Six Flags New Orleans: Killed by Katrina

theme parks have always played a crucial role in the lives of those who seek throw an adventurer the sprawling expanses of metal track and brilliant human engineering as far as the eye can see can be found at many locations all across the globe featuring high speed coasters thrilling dark rides and many others spinning looping and otherwise erratically moving rides the essence of theme parks has left its mark on humankind offering a welcome retreat to the rather routine and often stressful aspects of life the likes of Disney World and Universal Studios maybe some names that come to mind at the mere mention of a theme park as branded parks have some of the highest attendance rates in the world one of these theme park brands is Six Flags well recognized by the general public and currently owning more than 10 theme parks Six Flags has some of the greatest and most thrilling theme parks in the world like many companies Six Flags has owned various properties in the past one of them however stands out from the mall a promising new theme park with only five years of operation a sudden acquisition from Six Flags with a promising future an unlimited potential and a natural disaster that took that potential and just washed it away this is the story of Six Flags New Orleans many people will be familiar with the abundance of theme parks up and down the east coast and especially in the state of Florida the nearby state of Louisiana however was strangely absent of any theme parks since the closure of Pontchartrain Beach in 1983 Louisiana laid dormant in the amusement park scene for well over 15 years that all changed however in the year 1999 when alpha smart parks which is now known as palace entertainment began construction of Louisiana's very own amusement Jazze land the park was to draw heavily from New Orleans heritage with the emphasis on jazz music as well as pay tribute to the defunct Pontchartrain Beach Park construction began at the beginning of 1999 and on may 20th mm gasps land officially opened to the public at the time of its opening the park was well received and featured a good number of rides and attractions on opening day jazz land was built on Lake Pontchartrain and featured a lagoon at the center which the park was built around allowing for many great photo opportunities jazz land had the traditional rides like the airboats known as Gator bait a carousel and a ferris wheel called the Big Easy to start out the park also had a Wild Mouse coaster which was called the muskrat scrambler and of Acoma boomerang coaster which was called the zydeco scream which was brought over from a park in France to dropped our rides were installed as well known as Bayou blaster and sonic slam the difference was that bayou blaster started at the bottom and shot riders to the top and sonic slam lifted riders to the top and then dropped them in a short free fall jazz land also had a small children's section which mostly featured small spinning flat rides however this section of the park featured a smaller roller coaster built by bakoma known as Rex's Rail Runner in addition to these rides Jazlyn featured several rides which were unique to the park one such ride was Jacko's Mardi Gras madness an interactive dark ride created specifically for the park by the famous Sally corporation rather than copy over one of their already existing dark rides for Jazz land the company created an original dark ride that took the Mardi Gras theme and ran with it just by looking at the outside of the building the rides charm was evident a huge animatronic of Jocko an evil jester character and the mascot of the ride sat on top of the building moving around and tempting riders to come inside the unique structure of Sally corporation's dark rides allowed for nearly full 360-degree motion of the ride vehicles not only were riders tasked with shooting the targets and creative Mardi Gras scenes with frequent appearances from Jocko of course but the whole ride was cloaked in a black light effect giving it even more charm and memorability while darkride fans could get their fill at Jacko's the star attraction of Jazlyn was without a doubt the mega Zeff the original Pontchartrain Beach featured a rollercoaster called the Zephyr but the founders of Jazlyn took the original layout of the Zephyr and greatly expanded upon it working with custom coasters international they created the mega Zeff an intense wood and steel hybrid coaster that offered a fast and intense rollercoaster experience the mega Zeff made headlines around Louisiana and soon many enthusiasts were heading to jazz land just to ride the mega Zeff although the park received generally positive feedback some guests complained about the lack of shade in the park guests would have to walk from ride to ride in direct sunlight for extended periods of time despite this complaint jazz landed relatively well in its first year of operation consumers agreed that the park was a great place for families to go in the eastern New Orleans area however Palace entertainment did not agree at the end of the 2001 season the lease for the park was put up for sale and the future of Jazz land was put into question for the first time with jazz lands lease up for sale the future looked uncertain for the young amusement park however residents of New Orleans were in for a surprise when the parks lease was purchased by six flags people were shocked and have pleasantly surprised that six flags saw potential in the new theme park along with this new acquisition came the wonder in questioning as to what changes six flags would bring to the park for the 2002 season though not much was changed in fact nothing was changed not even the name despite being purchased by Six Flags the park was run in 2002 as jazz land what's the 2002 season ended however many things began to change buildings were painted rides were brought in the park was expanded and even more by the start of the 2003 season jazz land was nothing more than a name of the past Park was now Six Flags New Orleans now jaslyne had to