By Nataly Keomoungkhoun
07:30 on August 19, 2020 CDT
The 1980s was an era roller coaster for Dallas-Fort Worth theme parks.
In 1975, assistance to U.S. theme parks. It nearly doubled the number of other people attending professional football, baseball and basketball games, according to the Chicago Tribune. Throughout the 1970s, at least a dozen amusement parks filled with fried food and ancient attractions like crash cars spread across D-FW.
But in a few years, the parks began to close one by one. That’s why Carrollton’s reader Mike McClendon asked Curious Texas: Can you describe the history and final destination of metroplex theme parks?
McClendon, 70, named some parks he remembered. He has worked at D-FW for more than 4 decades and remembers that theme parks have appeared and disappeared.
We took a look at the Dallas Morning News archives to McClendon’s question. But if we miss some, let us know by emailing [email protected].
Visitors were to feed all kinds of animals from their cars, such as this giraffe in a 1984 DMN log photo (DMN registration photo)
Two Bengal tigers played in a cage in Wildlife Park in 1984. (DMN file photo)
3/4An elephant calf that was delivered to the International Wildlife Park in 1982. (DMN file photo)
A young hyena bottle-fed through a veterinarian at International Animal Park in 1983 (DMN registration photo)
In 1972, the International Wildlife Park, formerly known as Lion Country Safari, made its Grand Prairie debut, with 1,500 lions, elephants, rhinos, zebras and giraffes in the wild in a landscape that sought to mimic what you might encounter on an African safari. . The park was about 3 miles from Six Flags Over Texas and stretched for nearly 435 acres.
The International Wildlife Park included a river boat ride, pedal boats, jeep rides and a children’s zoo with lion cubs, goats, turtles and sheep. Although the park is a good fortune for Grand Prairie, Texas’ whimsical weather is not up to the occasion of exotic animals.
In 1978, severe ice storms killed about 20 animals in two weeks in the park. A source told The News that the park had not provided good enough coverage against ice and low temperatures. When a journalist and photographer from The News went to analyze the situation, they discovered dead zebra corpses that had been used to feed lions and tigers. A veterinarian and zoo director denied the report, despite images from The News that corroborated the story.
Despite the controversy, the park replaced its call and continued to garr positive reviews. It is the third-largest gain for Grand Prairie’s tourist attractions, earning between $2.5 million and $3 million a year in the 1980s.
The park was permanently closed in December 1991 after the devastating floods of 1989 and 1990 that killed 50 animals and destroyed many buildings in the park, causing more than $2 million in damage and $1 million in commercial losses. Discussions about the move to Hickory Creek have failed, and the mayor of the city’s denton county has stated that the park would not be beneficial.
In 1972, Seven Seas, a $10 million, 35-acre amusement park, opened its doors to a major tourist charm in Arlington. The park featured water mammals and penguins, and a 5-year-old orca called Newtka was captured off the coast of northern Canada and nicknamed the park’s star artist.
During the Seven Seas structure, the assignment was halted for an audience on whether the city could manage such an operation. At the time, the city had to make bills with a $10 million bond factor for a water formula that the electorate had approved last year.
Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff said he was confident that the city could manage Seven Seas and that the park would generate profits.
He was wrong. The park closed after 4 years and passed through 3 operators, and what was originally purported to be a $10 million debt increased to $80 million. When the park closed, the marine animals dispersed across the country, adding Newkta, which moved to Niagara Falls.
What happened?
In 1976, former theme park staff told The News that mismanagement was to blame. Several staff members claimed that the oversight was so lax that a branch boarded up aquatic appliances and held a party with the proceeds. Vandergriff and Hollis Pollard, the park manager at the time, denied knowing about the event, but the city had to update everything.
In 1983, Arlington was discovered with a bankruptcy investment in some of the most valuable homes in middle-class cities. A company called CentrePoint Joint Venture in Dallas proposed building a hotel and buildings on site.
“Once CentrePoint takes over, I hope Seven Seas is a word that will never be used in this organization,” City Bishop said. Ross Calhoun broke the news. “Once we get away from him, we walk forever.”
1/ 3Sesame Place designed in the style of the popular educational exhibition for children “Sesame Street”. In this 1984 DMN record photo, Ernie shakes a child’s hand (DMN record photo)
Children at one of Sesame Place’s jungle gyms in a 1984 DMN log photo (DMN registration photo)
A prepares Big Bird’s head in a 1982 DMN record photo (DMN log photo)
In June 1982, D-FW youths had the opportunity to play Big Bird’s Nest, jump on Ernie’s bed, and count on The Count at Sesame Place, an indoor theme park on Sesame Street, PBS’s longtime educational program.
The $10 million park, more commonly covered, evolved over seven acres of State Highway 183 in Irving through Busch Entertainment Corp.Il, one of The two Sesame Place parks in the country, with its counterpart in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, designed primarily for outdoors.
To enter the park, the families crossed a giant reproduction of Big Bird’s mouth. One segment presented about 20 activities based on land, air and water. The indoor area included a restaurant, a gift shop and computers with science games.
The park opened with 286 transition employees and 35 full-time employees. It was designed for 3- to 13-year-olds, but adults were encouraged to participate.
In January 1985, The News reported that Sesame Place ended due to poor attendance. Spokesmen at the time did not say how far the admissions were from the projections.
“While we were disappointed by The monetary performance of Sesame Place, we were pleased with the park, which was highly appreciated by its visitors in all our in-depth research,” said one spokesman.
At the time of the park’s closure, there were no transition staff and there were 16 full-time employees on the staff.
