremely valuable for a future, much more modern thrill ride.

2010 - SkyScreamer added, Ultra Twister removed: Since the early 2010s started off with SF adding some Funtime StarFlyers to each one of their parks. I predict that this year, "Six Flags Astroworld" would get one of the chain's very first "SkyScreamer" installations at their park, as the perfect starting point for the trend of these rides. This version of the ride would be 240-ft tall and would be built in the USA section of the park, over the old location of "Looping Starship". This ride would not only be a much more modern and exciting thrill ride that the park desperately needs at this point, but also be one of the park's tallest and most visually pleasing rides as well. It would easily be seen from any direction in the park, as well as even the highway, and as a result the ride would make the park look even more exciting, even from a distance, and would no doubt attract even more thrillseekers to the park. However, I also predict that this year, "Ultra Twister" would finally close and be scrapped following the end of the season - as it should be, if you ask me. That ride is not only old and redundant compared to the other coasters in the park, but also rough, short and just plain unappealing. The plot that it's sitting on would make for a much better modern coaster in the near future...

2011 - Premier Sky Rocket coaster, Wiggles World area rebranded/renamed: Like this one. The park added it's first, and last, launched coaster, "Greezed Lightning", over 30 years ago, and it's last official "thrill" coaster, "Serial Thriller", over 12 years ago at this point (the Gerstlauer spinning coaster can be considered more of a family coaster than a thrill one, so it doesn't count), so I think it's definitely about time that "Six Flags Astroworld" added a much more modern, exciting thrill coaster to their park, and this time is perfect. This type of coaster is also perfect given the narrow, yet long plot of land that "Ultra Twister" used, that I feel a custom Sky Rocket coaster could perfectly take advantage of. The layout would start out similar to "Sky Rocket" at Kennywood, with a top hat element and a cutback over the railroad, but then after that feature a couple of tweaks due to the narrow footprint required (since it'd literally be on the edge of the park). Doing this would also cause the coaster to interact with the park's railroad ride several times. This type of coaster would be a greatly needed breath of fresh air in the park, giving it its newest thrill coaster for the first time in over a decade, and also provide riders with a much more updated, exciting and intense launched coaster experience than "Greezed Lightning". With both these launched coasters operating together in the same park, "Six Flags Astroworld" could no doubt see an uptick in the amount of adrenaline junkies coming to the park that year, once again putting it on the map for thrillseekers and Six Flags fanatics across the country. However, since SF also lost a lot of their licenses such as "The Wiggles" this year, I predict that this year, we'd also see the park's "Wiggles World" kids area get a makeover, becoming "Kidzopolis" and having all it's rides renamed, rebranded and rethemed.

2012 - New Waterpark Capital, Texas Cyclone removed: SInce it's been 6 years at this point since we last saw "Waterworld" receive a new ride, I predict that for this year Six Flags would turn back to "Waterworld" as their main investment and add a new water attraction of some sort. One unique waterslide attraction that I definitely wish we could've seen more of at SF parks is the Polin King Cobra slide, which is essentially if a Proslide Mammoth and a Water Fun Products halfpipe had a baby together. SInce one of these opened at "Hurricane Harbor" in Jackson, NJ this very year, I think it's plausible that, if Six Flags were to hypothetically add another one of these rides at 1 of their other waterparks, then this would be the perfect time. The only problem with adding this ride is that "Waterworld" is extremely landlocked, even more so than "Six Flags Astroworld", so there isn't much place to add a new water ride. Because of this, the only place that I could possibly predict a new waterslide like this being built in the park is next to the wave pool, on the opposite end of "Jurahnimo Falls" and the Proslide Tornado, where what I'm assuming to be a maintenance building of some sort was standing (if you check the photos or satellite images of "Waterworld" on Google, you'll see what I'm talking about). This waterslide would, as a result of it's opening, be one of only 2 waterslides of this type in the SF chain. Because of this, "Waterworld" would no doubt be seen as even more impressive and popular from park guests than before, as it'd give the guests in the waterpark a much needed, one-of-a-kind, exciting water attraction. Also, I predict that, given the recent, epic success of "New Texas Giant" over at SFOT, Six Flags would quickly turn over to their nearby Houston park and shut down "Texas Cyclone" at the end of the season, to make way for...

