originally posted on 6/16/2025
Photo: Rendell Bird. View full-sized image.
On Monday, June 2, the unfortunate (but long expected) news arrived that Dixie Landin' Amusement Park (Baton Rouge, Louisiana) had closed forever. Located adjacent to one of the bigger waterparks in Louisiana (Blue Bayou), Dixie Landin' opened in 1999 with rides scavenged from the same owner's previous Fun Fair Park (also located in Baton Rouge).
The amusement and water park were physically intertwined, as the original plan was for guests to visit the water park during the day and then stay at the park for some "dry rides" after sunset. The plan never completely came to fruition, however. After spending all day in the blistering Louisiana summer sun, most people were eager to leave the property once the lifeguards began closing the rides at the water park. Without a standout attraction, Dixie Landin' started pale and rarely grew.
Dixie Landin’s largest roller coaster was a Vekoma Boomerang called Ragin’ Cajun — known for its notoriously slow lift.
Photos: Alex Rigsby. View full-sized image.
Dixie Landin' was never as beautiful as parks like Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen, Denmark) nor as carefully cared for as Knoebels Amusement Resort (Elysburg, Pennsylvania), but it had a charm all its own. This writer's memories of Dixie Landin' are a mixture of happy thoughts and revealing anecdotes, including that of Ragin' Cajun (a Vekoma Boomerang) having a slow hoist that caused it to take a full minute to reach the top of the backward spike. According to rumor, the park’s Over the Rainbow is likely the very first model that Huss created of its famous "Rainbow" flat rides. The unit Dixie Landin' ran had been purchased from the 1984 World's Fair in New Orleans, Louisiana, where it ran as a first-of-its-kind attraction. Others will miss the charmingly sedate Splinter log flume.
The park was also home to two smaller steel coasters — Gilbeau’s Galaxi and Loco Loco.
Photo: Michael Horwood. View full-sized image.
Photo: Michael Horwood. View full-sized image.
Blue Bayou will remain closed for 2025 with expectations to reopen for the 2026 season after all of Dixie Landin’s rides have been removed from the property. ACEers should celebrate the noble effort.
[Editor’s note: On June 10, it was announced that Blue Bayou Waterpark will reopen in 2026 under new management. Leisure Spots and Recreation will operate the park under the Soak’n Fun brand. The company will lease and operate the waterpark only and not the neighboring Dixie Landin’ Theme Park.]
— Rendell Bird
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