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Grand Texas Theme Park: Extinct Like The Dinosaurs?

4,957 Views | 30 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by Your Mom And Them
Col. Steve Austin
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We've lived in Northcrest Ranch off Hwy 242 (between New Caney and Splendora) for almost 14 years so I keep up with the developments (real and imagined) in East Montgomery County. A few years ago, shortly after the Grand Texas Entertainment District project was announced, the CEO of Grand Texas (Monty Galland) made a presentation at our property owners association annual meeting. There have been several announcements pushing back the timeline for the theme park (originally to open Memorial Day 2016), water park (originally to open Memorial Day 2015) and other facilities/features since then. The only progress has been opening of the Grand Texas "Luxury RV Resort" (last summer) and SpeedSportz Racing Park (opened Dec 2016). Other than that, all they've done is clear a couple hundred acres of land, killing a bunch of trees and pushing some dirt around.There is no actual construction completed or in progress on the north side of 242 which is where the majority of facilities were planned.

Based on the statements about lack of permits made in the article linked below, sounds like it's dead. That would make me (and most of my neighbors) happy as the construction, additional traffic, noise, etc is completely unwanted in and around our acreage homesite community. So if you are eagerly awaiting a replacement for Astroworld, looks like the wait will continue.

http://emcgazette.com/grand-texas-theme-park-extinct-like-the-dinosaurs-p650-173.htm
Al Bula
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This land will be turned into a nice neighborhood for new sub-$200000 meth labs.

Theme park... LOL.
HeightsAg
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I heard from a reliable source's cousin that this land has been secretly purchased by the Disney Corporation and earmarked for it's third park in the US. Makes a lot of sense location wise since so many people currently have to travel long distances to get to Los Angeles or Orlando. It's supposed to be a done deal as long as damn NIMBYs don't get in the way of progress.
sts7049
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that rumor has been around for years...a disney park in TX
HeightsAg
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Why not the third coast??
Ag_07
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sts7049 said:

that rumor has been around for years...a disney park in TX

How's it any different than a Disney park in Florida?

I'm not saying I believe that rumor but it wouldn't be a bad idea on Disney's part to have a them park in TX.
Col. Steve Austin
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RPM said:

This land will be turned into a nice neighborhood for new sub-$200000 meth labs.

Theme park... LOL.
Well some of the land they purchased for Grand Texas had been cleared for a new entry level housing project. Then 2008 happened and that went away (thankfully).

As for the Disney rumors, I'll believe it when I see it. Not the first time they've been rumored to be building a park in Texas. But at least if they announce a project, it will likely happen. Hopefully we'll have sold our place and moved on before anything like that comes into being. Our tax burden has gotten to the point where it's beyond ridiculous and MCAD is looking to increase the rates by 17%! Add to that the outrageous rates we pay for our water (to a private company) and the cost of living in our neighborhood is getting harder and harder to justify.
mts6175
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sts7049 said:

that rumor has been around for years...a disney park in TX


Kinda like the one supposedly going in Frisco. There's drawings and everything. Of course the guy "developing" it got busted for fraud.......
chimpanzee
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At least these guys (I think) weren't fleecing Montgomery County taxpayers like the Dinosaur/Captain Planet guys were.

Real estate development in general seems to frequently promise big things and seldom deliver them. A theme park behind the Pine Curtain? Why don't you throw in a NASCAR super speedway, a 100 story skyscraper and an outdoor mall in there while you're messing with the renderings.

Col. Steve Austin
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chimpanzee said:

At least these guys (I think) weren't fleecing Montgomery County taxpayers like the Dinosaur/Captain Planet guys were.

Correct. To my knowledge, there is no taxpayer money involved in the Grand Texas debacle which is privately funded. Unlike EarthQuest Adventures (Dinosaur / Eco Theme Park) for which EMCID issued $7.6 million in bonds to help finance and promote. Great ROI on that investment there folks!
Ezra Brooks
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chimpanzee said:

Real estate development in general seems to frequently promise big things and seldom deliver them. A theme park behind the Pine Curtain? Why don't you throw in a NASCAR super speedway, a 100 story skyscraper and an outdoor mall in there while you're messing with the renderings.

The NASCAR super speedway was supposed to happen south down 288.
GoneGirl
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HeightsAg said:

I heard from a reliable source's cousin that this land has been secretly purchased by the Disney Corporation and earmarked for it's third park in the US. Makes a lot of sense location wise since so many people currently have to travel long distances to get to Los Angeles or Orlando. It's supposed to be a done deal as long as damn NIMBYs don't get in the way of progress.
Totally not true.... They're buying the Renaissance Festival. That's already a done deal.

schmellba99
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chimpanzee said:

At least these guys (I think) weren't fleecing Montgomery County taxpayers like the Dinosaur/Captain Planet guys were.

