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: 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 potential new guests.