Six Flags New Orleans - Functioning Amusement Park, 2000-2005

Functioning Amusement Park, 2000-2005

The park first opened under the name "Jazzland" in 2000, operated by Alfa Smartparks (later Odgen Entertainment and now known as Palace Entertainment but owned by an international company called Parques Reunidos). Rides included the Mega Zeph, a wooden roller coaster track built on a steel frame to prevent termite infestation and withstand hurricane force winds. The Mega Zeph was inspired by the old Zephyr roller coaster at the closed Pontchartrain Beach Amusement Park that was located next to Lake Pontchartrain by the University of New Orleans. The original intent was to rebuild the Zephyr but it was a smaller roller coaster so that idea was scrapped in favor of the current larger Mega Zeph. Other rides included a junior steel coaster called Rex's Rail Runner, a wild mouse steel coaster, and a common steel shuttle looping Vekoma boomerang rollercoaster called a Zydeco Scream (there are well over a dozen of these identical coasters in parks nationwide). The park had a Log Flume and a Splashwater falls ride called Spillway Splashout. In addition, the park had common amusement park spinning rides and a Carousel Merry Go-Round. The park was not profitable. Alpha Smart Parks specialized in running water parks and smaller amusement arcade centers. So in 2001, the lease was put up for sale and in March of 2002, Six Flags purchased the lease. The park was run in 2002 as Jazzland.

In 2003, Six Flags upgraded the park and renamed it Six Flags New Orleans. The park added more shaded areas as well as many new flat spinning rides. They added a used inverted looping B & M coaster that was named Batman: The Ride (though different in design from the rest of the B & M Batman coasters) and another multiple looping coaster called The Jester brought from Six Flags Fiesta Texas. A water park which would be included in the admission (like Six Flags Parks such as Six Flags St. Louis and Six Flags America for example) was in the planning stages and going to be announced at the end of August. But then Hurricane Katrina struck which put those plans along with the continued operations of this park in question. The last day the park operated was August 21, 2005. Weekday operations ended a couple weeks before due to the fact schools start early in August in that region and end mid-May. The park was scheduled to open August 27 and August 28 as usual but once Katrina was forecast late on Friday to directly hit New Orleans, the weekend opening was canceled in order to prepare for the storm and begin evacuations.