   six flags america is a theme park located in upper marlboro, maryland.six flags america (upper marlboro, maryland, usa) rcdb. retrieved january 4, 2013. it is situated  east of washington d.c. and  southwest of baltimore. the park covers , 131 of which is currently used for park operations. founded as a wildlife center in 1973 by ross perot, abc television operated the park as a drive-through safari called the largo wildlife preserve beginning in 1974 until its ultimate decline that led to its closure in 1978. the property was bought by jim fowler's wild kingdom where thereafter, the site was converted from a wildlife preserve into a theme park gradually over the years. in 1992, the park was renamed to adventure world after being acquired by premier parks, and ultimately was branded as the 10th six flags park when premier parks acquired six flags inc. and adopted its name. the "america" in the park's name was chosen regarding the close proximity to the united states' capital. ==history== ===early years=== the park's history dates to 1973, when texas billionaire h. ross perot and a pair of irish animal trainers first proposed a wildlife preserve on more than  of corn and tobacco fields. abc television later bought out perot and his partners and opened the park as a drive-through safari called the largo wildlife preserve in july 1974, projecting 850,000 visitors a year. the initial projections that were expected never materialized. in 1975, the park added narrated tours through four-car 150-person trains. however, the park failed to generate a profit. in 1976, abc bowed out, citing massive losses. the park stayed open with a decreased staff in 1977 and was closed altogether for the 1978 season. then at the end of 1978, the park was sold to jim fowler, the host of wild kingdom. in the 1979 season, the park reopened with the train tour thr
1974_establishments_in_Maryland Amusement_parks_in_Maryland Buildings_and_structures_in_Prince_George\'s_County,_Maryland Six_Flags_America Six_Flags_amusement_parks Visitor_attractions_in_Prince_George\'s_County,_Maryland