Real estate development in general seems to frequently promise big things and seldom deliver them. A theme park behind the Pine Curtain? Why don't you throw in a NASCAR super speedway, a 100 story skyscraper and an outdoor mall in there while you're messing with the renderings.


The NASCAR speedway was going to be at 288 and 1462. Can't remember why the deal fell through, but all of the land in that area was owned by hotel chains and what not at one point. May still be.
Satellite of Love
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HumbleAg said:

Other than that, all they've done is clear a couple hundred acres of land, killing a bunch of trees and pushing some dirt around.There is no actual construction completed or in progress on the north side of 242 which is where the majority of facilities were planned.

Based on the statements about lack of permits made in the article linked below, sounds like it's dead. That would make me (and most of my neighbors) happy as the construction, additional traffic, noise, etc is completely unwanted in and around our acreage homesite community. So if you are eagerly awaiting a replacement for Astroworld, looks like the wait will continue.

http://emcgazette.com/grand-texas-theme-park-extinct-like-the-dinosaurs-p650-173.htm

That is probably the saddest part. Clearing a bunch of land that didn't need to be cleared. Such a waste.
chimpanzee
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schmellba99 said:

chimpanzee said:

At least these guys (I think) weren't fleecing Montgomery County taxpayers like the Dinosaur/Captain Planet guys were.

Real estate development in general seems to frequently promise big things and seldom deliver them. A theme park behind the Pine Curtain? Why don't you throw in a NASCAR super speedway, a 100 story skyscraper and an outdoor mall in there while you're messing with the renderings.


The NASCAR speedway was going to be at 288 and 1462. Can't remember why the deal fell through, but all of the land in that area was owned by hotel chains and what not at one point. May still be.

I actually didn't know about that one, but it doesn't surprise me that someone was pitching it.
Buck O Five
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1. Purchase large piece of land
2. Announce major development
3. Other developers move in nearby, increasing value of land
4. Sell land for a profit
FarmerJohn
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Quote:

Why not the third coast??
The number of people that can afford Disney tickets but can't afford the airfare and hotel is minuscule. This has as much chance of happening as Houston hosting the Olympics.
Ferris Wheel Allstar
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HumbleAg said:

We've lived in Northcrest Ranch off Hwy 242 (between New Caney and Splendora) for almost 14 years so I keep up with the developments (real and imagined) in East Montgomery County.
Username does not check out
chimpanzee
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FarmerJohn said:

Quote:

Why not the third coast??
The number of people that can afford Disney tickets but can't afford the airfare and hotel is minuscule. This has as much chance of happening as Houston hosting the Olympics.

This observation jives with my experience at Disneyland in Anaheim. The place was wall to wall cram packed with SoCal's finest.

Col. Steve Austin
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Ferris Wheel Allstar said:

HumbleAg said:

We've lived in Northcrest Ranch off Hwy 242 (between New Caney and Splendora) for almost 14 years so I keep up with the developments (real and imagined) in East Montgomery County.
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It did when I first joined back in the day. We lived in Atascocita in the 90's, had Humble mailing address, daughters went to Humble ISD schools and graduated from Humble HS. It was easier to type HumbleAg than AtascocitaAg so that was my username. By the time we sold our house in Atascocita, I was HumbleAg on several different websites and didn't feel like changing so I never did.
Ag03 CQE
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HeightsAg said:

I heard from a reliable source's cousin that this land has been secretly purchased by the Disney Corporation and earmarked for it's third park in the US. Makes a lot of sense location wise since so many people currently have to travel long distances to get to Los Angeles or Orlando. It's supposed to be a done deal as long as damn NIMBYs don't get in the way of progress.


That's absurd. No way Disney is going to build a park in Houston when they're already building Desert Disney out between Midland and Odessa. I mean sure it's a few decades behind schedule, but it's totally a done deal.
malenurse
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schmellba99 said:

chimpanzee said:

At least these guys (I think) weren't fleecing Montgomery County taxpayers like the Dinosaur/Captain Planet guys were.

Real estate development in general seems to frequently promise big things and seldom deliver them. A theme park behind the Pine Curtain? Why don't you throw in a NASCAR super speedway, a 100 story skyscraper and an outdoor mall in there while you're messing with the renderings.


The NASCAR speedway was going to be at 288 and 1462. Can't remember why the deal fell through, but all of the land in that area was owned by hotel chains and what not at one point. May still be.
Because there is already a glut on tracks, and the developers could not get NASCAR to guarantee dates for a race, or races.
chimpanzee
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malenurse said:

schmellba99 said:

chimpanzee said:

At least these guys (I think) weren't fleecing Montgomery County taxpayers like the Dinosaur/Captain Planet guys were.

