Six Flags Hurricane Harbor SplashTown

Last updated

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown
Hurricane harbore splashtown.png
SloganHouston's Largest Water Park
Location Spring, Texas, U.S.
Coordinates 30°04′13″N95°25′55″W / 30.070167°N 95.431935°W / 30.070167; -95.431935 Coordinates: 30°04′13″N95°25′55″W / 30.070167°N 95.431935°W / 30.070167; -95.431935
Owner EPR Properties
Operated by Six Flags
General ManagerJeffrey Siebert
Opened1984 (1984)
Previous namesSplashtown USA
Six Flags Splashtown (2000–2007)
SplashTown Houston (2008–2012)
Wet 'n' Wild Splashtown (2013–2018)
Operating seasonMay–September
Area48 acres (190,000 m2)
Pools2 pools
Water slides9 water slides
Children's areas2 children's areas
Website Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown is a water park located north of Houston in Spring, Texas, United States. [1]

Contents

History

The land that Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown now occupies was, in the early 1980s, home to a theme park known as Hanna-Barbera Land. [2] Hanna-Barbera Land only operated for two seasons before its owners, Kings Entertainment Company, sold the park to private investors. The amusement park had all its rides removed, with the new owners installing a water park with several water slides. Much of the park's Victorian buildings, street lights and landscaping remained. [2] Splashtown USA opened to the public shortly after.

In the 1990s, the park changed owners twice: first to the Morris Family in 1994, and then to Six Flags in May 1999. The acquisition was made by Six Flags to eliminate the park from being a competitor to its Six Flags WaterWorld water park, also located in Houston. [3] The park was renamed Six Flags SplashTown in 2000. [4]

Following the closure of Six Flags WaterWorld and the adjacent Six Flags AstroWorld in October 2005, [5] Six Flags engaged in a restructuring of Six Flags SplashTown, which resulted in the termination of the park's General Manager, Operations Manager and Food Service Manager in early November 2005. In January 2006, it was announced that the former Operations Manager of WaterWorld would be the new Splashtown Operations Manager. Several of WaterWorld's attractions were relocated to SplashTown. [5] The park underwent a "facelift" as well as general cleaning to prepare it for its opening day, April 28, 2006. The entrance received a new sign, with the addition of renovated buildings and ticket booths.

In January 2007, Six Flags announced that SplashTown, along with six other parks, would be sold for a total of $312 million. The agreement saw Six Flags sell the properties to PARC Management, who in turn sold the properties to CNL Lifestyle Properties. CNL would then lease the properties back to PARC Management under a 52-year triple-net lease. [6] However, after less than three years into the 52-year contracts, CNL terminated their agreements with PARC Management in November 2010. [7] In early 2011, CNL appointed Premier Attractions Management, LLC (now Premier Parks, LLC) as the new operators of the park. At the time, the limited liability company was led by former Six Flags employees Kieran Burke, the former chairman and CEO, and Gary Story, the former president and chief operating officer. [8]

In November 2013, CNL Lifestyle Properties acquired rights to the Wet'n'Wild brand in the United States from Australian firm, Village Roadshow Theme Parks. [9] [10] [11] In the months to follow CNL rebranded several of its properties to Wet'n'Wild water parks, including SplashTown Houston, which became Wet'n'Wild SplashTown. [12] [13] [14] The park itself received a multimillion-dollar renovation. [15]

In late 2016, CNL Lifestyle Properties announced that it was selling ownership of fifteen attraction properties, including Wet'n'Wild Splashtown, along with five small family entertainment centers to EPR Properties for approximately $456 million. The transaction was completed in April 2017. [16] Premier Parks LLC remained as the operator.

On May 22, 2018, Six Flags acquired the leasing rights from Premier Parks LLC to manage several parks owned by EPR Properties. Splashtown was renovated in the offseason and in 2019 changed its name to Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown. [17] [18]

Due to the growing concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Six Flags announced a suspension of operations across the company on March 13, 2020. [19] Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown was scheduled to open for the 2020 season on May 22, but released a new opening date of June 29. [20] [21] On June 26, three days prior to the new opening date, the water park announced that its reopening was delayed indefinitely in order to follow local county government guidelines. [22] [23] In early August, park officials announced that the 2020 operating season had been canceled and that Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown looks forward to open again in 2021. [24] This would be the first season for the water park to not operate since its inception in 1984. The water park reopened again, the following season on May 1, 2021.

