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There really isn't anywhere to add more rides on the current pier. They'd have to extend or expand the pier which I don't think is allowed. I know new ones can't be built (old ones can be rebuilt in the same spot) not entirely sure if one can be expanded or not but I don't think so.

I believe Wipeout and the Carousel are both used rides (refurbished by Chance). They were installed after Ike along with the drop tower from Larson (which was new). I think several of the rides installed in 2004 (Avaitor, kids rides, Observation tower, Inverter) were used as well. I remember being told where some of them came from...but I didn't take notes. The only ride I know 100% that was used was Chaos.

Is it bad that that's all I can think about with this? I hate to be a downer here but according to the article in the first post of the thread, "The hotel was built in 1965 as a show of confidence after Hurricane Carla." This "show of confidence" replaced an amusement park that was wiped out by a hurricane. Now the "show of confidence" itself was wiped out by a hurricane and as a "show of confidence" they're going to build a theme park there. When do you officially cross the line between confidence and arrogance? SPOILER ALERT: It's going to happen again. Fool me once, shame on... shame on... you fool me you can't get fooled again. Last I heard was that a majority of what they are building will be able to be packed up and moved if a storm were to come. Also, they are doing a ton of repair work on the pier as well as adding reinforcement. What happend with Ike at Kemah Boardwalk should also show that this company isn't afraid of hurricanes. The Kemah Boardwalk was partially open a few weeks after Ike hit and more and more gradually opened until about 5 months after Ike, everything was completely rebuilt. And when the next hurricane comes...they will rebuild again.

They aren't "dragging their feet" on getting the ride up. The soil issues are what stalled the project. They spent a lot of money on trying to find a location for the ride but everywhere they tried they hit water within a few feet. Having water so close to the surface caused the estimated cost of putting the ride up to skyrocket...way beyond what the park can afford to do. They had gotten estimates of how much it would cost to put the ride up before doing the ground samples and had the funding to do so...but when they discovered water so close to the surface the project came to a halt. The cars have already been refurbished and ready to go. The owners really do want to get the ride up and aren't giving up. As of last summer they were still checking on a couple options to get the ride up with a different type of support system on the ground that wouldn't require footers to be as deep. They are a very small park and don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to just spend on a ride. The ride itself is fine. Lubbock has low humidity...much lower than the ride experienced in Houston so even sitting outside it still looks pretty good. All the important parts (flywheel system, cars, etc) are in enclosed storage. The owners said it would probably be a few years before they could try again to get the ride up since they couldn't keep going without a ride and ended up purchasing a Larson drop tower last year. They also said that had they know this would have been such an issue, they would have purchased Viper instead. But right now there is no reason to think this ride will never run again.

The wipeout opened this past Sunday, Inverter should open soon if not already open (avoiding the area due to Spring Break). The only attractions still closed due to Ike are the Observation Tower (won't open till summer), The Stingray petting tank and the Treasure Chest gift shop (both currently being rebuilt).

The following rides are now open: Balloon Wheel Red Baron Carousel Train Aviator Drop Zone The following rides are being reassembled and should open very soon: Ferris Wheel Pharoah's Fury The following rides are still being repaired: Boardwalk Bounce Inverter Observation tower (not expected to open until summer) Boardwalk Bullet of course is still closed for scheduled maintenance and the new Wipeout isn't on site yet, but the foundation for it has been poured. Joe's Boardwalk Beast is now open as well. All shops and restaurants are open with the exception of The Flying Dutchman which should be open very soon. The Stingray petting exhibit is now in the process of being rebuilt. It was kind of interesting to go back and read some of the posts from back in September when so many people were doubting the Boardwalk would be rebuilt or that it would be a very long time before it was or if it was, no one would go. And now here we are, just a little more than 5 months after Ike and the Boardwalk is nearly back to 100% and people are going again. It has gotten busier and busier each weekend for the last few months now.

It has a similar feeling to the common ones seen at carnivals. I don't think I've ever ridden one from this manufacturer at a carnival but I did ride the one Joyland Park in Lubbock added last year and it was a pretty similar feeling. It will definitely be a great addtion to Kemah. More information about the model they got is here: http://www.larsonintl.com/rides/ss.htm

The Carousel is open and is also included on the all day ride pass for $9.95. Most of the boardwalk along the water is now open as well...just in time for tonight's Christmas Boat Lane Parade. Some recent news coverage of Kemah can be seen here: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/story?section=news/local&id=6553449 I'll post a few more photos of the Carousel from today later at the link GuruGuys posted above.

Of course you'd have to spend $30-$40 in gas plus food and possibly a hotel room to get to a "real amusement park"..... An increase in a couple dollars on a wrist band is still cheaper than driving to San Antonio or Arlington.

I haven't read through all the posts but a few have caught my eye. As far as people commenting that businesses shouldn't worry about opening and helping the community first...think about this. Just for Landry's locations in Galveston and Kemah, 3,000 people are without jobs and not getting paid.....Not to mention all the other people without work across Houston because they don't have power. I lost 4 days of work and my girlfriend lost even more. Luckily I had vacation to cover it and still get paid but others may not be that lucky. Getting businesses back up and running is as important as getting peoples homes cleaned up so people can make money to repair their homes and replace lost belongings. For those thinking that there will be this long process before if it is determined if Landry's rebuilds Kemah or not...they've already started. Quite a bit of progress has already been made over the last several days. 25% of the income for the entire Landry's chain comes from the Kemah and Galveston locations. And GuruGuys is right...if you have a business and are open right now...especially somewhere that serves food...you are raking in the cash. Every place that is open in this area is packed...fast food, grocery stores, sit down restraunts, wal-mart, target, etc. And I live in an area where the majority of the people have had power back since Monday. I've never seen places around here this busy.

No, Joyland isn't a huge park and they don't have some record breaking coaster. But it is honestly a nice little park and the rides there have a lot of history behind them. The owners of the park are great and work in the park every day it is open. I've been there several times and live nowhere near there. Little family run parks like this and Wonderland up the road in Amarillo are slowly disappearing. ACE in the region holds an event up that way every two years. I highly recommend checking it out in 2008.

They've been filming footage for commericals, marketing, etc all day.

Do to various comments this past weekend at SFOT, I didn't even bother to ride Texas Giant...what I once considered my #1 coaster. I rode Boardwalk Bullet 40 times over 4 days (with most of those within 3 days and 1 day having 15 rides) and felt a little sore after sleeping that last night...but nothing that didn't go away later in the day...and certainly nothing I haven't felt before after getting that many rides on a coaster or various coasters.

There have been a few times on the weekends where the wait has approached an hour. If you go during the week or early in the day on weekends it should be a pretty safe bet that you won't have to wait to ride.

It's a roller coaster simulation software package. http://www.nolimitscoaster.com/