Houston: We have a potential theme park

The possibility of a future theme park in Houston is becoming a reality

Ryan Little
The Signal
Thrill riders rejoice; one day Houston may get another theme park. It has been eight years since Six Flags AstroWorld closed its doors and left the greater Houston area without a theme park.

Since its closure, Kemah Boardwalk added attractions including a wooden rollercoaster called the Boardwalk Bullet. Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier opened this past summer as a small park built over the water.

While this is a start, Houston, the fourth largest city in the nation, still does not have a full-fledged theme park. There are four proposed theme parks for the Houston area, all with a chance to start breaking ground soon.

“I miss going with my friends and family to Six Flags AstroWorld whenever I wanted to,” said Jeremy Matthews, digital media major.

The Mayor of Texas City, Matt Doyle, announced that a man with ties to the old Playland Park in Houston has acquired about 25 acres south of the new Tanger Outlets mall with the intention of building a theme park.

“Yes, a gentleman has bought land with the intent to build a theme park,” confirmed Nick Finan, director of management, Texas City.

The original Playland Park was located from the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s near the site where the famed Astroworld once stood. With only 25 acres being purchased, this will not be the biggest of the four proposed parks. There are no other details available on this proposed park at this time.

Grand Texas Theme Park is a proposed 150-acre, Texas-themed park planned for the Woodlands area. Unlike some of the other theme parks, the owners want to include attractions such as paintball, a rope course and horseback riding. This park would also include rides and two rollercoasters. A Grand Texas spokesperson said he was not ready to give any interviews at this time but indicated more information would be available soon.

RCS Entertainment was formed by a management team to bring a theme park to the Houston area. The President of RCS Entertainment, Michael Sidener, previously worked for Six Flags AstroWorld. Their plan contains a theme park, water park, professional golf course, several five-star hotels and restaurants, retail shopping, and various other amenities.

Out of the four proposed theme parks coming to Houston, this one has the least current status. Their last Facebook status, states they are working on the Houston park. The RCS group is also trying to revive an abandoned theme park in New Orleans. RCS was contacted about progress but no additional information was given.

The last proposed theme park for the Houston area is also one with plans to include a big resort. Earth Quest Adventures theme park started off as a dinosaur museum to be built off U.S. Highway 59 north heading toward New Caney. After much planning and redesign, the original museum idea turned into Earth Quest Adventures.

The park is described as a $500 million, 1,600-acre resort that will include a theme park as well as a water park, hotel, conference center and retail and office developments. The park was supposed to break ground in 2009, but because of the declining economy, plans were pushed back.

Fast-forward to 2013, the project is now proposed as a scaled down version of the original vision. Earth Quest has changed a lot since it was first proposed, but Chris Brown with Contour Entertainment, the resort’s original master designer, believes they can still get the park built. Contour took over the project in 2010 and is still pushing to get it built. They have been granted permission to secure remaining investors in order to start breaking ground. Earth Quest is the most developed of the four proposed theme parks.

“There are a few untapped markets in the United States for theme parks – Phoenix, Seattle, Miami, but Houston is the largest city in the USA without a major theme park,” said Robb Alvey, owner and creator of ThemeParkReview.com. “It’s a no-brainer that a major theme park should get built in the Houston area. The people of the city deserve it!”