![]() ![]() “We actually get requests for three main things to return,” he says. And while Martindale hints at a comeback for the popular cave dwellers, nothing is in the works. “There’s a whole subculture revolving around the Spee-Lunkers,” Barker says. Other rides, while gone, are certainly not forgotten, chief among them The Cave ride with its eerie Spee-Lunkers, one of which is on display in the Special Collections exhibit through Aug. Its authentic steam engines, built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, continue to fascinate children and adults alike.Īnother early favorite, the Fiesta Train in the Mexico section, featured three giant, dancing tamales and was labeled “the most hilarious train ride of all” by The Dallas Morning News. The only original ride still going is the steam railroad that circles the park. Those early rides built quite a fan base. Six Flags Over Texas, with the only one-ticket policy in the business, welcomed first-year visitors to a park full of rides and shows for $2.75 per person. The second big game changer was one price for all attractions. Each section-Spain, France, Mexico, Texas, the Confederacy, and the USA-offered rides and attractions based on the culture of that locale. For one thing, the Six Flags moniker gave the park a theme-Texas history. That singular decision led to numerous firsts. We’d send them looking for a squeegee sharpener and a vapor lock key. Wynne III, “The real project was Great Southwest. saw the amusement park as a way to pay for the enormous industrial district then under development near state Highway 360 and the Dallas-Fort Worth Turnpike (now Interstate 30). It recounts how Great Southwest President Angus G. In honor of Six Flags’ half a century, UT Arlington Library Special Collections is hosting an exhibit, What You Wish the World Could Be: The Early Years of Six Flags Over Texas, featuring photographs, artifacts, and memorabilia. Once they had their UT Arlington diplomas, their careers took off like the coasters they still love to ride. As ride operators, ride foremen, and operations supervisors, they learned the nuances of the 212-acre park. He and Martindale met as Six Flags employees in the 1970s. “Six Flags has probably benefited more from UTA than UTA has from Six Flags,” Martindale says.īrothers estimates that the University has supplied hundreds, if not thousands, of student workers. Half a dozen other UT Arlington graduates, including the vice president for corporate sales and marketing and the vice president for corporate alliances, hold high-ranking positions at the park or its headquarters in Grand Prairie. Marketing director Jim Brothers received a marketing degree in 1982. Six Flags Over Texas President Steve Martindale earned his B.B.A. In fact, it seems UT Arlington alumni run the place these days. And the city’s university has played an ongoing role. The day the park opened in 1961, Arlington changed forever. Of course, at Six Flags, that top-of-the-hill moment is followed by the thrill of a screaming downhill plunge into a record-breaking 95-degree banked curve. And it’s what the world is at Six Flags Over Texas, the Arlington tourist icon now celebrating 50 years of fun. This is exactly what they wish the world could be. Poised atop the Texas Giant’s 153-foot big hill, preparing to hurtle down its 79-degree drop, roller coaster enthusiasts exult in the sheer adrenaline rush. ![]()
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