Six Flags Astroworld

Six Flags AstroWorld & WaterWorld shut down on October 30, 2005. Six Flags announced the decision to permanently shutter the park in summer 2005.

Located next to the famous Houston Astrodome, AstroWorld opened on June 1, 1968. The park was built on a portion of the 116-acre Astrodomain development to complement the adjacent Astrodome ballpark. The park's name was chosen after Houston's designation as the home of the Johnson Space Center.

Six Flags acquired AstroWorld in 1975 and debuted a new wooden roller coaster, Texas Cyclone, a year later. Eventually, Six Flags AstroWorld grew to include rides, shows, and attractions in ten themed areas– International Plaza, Americana Square, Plaza de Fiesta, Oriental Village, Nottingham Village, Western Junction, European Village, Alpine Valley, Coney Island, and Enchanted Kingdom.

An adjacent separate gate 10-acre waterpark, WaterWorld, was added in 1983. As the park struggled in its later years, the waterpark switched to be included with admission to Six Flags AstroWorld in 2002.

At the center of the park was the iconic 340-foot tall Astroneedle observation gyro tower that could be seen from miles away. A skyride crisscrossed through the center of the park. Besides the Texas Cyclone, other memorable attractions include the shuttle loop coaster Greezed Lighting, Ultra Twister, Looping Starship, Tidal Wave shoot-the-chutes ride, and the suspended coaster XLR-8.

After the closure of AstroWorld, many of the rides were relocated to other Six Flags properties or sold to other amusement parks. Several continue to operate, but some remain in storage and others have since been scrapped. It's unfortunate that rare roller coasters like Ultra Twister or Greezed Lighting were not rebuilt.