Spring break is finally over, but summer break is just over the horizon. What better way to kick off summer than with a list of amusement parks from days gone by?

Discovery Island

Discovery Island was an 11.5 acre island situated in the middle of Bay Lake at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Discovery Island, which originally opened on April 8, 1974 as “Treasure Island,” was a wildlife observatory. It was closed to the public on April 8, 1999 but continued to operate for three more months before closing for good. All of the animals on the island were either relocated to Disney’s Animal Kingdom or to various zoos.

River Country

Also located at the Walt Disney World Resort, River Country officially opened on June 20, 1976 and continued to operate until November 2001. River Country may have been the world’s first themed water park. On January 20, 2005, the Walt Disney Company announced that River Country would remain closed indefinitely.

Santa’s Village

Santa’s Village predated Walt Disney Parks and Resorts as the first amusement park franchise. The first Santa’s Village was opened to the public in 1955 in the Skyforest section of Lake Arrowhead, California. The 220-acre park was an imagined simulation of the North Pole, complete with rides and a reindeer petting zoo. After an ever-increasing decline in attendance and revenue, Santa’s Village in Skyforest was closed on March 1, 1998. The property was sold to logging companies for a total of $5.6 million.

Six Flags New Orleans

This 150-acre amusement park first opened in 2000 under the Jazzland name. Two years later, the Six Flags Corporation bought Jazzland and reopened the park on April 12, 2003 as Six Flags New Orleans. Popular rides at the amusement park included Spongebob Squarepants: The Ride, amongst others. Its last day of operation was on August 21, 2005, and was slated to reopen a week later. It never had the chance to reopen. Hurricane Katrina struck the New Orleans area two days later.

Since the park was situated in a low-lying area in East New Orleans, the park was submerged in 4-7 feet of salt water. After the water was drained a month later, Six Flags inspectors estimated that about 80% of the park was permanently damaged due to the long-term immersion in salt water. The park was closed indefinitely.

In September 2009, the city of New Orleans fined Six Flags $3 million and ordered them to vacate their lease. Three months later, Six Flags prematurely ended their 75-year lease early. In February 2010, the city of New Orleans hired a security team to patrol the site of the former park. There have been plans to redevelop the area, including building another amusement park, an outlet mall, an eco-park, a power plant or a sports complex, amongst others.