have become one heck of a good park for Six Flags to have seen fit to add it to their lineup of flagship parks this was indeed true after the upgrades the Six Flags brought in on Opening Day 2003 audiences were amazed at the transformation that Jazlyn had undergone no longer simply a small amusement park with a Louisiana theme the park had become bigger more sophisticated and more professional Six Flags brought in a number of new rides to the park one such ride was a roller coaster called the Jester this coaster manufactured by bakoma was actually brought over from Six Flags Fiesta Texas where it was painted pink and called Joker's revenge for the New Orleans Park it was redeemed and painted green this coaster was unique and that its cars traveled backwards the whole way through only one other model of this coaster exists and it is located in France featuring a loop and two consecutive corkscrews it was sure to be a rough but exciting ride the attraction in the movie theater was also changed from Pirates 4d to spongebob squarepants the ride Six Flags also made great use of their licenses of DC Comics and Looney Tunes the children's area of the park was re-themed to make use of the Looney Tunes characters and the junior coaster Rex's Rail Runner was renamed Road or Express to make use of the DC Comics license six flags added a whole new expansion onto the park known as DC Comics superheroes adventures which was located behind the Z Decker screen this section was completely themed after Gotham City featuring a huge building of Gotham City Hall which was home of the Batman's stunt spectacular show crowds would gather to see actors dressed as Batman Robin and many different villains perform various breathtaking stunts there were four other attractions in the DC Comics area two of them were the Joker's jukebox and Catwoman's whip these rides both spun in various directions but they each had enough differences to set them apart Catwoman's whip allowed riders to rock back and forth while riding and Joker's jukebox featured 1950s style automobiles as ride vehicles the third ride there was Lex Luthor's and Berta Tron which lifted riders up and spun them around on an x axis while the arms on the left and right of the seats would move the ride along the y axis these rides were all well and good and they definitely added to the theming of the area but the best ride that was added to Six Flags New Orleans was definitely Batman the ride this inverted bnm coaster was a thrill to behold although many coasters like it exist throughout the world this style of coaster was new to Louisiana with the track above riders twisted and looped through an action-packed ride that was an instant hit at the new Six Flags in addition to this Six Flags addressed the complaint about there not being enough shade in the park now the majority of walkways in the park were under shade coverings providing much he needed relief from the Louisiana Sun Six Flags even themed the park for their Fright Fest celebration adding a giant spiderweb on mega zephs framework and making small changes to other rides such as darkening Jacko's Mardi Gras madness although some were upset that Jazlyn had lost its original Mardi Gras themed Six Flags New Orleans was a hit among consumers and seriously competed with Astroworld in Houston Texas by 2005 the park was a staple in the eastern New Orleans area and people were excited to see what six flags was planning for the 2006 season unbeknownst to them six wives was planning to and the park even more by using some of the unused land on the property to build a new water park the company was looking forward to announcing this once the 2005 season had ended and in August things were beginning to wind down school had already started in New Orleans and the park had already ceased weekday operations now only open on weekends the park was originally scheduled to open on August 27th as usual but something was about to happen that would put the future of the park into question once more Six Flags New Orleans was scheduled to open back up on August 27th 2005 however when news of the impending hurricane reached the city the park was closed back down in order to prepare for the storm and evacuate the city Hurricane Katrina caused massive damage all along the southern coast and New Orleans was one of the cities that sustained the greatest damage towns were flooded buildings were destroyed and many lives were lost with some people still missing to this day even now New Orleans has still not completely recovered amidst the devastation it was unlikely that anyone even thought about six flags left to ride out the storm since the park is located right next to Lake Pontchartrain flooding was inevitable but it was much worse than anticipated the parks drainage pumps failed and the lake overflowed causing dark black salt water to flow uninterrupted into the park for the entire duration of the storm when Hurricane Katrina finally left Louisiana the park was completely flooded three weeks after the storm it was still sitting under six or seven feet of water when the water was eventually drained what was left was a shocking terrible sight the water had eaten through most of the buildings metal was rusted electronics were fried and the park was in no condition to open back up six flags inspectors stated that the buildings and rides were 80% demolished and millions of dollars would be needed to rebuild upon realizing that Six Flags New Orleans was among the least profitable of Six Flags parks at the time the company sought and early exit from the lease during the difficult legal process six flags removed one of the only salvageable rides Batman the ride the coasters elevated structure kept the majority of it out of the water and it escaped the storm relatively unscathed six flags also removed the two launched our rides near the mega Zeff as well as shade coverings ride parts security cameras and anything else that could be salvaged eventually six flags was successful in exiting their lease with the park under the conditions that they could no longer