BOWIE, Md. \u2014 Jerry Huster\u2019s eyes welled as he watched the red cars of the Wild One roller coaster click up the worn wooden tracks, thinking about those days, now decades ago, zipping around on repeat with his childhood friend Amy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m fighting back tears thinking about how much fun I\u2019ve had on this ride and what it\u2019s been through,\u201d said Huster, who traveled from his home in Orlando, Florida, to Six Flags America in Maryland for one last visit before the theme park permanently closes on Nov. 2. \u201cI\u2019m just afraid that someone\u2019s not going to come along and save the park. That this is just going to get knocked down with a bulldozer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 108-year-old Wild One roller coaster, which Huster estimates he\u2019s ridden hundreds of times, has survived fires and hurricanes. But like the rest of the rides at the park, it\u2019s unlikely to weather the latest storm of corporate turmoil at America\u2019s largest amusement park operator and a sluggish economy that\u2019s hit Six Flags\u2019 core middle-class customers particularly hard.<\/p>\n