6 Flags New Orleans Then And Now

I never realized it, until I began research for this post but 6 Flags New Orleans was only open for a few short years. I don't know why I thought it was longer, but the NOLA amusement park opened on May 20, 2000.

On August 29, 2005, the massive Cat 4 storm slammed into New Orleans and devastated the famous city. The loss of life and damage to the city's infrastructure was catastrophic because the storm turned away from its original coordinance at the last minute. People who had not evacuated went to bed, but the storm surge of 10 to 28 feet breached one of the levees and flooded the lower 9th ward in the middle of the night while residents were sleeping.

The flooding caused unbelievable devastation to the lower 9th and tragically 1,800 people lost their lives. To this day, a good portion of the neighborhood is still trying to recover and rebuild. Many of the homes, buildings, and businesses were destroyed by the storm. The soul of New Orleans will never be the same, but 90% of its infrastructure has been renovated such as the Super Dome, and the Morial Convention Center.

That is more than I can say for one of the world's biggest amusement parks. 6 Flags New Orleans closed on August 21, 2005, ahead of Katrina making landfall. Just as the sign says, the park was only expected to shut down for a couple of days for the storm. Sadly, it would never reopen.

Today, 6 Flags New Orleans remains permanently closed. After 17 years, it sits frozen in time and slowly the park is being swallowed up by nature. Most people thought the park would be rebuilt and reopened eventually, but it never happened. Take a look at the abandoned theme park as urban explorers tour the massive property.