“Ehh, What’s Up Six Flags”
The Looney Tunes have had an extensive history with the world of six flags. In 1976, Six Flags Great America opened. At this time, it was known as Marriott's Great America. The park had acquired the license to use characters from the popular Looney Tune shorts. In 1984, Six Flags Corporation bought the park, and as an additional benefit of the deal, they acquired the rights to utilize Looney Tune characters in all of their parks across the country. This included Six Flags Great Adventure, which had opened in Jackson, New Jersey in 1974. At Great Adventure, The Looney Tunes most notably appeared in an area known as Bugs Bunny Land, which first opened in 1988. The Looney Tunes also appeared in a section of the park entitled Looney Tunes Seaport which opened in 1999, but closed in the 2019 season to make room for a new roller coaster which opened in 2021 called the Jersey Devil Coaster.
In 2004, Bugs Bunny Land closed to make room for a new area set to debut in the park entitled The Golden Kingdom, which is still around today. The loss of this Looney Tunes themed land at the park resulted in heavy negative reception from park goers. Listening to this feedback, the Looney Tunes received a new land in 2006 called Bugs Bunny National Park. This area resides by a lake area within the park which had been previously underutilized. Bugs Bunny National Park consists of a collection of classic amusement park rides mixed with the iconic cast of Looney Tunes. Some of the attractions feature western elements due to the area being found within another area of the park: Frontier Adventures. Bugs Bunny National Park is geared towards younger audiences, but features attractions the whole family can enjoy.
Opening alongside Bugs Bunny National Park in 2006, Porky Pig’s Camp Wagons is a Ferris Wheel attraction. Although not a modern camping theme, it takes inspiration from the days of the Wild West when pioneers used to camp in stagecoaches. Each cabin is designed to resemble a wagon stagecoach and can fit both adult and kid passengers.
Wille E. Coyote’s Canyon Blaster is a spinning attraction that also opened with the land in 2006. The ride is themed to the cartoon world that Roadrunner and Wille hold their comical chases in. Each cart has a cartoon rocket designed on its side. Guests travel around in a circle at high speed similar to a bobsled ride. The center of the attraction features a target. Willie’s shadow overlays on top of it, to represent the classic crashes the character would make in the cartoon.
Daffy’s Hot Air Balloons is an attraction at Bugs Bunny National Park that takes guests 43 feet into the air in a spinning balloon ride. The attraction opened alongside the area in 2006. A watchtower is present at the top of the attraction. As guests make their way to the top, they will find Daffy Duck on the lookout. Perhaps he is hiding from Elmer Fudd who believes it is Duck Season.
Foghorn Leghorn’s Stagecoach Express is a train ride that opened in Bugs Bunny National Park in 2006. It is themed to the wild west with a stagecoach driven by rideable horse vehicles. Kids can choose to sit either on the horses or inside the stagecoach. The ride shut down for the 2009 and 2010 season. In 2009, Six Flags declared bankruptcy, so this ride’s closure was likely the result of the company looking to minimize operation costs however they could. The attraction remained at the park while the rideable elements were kept in storage. The company eventually recovered and the attraction opened once again in 2011, where it is still in operation today.
Bugs Bunny National Water Park Tower is a water tower attraction that features a sprinkler at the bottom to represent a leak in the tower. Guests can walk underneath the tower to get wet and see Bugs Bunny standing at the top of it. The shape of this tower resembles the iconic Warner Brothers Water Tower, which can be found on the Warner Bros lot in Burbank, California.
Bugs Bunny Ranger Pilots is a spinning airplane ride. It was originally found in Astroworld Six Flags, before making its way to Great Adventure after Astroworld closed in 2005. The other rideable attraction themed to Bugs Bunny is the Bugs Bunny Camp Carousel. The ride features 20 horses, with the looney tune characters appearing on the exterior and interior of the attraction. The interior designs feature posters of classic Looney Tunes shorts. This attraction itself actually opened in 1979, and went through many changes over the years. In 1988, the carousel obtained its Looney Tunes theme, being known as Tweety’s Roundup which was a part of Bugs Bunny Land. When Bugs Bunny National Park opened in 2006, it then became Bugs Bunny Camp Carousel, which still resides there today.
Finally, there’s Wilderness Theater. This theater is home to live stage shows, most notably featuring the Looney Tune characters. The theater itself has actually been around since Six Flags Great Adventure first opened in 1974.
Bugs Bunny National Park attractions may not be some of the newest in the park, however it still remains as a classic staple at the park due to its usage of the iconic Looney Tunes characters. Over the years , the Looney Tunes have allowed for Six Flags to achieve success in their parks by attracting crowds of all ages. Even if Bugs Bunny National Park may close, you can be sure the Looney Tunes gang will find their way back to the park for it wouldn’t be a great adventure without Bugs Bunny and his friends.