2013 - RMC Texas Cyclone, Showcase Theater removed: Yep, you guessed it right. Given how much success "New Texas Giant" has recently gotten at SFOT during this period, and how SF was already giving "Rattler", a wooden coaster at ANOTHER Six Flags park in Texas, the RMC treatment this year as well, I predict that this year, SF could just as well convert the "Texas Cyclone" into an RMC wood/steel hybrid coaster, just to finish up the last of the SF woodies in Texas getting RMCed. The new RMC, which I predict would possibly be called the "New Texas Cyclone" (as opposed to "Wicked Cyclone", because 1) it sounds more original, and 2) SFNE would already get an RMC named "Wicked Cyclone" later, so it'd be a bit confusing), would basically rejuvenate the old wooden coaster and turn it into a much more exciting and intense ride experience for park guests. It would no doubt become one of the best coasters in Texas, if not the entire US, and immediately make the park become much more known to thrillseekers and coaster enthusiasts around the country. However, this year I predict that the nearby "Showcase Theater" would also be removed and demolished, since it is quite redundant with the park's other amphitheater, the "Southern Star Amphitheatre", and this theater's location and close proximity to the area and guests makes the area it's sitting on a much better and more noticeable place for 2014's new addition...

2014 - Justice League: Battle for Metropolis dark ride, S.W.A.T, Mayan Mindbender and WaterWorld entrance removed: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think "Six Flags Astroworld" has ever in it's history had a dark ride of some sort, and I think at this point SF would've become wary of that - which is why for 2014 I predict that Six Flags would add the park's very first dark ride in the USA section of the park, over where the "Showcase Theater" formerly was. And of course, because it's Six Flags, I predict that it wouldn't just be any other dark ride: I predict that, given the time frame, they would add the very first "Justice League: Battle for Metropolis" dark ride to be installed in one of their parks, EVER. Since this would be a groundbreaking addition of sorts, both in and outside "Six Flags Astroworld", I believe that this type of ride would no doubt become immensely popular with the park guests, being a way to cool down on hot Texan summer days without having to go to the waterpark, AND providing a much more entertaining and exciting experience for people of all ages than the old amphitheater. This dark ride would be the perfect new addition as it is mild and entertaining enough to let families and kids ride, yet has a very exciting ride element and a thrilling storyline that'd also appeal to older crowds as well. Overall, this ride would be brilliant for "Six Flags Astroworld" and give it something new that it never had before. Also, I predict that at the end of the season, we would also see some DRASTIC changes in the park's ride lineup...not only do I think we'd see "S.W.A.T.", the park's S&S Sky Swat, be removed, but also the "Mayan Mindbender" coaster as well as the entrance to "WaterWorld", located right beneath the supports of "Tidal Wave". As to why, "S.W.A.T." is, as shown by it's time at SFNE in real life, expensive to maintain and just in general a really unpopular ride, plus it takes up a lot of land that could be used for more attractions in the future. As for WaterWorld's entrance and "Mayan Mindbender", well...you'll see in 2015.

2015 - Waterpark Refurbishment, Zamperla Giant Discovery added, Tidal Wave removed: If you ever looked at satellite images of "Six Flags Astroworld", you'll notice that by how "Mayan Mindbender" is located, it seems to abruptly jut right into "WaterWorld" and make it look like it's a part of the waterpark - it just seems too awkward and out-of-place for me. WaterWorld's entrance also happens to be built under the supports of "Tidal Wave", making it a convoluted path to traverse, and definitely too difficult for park guests who just want to easily get to the waterpark. Since "Mayan Mindbender" happens to jut abruptly into the waterpark, I figured that the space that the old, not-so-thrilling family coaster was taking up in the "Oriental Village" area could make the perfect new entrance for "WaterWorld", as by the way it looks it would provide a much easier and more efficient entrance to the waterpark. But wait, don't call it "WaterWorld" anymore - since this waterpark is owned by Six Flags and is already getting a new entrance, it seems appropriate that at this time the waterpark's refurbishment also includes a new name: "Hurricane Harbor". This would truly make "WaterWorld" fit in with all the other waterparks in the SF chain and truly have it live up to Six Flags' standards. Also new for this year, I predict that "S.W.A.T." would get replaced with an equally massive, yet much more appealing and exciting modern thrill ride: a Zamperla Giant Discovery - again, one of the very first of it's kind to ever be built in the SF chain. This thrill ride would no doubt become extremely popular with park guests, not only because of the fact it'd be the very first Giant Discovery ride in the SF chain, but also because it is a MUCH better ride for the park than "S.W.A.T." was. It has less maiintenance issues as well as a very thrilling ride experience with lots of spinning and twisting, that'd definitely bring a lot more thrillseekers and adrenaline junkies to the park. Sadly, this would also be the last season for "Tidal Wave", as this type of ride was becoming increasingly scarce during this time in SF parks, and the plot of land that it's sitting on, which also includes the former entrance for "Hurricane Harbor", is WAY too valuable and could DEFINITELY be used for bigger, better attractions.

