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Dinosaur City seeks '08 opening in Montgomery County

By BRAD HEM

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

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Location of Dinosaur City East Montgomery County could become home to a dinosaur theme park complete with dinosaur skeletons, animals and mock fossil digs, park developers announced Thursday.

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The park, which also would include an IMAX theater, water park, conference center and hotel, is expected to provide up to 1,000 jobs and could draw more than a million visitors a year, said Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the improvement district.

A destination tourist attraction would also draw restaurants, retail and hotels to the area, providing tax revenue and making the district's investment worthwhile, he said.

"It's going to be a tremendous amenity for our area and for the city of Houston," McCrady said. "It's a win for our entire area."

The park's creator is "Dino" Don Lessem, author of 47 books and an adviser to the movie Jurassic Park and Walt Disney Co.'s Animal Kingdom.

Dinosaur City would be like a mini-Epcot Center, "not an amusement park but an experience park," said Don Holbrook, the park's site selection director for the developers.

Kids would be able to excavate dinosaur bones from mock dig sites. Various birds, emus, alligators and other animals would be on display. And wooded walking trails will feature dinosaur replicas, Lessem said.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4307187.html

____________________________

I hope this plan goes through.

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I am glad this got posted here. I do not know why they chose to go out to I59. Why not I45?

Dinosaur City seeks '08 opening in Montgomery County

By BRAD HEM

Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

TOOLS

Email Get section feed

Print Subscribe NOW

RESOURCES

More on the theme park

Location of Dinosaur City East Montgomery County could become home to a dinosaur theme park complete with dinosaur skeletons, animals and mock fossil digs, park developers announced Thursday.

..............................................

The park, which also would include an IMAX theater, water park, conference center and hotel, is expected to provide up to 1,000 jobs and could draw more than a million visitors a year, said Frank McCrady, president and CEO of the improvement district.

A destination tourist attraction would also draw restaurants, retail and hotels to the area, providing tax revenue and making the district's investment worthwhile, he said.

"It's going to be a tremendous amenity for our area and for the city of Houston," McCrady said. "It's a win for our entire area."

The park's creator is "Dino" Don Lessem, author of 47 books and an adviser to the movie Jurassic Park and Walt Disney Co.'s Animal Kingdom.

Dinosaur City would be like a mini-Epcot Center, "not an amusement park but an experience park," said Don Holbrook, the park's site selection director for the developers.

Kids would be able to excavate dinosaur bones from mock dig sites. Various birds, emus, alligators and other animals would be on display. And wooded walking trails will feature dinosaur replicas, Lessem said.

...........................

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/4307187.html

____________________________

I hope this plan goes through.

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Who would want to be on IH-45? That is one nasty freeway (until after 1960). Plus, the areas around 59 are more wooded. It wouldn't be as far north, either (development on 59 is not as much as 45).

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  • 7 months later...

There are, or at least were, a number of roadside dinosaur parks, but this is the only one of this scope I'm aware of. Last summer I was in a dinosaur park in northern California. Nothing fancy, just big dinosaur statues, but it was fun.

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So how will this thing compare to other theme parks in size (acres)? The roller coasters are a new thing, they didn't mention them in the older articles. Maybe the Chronicle can give a more in-debt article on it.

Watch some big name company come in, buy it, and shut it down (Six Flags <_< )

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Wow! This going to be a awsome project for Houston! I can't wait for this to get off ground.

So how will this thing compare to other theme parks in size (acres)? The roller coasters are a new thing, they didn't mention them in the older articles. Maybe the Chronicle can give a more in-debt article on it.

Watch some big name company come in, buy it, and shut it down (Six Flags <_< )

Six Flags is just a name, they don't have the money like they use to. I'm glad Six Flags is out of Houston market.

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It would be fun just to watch it being built. I understand construction begins in 2008 and ends in 2011/12 if all goes according to schedule. This is a big deal!

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Guest Marty
I'm sure the 2011 date is more correct. They could never have this ready by next year.

$500 million?! :o

I am looking at a hard copy of The Spring Observer and it say's 2012

Jobs created 2,700 and 30,000 job's for the construction phase.

They are saying that it will attract more than two and a half million people.