Two months after reopening for the 2021 season on July 17, 2021, over 60 park visitors were exposed to an airborne chemical leak and decontaminated. [25] [26] Six Flags officials stated that a third-party service company improperly installed the water filtration system for an outdoor kiddie pool. [27] After the incident, the park remained closed for inspections until August 5, 2021. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags</span> American entertainment company based in Arlington, Texas

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, more commonly known as Six Flags or as Six Flags Theme Parks, is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined for an amusement park company and has the seventh-highest attendance in the world. The company operates 27 properties throughout North America, including theme parks, amusement parks, water parks and a family entertainment center. In 2019, Six Flags properties hosted 32.8 million guests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags America</span> Amusement park in Maryland

Six Flags America is a theme park located in the Woodmore CDP of Prince George's County, Maryland, near Upper Marlboro, and in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags Darien Lake</span> Amusement park

Six Flags Darien Lake is a 1,200-acre (4.86 km2) amusement park and resort located in Corfu, New York, off of Interstate 90 between Buffalo and Rochester. Six Flags Darien Lake features a theme park, water park, campground and lodging. It is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.

Elitch Gardens Theme Park Amusement park in Colorado, United States

Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park is an amusement park in Denver, Colorado. It is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and operated by Premier Parks, LLC. Distinctive for being located in a downtown area, it is open April through October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags Hurricane Harbor</span> Water park chain

Hurricane Harbor is the name of a chain of water parks that are part of the Six Flags theme park chain. Although the parks are not identical, common features include a variety of body slides, speed slides, tube slides, wave pools, lazy rivers, and shopping areas.

Wild Waves Theme Park Amusement park in Washington state, United States

Wild Waves Theme & Water Park is an amusement park and water park in Federal Way, Washington. Opened in 1977 as The Enchanted Village, the park is a popular summer destination in the Pacific Northwest and is one of three waterparks in Washington state. The park's name was reverted to Wild Waves Water Park and Enchanted Village Amusement Park in April 2016, and once again changed to Wild Waves Theme and Water Park in November 2016, as a result of the park's acquisition by EPR Properties.

Village Roadshow Theme Parks

Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a division of Village Roadshow Limited which operates theme parks and attractions in Australia and the United States of America. The Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd was formerly part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks; however, it was sold in 2011 to Merlin Entertainments.

Magic Springs Amusement park in Arkansas

Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, known as Magic Springs, is an amusement park and water park located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about 50 mi (80 km) from Little Rock. A single price admission includes all day use of the rides and attractions in both parks. The park is open weekends from April through October and daily late-May through mid-August. Magic Springs Theme and Water Park was opened in 1977, closed in 1995, and reopened in 2000. Magic Springs Theme and Water Park is owned by EPR Properties and operated by Premier Parks, LLC.

Frontier City Amusement park in Oklahoma City

Frontier City is a western-themed amusement park in Oklahoma City. It is owned by EPR and operated by Six Flags. The park originally opened in 1958. Frontier City is the third-oldest Six Flags park behind Six Flags New England and Six Flags Great Escape and Hurricane Harbor. Frontier City—and La Ronde in Montreal, Canada, are the only two company parks not officially branded as Six Flags parks.

Hanna–Barbera Land was a theme park based on the cartoons of the Hanna-Barbera animation studio. It was located in the Spring CDP of unincorporated Harris County, Texas, United States, north of Houston, and operated for the 1984 and 1985 seasons. After the park's closure following the 1985 season, the rides were sold and the land was reused as a water park, which is now operating as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor SplashTown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord</span>

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord is a water park located in Concord, California. It was initially developed, owned, and operated by Premier Parks. It is currently owned by EPR Properties and operated by Six Flags.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix</span> Water park in Phoenix, Arizona

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix is a water park located in Phoenix, Arizona. The park is situated on approximately 35 acres (14 ha) of land, making it the largest theme park in the state. It is located in North Phoenix at Adobe Dam Regional Park.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is a water park located at Six Flags Darien Lake in Darien, New York. Opened in 1990 as Barracuda Bay, the water park is included with the price of admission to the amusement park, and both are operated by Six Flags. The park was known as Splashtown at Darien Lake from 2010 through the 2021 season.

Wet'n'Wild is a brand used for many water parks across the world owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and EPR Properties. It is not to be confused with the Wet 'n Wild brand originally owned by SeaWorld creator George Millay or Wet N' Wild Waterworld, a stand-alone water park in Anthony, Texas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aqua Twist</span> Water-based teacup ride

Aqua Twist is a water-based teacup ride located at La Ronde, with other versions of the ride located at several Six Flags theme parks in North America. Designed by Mack Rides, a German ride manufacturer, the attraction is one of their "Twist 'n' Splash" models. Since 2013, Six Flags has installed Aqua Twists in three of their parks.

