At one point in time, a theme park was dedicated to such beloved characters as 'The Flintstones' 'Scooby-Doo', and 'The Smurfs' right here in Texas.

Any One Remember Hanna Barbera Land?

Hanna Barbera Land was a dedicated section at many of the King's owned theme parks. Such as King's Dominion and King's Island. However, in 1984 a separate Hanna Barbera Land opened in Spring, Texas. The park would feature ten attractions, but the big thing that kids would enjoy is meeting some of their favorite cartoon characters.

Attractions at Hanna Barbera Land

• A character carousel, including Jabberjaw, Dino, and Yogi Bear
• A Scooby-Doo roller coaster, now at California's Great America 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 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's Forest restaurant
• A live Keystone Cops 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"

Why Did Hanna Barbera Land Fail?

Even though attendance went up in 1985, a big portion of the Texas economy revolves around oil. In 1982, crude oil prices began to go down and they would hit a low in 1986. During this period is when Hanna Barbera Land was open. Attendance was up in the park in 1985, however people were not buying a lot once in the park. Plus many families thought the nearby Astroworld was a better buy since it had more rides than Hanna Barbera Land.

Hurricane Harbor Splashtown Now Owns the Property

If you wanted to go see the site where Hanna Barbera Land once stood, better bring your swimsuit. Hurricane Harbor Splashtown now owns the property. Before Hurricane Harbor, it was originally Splashtown USA back in the 1980's after Hanna Barbera Land left, check out their sweet commercial below.

Splashtown USA Commercial

Sadly, the Hanna Barbera Land did not last long at all in Texas, but it appeared to be a fun place to take your kids to in the mid 1980's.