Six Flags Over Texas Spee-Lunker's Cave Crafts: Stalactite Statues

 

From 1964 to 1991, Six Flags Over Texas had a unique boat ride called The Cave.  This attraction featured a society of small, fantasy creatures called The Spee-Lunkers.  The Spee-Lunkers are very unique characters, which remind me a bit of elves, but also seahorses.  I decided to make some Spee-Lunkers using shells, shark teeth, and other materials I found on the beach in Venice, Florida.  I painted the characters to mimic the black light effect that was used in the ride.

When the Spee-Lunkers were evicted from The Cave, the ride gained a Looney Tunes theme and became Yosemite Sam's and the Gold River Adventure.  This was a wild west boat ride with animated Warner Brothers figures.  The Yosemite Sam ride closed in 2018 due to damage from a storm.

The Spee-Lunkers (or "Spees" as they are also called) may be gone, but they are not forgotten.  A number of Spees managed to leave the ride and find themselves in the homes of caring Texans, who sometimes include them in their Christmas displays.

Curiously, in 2019, Dollywood in Tennessee presented a number of proposed concepts for a dark ride as part of the new Wildwood Grove section.  One of the concepts was a "Spelunking in the Smokies" interactive dark ride.

Will the Spee-Lunkers ever return to Six Flags Over Texas?  In the age of the reboot, it seems anything is possible.

UPDATE AUGUST 5, 2021:  Six Flags Over Texas has announced the return of the Spees in 2022 with a new, updated attraction, Pirates of Speelunker Cave.  In addition to the Spees, this ride appears to pay homage to the old Skull Island that once existed at the park.