Wednesday the group heading up Grand Texas Theme Park which is being build at SH 242 and I-69 in New Caney, met with the members of the East Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce.
The team described the park and what people could expect. in the near future.
The 630 acre facility with feature Big Rivers Water Park a 40 acre site which will include a river ride which flows through the already natural forest at the location. Waterslides that wrap around large oak trees. Several roller coasters including one said to be one of the 10 largest wooden roller coasters in the United States.
The park is expected to draw from a population of 30 million. The numbers they say for visitors compares with several other venues in the Houston area. The 17 day Renfest brings in over 600,000 visitors. Houston Zoo sees 1.6 million visitors annually, Houston Livestock Show had 2.8 million visitors for 21 days. Another comparison is the Kemah Boardwalk which gets over 4 million visitors annually.
The Theme Park is said to be built around Texas history.
Also there will be a 6000 seat professional baseball stadium
A wakeboard lake where a cable system will tow a person instead of a boat.
On the south side of SH 242 are 2 hotel sites and a large RV park. along with 450,000 square feet of retail space and convenience stores.
The group hopes to attract over 4.5 million visitors to the site within 5 years of opening. Not just tax base to the area but almost 1200 seasonal jobs and close to 1600 construction jobs. They include seniors and teens in the seasonal jobs. Being a western theme park they will need Old Time Story tellers as an example.
The staff that was picked comes from a long running experience
The theme park itself will be 150 acres. In the beginning 71 acres will be developed.. That compares to Astroworld’s 59 acres and the 135 acres of Disney’s Magic Kingdom. The difference being, Grand Texas acreage does not include parking acreage as the other theme parks do.
It will be divided into 17 sections for different themes and also include equestrian trails. Zip Lines and rope courses will also be part of the park.
It will also include a amphitheater similar to the Cedar Park, Texas Center Park. Hosting concerts and hockey games.
Timelines were spelled out for the Chamber today:
Big River Waterpark 4/15
Hospitality Village     4/15
Destination Fields     5/15
Theme Park        Summer 2015
Event Center October 2015
Baseball Stadium 2016 Season
Some of the executives include Chief Operating Officer Chuck Hendricks the former 13 year president of Astroworld. Bob Logan the California director of Magic Mountain. Bob Runyon, designer of The Woodlands Market Street is the Chief Architect of the project. Bruce Robinson is the Theme Director. He was responsible for the design of the Angry Birds Theme Park. and Dollywood.
Soil tests are now under way and heavy equipment should start arriving in early January.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzHvuu1ch28&feature=youtu.be
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