Real estate development in general seems to frequently promise big things and seldom deliver them. A theme park behind the Pine Curtain? Why don't you throw in a NASCAR super speedway, a 100 story skyscraper and an outdoor mall in there while you're messing with the renderings.


The NASCAR speedway was going to be at 288 and 1462. Can't remember why the deal fell through, but all of the land in that area was owned by hotel chains and what not at one point. May still be.
Because there is already a glut on tracks, and the developers could not get NASCAR to guarantee dates for a race, or races.
Last time I was paying attention, the France family owned or controlled a huge portion of the tracks on the schedule with a very few others controlling the rest. Unless they add to the schedule (which is difficult or impossible) you would have to take a date away from someone who is an entrenched interest. GLWT. Getting a cup race to your track would be like building a baseball stadium and thinking you can just get MLB to locate a team there.

It has been probably a decade since I really followed it though, could be completely different these days.
Al Bula
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That's still pretty accurate. NASCAR runs International Speedway Corporation, which own over half the speedways out there today. Then there's also Speedway Motorsports Inc which own and manage less than half the tracks which NASCAR runs on. I don't recall if it was ISC or SMI who was trying to get the track down here built.

I think the only independent track is Pocono Raceway.

For reference, Kentucky Motor Speedway opened in 2000 and didn't even host the top tier NASCAR series (Winston/Nextel/Sprint/Monster Energy) until 2012.
ThunderCougarFalconBird
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Ag03 CQE said:

HeightsAg said:

I heard from a reliable source's cousin that this land has been secretly purchased by the Disney Corporation and earmarked for it's third park in the US. Makes a lot of sense location wise since so many people currently have to travel long distances to get to Los Angeles or Orlando. It's supposed to be a done deal as long as damn NIMBYs don't get in the way of progress.


That's absurd. No way Disney is going to build a park in Houston when they're already building Desert Disney out between Midland and Odessa. I mean sure it's a few decades behind schedule, but it's totally a done deal.
This is old news. The real story is that Disney was going to build Disney Texas Adventure near College Station but terminated its option on the land when the Association of Former Students opted not to pay for half.
HeightsAg
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Was this before or after the Olsen twins were going to enroll at A&M but changed their minds last minute after damn busybodies leaked the news to the press?
Your Mom And Them
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EMCID is a shady organization and somebody needs to hold the head of it, Frank McCready, accountable. That guy is as slimy as they come. He's just a used car salesman that somehow lucked into a job in which he can use taxpayer dollars at his own personal whim. I'm telling you, he's a freakin crook! I don't see how that guy is still employed after the fiasco with EarthQuest.
Olsen
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Speak of the devil...

https://communityimpact.com/houston/lake-houston-humble-kingwood/arts-entertainment/2017/06/16/grand-texas-theme-park-updates-construction-timeline/
Col. Steve Austin
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I don't know that much personally about McCready but that whole organization seems to be pretty shady and somewhat inept. The Chairman of the Board, Linda Webb, spoke at our POA meeting in January to talk about status of developments in the area like Valley Ranch. When she mentioned Grand Texas, she said the water park would be open by Spring Break. I responded with a loud "Ha! What year?". She said something like "well there's a lot you can't see from the road. You need to get out there and see the progress they're making behind the trees." Yeah right, I can see what they have and haven't done pretty well from the road and all they've done is put in the lift station, laid some water pipe, set a few fire hydrants and moved some dirt around. There is nothing resembling construction of anything other than that. And they haven't moved any dirt in months. Shows you how out of touch with reality they are.
Col. Steve Austin
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Good Aggie Hunting said:

Speak of the devil...

https://communityimpact.com/houston/lake-houston-humble-kingwood/arts-entertainment/2017/06/16/grand-texas-theme-park-updates-construction-timeline/
Timely!
TXAGBQ76
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Since the 80's; heck at one point it was going to be around Voll gebStation- alledgedly
Your Mom And Them
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McCready is an imbecile...and you're right, EMCID is an organization whose members are out of touch with reality. They hailed the Valley Ranch Town Center and a place for upscale and high end retail. Ummm...OK. If you call TJ Maxx, Burlington Coat Factory and Sam's upscale and high end retail you must be banking on all the Mexicans in the back of a Roman Forest or the white trash in Peach Creek or Plum Grove to keep those establishments in business. The Valley Ranch Town Center is exactly the same shopping experience that we can get about 4-5 miles south in Humble. Same goes for eating: Whataburger, Chick Fil A, Taco Bell, Subway, Chilis...more of the same. McCready once tried to convince us that Lennar was a high end home builder. I laughed out loud and rolled my eyes at his claim and informed him that they were nothing more than the same cookie cutter builders that put homes in places like Forest Colony. He tried to argue, but others chimed in and basically he came off looking like the moron that he is.

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