Splashtown walked so Six Flags Fiesta Texas could run.
While Six Flags hit San Antonio in 1992 and the city remains home to multiple beloved amusement parks like SeaWorld San Antonio and Morgan’s Wonderland, those fan favorites stand on the shoulders of giants.
Let’s brush up on the history of the Alamo City’s now-abandoned theme parks.
Splashtown USA
Family-friendly water park Splashtown USA opened in 1985 and was a San Antonio fixture until 2021, when it closed to make room for a car dealership. Situated on 20 acres on the Northeast side, it featured a quarter-mile-long lazy river, 40 water slides, and a half-million-gallon wave pool. Urban explorer and paranormal investigator Robbie Brown of Unknown Ventures filmed an in-depth tour of the park for YouTube, and one thing’s certain — the abandoned space is a little eerie.
Funtown USA
Today, it’s padlocked and overgrown, but back in the 1980s, Funtown USA was thriving on San Antonio’s Southwest side. The tiny but mighty 2.5-acre theme park featured go-karting, batting cages, and arcade fun. The park shut down in the late 1990s and reopened briefly in 2012 as a rehabilitation facility for physical therapy patients. In 2020, a new owner purchased the property and voiced plans to revive the park, but it remains closed today.
Playland Park
Playland Park opened in the Alamo City in 1943 after the success of a Houston sister park. The historic park featured a funhouse, a penny arcade, and of course, the Rocket — one of Texas’ oldest roller coasters. Today, the Alamo Colleges District sits atop the site, which exists only in the memory of older San Antonians, who bid farewell to the park in 1980.
Sunshine Amusement Park
It’s wild to think of the Southside with roller coasters, but in the 1980s, Sunshine Amusement Park was a popular hangout at Roosevelt and South Cross. The Zinger roller coaster was its main attraction, with Redditors remembering it nostalgically as a Pinfari Zyklon model, and reflecting on “rodeo-quality” rides and a Ferris wheel.