The Most Well-Known Amusement Park in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, Six Flag Over Texas, opened in Arlington nearly 60 years ago. The park was built for about $10,000,000, with an initial investment from genuine real estate developer Angus Wynne, on 105 acres along what is now known as Interstate 30.
The News reported in 1961 that the park’s call and attractions were incentivized through the six countries whose heritage the state of Texas: Mexico, France, Spain, the Republic of Texas, the United States and the Confederate States of America.
When it opened, visitors to Six Flags Park took steam trains and boat boats for “country” while the actors represented scenes from Texas history. While participants ate hot dogs and burgers, they may also feed elephants, llamas, deer and monkeys. The first season, which lasted forty-five days, received more than 550,000 visitors.
Six Flags has boasted of a multitude of rubles and events. The Titan is named after the tallest and fastest roller roller coaster in Texas at 245 feet high and at a speed of 85 mph. The park is also known for Fright Fest, a festival held in October that turns the entire park into a haunted land with zombies and ghouls. Holiday in the Park is a similar concept for Christmas in December.
Six Flags’ six flags have been discovered at the front of the park for more than 50 years, but not without controversy. Although the original Confederacy flag was removed in the mid-1990s, Six Flags replaced it with a lesser-known edition of the first national flag of the confederation. The entire American flag was undone in 2017.
The News wrote about the fate of Penny Whistle Park in 2018, when a curious Texan asked what had happened at the East Dallas amusement park.
Penny Whistle Park opened in 1967 on Northwest Highway and Plano Road as one of Dallas’ first indoor amusement parks. Attractions a ball pool, a merry-go-round and a steam train.
According to former owner Dwayne Steck, birthday parties were Penny Whistle’s main source of income. At its peak, the park hosted up to 70 parties a week, but the number dropped to less than 30 in the mid-1990s.
“At first, we were the only ones doing this,” Steck told The News in 1995. “But now big corporations have cared and operations like this can’t compete.”
The park closed in January 1995.
As early as the 1930s, Sandy Lake in Carrollton was a position northerly Tileers would simply pass through to escape the heat of their pool. But the location didn’t bloom until the 1970s, when the new owners turned it into Sandy Lake Amusement Park.
Frank Rush Jr., Frank Rush III and Tom Self bought the 126-acre amulet for undisclosed value in 1971. In the years leading up to the purchase, the men organized Old West exhibits at Six Flags Over Texas.
With a new owner, the park has become a family entertainment circle. There were attractions, picnic areas, swimming pools and an amphitheater. In 1991, three generations of the Rush family circle worked at Sandy Lake. From the oldest to the youngest, they included Frank Rush Jr. and his wife, Vickie Rush; Frank Rush III and his wife, Genelle; her daughter Suzy and her husband, Tom Self, as well as three grandchildren.
After five decades, Sandy Lake announced its closure in 2018, to the dismay of D-FW residents. The land was sold to Southwest Landscaping, which now sells trees and plants there.
In April 1956, a country of fables came to life in Irving when Storybook Land opened its doors on State Highway 183. The park was built with an investment of K.K. $250,000. Stanfield and his wife, a couple whose lifelong dream is to build an amusement park made of fairy tales.
Storybook Land presented rhyming-themed exhibits such as Jack and Jill’s fateful Hill, a giant shoe for the old lady wearing a shoe, a sleeping blue boy and animals like the black sheep. Light snacks were sold at a gingerbread house-shaped stall.
The park is known for hosting youth birthday parties with Mother Goose (a genuine goose), pony rides and boat rides in Noah’s Ark for 10 cents each. Once, in 1957, it opened its doors to two hundred blind young men as they passed through the park, The News reported.
In December 1961, Storybook Land only opened on weekends. Six months later, classified listings of the park’s farm animal sale began appearing on The News. In March 1964, the park was included on 28 acres along Highway 183 as K.K. Stanfield put up for sale.
A water park on a hot summer day is precisely what D-FW wants when the temperature reaches 3 digits. However, White Water at Grand Prairie contended to attract a crowd even in inscrusible weather on the weekend of its opening in April 1982.
The park was an instant hit that summer when swimmers swayed in the wave pool, dived into water slides and ate hot dogs under the park’s many umbrellas. The Great Sea Wave pool had a capacity of 1.2 million gallons and can only produce 24 consistent waves in one minute.
Other attractions include Little Squirt’s Island, a playground for children under 7, and Pirate’s Cove, with slopes, stairs and corkscrew slides for older children. A water slide called White Lightning took visitors on a cushion at about 38 mph.
In January 1986, Arlington-based Wet ‘n Wild Inc. purchased the park and White Water in Garland after years of seeking to make way for its own theme park. Grand Prairie White Water Park is 8 miles from 47-acre Wet ‘n Wild Park on Lamar Boulevard and Interstate 30 in Arlington.
The city tried to take White Water and keep it open, but to no avale, and members of the Grand Prairie City Council reacted an angry way to the closure of White Water, The News reported. The park had higher sales tax profits from the city and had been a major charm since its opening.
Concrete was poured into its pipes and pools in February 1986, shortly after the parks were sold. Garland’s siege remained open as Wet’n Wild until 1995.
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Clarification 10:21 a.m.: This story has been updated to reflect that White Water’s Garland’s location remained open until 1995 as Wet ‘n Wild.
Nataly Keomoungkhoun, engagement journalist. Nataly stars in Curious Texas. She’s a local D-FW with a B.A. University of Texas, Dallas and an M.S. Journalism at the University of Southern California. She loves art, too.