The Troubled History of Six Flags Atlantis: Closed by a Hurricane... 

Every time I see a video about a well loved theme park closing to make room for a a shopping mall, the words of Joni Mitchell come to mind. “They paved paradise to put up a parking lot.” I wonder how the shopping mall is doing now?

I LOVED this place! I was 9 when it opened and lived in Boca Raton, one of the cities within short driving distance. We were there every summer, and it was awesome! I remember my mom bringing me, my brother, and what felt like a dozen of our friends to the water park several times every summer. She would lay back and read a book while us preteens went crazy running around all day. By the time we left, all us kids were sleeping in the car on the way home. We moved out of FL before Atlantis closed, and we were really sad when our friends back in FL told us Atlantis closed. During my teen years, we lived in AZ, where there were a lot more waterparks to choose from every summer, but Atlantis always held a special place in our hearts. When my mom passed away in 2013, my friends told me that one of their fondest memories of my mom was her driving all us kids several times during the summer, every summer, for the four years we lived there, to Atlantis. My dad was a stock broker at the time and making decent money, so my mom would pay for all of our friends to get in as well as ourselves. I didn't know how much that simple kindness affected my friends until after she had passed. Atlantis will always remain to me not only wonderful memories of an incredible water park, but how kindness by others can affect us for the rest of our lives.

My parents both worked at that park right after high school and that's actually how they met and ultimately why I exist :)

Memories, I sure do remember Six Flags Atlantis! Growing up here in South Florida it was a jewel at the time, and huge teen hangout spot! Thanks from us South Florida locals for taking us down memory lane!

As someone who lost their home park (Opryland, USA) to a shopping mall development I can completely understand the outrage of the locals. This looked like a fun place..and the cheesy commercials are so 1980's 😀. Also, 8.95 a day was a great price for local families to bring the kids and have a great time. Today, I can't afford the amount of money needed to get one of us into DW or Universal...much less bring the whole family.

That wavepool traumatized me as a kid. When I was 8 or 9 years old the wave machine started sucking me closer and closer towards it instead of pushing me away. I freaked out as it pulled me past the “warning rope” and remember grabbing the side concrete and holding on for dear life until a lifeguard came, but for at least 2 minutes I honestly thought I was going to either drown or be crushed by machinery!

This episode hits close to home. I grew up about a mile away and spent many a summer day here. The last thing South Florida needed was more shopping, but they got it. One of the coolest features about this park, that I have yet to see anywhere else, were these running troughs of water through the pathways, so your feet never burned. They also had hot tubs there, knowing what I know now, lounging in those was probably a bad idea. The Grand Prix story is an interesting one, you should look into that.

So sad. And that it was replaced by a *shopping center* is disgusting.

I grew up going to Atlantis in the 80s and saw a bunch of bands there before they were big. It was a huge part of my childhood and it hurt my heart when I watched it get torn down for more shopping centers. Thanks for this walk down memory lane.

I loved going here as a kid! I was so sad it became just another shopping center. I still remember the tunnel slide, called the Awesome Twosome! I would ride it with friends over and over. So many memories of a time I miss so much. Thanks for the video!

I was working at Homestead AFB at the time Hurricane Andrew hit. I recognize the pictures of the base which you show taken in the aftermath of the storm. While I no longer work there, my husband does and even after all this time, there is still evidence of Andrew and the base is still rebuilding. Another very interesting vlog. Thank you so much for all your hard work and research.

I remember going to Oakwood all the time with my mom throughout my childhood, and out of the blue one day she turned to me and said, "Did you know this place used to be a six flags?" It's unbelievable how badly this park has been forgotten, because that was the first and last time I ever heard of it before I found this video.

So I found out when my grandfather passed that he was the main inspector for the city of Hollywood to review the Park inspections. And they wanted to open by memorial day weekend but he wouldnt pass inspections on things and was put on leave or suspension. Lets just say shady shit was done and politcs.

Finally a park that was close to home. I’ve always wanted to know more about it :)

I learned something new today! I never knew about this water park, and I wonder if it would be as successful as Hurricane Harbor is if it didn't have all of these issues. But you should look into Wild Rivers water park. I went there once when I was a kid and it was disgusting/riddled with bees

I had forgotten this place existed. In the early 80's I had a small souvenir booklet of AstroWorld which mostly consisted of pictures and captions describing AstroWorld. Inside the back cover was a list of all the other Six Flags parks at the time and a short description of each. These consisted of Six Flags Over Texas; Six Flags Over Georgia; Six Flags Over Mid America; Six Flags Great Adventure; Six Flags Power Plant; and Six Flags Atlantis. There might have been a Movie Land & Wax Museum listed. I don't think Magic Mountain was listed as Six Flags hadn't acquired that park yet at the time. It's nice to be reminded of this park's existence and to find out what it actually was.

