Abandoned Six Flags New Orleans Amusement Park - How Did It Get This Way?

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Check out the story of the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans amusement park, one of the most well-known and largest abandoned theme parks in the United States that was devastated by a tragic natural disaster and has since remained that way for well over a decade since it closed. Six Flags was damaged by high winds and flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005 and still remains standing but has never reopened. How Did It Get This Way?

Transcript (partial)
The park was a destination for amusement fun for thousands of guests and was only in operation for 5 years before the tragedy struck. When the park closed in August 2005 as the hurricane approached, it was presumed the amusement park would re-open a few days later, but it remains shuttered. Now its an abandoned, grim, dilapidated and creepy place with most of the rides and buildings still standing, but beyond repair of salvageability.

Let’s have a look at the history of the park, including that tragic day in August of 2005, the aftermath and what became of the Six Flags New Orleans amusement park.

The park sits on 140 acres of a low lying area near the southeastern shore of Lake Pontchartrain approximately 14 miles from the French Quarter tourist area in New Orleans. It is located near two former amusement parks that closed down in the 1960’s and the 1980’s; Lincoln Beach and Pontchartrain Beach Park.

In 2000, a theme park was built on the site and began operations as “Jazzland,”. It sought to build on the tradition and popularity established by the beloved Pontchartrain Beach Park, but the new park was beset with financial issues almost from the get-go. It was operated by Alfa Smartparks, but owned by a Spanish company. The park was not profitable, as Alpha Smart Parks specialized in running water parks and smaller amusement arcade centers. Jazzland had been projected to draw 1 million people a year, but only 600,000 guests visited the park in its second year. In 2001, Six Flags bought the $135 million Jazzland out of bankruptcy protection for $22 million although the park's name did not change that year. Critics of the park said that the park was ill-conceived and was built too far away from the French Quarter area and couldn’t entice tourists to venture out to its far-flung location.

In early 2003, Six Flags upgraded the park and renamed it "Six Flags New Orleans." Six Flags added more shaded areas and many new rides over the course of three seasons before Katrina. The park adopted its theme and tagline, “Its Playtime!” and used its massive marketing muscle to advertise and promote the park, with the popular "Mr. Six" dancing old man character. The centerpiece of the park was its Batman themed roller coaster which was relocated from a defunct theme park in Japan. The park included a main street square and other themed areas with rides and attractions. An attached water park, whose admission would have been included in the ticket price, was in the planning stages in early 2005 and was going to be announced at the end of August just as Katrina struck, demonstrating a cruel irony by Mother Nature.

Even with the Six Flag brand’s marketing and capital investment strength, park attendance was mediocre and was not a top performer in the company’s portfolio of nationwide locations.

On Friday, August 26, 2005, it became apparent that Hurricane Katarina would track directly toward the New Orleans area as it travelled north from the Gulf of Mexico. Six Flags cancelled the weekend opening and evacuated the park property in preparation for the storm’s arrival. It had planned to re-open the park after the storm had passed.

On early Monday morning, August 29, 2005, Katarina took dead aim and slammed in the New Orleans area as a large category 4 hurricane. Sustained winds were around 145 MPH in Southeast Louisiana and a tidal surge of between 7 feet to 16 feet of seawater that extended 6 miles inland inundated the area. During the storm, the drainage pumps at the low-lying Six Flags failed a& left the park 4 to 7 feet underwater. Besides the flooding, the park received extensive wind damage to its rides, attractions and buildings. The park was flooded for over a month after the storm with most of the water receding. Some areas though are still underwater to this day.
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