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Galveston Pleasure Pier Updates


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I don't consider far North Houston close to far South Houston or far East Houston close to far West Houston. But we are all part of one big happy metropolitan area. If you are waiting for a major park to open anywhere within 20 miles of downtown Houston, you will be waiting for a very long time. Check out where all the amusement parks in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Dallas, St. Louis, and Cincinnati are. The closest one to the downtown area in any of those cities is about 15 miles - and in most cases about 30 miles.

Land is too expensive to build theme parks anywhere except the outskirts. Galveston, Kemah and New Caney are all on the outskirts of Houston. Those cities may have the actual parks, but Houston gets all the credit! Woo-Hoo! Take that suckers!

I am a tad too old to be waiting on an amusement park anywhere. I just had an opinion to state. As I stated none of those cities have basically zero zoning. Also, as I clearly stated, if it were going to be a mega Disney, a le' Orlando and Orange County then THAT will be the destination, period. Not one of your "far N,E,S,W Houston's" are even in Harris county. Yes they may be part of our metro, it is not Houston. I agree whole heartily that The Galleria, selling un-needed trinkets galore, justifies the land cost. I am not educated enough to understand where tax dollars from any of those three projects directly benefits Houston, so perhaps I can be enlightened. There is way too much land within the Belt (East side comes to mind) sitting 'wasting away' IMO

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I am a tad too old to be waiting on an amusement park anywhere. I just had an opinion to state. As I stated none of those cities have basically zero zoning. Also, as I clearly stated, if it were going to be a mega Disney, a le' Orlando and Orange County then THAT will be the destination, period. Not one of your "far N,E,S,W Houston's" are even in Harris county. Yes they may be part of our metro, it is not Houston. I agree whole heartily that The Galleria, selling un-needed trinkets galore, justifies the land cost. I am not educated enough to understand where tax dollars from any of those three projects directly benefits Houston, so perhaps I can be enlightened. There is way too much land within the Belt (East side comes to mind) sitting 'wasting away' IMO

Huh?

I bet a lot of people are really going to love this attraction.

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Pleasure Pier: hate the name, but the concept of a small scale amusement park on stilts over the water or a beachside carnival boardwalk is a time tested success everywhere. Nostalgia has potent drawing power for a set-up like this, but mostly people will go because it's fun.

Simple and uncomplicated novelty games and rides are an excellent companion to the seashore.

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Yeah...Pleasure Pier is a very old name, from the original one, before the hotel.

I don't like that rendering, looks just like Kemah. I would like to have seen something more nostalgic, Atlantic Boardwalk style, maybe just a restaurant & club. Or a Balinese replica would be nice, in the original location. Who knows what the next hurricane will do, though. Ove the water, always risky, the Balinese had their own reasons for being there. Haha...evidence dump.

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I drove by the other day, and saw that they've started putting up some actual buildings. There's a large one that's pretty far along with its wooden structure on the side nearest to the Seawall which I imagine might be for the Chart House and possibly another restaurant. There are also two much smaller buildings a bit further away from shore. I guess we'll find out Monday what those are.

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I drove by the other day, and saw that they've started putting up some actual buildings. There's a large one that's pretty far along with its wooden structure on the side nearest to the Seawall which I imagine might be for the Chart House and possibly another restaurant. There are also two much smaller buildings a bit further away from shore. I guess we'll find out Monday what those are.

WOODEN!!! He is just waiting on a hurricane to come and knock down the whole pier.

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WOODEN!!! He is just waiting on a hurricane to come and knock down the whole pier.

I bet not one person associated with this project ever even considered for one second that a hurricane might ever hit Galveston. I bet they now wish that they had a person like you working for them so they had not gone to all this trouble. Just because that pier has been standing there for almost 70 years is no guarantee that it will be there for 70 more. I bet they didn't even go to the trouble of refurbishing, retrofitting and strengthening the pier structure during the last 12 months before they started building on it.

You would think that Fertitta would have learned his lesson after Hurricane Ike destroyed most of the Kemah Boardwalk. But no, like the bad businessman he is, he just re-built Kemah where the people come in droves to spend money on an amusement park that is destined to be destroyed again and now has gone on to build another amusement park that is certainly doomed to natural disaster. What must he be thinking? Doesn't Fertitta realize just how rickety a 70 year old pier is?

I wonder where Fertitta is from - that he isn't aware that Galveston gets hit by hurricanes from time to time.

Y'all should check out the construction photos posted on the Pleasure Pier facebook page before a hurricane comes and blows it all into the ocean. Even the facebook page will probably be destroyed soon - so hurry!

http://www.facebook....estonislandpier

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I drove by again this evening and was shocked to see that several of the rides had gone up since I last saw it on Monday. There's one of those circular rides where you go all the way around the loop, and another one where it hangs down and swings back and forth like a pendulum (I'm not too familiar with amusement parks so I couldn't tell you the proper names for these rides). I managed to take a picture from a nearby stoplight, it's not great but you can see what I'm about, as well as the large building under construction. There's also what appears to be a staging area that I stumbled upon on 25th street a few blocks away from the shore that has tracks for (probably) the roller coaster: they are blue and white. I'm pretty excited about this development, I think it's going to be a great addition to Galveston.

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Landry’s Corp. is close to Revealing Plans

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GALVESTON — When it first opened in the late 1940s, Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier was the place for entertainment and fun. By this summer, Tilman Fertitta hopes that cache returns as his Landry’s Corp. marks the return of the historic entertainment pier, with a few modern twists.

The track and loops for a roller coaster already are in place, a ride called the Sky Shooter already stands tall, and the framing for the various amusements, games and eateries are taking shape on the 1,130-foot pier at 25th Street and Seawall Boulevard.

For weeks, crews have been working on the pier that once was home to the Flagship Hotel that was dormant since Hurricane Ike struck in 2008.

By Memorial Day, construction should be complete for the entertainment complex that Fertitta said will rival Chicago’s Navy Pier and Coney Island’s Luna Park.

“It will be the typical Tilman Fertitta, Landry’s project that’s first class,” Fertitta said Friday. “It will be a place where families will go to have fun and feel safe and really enjoy themselves.”

Not wanting to spoil the surprise of what Landry’s officials are calling the “big reveal” Monday, Fertitta is keeping the plans for the Pleasure Pier close to the vest but hinted at what’s to come.

There will be a “shrimp-themed” restaurant at the pier to go along with the rides and amusements games that will line the pier.

The pleasure pier has long held a nostalgic place in the heart of those who remember Galveston as the carefree destination of the Third Coast.

“It’s exciting to bring it back,” Fertitta said. “It’s going to be one of the great amusement piers in the country.

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http://galvestondailynews.com/story/288954

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New rendering of the new Pleasure Pier. Awesome collection of rides. Better than I was expecting. There will be a 100ft steel roller coaster with 4 inversions with parts of it cantilevered over the water. Never seen one like that before.

I was expecting nothing more than typical carnival rides, but it looks like Landry's is going to build some really good quality, signature rides. There will also be a 230ft swing ride and a huge ferris wheel on the end of the pier with LED lights. I think it's also cool that they are building a new log ride too.

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Pretty nice there. With Schlitterbahn, Moody Gardens, Pleasure Pier, and the beach, Galveston is shaping up to be an even better tourist destination for the region. All of those attractions complement each other pretty well. I'm sure cruise ship goers will be happy. Now they need to work on fixing up the beach. Paint the Seawall, add in clean restrooms, plant some tall palms, etc. If gambling ever becomes legal in this state, Galveston will really take off...

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