Really glad I learned about this channel. I love theme parks and learning about their history has been great with a friendly, chill narration. Cheers

Thank you, thank you thank you, this was a piece of my childhood... even when I wasn't going to the park, I always passed by Neptune on I-95... AND YES, hurricane Andrew set back south Fla for weeks and months... and financially for years

Ah, land developers. The mortal enemy of small and medium sized amusement parks. Kentucky Kingdom almost didn't escape their fangs.

Very interesting watch. I think it's kind of sad that the park was profitable, but those in charge wanted to close it. The hurricane probably put the nail in the coffin, but I'm sure if those in charge wanted the waterpark they would have rebuilt it after the hurricane.

This place was the best time I ever had as a kid in the 80s. WoW!! That super speed slide was insane!! They has a zip line. The whole park was a water kids dream! Wave pool and constant pool of water ever where" just incredible amounts of water events. Your feet were always under water just walking around. Great part of south Florida history.

I love that you made a video of this, because this is the only "Six Flags" I'd ever gone to, and I was a small child at the time. I remember the wave pool, the slides, the kiddie park, and me yelling to Daffy "hey! where's Bugs Bunny??". I'd been wondering what happened to it years later, and well, now I know.

This video was very informative.. I remember as a kid .. me and my parents would pass this place on I-95 .. and I would see those water slides.. and I would beg my dad to bring me there, but he never did.. until it closed down.. I was so disappointed.. this short documentary was a fantastic trip down memory lane.. Now if only we could get one history lesson on.. Grand Prix Race o Rama.. of Dania.. that would be awesome

I was a kid in the area when this park was functioning. It was great. Unfortunately, the management had gone downhill after it lost the Six Flags name and it got really sketchy.

Castle Park, right across the way from Atlantis was an absolute gem as well for us locals back in the day.

I remember going to Atlantis, it was so much fun! I live across from Oakwood Plaza. Its so weird to see a "City Furniture" being built where "K-Mart" was (where the wave pool used to be) and the Home Depot is where "Incredible Universe" (does anyone remember Incredible Universe) used to be. Funnily, a BIGGER more upscale shopping center, Dania Pointe, built by the owners of Oakwood Plaza, is across from Oakwood Plaza. Dania Pointe is where Grand Prix used it be, it has multiple nice stores, nice restaurants, a fancy bowling alley resembling Disney Springs' Splitsville, a Regal that has 4DX is currently being built, the future main headquarters of Spirit Airlines.

I was born and raised in South Florida. I have fond memories of this place. I remember swimming to the bottom of the wave pool to look for loose change and jewelry. I always found something.

I'm one of those kids. Thank you for making this video and taking me way back. I'm actually teared up over here. What a wonderful place it was.

I can't explain how happy I am that you made this video. I have great memories of that place although my memories don't exactly match your description. I'll never forget how heavy those board were that you had to take to the top of the slide that was near the water show. I remember even as a kid thinking that adding the amusement park rides was a big mistake because you either let kids get your rides wet or tell wet kids that they can't ride. If I remember correctly, they were only there for a short time and didn't make it to the end of the parks history. Another great memory is the McDonald's that was in the end of the very big parking lot. It had sand blasted windows inside with the parks logo on them. There is a Mcdonald's there still but it's not the same one, it's just in the same place. I wonder what happened to the submarine after it left the Grand Prix that isn't there anymore. That area had a lot of places that closed before their time

I'm so glad you finally covered this lost gem! I have so many fond memories of this place, as this was the very first water park I have memories of visiting regularly as a child. I was beyond sad when it closed down. At least we now have The Rapids Waterpark, but it is much further away than SFA was, and not as good in my opinion.

I went here all the time as a child. Thank you for this video it brings back great memories.

I love learning about other theme parks around. Great job on the history and research you put into these videos. Very cool. Thank you.

Man I have such great memories of six flags Atlantis!! What an incredible water park this was!! I used to live in Mirimar in browsed county, and this water park was always the highlite of my young life! Thanks for the memories!

LOVE THIS!! I grew up in south Florida and frequently went here as a kid thanks for this!!!

Hey Sam, hope you're well. Another excellent history vlog. Really enjoyed !