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I'm glad they changed the name too. Dinosaur City sounded so cheap - like Gator Land or Snake Pit or something that would be found along a highway in the middle of nowhere. But, Earth Quest Adventures sounds almost like something they would build at Walt Disney World next to Epcot. It sounds a lot more 'high class'.

Plus the new name allows for more themes than just Dinosaurs. Now they have other natural phenomenon to play with. If they do this right, they could make this place be like a museum of natural history - with rides and shows so people of all ages stay interested longer. Most theme parks have cultural themes, like nations, peoples, and human accomplishments - so it seems kind of refreshing to use themes that are based on natural science, like geology, weather, and space themes. It would also be great if they had animal exhibits there too.

This is such fantastic news for Houston. This area has been deprived of a decent theme park for years (that includes the last 10 years that AstroWorld was opened.) This park has such awesome potential. East Montgomery county has a lot more natural beauty than the south loop. All those pines should keep the park nice and shady (hopefully they won't go overboard with the clear cutting). But even if they do, the trees surrounding the outside the park will make this park have a much more aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. At AstroWorld, you could never truly escape from the reality of city life (you could see power lines and freeway blight from many places inside the park). Also, I think the short trek away from the city (about 30 miles from DT) will make this park seem like more of a destination than AW did.

I didn't have high hopes for Dinosaur City as it was originally announced a few months ago. A 50 acre park with no rides just sounded boring. But if money and acreage is any indication of how good EQA may turn out then now I expect this park to deliver. Hard Rock Park is a new theme park going up at Myrtle Beach. The sketches I've seen are pretty impressive. That new park will be 140 acres and they are spending $400 million and they are starting off with several roller coasters. EQA is 150 acres and $500 million. I wouldn't expect EQA to be as good as some of the more established theme parks in the nation right off the bat (in terms of actual park size and ride count), but this park will be off to a great start.

Six Flags had such a dismal choke hold in the Houston area for so long. There was no competition, so they never thought they had to invest in AstroWorld. But now that they have gone the way of the dinosaur (get it) there seems to be a real incentive for other theme park developement. Although they kept AstroWorld crappy for the last 10 years, no one else would have dared try to start a new theme park from scratch as long as they had their large presence here (not that AW was that large). With the new coaster being built in Kemah, talk of adding roller coasters and rides at Splashtown, speculation about rides in Galveston, and now this huge boost at Earth Quest Adventures, the Houston area may finally be on the map in terms of family friendly entertainment.

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You know they closed AW because of a big name developer bought it. Well the last time I checked a couple of weeks ago, it was a big open grass field with no activity. THANKS A MILLION %$^$@%^

And thats the way it will stay until they announce plans for the worlds largest Wal-Mart.

I know they already announced that it would become an "urban center" But stuff like that never goes through in Houston.

Also may become a Costco or Sam's

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I'm glad they changed the name too. Dinosaur City sounded so cheap - like Gator Land or Snake Pit or something that would be found along a highway in the middle of nowhere. But, Earth Quest Adventures sounds almost like something they would build at Walt Disney World next to Epcot. It sounds a lot more 'high class'.

I kind of liked "Dinosaur City" but then again I've always had a weakness for the kind of roadside attractions you describe. "Earth Quest Adventure" isn't bad, but it sounds like something a marketing consultant would dream up.

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I'm glad they changed the name too. Dinosaur City sounded so cheap - like Gator Land or Snake Pit or something that would be found along a highway in the middle of nowhere. But, Earth Quest Adventures sounds almost like something they would build at Walt Disney World next to Epcot. It sounds a lot more 'high class'.

Plus the new name allows for more themes than just Dinosaurs. Now they have other natural phenomenon to play with. If they do this right, they could make this place be like a museum of natural history - with rides and shows so people of all ages stay interested longer. Most theme parks have cultural themes, like nations, peoples, and human accomplishments - so it seems kind of refreshing to use themes that are based on natural science, like geology, weather, and space themes. It would also be great if they had animal exhibits there too.

