In the initial plans it was more educational, not a theme park.
Then AW closed and they saw an opportunity for more.
One section is still educational, and separate from the theme areas.
Here is a little more background.
Notice the title of the article...
"EARTHQUEST IS NO ‘DINOSOUR PARK’"
IAAPA
Funworld March 2009
Industry Notes by Keith Miller
EARTHQUEST IS NO ‘DINOSOUR PARK’
PLANS FOR A NEW 500-ACRE ENTERTAINMENT AND EDUCATIONAL
PROJECT, WHICH HAS BEENMISCHARACTERIZED AS A “DINOSAUR
PARK” IN SOME NEWS STORIES, are taking shape in New Caney, Texas,
about 40 minutes from downtown Houston. __
To be called EarthQuest, the development include a for-profit entertainment park
complete with rides and other attractions, and a nonprofit educational institute,
according to Don Lessem, creator and founder of the park. “It’s a $500 million
project with about 50 different rides, including several ‘E-ticket’ rides,” he said,
“like going inside a volcano, going through an actual ice cave, launch rides,
coasters, and technologies that haven’t been used before.” _
The park will be divided into sections— one devoted to sky, one to water, one to
land, and one to prehistory, which will be called Pangaea. There will also be a
waterpark and an animal park featuring creatures from Africa, South America,
and Texas.
At the center of the park, said Lessem, will be the EarthQuest Institute, a $100
million research and educational center comprising 58 acres. “It’s a very
interactive environmental presentation,” said Lessum, “and a lot of that is about
how we change the way we live. It’s going to have 4-D theaters, reconstructed
environments from the past, and lots of very enterprising interactive
presentations of new research.”
Lessem said the reason the park has been mischaracterized is because of his
reputation for creating traveling and permanent exhibitions featuring dinosaurs,
his work as an adviser on the original “Jurassic Park” movie and theme park ride,
and his creation of the two largest charities for dinosaur research, all of which
have earned him the nickname “Dino” Don.
Lessem noted that Marlin Atlantis is the company behind EarthQuest, and its
principal, John Marlin, is a developer who owns the project’s land. Contour
Entertainment of Van Nuys, California, has been brought on board to design the
project, and Lessum said they’ve already chosen the suppliers they’ll be using for
the project. The institute is slated to open in the fall of 2011 and the park in the
spring of 2012. Anticipated attendance for the entire project is 3 million annually.