2016 - S&S 4D Free Spin Coaster, Warp 2000 removed: Ever since "Six Flags Fiesta Texas" added their 4D Free Spin "Batman: The Ride" in 2015, nearly every SF park across the chain has added their own version of this coaster to them, so I figure that "Six Flags Astroworld" should be no exception to this, as this is the perfect moment and opportunity to add this type of coaster. This version of the coaster would be built right over where both "Tidal Wave" and the original waterpark entrance was, right next to "XLR8" in the Plaza de Fiesta area of the park. Due to the theme of the area that this coaster is in, I predict it could have some sort of cool Spanish name and theme to it...or maybe, knowing Six Flags, they would just slap a generic "Joker" theme on it regardless of the area it's in, like at Great America or Great Adventure. This coaster would definitely be a great appeal to coaster junkies visiting the park, as it provides riders with an insane, flipping head-over-heels ride experience and is one of only 2 of it's kind in the world at this point, making it a rarity. However, I also predict that at the end of the season, we would see "Warp 2000", the park's Huss Troika, be removed as the ride is very old at this point (35 YEARS!!) and it's land could potentially be used for a better, more modern thrill ride.

2017 - Larson Super Loop, Greezed Lightning removed: *sucks air* oh boy, this might be a rather unpopular choice. The Larson Super Loop is not quite that loved when it comes to hardcore SF fanatics, but installing this type of ride at their parks was, once again, pretty commonplace during this time period, so I predict that around this time, "Six Flags Astroworld" would finally get their own Larson Super Loop starting this season. It would be built right over Warp 2000's old ride pad and, being part of the Plaza de Fiesta area, would hands down, no doubt, get the "El Diablo" moniker. Although this ride may not seem like much to people initially, it features an intense, thrilling ride experience that could appeal to some hardcore thrillseekers looking for a brief adrenaline rush. Because of this it could potentially still be a somewhat popular park ride, though not as much as the other rides. However, due to "Greezed Lightning" being at the park for 40 seasons at this point, and becoming nearly obsolete as a launch coaster due to the nearby, newer and more exciting Premier launched coaster, I predict that, unfortunately, the park would announce the closure of this coaster near the end of the season. Nothing personal, but I believe that at this point, this coaster is extremely old and would be both increasingly expensive to maintain as well as greatly underrated due to all the other, newer coasters at the park. It would be dismantled and replaced with a newer coaster in 2018...

2018 - RMC Raptor coaster, Go-Karts removed: Yep, this would be the new coaster replacing "Greezed Lightning". With SF already adding another Raptor coaster, "Wonder Woman Golden Lasso" at SFFT this year, I don't think it would that far-fetched if Six Flags added another one of these coasters at one of their other Texan parks this year as well. However, given the time frame, I predict that it wouldn't necessarily be a custom layout Raptor, as the first one wouldn't be built until 2020 at "Six Flags Great Adventure". Because of that, I predict that this Raptor would just be, layout-wise, a clone of "Wonder Woman Golden Lasso": as much as I want it to be a custom layout it just simply wouldn't fit the time period just yet. Nonetheless, I predict that this type of coaster would immediately become a smash hit with park guests, being not only one of the first RMC Raptor coasters in the world, but also just having a very exciting and thrilling ride experience in general. This coaster would no doubt make "Six Flags Astroworld" look even more exciting and appealing to coaster fanatics than ever before, and continue to make the park look like a great hotspot for thrillseekers, with the recent additions of both the Raptor, the Freespin, AND the new Giant Discovery and Super Loop rides. However, I also predict that at the end of the season, "Six Flags Astroworld" will remove it's go-karts ride, as the land it's taking up is rather huge and could easily be used for several smaller, more exciting rides instead.

