Abandoned amusement park outside New Orleans, Louisiana

The park opened on May 20, 2000, as Jazzland, a theme park built around New Orleans music and Louisiana culture. Its centerpiece was the Mega Zeph, a 110-foot wooden roller coaster named after the Zephyr coaster at the city's old Pontchartrain Beach amusement park. Jazzland struggled financially, and within two seasons its operator was bankrupt. In 2002, Six Flags took over the park under a 75-year lease, spent $20 million on upgrades, and reopened it in 2003 as Six Flags New Orleans. It lasted two more summers. The park's last operating day was August 21, 2005. A week later, Hurricane Katrina hit, and floodwater covered most of the park for weeks. Six Flags never reopened it. A few rides were salvaged. The Bayou Blaster and Sonic Slam towers were shipped to the Great Escape park in Queensbury, New York, where they reopened in 2009 as Sasquatch. Everything else stayed where the water left it. For almost two decades, the park sat behind a fence off Interstate 10, and its roller coasters, ticket booths and themed buildings slowly faded into the swamp. Photographers documented rides and equipment that looked frozen in the moment the storm arrived. For many in New Orleans, it became one of the most visible reminders of Katrina. Redevelopment plans came and went. In 2023, the city approved a plan from local developer Bayou Phoenix to replace the park with a $500 million complex: youth sports fields, hotels, shops, a movie studio and a water park. Demolition began in November 2024. It paused briefly over a contractor licensing issue, then resumed. In January 2025, sparks from demolition crews set part of the Mega Zeph on fire, and the coaster that had defined the park was torn down later that year. In September 2025, the city council approved $5 million to clear two decades of overgrowth and restore drainage on the 225-acre site. The park that stood still for nearly 20 years is now almost gone. What replaces it is still being planned.