A new article out today. Copy/paste so no one else has to give them (Chron commies) the traffic.
I'm sure this gal is nice as can be but she doesn't realize Daddy (a) is doing everything he can to sink this deal so he not on the hook for what's sure to be a crime-ridden boondoggle or (b) he is opening her up to federal wire fraud charges.
Or maybe she does know this is a good way to become a federal prisoner but doesn't care.
Of course nowhere does it say her parents are backers, but you have to be exceptionally dumb to ignore the access to money they have.
Quote:
Houstonian behind TexasLand idea is a boot-wearing Texas fanatic determined to open park by 2026
On her mother's side, she said she is a sixth-generation Houstonian. Street signs near where she grew up are named after her great-great-grandfather, August Bering: Augusta and Bering Streets.
"I have always felt deeply connected to my neighborhood and to Houston broadly," she told the Chronicle.
Her whole life seemingly led up to the moment she would come up with the idea of TexasLand, a theme park designed to pay homage to Texas history and culture. Her plan includes Texas-themed rides, educational exhibits and state-centric food and drinks. She's drawn inspiration from places such as Dollywood, which tell a story about a specific time and place, creating an experience far surpassing mere amusement rides.
The park began to take form in her mind during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic when she was hunkering down with her parents and adult siblings in Houston. She figured someone eventually would do it, so why not her?
Why her?
Investors might turn to McGee's experience in the amusement park industry for why her idea could come to life. She worked on strategy business development for Disneyland and masterplanning for Parques Reunidos, an international entertainment company running amusement parks around the world.
Or they might look to her education. She got a history degree at Princeton University, where she was also a cheerleader, and then an MBA from Stanford Business School. She worked her way into the esteemed class, Startup Garage, a class that has helped produce the success of businesses like DoorDash. In that class, she was able to make her business plan and crowd source $80,000 for a professional demand study.
She was clever enough to target the unmet consumer need of theme parks in Texas and marry that with a brand Texans are obsessed with: Texas. A first round of focus groups were completed this summer, revealing major interest in the park and providing valuable feedback.
A professional demand study, a must for all successful amusement parks, has also been kicked off. It will take 10 weeks to complete and will assess the business plan, offer market insights and raise any red flags. It will be a huge help in deciding where the park is built, since a location has not yet been announced.
She's putting all her eggs in the TexasLand basket and has been working full time as the CEO after graduating from Stanford in the spring. She officially moved back to the state this summer, and plans to open the first phase of the park in 2026.
McGee, 27, comes from a family of Princeton alumni and supportive parents. Her Catholic faith is important to her. Texas is home to her because of the experiences she had growing up. She said she was very much a Hermione Granger, raising her hand to answer questions in school. She kept busy as a varsity cheerleader, track and soccer player, working on the yearbook and participating in children's theatre while in high school.
On paper, she's the perfect choice. But what can't be seen on paper for investors: her passion for Texas stories.
"I always loved (Texas) stories growing up. I also didn't realize how much I loved it 'till I left," McGee said. "You probably know I'm a Texan within the first five minutes of meeting me because I make sure that you know."
Her time away from the state achieving higher education revealed to her the love and influence the state's culture had on her life. When she moved back with her parents from March to November 2020, a reoccurring theme in her life was refalling in love with Houston and Texas. It got her thinking, Houston doesn't have any major theme parks and they're such a great form to tell stories through. Why couldn't the Texas brand be its own theme park?
"So many things that happened in that (COVID) period are the reason I'm doing Texas Land and kind of like the way the trajectory my life took, and I think it's a huge blessing," she said.
A Texas identity
McGee has 10 pairs of cowboy boots to choose from in her closet. She marvels at eating Tex-Mex more than once a week. And you can find her boot scootin' across the dance floor at Mo's Place in Katy in a cowboy hat with the locals on a weekend she's in town.
Name a Texas story and she knows it. It's what's influenced the rides she plans to put in TexasLand like Jim Bowie's Lost Coal Mine. Picture it: You're on an indoor roller coaster, where you're fighting Spanish conquistador ghosts. She believes there's enough Texas folklore to drive concepts in the park from outer space with NASA to railroads and pirates.
She sees TexasLand being what Disneyland is to Los Angeles something she saw first hand. She said residents felt like Disney was in there backyard, despite the 90-minute drive. McGee wants Texans to have the same experience with her theme park.
"The element of theme parks that I love is telling stories in such a way that you can become immersed in them," McGee said. "I think theme parks at their best bring not just families, but friends and generations of families together. Why not marry the content of Texas that brings people together with the form of a theme park? It's a match made in heaven in my mind."
In its first phase of opening, she see's the park having a few Texas cities represented under pavilions through food, drink and a few flagship rides. An example would be a Houston pavilion would have Vietnamese food and have a flagship ride that could be an airplane with a flying theater showing the different Texas landscapes. The idea is that Texans can explore the unique state offerings a hop and skip away from each other.
She acknowledges that the timeline is ambitious, but she wants to be bold. In 10 years, she sees herself working on phase two of the park, which includes the exhilarating Jim Bowie's Lost Coal Mine. Maybe she'll even have a family of her own that can enjoy the park.
"I think I walk this line of being this wide-eyed dreamer, this grew up wanting to be Disney Princess type. And in some ways, I am that person that makes me who I am," McGee said. "But I'm also highly motivated, putting 110% into everything I do, like, got a 99 on the test, what did I miss? side of me. And that's trying to be the badass female entrepreneur."
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