8 replies to this topic

[TexasCyclone]

Galveston Island, Texas' old pleasure pier used to house the Flagship Hotel which was damaged in 2008 by Hurricane Ike. Now Tilman Fertitta (same guy who owns the Kemah Boardwalk) is turning it into a Pleasure Pier full of rides and awesome stuff.

The pier is set to finish by this Summer. Here is a rendering of the pier which was just released today:



Some highlights of the pier:

-The "Iron Shark" Coaster- A 100 ft. tall Euro-Fighter with 4 inversions

-A 230 ft. tall "Texas Star Flyer"

-100 ft. tall Ferris Wheel

-A Family Log Flume type water ride

and a lot more flat rides.

You can read all the details here. The pier also has a VERY informative facebook page that post construction photos every other day. This is a very exciting project that will really boost tourism in Galveston.

[Coasterholic14]

That looks fantastic! How have I not heard about this yet? There are so few true pier parks left in the US nowadays, and many of those left have been closing over the past few years, with Wildwood probably being the most well-known remaining (and pretty much just NJ and California have any I can think of at the moment). And they're getting a small Euro-Fighter, which should definitely help make them a tourist stop. This combined with Kemah Boardwalk not too far from Houston should be great for tourism in the area...now I want to get down there that much more.

Here's their website as well: http://www.pleasure-pier.com/

[TexasCyclone]

This combined with Kemah Boardwalk not too far from Houston should be great for tourism in the area...now I want to get down there that much more.

Frustrating how nobody has actually found a way/tried to build a theme park IN Houston or at least on the outskirts since Astroworld closed. These things are nice but they aren't 1st tier amusement parks .

But yes, this will do wonders for Galveston. The place only had Moody Gardens, Schlitterbahn, and The Strand district which really makes for a short weekend trip but the pier could extend those vacations at least an extra day or two.

[Ryan Shrout]

Very nice. I love the positioning of the Ferris Wheel and Star Flyer out at the end of the pier. I would imagine that the star flyer actually puts you out over the water a bit too. Good choice with the Euro-fighter. I've always thought of those as more carnival/pier style rides, though to my knowledge no one has made a portable version of one.

[TexasCyclone]

There is now a video animation of the Iron Shark Eurofighter <here>

I really like the layout but it is very short. However they don't have very much space to use anyway so there's nothing they could do about that. I think they could have at least added a helix after the final loop to make it a tad longer but oh well. That Immelman-rollover-dive element (is there a name for that?) will be awesome to experience too

[Ryan Shrout]

That "immeleman-rollover-dive element" is actually does have a name. Its simply called a rollover. Its the first two inversions on ever standard Vekoma SLC. Never seen it on an above the rails coaster. You might also compare is to SFDK's Medusa's "Sea Serpent Roll". Overall I really like this. Yes it is short, but there's only two trains that I can see and no MCBR. I think they made the most of the space they had.

[TexasCyclone]

That "immeleman-rollover-dive element" is actually does have a name. Its simply called a rollover. Its the first two inversions on ever standard Vekoma SLC. Never seen it on an above the rails coaster. You might also compare is to SFDK's Medusa's "Sea Serpent Roll". Overall I really like this. Yes it is short, but there's only two trains that I can see and no MCBR. I think they made the most of the space they had.

I hadn't really seen that element like that but that's exactly what it is.

By the way, their Facebook page released stats about Iron Shark and their Star Flyer. This is news that I'm really glad to hear:

"Iron Shark Rollercoaster - our coaster vehicles will be themed like a shark and there will only be lapbars on this ride (as opposed to over-the-shoulder harness)" Lapbars are definitely a huge step up from OTSRs.

One very interesting thing they said about the star flyer is that "

Spins backwards and forwards." Now, have their been any star flyers yet that also spin backwards?

Edited by TexasCyclone96, 09 February 2012 - 06:33 PM.

[The BeastFan]

It sounds like the Starflyer will have a seating arrangement similar to Vekoma Invertigo's, whereas there are seats facing both forwards and backwards.

[TexasCyclone]

It sounds like the Starflyer will have a seating arrangement similar to Vekoma Invertigo's, whereas there are seats facing both forwards and backwards.

But that can't be right since they also said there are 12 swings, with 2 people per swing. but that would be really cool if they had back-to-back seats