remove any more rides or parts they were given a ride of their choice as part of the deal and Six Flags chose to take the Road Runner Express coaster finally six flags removed their giant lighted sign from the park entryway effectively indicating their plans to never return after six flags left the park became city-owned property the government of New Orleans having much more important matters to deal with in regards to the hurricane turned their attention away from the park during this time Six Flags New Orleans was left to rot trees and grass grew and staked their way up the rides and buildings rust covered all the metal that remained and structures continued to deteriorate scrappers broke into the property taking what metal and copper they could find to make a quick buck off of including ripping up the tracks inside Jacko's mardi gras madness which had already been dismantled after the storm vandals snuck onto the property tagging and leaving graffiti all across various rides and buildings as time went by the park fell even into an even greater state of disrepair not helped at all by the fact that people were still breaking into the park the tracks on the make is f rusted and corroded the sign on the front of Jacko's mardi gras madness fell off the building and the Jocko animatronic eventually disappeared completely the green paint began flaking off of the gesture revealing the pink color that was left over from its previous life as the Joker's revenge Gators and other creatures took over the pond at the center of the park and it seemed as though Six Flags New Orleans was destined to become a swamp and become nothing but a memory and yet urban explorers have risked arrest to explore the park grounds documenting what remains the internet became full of amazing pictures and videos exposing the remains of the park and showing the incredible things that were still there interest in the park began increasing and many residents of New Orleans began wondering if the park would ever reopen as the city slowly recovered in recent years many companies have tried to revive the park but to no avail the first attempt was by southern star amusement who planned to expand the park to over 60 rides as well as adding water and RV park despite trying three separate times to revive the park these plans never progressed in 2009 the park was planned to be redeveloped into a Nickelodeon branded theme park these plans never lasted long though after bonds failed to come through in 2011 the city of New Orleans presented its plans for the property creating the Jazz land outlet mall this extravagant mall would take the place of the current theme park but would reuse some of the rides plans for this project seemed to be progressing in 2012 when the project was suddenly called off the reason for this was that the nearby Riverwalk marketplace was installing a new expansion and the close proximity to jazz land would make the new mall not profitable while all this has been going on the park has seen heavy usage as a film location in 2011 the Nicolas Cage films stolen was filmed inside the park Percy Jackson's Sea of Monsters and dawn of the Planet of the Apes were both filmed at Jazz land during the summers of 2012 and 2013 respectively and most recently in the summer of 2014 Jurassic world was filmed although the park worked very well as a filming location many still waited anxiously to see if the park itself would reopen his plans continued to fail once stood out from the rest in August of 2011 a small Baton Rouge based company called the Padilla company submitted a proposal to the city of New Orleans to reopen the park as jazz land although these plans did not initially get much attention the project gained steam in the following years with plans to restore the park to its original Louisiana theme restore rides like mega Zeff and the jester as well as bring some of their own creative ideas into the park this looks to be the most promising plan yet for the park as the company waits to gain approval from the city to begin rebuilding the park the city of New Orleans waits anxiously to see if Jazz land will ever returned although jazz land is still not operating parts of the park still live on Batman the ride was moved to Six Flags Fiesta Texas and reopened as Goliath where it still operates today the two launched hours were relocated to Six Flags Great Escape and reopened as Sasquatch and the Road Runner Express was moved to Six Flags Magic Mountain where it continues to operate under the same name although Six Flags will never return to New Orleans the park itself may survive and in the aftermath of a devastating storm with help from a new company the greatest comeback in the history of theme parks can be made it may have closed for the storm but it can open for the people the theme park enthusiasts and for New Orleans you hey everyone it's me Jonathan thank you for watching my video on Six Flags New Orleans the theme park that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina I just want to stress really quickly that all the videos and pictures used in this production are not mine I tried my best to credit the original uploaders of the videos and the original photographers of the pictures throughout the film if you wish to see these videos in their original format in their full-length entirety I recommend searching up the user names displayed during the clip that you wish to see thank you very much for watching the movie again subscribe if you like be sure to comment and like this video have a great night guys

Channel: RampagingRex Productions

Views: 748,976

Rating: 4.7942286 out of 5

Keywords: Six Flags (Amusement Ride Manufacturer), New Orleans (City/Town/Village), Hurricane Katrina (Tropical Cyclone), Amusement Park (Industry), Mega Zeph, MegaZeph, SFNO, Abandoned, Jazzland, Theme, Park, Abandoned Amusement Park, 2005, Six Flags New Orleans (Amusement Park), Coaster, Roller Coaster (Industry), Boomerang, DC Super Heroes

Id: 9bAxjEGRmXo

Length: 19min 6sec (1146 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 16 2015