More Delays for Grand Texas

Everything's Bigger in Texas, even the excuses

https://communityimpact.com/houston/lake-houston-humble-kingwood/ar...-timeline/

He's gonna build and open a 40 acre water park in 9 months? Right.

This has always struck me as a project with a lot of big ideas and no money behind it.

Meanwhile, OWA is actually still saying "mid-July."

When was the last time a new US park opened with 3+ coasters? Hard Rock?

I think so. And part of the problem I saw with that was that new full-sized, ground up park seemed to be slightly on the cheap, with the coasters and other rides smaller and less than stellar. (Disclaimer: I did not make it there, but I got YouTube.) ;)

I tend to subscribe to the idea that it's best to start small and grow over the years and there are many examples of that. But Hard Rock wanted a bombastic attraction that would attract everyone visiting a huge vacation destination. Maybe an unfortunate coincidence, but a gas crisis resulting in fewer travelers (as well as a bad location) did them in.

But no matter. I hope both Grand Texas and OWA are successful. Hopefully they haven't put all their eggs into one crappy basket and they can open on time and continue to build from there.

I thought the primary reason HRP failed was lack of and/or poor marketing. No one knew about the place. Despite the fact it was built "slightly on the cheap" (it cost $225 million) and wasn't that big (55 acres), it had a look and feel of a high end theme park.* And my only visit there was after the conversion to Freestyle Music Park.

*Monstars of Rock notwithstanding

I never made it to HRP either, (are we noticing a trend here?) but I do seem to recall that it had a lot of innovative, or at least unique looking rides. The coaster with the Ferris Wheel style lift, etc were things I definitely wanted to check out.

Much like the infamous Michigans Adventure, I'm just not sure a place like Myrtle Beach can support a full sized, Coaster based park, without even a waterpark to fall back on. People go there for Beach-type stuff. Small amusement piers work, look at Family Kingdom. Look at the entirety of the Jersey Shore. Yes, Moreys Piers works in a similar environment, but I'd argue that 1) they are actually on the waterfront, and 2) It's significantly cheaper than HRP was.

Of course I hope Grand Texas turns out to be amazing. Who doesn't want a new, giant theme park? That being said, I'll believe it when I see it. Can't say I'm too excited for OWA either, based on the off-the-rack rides they appear to be getting.