This is such fantastic news for Houston. This area has been deprived of a decent theme park for years (that includes the last 10 years that AstroWorld was opened.) This park has such awesome potential. East Montgomery county has a lot more natural beauty than the south loop. All those pines should keep the park nice and shady (hopefully they won't go overboard with the clear cutting). But even if they do, the trees surrounding the outside the park will make this park have a much more aesthetically pleasing atmosphere. At AstroWorld, you could never truly escape from the reality of city life (you could see power lines and freeway blight from many places inside the park). Also, I think the short trek away from the city (about 30 miles from DT) will make this park seem like more of a destination than AW did.

I didn't have high hopes for Dinosaur City as it was originally announced a few months ago. A 50 acre park with no rides just sounded boring. But if money and acreage is any indication of how good EQA may turn out then now I expect this park to deliver. Hard Rock Park is a new theme park going up at Myrtle Beach. The sketches I've seen are pretty impressive. That new park will be 140 acres and they are spending $400 million and they are starting off with several roller coasters. EQA is 150 acres and $500 million. I wouldn't expect EQA to be as good as some of the more established theme parks in the nation right off the bat (in terms of actual park size and ride count), but this park will be off to a great start.

Six Flags had such a dismal choke hold in the Houston area for so long. There was no competition, so they never thought they had to invest in AstroWorld. But now that they have gone the way of the dinosaur (get it) there seems to be a real incentive for other theme park developement. Although they kept AstroWorld crappy for the last 10 years, no one else would have dared try to start a new theme park from scratch as long as they had their large presence here (not that AW was that large). With the new coaster being built in Kemah, talk of adding roller coasters and rides at Splashtown, speculation about rides in Galveston, and now this huge boost at Earth Quest Adventures, the Houston area may finally be on the map in terms of family friendly entertainment.

I could not have said this any better. Every sentence was exactly on point.

OMG, if they do this right, it could be a GOLD MINE for Houston. This sort of thing could be the catalyst for attracting people to Houston from further away than east Texas, to spend their vacation money. I've always felt that whomever was the first to build a new park in the Houston area would be setting themselves up for success. It is a "perfect storm" for success......if done correctly. With a $500 million price tag, I would hope they wouldn't skimp out on the details or try to cut any corners. Big scary rides, a large selection of family friendly attractions, "runner" lights on the coasters at night, little dinosaurs on the tops of the lamp posts, Themed gift shops, etc. It's the details that makes the difference. Do this thing right the first time and the entire region will benefit.

This is excellent news. I'm so very excited about this.

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I added this project to Editor's master list of Houston projects.

A theme park may not be the type of project that should be included on that list so I will remove it if Editor tells me to. But I thought it would be appropriate because there are other projects that are on the list that are 25 miles from DT (like the Endevor Tower on Clear Lake) AND I think this park will make a significant impact on the city if built. Lots of jobs, lots of money involved.

Plus, the longer that list is, the happer I am to be living in Houston!

P.S. - I wonder if the name of this thread could be changed to "Earth Quest Adventure", or am I pressing my luck. :)

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Guest danax

Has anyone figured out who the entity is that is planning to build this? The last article only mentions the East Montgomery County Improvement District and that there's a bill in the State legislature waiting for the governor's signature, so it sounds like the State is putting up funds but the author leaves us guessing.... :mellow: It says that this site was chosen from 64 sites around the country, so obviously this wasn't just EMCID's idea.

This might spur development in New Caney.

Could start gettin some them there highrise condominiums going up.

5yia25g.jpg

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Has anyone figured out who the entity is that is planning to build this? The last article only mentions the East Montgomery County Improvement District and that there's a bill in the State legislature waiting for the governor's signature, so it sounds like the State is putting up funds but the author leaves us guessing.... :mellow: It says that this site was chosen from 64 sites around the country, so obviously this wasn't just EMCID's idea.

This might spur development in New Caney.

Could start gettin some them there highrise condominiums going up.

I found an old article in the Chronicle archives. Much of the info is outdated but it might shed some light on the entity planning to build this. The article says the developer is 'Project Rex, LLC' - whatever that is.

WARNING! OLD INFORMATION written 11/23/06

http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive....id=2006_4233744

If this project does spur development in New Caney, it wouldn't be the first time a theme park on the outskirts of a large metropolitan area transformed a rural area into a tourist town. If this park takes off, you won't need ONSTAR to find it. The park will be in between the row of hotels, motels, putt-putts, and shopping centers.

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