Jew Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 This sounds more like a glorified FEC to me. Regardless, I'm sure Houstonians will appreciate having something again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COASTER FREAK 11 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 ^Well, technically Fun Spot is an FEC but has grown into a smaller amusement park. This could start at the size of the the expanded Fun Spot and grow from there. Which makes more sense actually. Dont start with some mega thing, just let it grow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardwalkbullet91507 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 ^The preview video did show 25+ additional acres to expand. Very possible! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jedimaster1227 Posted April 8, 2013 Share Posted April 8, 2013 Looking at the video, I'm very much reminded of Wild Adventures in Valdosta, GA. I'll be interested to see if this park gets beyond the proposal stage and if it does, who is making that "top ten" wooden coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boardwalkbullet91507 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 This was posted on the Grand Texas official Facebook page about their wooden rollercoaster... We have designated an engineer design firm for the wood coaster. I can only say "you will be pleased." The second coaster is still under negotiation and probably will not be settled for several months. I really hope this is RMC. I mean... what other contenders do they have? Is a GCI or Intamin pre-fab possible? The teaser photo is El Toro -ish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronWolfman Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Have any of you seen their website? Screamscape updated today with a link to their list of attractions, so check that out. If the pictures are accurate, Timber! (the woodie) will be an Intamin Prefab and Widowmaker (The major steel coaster) will be a Vekoma death machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vacoaster09 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Can you post the images Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 http://www.grandtexas.net/rides.html This is the link from screamscape's website. They also posted the website link on Grand Texas facebook. I really like the flat rides they have listed. Grand Texas should be closing on the land very soon since they want a 2015 opening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted July 5, 2013 Share Posted July 5, 2013 From Grand Texas Theme Park's Facebook today. .We hope that everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July! Be on the lookout for fireworks of a different kind next week.....BIG NEWS on the horizon for Grand Texas! I believe this is the announcement of the land purchase and the start date of construction. Houston might actually get a theme park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 http://blog.chron.com/primeproperty/2013/07/developers-close-on-land-for-new-caney-theme-park/?cmpid=businesshcat Developers announced Monday the purchase of a roughly 600-acre piece of land in New Caney for the Grand Texas Theme Park and Big Rivers Water Park. The attraction would bring a Texas-themed amusement park, water park, equestrian center and retail center that aimes to fill a void left by the former Astro World. A group of investors purchased the overgrown, heavily wooded land between US 59 and Texas Highway 242 this month. Construction is slated to begin by the end of the year with a projected completion by 2015. “We are extremely pleased to reach a major milestone in the birth of Grand Texas,” said developer Monty Galland. “We couldn’t be more excited for the opportunity to bring unique attraction to visitors in the Houston area.” Chuck Hendrix, CEO of Innovation Leisure Partners, the group that is to manage the park, said Houston is the most under-served market for amusement parks in the United States. “This is a huge, huge market,” said Hendrix, a former Six Flags executive who managed Astro World. “Never before have you had a major theme park depart a market and then be gone for six years with nothing to replace it.” There are also unrelated plans for the dinosaur-themed Earth Quest, only three miles away, in the works. The project has received millions in sales tax revenue bonds. Hendrix said Grand Texas has not received any public money at this point. Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the East Montgomery County Improvement District, said Grand Texas will be allowed to utilize a “venue or gate tax.” The customers will be charged a tax at that gate and the developers will be able to take to to 10 percent to help recoup costs, McCrady said. It will also be allowed to have a parking tax fee to use to build additional parking facilities, he said in a recent interview. McCrady said Grand Texas could create 300 to 400 ancillary jobs. He does not see the new park as a conflict with Earth Quest. He compared the two parks to Knott’s Berry Farm and Disney Land in California. In this scenario, Earth Quest would be Disney Land, and Grand Texas is Knott’s Berry. Hendrix would not go into specifics on the cost of the projects in a recent interview, other than saying it would be “well into nine figures” and that the price tag is a moving target. Galland told the Chronicle in February, however, that the cost of the water park, theme park, amphitheater and paintball arena would cost $119 million. The other developments, which include the retail area that can house restaurants and hotels, will add $95 million to the overall cost. Developers project first year attendance to be around 665,000 to eventually reach about 1.8 million after several years. -Cindy Horswell contributed to this report Sounds like Houston will finally get a theme park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted July 8, 2013 Share Posted July 8, 2013 Interesting. We will have to see if they really do break ground by the end of the year. Not long to wait! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shavethewhales Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 I'm super stoked for this. It seems like these guys have the right idea and they seem to have all of their ducks in a row. This has the potential to be a neat park, and I really want to see a new amusement park succeed in America for once. Fourth time's the charm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 With how amateurish this looked at the beginning, I am pretty shocked they are at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailisun98 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 "Developers hope an empty, heavily wooded plot of land in New Caney will transform into a thriving entertainment district by 2015- complete with a theme park, water park and a new dining and music scene and more elaborate attractions. Construction will begin on the Grand Texas Theme Park in October to be ready for a grand opening in March 2015 if all goes according to plan, said Monty Galland, a pre-development manager for the project. Developers and officials in Montgomery County will