Gotta say that I love the riff on "Great Balls of Fire" in the commercial

Expedition Extinct just might be my favorite series of yours, though all of them are top notch!

Thanks for posting this! I was just telling my water slide obsessed 8 year old about this place. I grew up in Fort Lauderdale and loved going there over the years. I thought it was the coolest place ever. The last time I was there was 1991- right before it closed. And its funny how just a few years later I was going to the movies at a theater built on that site. 🤣 Great memories of this and Grand Prix.

Some of the best and one of the worst memories I've had were spent there! Thank you for making this video ❤️

I love that these stories are ones I would never be aware of but adore the research on display here

Finally my childhood revisited. What a place to be as a child.

I moved to South Florida in 1991 from NYC and was vaguely familiar about the water park. After Andrew, the eventual demolition of the water park, and its conversion to Oakwood Plaza, I visit OP more often than I would've if Atlantis was still there. ROFL

I use to sneak in this place by climbing around the fence by the lake side of the park. =D

One of the most slept on channels by far. Never upsets and is always dope. Godspeed boooiiiii. 🙅‍♂️

I use to love going to six flags when I was a kid it was awesome 👌🏾

Where would you like to go next on Expedition Extinct? Follow me on Instagram and Twitter for updates on what is coming. twitter.com/expthemepark & instagram.com/expeditionthemepark

I feel like the six flags board of directors hold rituals to summon Poseidon the way they let use hurricanes to cut out unprofitable parks.

Great video. Love learning about the history of things like this.

I'm so glad someone finally made a video on Atlantis. I only went once before they closed but I always remember seeing the ads on tv and wanting to go since I was a little kid..

I love your videos. I lived in FL for 22-23yrs and never knew a Six Flags even existed there prior to moving there. It was very interesting to know, since I lived on the east coast of central FL and went to school at University of Miami. Probably drove by the old site 100s of times and never knew. Thanks for the videos and keep up the good work.

Great video! I remember going there around ‘83-‘84…a must-do if you lived in SoFla!

My grandparents owning owning a condo in Dania I’ve visited Atlantis often throughout the 80s. So glad to have experienced this wonderful park

So awesome to see a video on this park! I grew up with season passes to Atlantis every summer and had a blast… it was such a shame it got sold to build just another boring shopping center. Thanks for putting this together… it’s so hard to find any photos or videos of Atlantis these days.

Thanks for posting this. Great memories of this place as a kid. I was too young to recall why it closed. No water park since has some close to those memories.

These videos are such a valuable resource on these parks & their history 👍Too often when people research events in the last century they just regurgitate info in newspaper articles, corporate propaganda, etc without actually _understanding_ what's behind it. This is a lesson in nasty business practices ruining a profitable, going concern built by a guy doing it the right way.... build it for the locals first. It's obvious that John Bond had plenty of business acumen & common sense but was going to have a hard slog battling corporates like Six Flags and Hollywood Inc, who had _no intention_ of running a water park. RIP to an awesome spot for the locals 🌊

I grew up down here and I never knew we had a six flags so close to we’re I lived since it closed before I was born. I only grew up going to Rapids Waterpark . But it is so cool to learn a bit of theme park history about my area!

Always excited to see a new Expedition Theme Park video in my recommended.

I'm very amused by the concept that rain would make people feel like not going to a water park to.... get wet.

Sam!! Thank you for getting around to this. Atlantis is where I spent my years as a kid. It was the most disappointing thing and Oakwood Plaza is the worst!! Again BIG THANK YOU!!!

Wow! Another amazing video!! MVC!! Most Valuable Creator 🙏 thank you for your dedication & hard work keeping us entertained!!❤

Thank you for another fantastic video. 21:37 I hear Rain In New York 😁 Love that song

As a Floridian and child of the 80's I'm so surprised I never heard of this? Great one!!!

Your videos flood me with childhood memories.

Great memories and great times! Some of my best, while growing up. Thanks so much for the upload! I hope one day they bring back a water park to South Florida. A few years ago, they were talking about some place called Pegasus Water Park in Hallandale, but that never came to be. Let's all pray for it!

Wow memories!!! My Grand Parents lived in Del Ray, and they would take me there… probably went 3-4 times, never knew what it’s true history was or how it ended. So sad :(

had many fun adventures there with my PIC. Thanks for the walk down memory lane

Thanks for making this video! My family went to this park occasionally before I was born, and after it was gone, we ended up driving all the way to Rapids Water Park near Palm Beach from Fort Lauderdale. Used to go see movies there in the outlet that took over the space… Very strange driving into it knowing it used to be a water park.

