Huntsville needs an amusement park

[Memphis77]

I am a resident of Huntsville and the one thing I have always wondered is why this city (a hidden gem) has not pushed for an amusement park to be built in the form of Six Flags or Dollywood or even the now closed Libertyland in Memphis? There's a whole lot of land in this city to build a state of the art theme park with steel roller coasters and thrill rides and a variety of shows. A theme park would bring in millions of tourist dollars per year and put Huntsville on the national map for tourism. The economy would skyrocket. Hotels, retail, and dining would be in overload demand and the job rates would go way up. Especially for construction. We would be known for more than just the US Space & Rocket Center as far as tourist attractions go. This city is growing rapidly and there is a strong need for entertainment in this city for the younger generation and for family outings. The fair is always a big hit here. So why not have a theme park to bring in 5-10 times as many visitors to the area?

Madison would be the ideal location along HW 20 West near the airport. There is miles and miles of city owned land just waiting to be used for development. Why has a theme park of some sort never been brought up by city council members or addressed to Mayor Spencer? This should be high on their "things to do or top priority" list to attract new visitors and tourists. I am wanting to write to the mayor and give her a proposal to look into such a massive project that would go down in history as a landmark development in the Huntsville area.

My dream theme park in the West Huntsville/Madison area would be a mixture of rides, games, shows, exhibits, petting zoo and eatery.

- 100-200 acre park.

- 15-30 rides from thrill rides for the young adults to kiddie rides for the children.

- 2 carousels

- 3 or 4 steel roller coasters.

- 4 Sky drop rides.

- 1 Trolley train ride like at Dollywood that runs through a shady wooded area around the park.

- futuristic style bumper cars.

- Ride in the Amazon water ride. (a boat ride through a jungle like setting)

- A small petting zoo with everything from monkeys and camels to horses and goats.

- A Water Log ride that drops like a coaster at the end as it splashes through water.

- A Nascar style mini race track for go carts. A haunted house attraction like at Gatlinburg.

- A large ferris wheel twice the size of the usual fair size that would be the signature of the park's skyline.

- A space theme attraction with models of space ships from Star Wars, Star Trek, etc tied in with the space program.

- An indoor space ride experience.

- An outdoor eatery with different cultural dishes. (Italian, French, Mexican, Cajun, Asian, southern style, and Hawaiian)

- Maybe even have a Ripley's Museum and aquarium.

- An Imax Theater.

- An outdoor amphitheater for live shows. (Maybe book top country and pop artist for Summer concert events)

- Upscale restaurants and dining.

- A 20 story 400-room convention hotel.

[kayman]

I can give you tidbit, most of the time unless it is an independent investor or something radical like the creation of Alabama Adventures, the market size and population within 150-mile radius is what makes or break an amusement/theme park. That something Huntsville doesn't have that critical mass to support one on its own because it would basically incroach on Alabama Adventures and Six Flags Over Georgia to a certain extent. Also the location as would hurt it because I doubt people from Memphis or Nashville will drive to Huntsville just for an amusement park unless it was along I-65 as the area you described in Madison is kinda off the "beaten path" for non-residents.

[3rdGenHuntsvillian]

I have been thinking that an alpine slide way south on Green Mountain would be fun.