close by the end of April on land on State Highway 242 and U.S. Highway 59, about 15 miles from the Woodlands and 10 miles north of Kingwood. The cost of the water park, theme park, amphitheater and paintball arena, which will be supported by Galland's group, will cost $119 million. The other developments, which include restaurant and hotel areas, will add $95 million to the overall cost. The project was discussed at a Feb. 14 board meeting of the East Montgomery County Improvement District. Developers project first year attendance to be around 665,000 to eventually reach about 1.8 million after several years. "It's designed to focus on the residents of Houston," Galland said. "There is no large-scale park north of the Interstate 10 freeway. ... We really feel like there is a void in this area." Galland said the idea is larger than a theme park and conceives of an entertainment district, complete with a water park, an amphitheater, a baseball stadium and a shopping and dining area." http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/New-Houston-area-theme-park-under-development-4293888.php supposedly, this park will open in 2015 but I can bet that it wont. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 ^you are quoting an article that is 5 months old. They have purchased the land so it looks like it is closer then you think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailisun98 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 Yeah. But I dont think they have all the resources for all the attractions they plan to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigBomer Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 ^ They said they already reached a deal on wooden coaster and were close, (probably have by now) to reaching a deal on the steel coaster. I don't think you quite know what you're talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kailisun98 Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 ^You are correct about the coaster, but what about the funding for the entertainment district, complete with a water park, an amphitheater, a baseball stadium? The baseball stadium and amphitheater would cost a big fortune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrlittle Posted July 9, 2013 Share Posted July 9, 2013 ^You are correct about the coaster, but what about the funding for the entertainment district, complete with a water park, an amphitheater, a baseball stadium? The baseball stadium and amphitheater would cost a big fortune. It's probably going to be a very basic baseball statium. Not your MLB style stadium. An amphitheater is actually something you could easily build as well. A lot of the attractions out side of the park could be open in phases as well. Just buying the land is a huge step for a park. If they start construction soon, we don't have harsh winters so they could work on it all year and have it open by 2015. Let's just see what happens when the bulldozers come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
palmerleeberry Posted July 10, 2013 Share Posted July 10, 2013 During my last post in February, I was feeling a bit sketical about whether or not this new park planned for Houston will ever be built or not. Now, lo and behold, it looks like they have received the GREEN LIGHT to begin construction and hoping for a 2015 opening date. Now while everyone else is speculating whether or not this park will actually open, my concern is what rides will the park have? While I'm thinking that some will be brand, spanking new; others I feel might be used rides that once ran in another park or on the state fair circuit as a cost-cutting method and to better fill up the park. Mewonders what they would do, but this is only speculation at this point. We'll wait and see. "BY THE WAY, DON'T BURN ME!!!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnychen Posted July 11, 2013 Author Share Posted July 11, 2013 More news on the park houston.culturemap.com/news/realestate/07-10-13-astroworld-times-six-construction-on-new-houston-theme-park-begins-and-its-size-is-already-expanding/ One can almost hear the roar of a roller coaster on the New Caney property where Grand Texas Theme Park will soon sprawl . . . but don't get ahead of yourself — it's just the hum of bulldozers Site work is already underway on the heavily-wooded land off of Highway 59 and FM 242, according to the Business Journal. After several years of looking for the right spot, investors finalized the purchase from IBC Bank as previously reported by CultureMap. "I'm the guy that's remembered as the one that tore down the Texas Cyclone. I'd like to leave a different legacy, actually." What exactly will take form over the next two years remains to be determined. Chuck Hendrix, a former AstroWorld general manager who will run Grand Texas under the banner of Innovation Leisure Partners, told the HBJ that the park's amenities — which already include a water park, several hotels and a petting zoo — are "expanding daily." "I'm the guy that's remembered as the one that tore down the Texas Cyclone," Hendrix said in an interview with KPRC. "I'd like to leave a different legacy, actually." Brae Burn Construction Company has been selected to work on the theme park's next phase, which will break ground this fall for an anticipated completion in the spring of 2015. Dallas-based GHA Architects, led by principal Bob Runyon, is the designer designer on the project. "We have enough acreage to keep us busy for a while," Hendrix said of the 640-acre plot — about six times the size of AstroWorld's footprint. Construction will take place in phases over the next 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meteornotes Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 With how amateurish this looked at the beginning, I am pretty shocked they are at this stage. As am I. But it seems like this is progressing. Curious to see what happens next. dt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ernierocker Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Hopefully, they will not hit any snags. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisco Posted July 11, 2013 Share Posted July 11, 2013 Unlike other projects you don't hear a lot about financing. They seem to have it or at least not letting on they don't yet. Things are looking pretty positive at the moment for this to at least get off the ground, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hriscay Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 "I'm the guy that's remembered as the one that tore down the Texas Cyclone," Hendrix said in an interview with KPRC. "I'd like to leave a different legacy, actually." Hmmm... How would you leave a different legacy... by rebuilding it!!! Now i know that's not the case but how awesome would it be if it was. Nonetheless, can't wait for a new park to finally open in my area. Houston greatly needs one and i've always thought the only way to truly ope one would be to start small and expand over time. Earthquest was too big for it to work, a great idea but too much at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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