Hanna–Barbera Land
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Hanna-Barbera Land was a theme park based on the cartoons of the
Hanna-Barbera Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. ( ; formerly known as H-B Enterprises, Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. and H-B Production Co.), simply and commonly known as Hanna-Barbera, was an American animation studio and production company, which was acti ...
animation studio. It was located in the
Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 United States cens ...
,
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, north of
Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, and operated for the 1984 and 1985 seasons. After the park's closure following the 1985 season, the rides were sold and the land was reused as a
water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...
, which is now operating as Six Flags Hurricane Harbor SplashTown.


History

Subsections of larger theme parks featured characters from the Hanna-Barbera animation studio prior to 1984, primarily the parks owned by
Taft Broadcasting Taft Broadcasting Company (also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated) was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The company was rooted in the Taft family, family of William Howard Taft, the 27th President ...
such as
Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...
(1972),
Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, United States, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, featuring over 60 rid ...
(1975),
Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park is owned and operated by Six Flags. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park ...
(1975), and
Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
(1981). The standalone theme park in Spring was built by Taft Broadcasting, which became the
Kings Entertainment Company Kings Entertainment Company (KECO) owned and/or operated six theme parks around the world. The company was originally owned by Taft Broadcasting and in 1984 was purchased for $167.5 million by senior executives and general managers of Taft's Amus ...
as of opening. Kings also owned the Australia's Wonderland,
Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...
,
Carowinds Carowinds is a amusement park primarily located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The park is owned and operated by Six Flags. Carowinds straddles the state line between North and South Carolina, adjacent to Interstate 77, with a portion of the park ...
,
Kings Dominion Kings Dominion is an amusement park in Doswell, Virginia, United States, north of Richmond, Virginia, Richmond and south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, featuring over 60 rid ...
, and
Kings Island Kings Island is a amusement park northeast of Cincinnati in Mason, Ohio, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park was built by Taft Broadcasting and opened in 1972. It was part of a larger effort to move and expand Coney Islan ...
theme parks. The park was open daily from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. except Saturdays, when the park closed at 10 p.m. The 1984 season lasted until Labor Day. Admission was for children and adults from Sunday through Friday, rising to on Saturdays; one grandparent was admitted free with each paid admission. Despite increased attendance in 1985, a number of factors led to the park's closure. An oil bust in the early 1980s severely impacted the economy of the Greater Houston area, along with competition with the well-established and more centrally-located AstroWorld, as well as minimal spending in the park on concessions, gift shop purchases, and souvenirs all eventually doomed the park. The park was sold to private investors and the SplashTown USA water park was built in its place; the water park was sold again to Bryant Morris, then to
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...
which purchased it in 1999. After initially not wanting to brand and call it "a member of the Six Flags family," Six Flags eventually decided to re-brand it as Six Flags SplashTown. In 2007 it was sold to PARC Management, which renamed it to Wet N' Wild Splashtown. After the park returned to Six Flags management as part of a 2019 operating agreement, it was rebranded Six Flags Hurricane Harbor SplashTown.


Attractions

Visitors entered the park through a large rainbow archway. The park featured: *A character
carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...
, including Jabberjaw, Dino, and Yogi Bear *A
Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...
roller coaster, now at
California's Great America California's Great America is an amusement park located in Santa Clara, California, United States. Owned and operated by Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, it originally opened in 1976 as one of two parks built by the Marriott Corporation. ...
as Woodstock's Express *Boulder Bumpers *Silly Stix, an enormous jungle gym of sorts that looked like it was constructed out of giant Tinker Toys; it was repainted and rebranded as "Pepsi Pavilion" for the replacement water park. *H.B.L. ''Funliner'' *The Funsonium, a "do-seum" designed by
Edwin Schlossberg Edwin Arthur Schlossberg (born July 19, 1945) is an American designer, artist, and author. A pioneer and leader of interactive museum installations, he is the founder and principal designer of ESI Design, a multidisciplinary firm specializing in ...
which housed interactive and educational hands-on games and experiences such as ''Your Name in Lights'' and ''You Are the Star''; in addition, a continuous feed of Scooby-Doo cartoons was shown * Pedal boats with themed characters including Snagglepuss, Quick Draw McGraw, and Huckleberry Hound *Water body slides, added for 1985 *Puppet shows *
Papa Smurf Papa Smurf is one of the protagonists from the comic strip The Smurfs. Most Smurfs are said to be about 100 years old, but at the advanced age of 546 (553 in the 1980s series episode "The Littlest Giant"), Papa is the oldest Smurf and the leader ...
's Forest restaurant *A live
Keystone Cops The Keystone Cops (often spelled "Keystone Kops") are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. History Hank Mann creat ...
brass band (branded the 'Kops of Komedy') that performed Hanna Barbera theme songs *'Rufus the Rainmaker', a live performance featuring the "leading authority in the art of rainmaking"


References


External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hanna-Barbera Land Hanna-Barbera Defunct amusement parks in Texas 1984 establishments in Texas 1985 disestablishments in Texas The Smurfs in amusement parks Scooby-Doo in amusement parks The Flintstones in amusement parks Landmarks in Texas Defunct companies based in Texas Buildings and structures in Harris County, Texas Amusement parks opened in 1984 Amusement parks closed in 1985 Hanna-Barbera in amusement parks