I swear I was on top of the whole story about AstroWorld closing down when it broke a couple of days ago, but I couldn't really dredge up too much outrage at the news. As Tom so ably points out in his entry on the subject, AstroWorld wasn't originally a Six Flags theme park, and Six Flags didn't spend as much on it as on its other places, lending AW a growing patina of sleaze over the last decade or so.
I haven't been there in a few years, but even then it was obvious the place wasn't making a lot of money. Combine that with persistent parking issues and a dawning realization that wandering around a cement enclosure in 96 degree weather isn't exactly "amusing," and its fate was pretty much sealed.
My only regret is that, after October 29, there won't be any roller coasters closer than San Antonio. I consider scaring the bejeezus out of oneself on possibly hazardous rides to be a staple of one's upbringing, and since I don't want my daughter lacking in her appreciation of the finer things, I guess we'll just to move to Eureka, MO in order to be closer to Six Flags over Mid-America.
We'll work out the whole school/job/quality of life thing later.
Until you can guarantee that we'll also enjoy a recreation of AstroWorld's famed gang violence, I'll consider your offer an empty gesture.
Have you ever been to Eureka, MO? Move to Valley Park, at least. Much less scary.
Whoa. Hold it on the relative scariness of Eureka and Valley Park. Unless things have changed there in the last 30 years, the Screaming Eagle (in Eureka) is nothing compared to the toothless, tattooed, Missouri rednecks (in VP) lottering in their trash-strewn trailer parks, watching the detritus, sludge and dioxane flow down the Meramac from Times Beach.
Sorry, I forgot to sign my comments about the many virtues of Valley Park (shudder) MO.
Great post title. If Bill Hicks had lived to see Bush II he never would've believed it.
I guess we'll just to move to Eureka, MO in order to be closer to Six Flags over Mid-America.
Sh*t, you'd move to hell if it had a decent roller coaster.
My brother lives in Eureka. Trust me, you don't want to be in the same town with him. You don't even want to be in the same county with him.
Sh*t, you'd move to hell if it had a decent roller coaster.
There should have been a question mark after that; it's a (rhetorical) question, not a statement.
Sorry to be polluting your comments like this.
My concern about this issue can be measured by the fact that I have lived in Houston for 11 years now and have never been to Astroworld.
Ho-hum.
Valley Park has improved - lots of nice houses and young families with children - lots more money.
Why yes, I did almost get killed by a hillbilly there in 1989, but that's now rare. Fucking no way would I live in Eureka, however.
I did have a seasons pass to Six Flags over Mid-America for several years, mainly because the coasters were so good, and the company I worked for did the engineering work on the Screamin' Eagle (fastest coaster in the world for a couple of years) and the Jet Scream, which meant I could tell companions how close to failure each section of the track was. ;-)
If anyone around here really misses that piece of crap park, give me thirty bucks ($25 if you bring an empty Coke can) and let me drive you around the loop in true willy nilly fashion. Then, when you're ready to puke, I'll sell you a piece of sausage and a bottle of water for $12. For authenticity, I'll leave off the A/C (okay, it doesn't work anyway, but you didn't know that). And yes, it'll be more fun/interesting if you eat a bunch of mushrooms first.