Premier Parks, LLC

Premier Parks, LLC is a limited liability company based in the United States. The company owns and operates several amusement parks and water parks across the country and one in Canada.

Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs is a defunct water park located in Palm Springs, California. The park operated under Cedar Fair's ownership as Knott's Soak City until 2013 when CNL Lifestyle Properties acquired it. The park plans to reopen in 2022 after a complete renovation of the property.

EPR Properties, formerly Entertainment Properties Trust, is a real estate investment trust based in Kansas City, Missouri, that invests in amusement parks, movie theaters, ski resorts, and other entertainment properties. It owns 353 properties as of 2022.

This is a list of events and openings related to amusement parks that occurred in 2019. These various lists are not exhaustive.

References

  1. ↑ "Spring CDP, TX Archived 2009-09-01 at the Wayback Machine ." United States Census Bureau . Retrieved on May 5, 2009.
  2. 1 2 O'Brien, Tim (October 5, 1998). "Water attractions: Tropical theming gives way to local schemes". Amusement Business. 110 (40): 21.
  3. ↑ O'Brien, Tim (May 17, 1999). "Six Flags makes acquisitions in Atlanta, Houston and Mexico City". Amusement Business. 111 (20): 37.
  4. ↑ O'Brien, Tim (May 29, 2000). "Six Flags Events produces 'Celebracion,' draws 150,000". Amusement Business. 112 (22): 36.
  5. 1 2 Dawson, Jennifer (September 18, 2005). "Six Flags pulls plug on 37-year ride at AstroWorld theme park". Houston Business Journal. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Six Flags sells seven parks". Park World Magazine. February 6, 2007. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  7. ↑ "CNL ends lease deal with PARC Management". Park World Magazine. November 25, 2010. Archived from the original on December 14, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  8. ↑ "CNL announces new management for eight parks". Park World Magazine. January 25, 2011. Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Hawaiian Waters sold, to be renamed Wet 'n' Wild Hawaii". Pacific Business News. May 7, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  10. ↑ Silverstein, Stephanie (November 21, 2013). "Premier Parks to take over operation of Wet 'n' Wild Hawaii". Pacific Business News . Retrieved November 23, 2013.
  11. ↑ Shanklin, Mary (November 21, 2013). "CNL buys Wet 'n Wild Phoenix". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  12. ↑ Descant, Skip (December 17, 2013). "Knott's Soak City to become Wet 'n' Wild Palm Springs". The Desert Sun. Retrieved December 29, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Splashtown will undergo multi-million dollar transformation to Wet 'N' Wild brand". The Rancher. January 24, 2014. Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  14. ↑ Pulsinelli, Olivia (January 21, 2014). "Water park launches rebranding, new attractions as competition heats up". Houston Business Journal . Retrieved January 25, 2014.
  15. ↑ Alexander, Heather. "Houston waterpark to reopen with millions in renovations and new name" Houston Chronicle April 30, 2014. Retrieved on May 12, 2014.
  16. ↑ "EPR Properties and CNL Lifestyle Properties Announce Closing of Transaction" . Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  17. ↑ Hlavaty, Craig (May 25, 2018). "Spring's Wet'n'Wild SplashTown acquired by Six Flags along with a handful of other attractions". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  18. ↑ Takahashi, Paul (February 12, 2019). "Six Flags to rename, renovate Wet 'n' Wild Splashtown". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 8, 2019.
  19. ↑ "Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Fiesta Texas suspend operations through the end of March". March 13, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown is set to reopen June 29". June 11, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown announces opening date". June 11, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown reopening delayed indefinitely". June 26, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown delays reopening due to COVID-19". June 27, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown to remain closed for 2020 season". August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  25. ↑ Serrano, Alejandro (July 17, 2021). "Dozens affected by chemical leak at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown in Spring". Houston Chronicle.
  26. ↑ "More than 60 people decontaminated after chemical leak at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashdown water park in Texas". July 17, 2021.
  27. ↑ "Source determined in Six Flags water park chemical leak that sent dozens to hospitals". USA Today. August 5, 2021.
  28. ↑ "Hurricane Harbor Splashtown reopens almost 3 weeks after chemical spill". KTRK-TV. August 5, 2021.

CNL Terminates agreement with PARC

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.