Theme Park company Six Flags, Inc. announced plans late last week to convert the controversial Elkmont area of the Greak Smoky Mountains into a new Six Flags theme park. Titled Six Flags Over Elkmont, the park will provide beautiful vistas of the area from the high points of several large roller coasters and free fall rides. Patrons will hear various dialogs on historic preservation piped through speakers while waiting in line for the rides. Nearby Wears Valley will be converted into a parking lot and trolleys will provide direct service from the lot through Metcalf Bottoms into the park. Environmentalists, capitalists, and preservationists all see this development as a triumph. The park should be open by Spring 2006.
