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Six Flags AstroWorld was a seasonally-operated theme park located on approximately of land (later expanded to over ) between Kirby Drive and Fannin Avenue, directly south of Loop 610 in Houston, Texas. Opening on June 1, 1968, AstroWorld was originally developed and constructed as part of the Astrodomain, the brainchild of local philanthropist and former Houston mayor Judge Roy Hofheinz, who intended it to complement The Astrodome.〔(TSHA Online - Texas State Historical Association )〕 AstroWorld was sold to the Six Flags Corporation by the Hofheinz family in 1975. Although the fourth park to be included in the Six Flags family of theme parks, it was the first park to be purchased by that company instead of being built. It was marketed as "AstroWorld: A Member of the Six Flags Family" so as to not confuse patrons with Six Flags Over Texas located in Arlington. Many variations of this naming scheme emerged from the Six Flags marketing department over the years. Despite these attempts at branding the park, most people continued to call it "AstroWorld" and the company eventually responded by making the individual park's name more prominent. Similarly, Fiesta Texas in San Antonio has been marketed as "Fiesta Texas: A Six Flags Theme Park". AstroWorld was permanently closed by the Six Flags Corporation after its final day of operations on October 30, 2005. It was demolished between October 30, 2005 and the first half of 2006 (although parts of WaterWorld were being demolished prior to the final operating day at AstroWorld). The bridge crossing Loop 610 from the park to the parking lot continues to stand and is the last remaining structure from AstroWorld. The area where AstroWorld once stood is still grassland and is used for overflow parking during the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. ==Notable attractions== AstroWorld was the home of many unique attractions. It also developed or debuted several prototype ride concepts including the world's first river rapids ride (Thunder River, 1980), the first successful Arrow suspended-swinging coaster (XLR-8, 1984), the first Arrow mine train coaster to utilize tall steel column supports (Dexter Frebish Electric Roller Ride, 1972 and was later renamed Excalibur when the former County Fair section was rethemed Nottingham, 1980), and the first S&S Power sky-swatter ride (SWAT, 2003). The Alpine Sleigh Ride was a dark ride attraction which opened during the park's first season. It had a ride control system and vehicles (ArrowGlide) designed by Arrow Development. Riders passed through an alpine forest before reaching the show building which was designed to resemble a large mountain capped with snow. A waterfall cascaded from atop the mountain and down into a catch pond near the mountain's base. Once past the waterfall, riders would journey through many chambers within the mountain. These included an echo tunnel and an avalanche room with simulated snow. At several points throughout the ride, the vehicles would exit and travel along the exterior of the mountain-themed show building. The sleigh-themed vehicles were powered by an electrical bus bar where portions of the track ascended, and they were gravity powered during the descents which featured several surprise dips. Part of the show building was shared with the adjacent gas powered car ride (Le Taxi) which passed through a tunnel in the side of the mountain. The ride included an appearance by the "Abominable Snowman".〔(Houston, It's Snowing In July! )〕 Alpine Sleigh Ride was retired after the 1983 operating season. Greezed Lightnin', a classic shuttle roller coaster designed by Anton Schwarzkopf which accelerated riders from 0 - in roughly 4 seconds was installed in 1978. Riders traveled both forwards and backwards during the course of the ride over a non-linear track with one loop and a braking hill on both ends. ''Greezed Lightnin's'' 1 millionth ride occurred on October 15, 2005. The Ultra Twister, a TOGO pipeline shuttle coaster featuring three heartline twists, opened in 1990 and was the only ride of its kind operating in the United States. Originally featuring a 90-degree vertical lift, a new 45-degree lift hill was constructed for the ride when it was moved here from Six Flags Great Adventure. Exterior sections of the Alpine Sleigh Ride (which had not been in operation for several years) were demolished to make room for the Ultra Twister and its queue house. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Six Flags AstroWorld」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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