AstroWorld opened on June 1, 1968, operated by Judge Roy Hofheinz, former mayor of Houston. It was built adjacent to the AstroDome, owned by Astrodomain Corp., the parent company that owned the property, and Houston Sports Association, owners of the Houston Astros.
The park was meant to complement the AstroDome as there was many acres of land that were available to be developed.
AstroWorld was designed by R. Duell & Associates. Duell had recently designed Six Flags Over Texas and would later design other parks including the redevelopment of Hersheypark in the 1970s.
Six Flags began operating AstroWorld in 1975. When news came out about the agreement, it was erroneously reported that the park had been sold to Six Flags, Inc. Instead, Astrodomain and Six Flags entered into a 20 year lease in which Six Flags would operate the park on Astrodomain’s behalf.
At the time, Six Flags, Inc. was a subsidiary of Great Southwest Corp. and operated parks in Dallas (Six Flags Over Texas), Atlanta (Six Flags Over Georgia), and St. Louis (Six Flags Over Mid-America).
AstroWorld was renamed AstroWorld A Six Flags Theme Park from 1975 to 1994.
In 1976, the Hofheinz family sold Astrodomain Corp. to General Electric Credit Corporation and Ford Motor Credit Company. Six Flags acquired the AstroWorld on November 22, 1978, when Ford Motor Credit Company took control of Astrodomain.
In 1983, the park opened WaterWorld, a water park. The entrance to WaterWorld was at the entrance to AstroWorld. The water park would be merged with the dry park in 2002.
In 1994, the park was renamed Six Flags AstroWorld.
On September 12, 2005, Six Flags announced that AstroWorld would not reopen in 2006. Jim Dannhauser, CFO of Six Flags said that attendance at the park had been down and the value of the land had increased significantly. A press release stated more, citing challenges with coordinating for parking during events occurring at recently built Reliant Stadium, home of the Houston Texans.
Earlier in 2005, on March 11, Six Flags reported a net loss of $464.8 million dollars in 2004. Closing AstroWorld and selling the land at a high value would help the chain service the debt accrued from the losses.
Six Flags AstroWorld closed on October 30, 2005. The park stayed open two additional hours past closing time to accommodate their guests.
Six Flags reportedly sold AstroWorld for $77 million in May 2006 to a group called Angel/McIver Interests LP. The actual purchase price was confidential. The land was then sold again in 2010, to Mallick properties for an undisclosed amount.
The AstroWorld property has yet to be developed and is currently an overflow parking lot for Reliant Stadium.
Notable attractions
Roller coasters
Built under Astrodomain Corp. management:
- Serpent
- Swamp Buggy, closed circa 1972
- Excalibur, closed 1998
Built under Six Flags Inc. management:
- Texas Cyclone
- Greezed Lightnin’
- XLR-8
- Viper
- Ultra Twister
- Batman The Escape
- Mayan Mindbender
- Texas Tornado, closed 2001
- Serial Thriller
Roller coasters not noted with a closing date closed on October 30, 2005, when AstroWorld closed.
Water rides
- Bamboo Shoot
- Thunder River
- Tidal Wave
- Diablo Falls
Flat rides
- 610 Limited train
- Alpine Carousel
- Alpine Sleigh Ride
- Antique Taxis
- Astroneedle
- Astroway
- Astrowheel
- Barrel of Fun
- Looping Starship
- Razzmatazz
- Rock-O-Plane
- Spinout
- SkyScreamer
- Swat
- Wagon Wheel
- Warp 2000
WaterWorld
- Big Kahuna
- Hook’s Lagoon
- Jurahnimo Falls
- Ozark Splash
- Water Slides
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