Awesome! My parents would drop us off while they went to hollywood beach. My brother and I were 10 and 11. We had season passes and would be dropped off every weekend, it was a BLAST! Now that im older and married, my wife and I shop at some of the stores at Oakwood plaza. Blast from the past. Thank you!!!

Great job as usual! Those ads are a hoot. I don't think a "family friendly" theme park could do ads like that today.

OMG I loved this place as a kid. Was so bummed when it went away!

That is sooo SAD. Thank You for sharing.

Great and amazing video once again!

Wow, brings back memories. I used to go there almost regularly, it was right up the right from me. I always felt if they opened when the "snow birds" were down from norther states and Canada, they may have lasted longer.

I remember going there when I was a kid. I have not though about this park in years, but always had a warm spot for it, Rapids waterpark in West Palm, Beach, and Grand Prix Race-a-rama in Dania. Sadly, on more than one occasion, the place was either almost empty or it was raining when we got there. Still, it makes up some of my favourite memories from S Florida. I didn't realize the sub was sold to Grand Prix. Thank you for reminding me of so many good memories.

Great episode! I remember going every summer to Atlantis. I always thought Andrew killed the park, learned something new.

Love these videos, thank you!

I worked at the now defunct AstroWorld. There was a US map in front of the Astro Needle (gyro tower) All of the 6 Flags parks incl. Power Plant & AutoWorld were on there. So was Atlantis. I have a press kit for the park Always wanted to visit it. Will you do a video of Hanna Barbara Land (Spring, TX) it turned into Splash Town & has twice been owned by Six Flags. Houston also had Fame City Water Works around the same time in the mid 80's. AstroWorld's water park opened in 83 as well. On that corner b4 the water park opened had a gas station for guests visiting AW.

I remember going to Six Flags Atlantis. I was very young 5 or 6. At the time we lived in hialeah Florida. All I remember is the wave pool and walking around the water park area.

I went here as a kid, it was amazing!

Awwwww I loved Atlantis when I was a kid, this brought back so many memories 😢

Seems like it was a very nice water park. After watching a lot of these stories one thing I see as being a consistent issue is how many partners come together in business deals like this. Always seems to cause problems in the end unfortunately. Great video 👍

I loved this place one of the best went there often. It is now more or less an outlet mall This was much closer than wet n wild in Orlando and Disney didn’t yet have water parks and universal didn’t even exist. Only other option was the Rapids watermark in West Palm Beach which at that time only had 4 slides if I recall right

I loved that place! I wasn't big enough for most of the slides but I loved the wave pool and the arcade was the best I had ever seen! I'll also always remember that that was where I had Nerds candy for the first time.

Yay a new expedition theme park video. I can ways make time for that!

as a kid i lived very close to that place and always wanted to go there... andrew would come and id never get to go...thank you for this!!!

I thought I was going to drown the first time I went into the wave pool....was trying to get the lifeguards attention....never looked my way...:) The wave pool was beyond intense when it first opened!

Wow I wasn't expecting to see anything about 1986's Aladdin/Superfantagenio in here, Bud Spencer's only film he voiced in English himself. You really go all in with your research and always include a lot of cool stuff like this. Wonderful!

Good one. Love water parks episode’s

Thank you soooooo much for this! Hollywood, FL - my home sweet home! I've always missed seeing the water slides while driving down I95, but I never got to go due to the🌀. I've got stories for days about Grand Prix Race-O-Rama, though!

My grandfather took me to this park a few times when I was young. It was a great time.

Never heard of this park before. Interesting history.

I didn't even know about this former park until today. That's crazy!

Man, you really took me back with The Never-Ending Story music. Haven't heard it in a long time.

It's cool to see those Miami Vice clips put to use in this review. I remember that episode so interesting to learn about the background of that park seen in the episode.

These videos are so great. I would love to see something covering some of the old closed rides from Six Flags Great Escape (and Splashwater Kingdom). Especially from before it was bought by Six flags. Honestly i just want to be able to see stuff to jog my childhood memories of the park, but I dont know how to research these things. I know things have changed a lot though.

So many memories as a child season passes was a must.

Oh man! I use to go to Atlantis every summer for my brothers birthday! I loved this place! Andrew took so much from us! Including the Ice Castle in Homestead :(

I loved this place so much when I was a kid!

Pure 80s nostalgia, I love it! ❤️

yeah this is a great Channel great Job my friend.