Park Areas
Six Flags over Texas is split into seven themed areas (eight if you count the “Star Mall” entry plaza). The park sections are Boomtown, Gotham City, Mexico & Spain, Old South and France, Texas, Tower, and USA.
Six Flags over Texas previously had a section called Goodtimes Square that was essentially absorbed into Gotham City and USA
History of Park Areas
When the park first opened in 1961, the “Six Flags” in Six Flags over Texas referred to the six flags that had flown over the state over its history. As such, each nation was represented in the first six areas in the park: Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, USA (then referred to the “Modern” section), and the Confederacy.
Boomtown was the first new themed area to be added in 1963. The Tower area was added next in 1969 along with the iconic Oil Derrick observation tower. Goodtimes Square brought 1950s nostalgia when it debuted in 1973. Finally, Gotham City was introduced with Mr. Freeze in 1998. In the mid-2000s, what remained of Goodtimes Square was replaced by a Gotham City expansion.
With evolving public opinion, the park began to distance itself from the Confederacy area in the 1990s, renaming it the “Old South” and retiring Confederate battle flags it used for theming. Years later the park made a significant, somewhat controversial change when it replaced all the park’s flags of various nations with American flags after a series of violent events.
Over the years as new areas were added, the park began combining some of its smaller areas to simplify the park map. Mexico and Spain are often referred to as one area, as is Old South and France.
In recent years, the significance of the park’s themed areas has seemed to wane. Few dining locations within the areas have theme-appropriate food options, instead serving the same generic food throughout the park. Themes of new ride additions don’t seem to matter (Aquaman Power Wave has IP-based name despite it being in the USA section). And at times, the individual areas have bounced between playing area-specific music and generic pop music. We have also questioned the continuing existence of certain areas due to implications from park maps.
With the merging of Six Flags and Cedar Fair in 2024, fans of the individual themed areas are hopeful the new leadership team will recognize the importance of theming and maintaining distinct areas for maximum immersion and entertainment.