Alabama theme park to open on Gulf Coast

A new theme park coming to Alabama’s Gulf Coast hopes to fill a void left by Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of Six Flags New Orleans more than a decade ago.

The Owa theme park, about 45 minutes southeast of Mobile, is set to open May 17. It will feature 20 rides as part of a $500 million complex built by a local Native American tribe.

The 14-acre site will be the biggest amusement park in Alabama and the only nearby option for serious thrill seekers in a four-state area.

Operators hope residents in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and Alabama will view Owa as an alternative to bigger theme parks in the region: Dixie Landin’ in Baton Rouge, La.; Wild Adventures in Valdosta, Ga.; and Six Flags Over Georgia outside Atlanta.

Owa is also positioning itself as a budget alternative to the pricier Disney and Universal parks in Orlando, Fla.

Since the loss of Six Flags New Orleans in 2005, theme park buffs in the region have been left with tiny beach-side amusement and water parks along the Gulf of Mexico.

Italy-based Zamperla will provide all the rides for Owa park, including three roller coasters.

The marque Rollin’ Thunder coaster will be a clone of the Thunderbolt at New York’s Coney Island.

The 125-foot-tall looping steel coaster will feature a 110-foot vertical lift and four inversions, including a dive loop, a corkscrew and a heart-line roll.