The creepy abandoned theme park that’s being turned into a new holiday resort
A CREEPY abandoned theme park is set to be given a new lease of life after it closed its doors to the public in August 2005.
The land and its rides have been left untouched for more than 17 years, but will soon be replaced by a sports complex, a hotel with a water park and a movie set.
Six Flags in New Orleans has been closed since August 21, 2005, eight days before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana.
It originally opened as a Jazzland in 2000, which cost $130million (£108m) before the park was acquired by Six Flags in 2002.
The company spent $20m (£17m) upgrading it before it reopened as Six Flags New Orleans in 2003.
The theme park was submerged in up to seven feet of water after Katrina, and it took more than a month to drain.
That corroded a lot of the rides with Six Flags saying 80 per cent of the park was beyond repair.
The city of New Orleans took ownership of the site in 2009.
Creepy images have revealed the theme park which has now been taken over by wildlife and nature.
Eerie statues of clowns, mermaids and Mardi Gras figures now lay broken and dirty, having been left to rot over the years.
Graffiti can be found on most of the buildings, while rubbish and debris remains from the water.
The park originally had seven themed lands, which included DC Comics Super Hero Adventures and Looney Tunes Adventures.
Some of the most popular rides included the Mega Zeph, a wooden roller coaster track built to withstand hurricane-force winds and the SpongeBob SquarePants The Ride motion simulator.
The only ride to survive the hurricane with the least damage was an inverted rollercoaster ride called Batman: The Ride, which was removed from the park in 2007 and re-opened at Six Flags Texas as Goliath.
Since it closed, there have been numerous bids to redevelop the land, with ideas ranging from community parks to strip malls.
However, city officials have finally agreed on plans with a local developer Bayou Phoenix.
Their vision includes a sports complex, a hotel with a water park and a movie set.
Troy Henry, one of the leaders on the project, told Fox News that he hoped the resort would offer tourists a different experience in the city of New Orleans.
Concerns about the impact of future hurricanes have been allayed by a levee system that has seen major improvements in the city.
The system held up during Hurricane Ida, the city’s last major storm, meaning the site is much more prepared for storms.
Meanwhile, Disney’s River Country water park closed in 2001, although new plans for a 900-room lakeside lodge with a Princess and the Frog themed restaurant are thought to be for the area.
And Camelot theme park in Lancashire and Nara Dreamland in Japan are just some of the other theme parks left to rot since they closed their doors.