After 50 years of thrills, chills, and deep-fried funnel cakes, Six Flags America is closing its gates for good. And let’s be clear—it’s not because Marylanders suddenly stopped liking roller coasters. It’s because Maryland, under decades of single-party Democrat rule, has become utterly inhospitable to businesses, families, and frankly, fun.
This isn’t just the end of a theme park. It’s a cautionary tale. A once-proud family destination, strangled by crime, high taxes, and political negligence. But first, let’s take a quick ride down memory lane—before we get to the horror house that is Maryland governance.
The story begins in 1974, when a quirky little place called Wild World opened in Largo, Maryland. Back then, it was part wildlife preserve, part water park, and fully local charm. It wasn’t Disneyland, but for DMV families, it was ours. You didn’t have to drive to Busch Gardens or Hersheypark. It was affordable, accessible, and it gave you a full day of laughs, screams, and probably a sunburn.
In the early 1990s, it rebranded as Adventure World, with new rides, better water slides, and a growing reputation as a go-to spot for school trips and family weekends. By 1999, the big boys came calling—Six Flags, the national theme park chain, purchased the property and invested millions into turning it into Six Flags America. Superman-themed coasters, Looney Tunes character mascots, seasonal events like Fright Fest and Holiday in the Park—it became a regional icon. For a generation of Marylanders, a trip to Six Flags was a summer rite of passage.
But over the past decade, the magic began to vanish.
What replaced it? Violence. Chaos. Lawlessness.
It wasn’t just the occasional rowdy teenager. It became routine. Fights in the park. Brawls in the parking lot. Carjackings down the street. Flash mobs organized on social media. Even the Prince George’s County police department had to ramp up patrols to keep things from turning into a scene from “The Purge.”
Parents noticed. Visitors stayed away. Schools started canceling field trips. And no amount of discount tickets could make families feel safe again.
Now ask yourself—why did this happen?
Because instead of cracking down on lawlessness, Maryland’s leadership decided it was more important to be “woke” than to be functional. While Wes Moore was out there pushing to erase criminal records, reduce juvenile accountability, and talk about “transformative justice,” families were wondering whether they’d make it to their car without getting mugged.
When the priority becomes excusing bad behavior instead of enforcing the law, it’s the innocent who suffer—and in this case, it’s Marylanders who lost a beloved landmark.
But crime is only half the story. The other villain in this tale? Taxation and regulation gone wild.
Six Flags is a massive operation. Think payroll, maintenance, food vendors, insurance, security, utilities. Now put that business model into one of the most business-hostile states in the country.
Maryland ranks among the top 10 states for highest corporate income taxes. Add on burdensome labor laws, skyrocketing utility costs, and compliance requirements that look like they were designed by Kafka, and you’ve got a situation where running a lemonade stand would be a challenge—let alone a 131-acre theme park.
Every time Six Flags tried to expand, reinvest, or revamp its facilities, it ran into a wall of red tape and blue-state bureaucracy. Meanwhile, the state’s attention was on vanity projects—bike lanes that no one uses, climate task forces, and equity boards that somehow never make things more equitable.
And don’t think this is a one-off. Six Flags is just the latest casualty in a long line of Maryland institutions being crushed under Democrat mismanagement. Businesses are fleeing the state. Retirees are relocating to tax-friendly states like Florida and the Carolinas. Even families are moving across the river into Virginia just to find better schools, lower taxes, and safer neighborhoods.
So what happens next?
Well, some politicians will say, “Maybe we can build housing there.” Others will suggest a new community center, or a solar panel farm, or some other performative project that sounds good in a press release but will sit half-finished while the crime rate climbs.
What we won’t get? Accountability.
We won’t see anyone in Annapolis say, “Hey, maybe letting criminals off the hook wasn’t such a good idea.” We won’t hear a word about reducing taxes or improving the business climate. We won’t hear any apologies to the hundreds of workers, from ride operators to concession stand cashiers, who just lost their jobs. Because in Democrat-run Maryland, failure isn’t failure. It’s just a chance to reimagine things.
But let’s call it what it is: a failure. A preventable, disgraceful, and ultimately predictable failure.
Six Flags America didn’t die of old age. It was killed—by policy, by neglect, and by ideology.
To the generations who grew up riding the Wild One or cooling off at Hurricane Harbor—this is more than a business closure. It’s the end of something personal. And it should be a wake-up call.
But for Maryland Democrats? They’re too busy congratulating each other on “transformative change” while the rest of us are stuck riding the only coaster they ever built—the steep downhill slide of a state in decline.
And Wes Moore is being groomed for higher office when he can’t even manage MD.