2019 - Flat Ride Package, Serial Thriller refurbishment, Batman: The Escape closes: Since several other SF parks like "Six Flags St. Louis" also got flat ride packages around this time, I predict that, given how much space the go-karts previously took up in the park, a couple new flat rides could very easily fit here if SF choosed to put another one of their ride packages here - it'd also give the USA area of the park a few more rides at least. As for what type of flat rides that I think could get added, I predict we could definitely see a Zamperla Air Race, a Zamperla Disk'O, and a Larson Flying Skooters OR Chance Freestyle ride (I'm pretty much stuck between the last two, TBH) being added. These new rides would definitely be exciting and appealing to both families and thrillseekers, and provide the area with some much needed new thrill rides. Also, I predict that for this year, given it's the coaster's 20th anniversary this year as well, "Serial Thriller" would get a refurbishment a la "Mind Eraser" at SFNE, featuring a new paint job and all new trains to make the ride less rough and more appealing to guests. Finally, at the end of the season, I predict that "Six Flags Astroworld" would close "Batman: The Escape". Note that i said CLOSED, not REMOVED.

2020 - Floorless Conversion of Batman: The Escape: Yep, you guessed it - for 2020, I predict that SF would pull a "Firebird" on "Batman: The Escape" and turn it into a floorless coaster. TBH, I don't know if this would actually work in real life, given that "Batman: The Escape" was an INTAMIN standup, and all the standup coasters to be converted into floorless ones were B&Ms. However, given that the Intamin standups and the B&M standups both use very similar track, I want to believe that B&M's floorless trains shouldn't have much issue if put on the Intamin track. Plus, this would greatly update the old, quickly-becoming-redundant coaster and make it look much more exciting and appealing to new guests coming to the park. The bigger question, though, is COVID-19. Due to the pandemic running rampant in the US at this time, the coaster's reopening would have to be pushed back, but given how this isn't as much of a major addition as another new coaster or thrill ride, just a simple conversion, I don't think the coaster's opening would have to be pushed back all the way to 2021, just simply sometime in summer 2020 at best, or end of summer 2020 at the very most. Nonetheless, whenever it opens, I predict this conversion would no doubt bring some much needed life into the old coaster, and immediately make it as popular and attractive as it was when it initially opened again.

2021 - Park Improvements, Big Kahuna removed: Since COVID would still be running rampant through the country this year, I predict that for this year, Six Flags wouldn't add anything new to "Six Flags Astroworld" at all, just focus solely on park improvements and touch-ups. This would be the best move for the park, as the company as a whole has been struggling with their new 2020/21 additions due to the pandemic, and due to the now limited amount of people coming into the parks, it wouldn't make much sense to add a new ride without people being able to ride it. However, I do predict that for this year, one ride will still be removed - "Big Kahuna" from the waterpark. This ride takes up a lot of land and could easily be used for a much more modern and exciting water ride for the waterpark, like...

2022 - Whitewater West Water Coaster: ...this. Inspired greatly by the newly-opened "Tsunami Surge" at "Six Flags Great America", I predict that, given the trend of SF adding several water coasters to some of their waterparks over the past couple years (such as SFFT in 2017), Six Flags would also add a water coaster to "Hurricane Harbor Houston" for the 2022 season. This water coaster, replacing the "Big Kahuna", would be built directly over the "Thunder River" rapids ride and provide some pretty cool interacting elements between the two rides, just like what "Big Kahuna" did. Because of this ride's unique location over the River rapids ride, it would drive more attention to both "Thunder River" and the waterpark, and make the waterpark look even more attractive and appealing to new guests coming in to the park. This would in turn cause an increase of people coming to the waterpark, and no doubt ensure the success of "Six Flags Astroworld" despite the ongoing pandemic.

Conclusion
In conclusion, that's what I believe "Six Flags Astroworld" would look like up to current day if Six Flags never shut the park down. Do you agree with my predictions? Why or why not? What are some of your possible predictions for this scenario? Please leave your comments in the comment section below!