What would it take for austin to get an amusement park? (San Antonio: camp, bus)

[cBach]

Okay so here's the rub.

Disney has bought a whole lot of property west of Katy, TX (don't ask me how I know). We can't be for sure how large the acreage is because it was bought with a lot of shell organizations. I surmise that they are planning a Disneyland for the Center of the Country.

Why there and not in Austin? The landscape. The karst landscape in Austin in the west of town is cost prohibitive to develop in. The clay soil east of town isn't any better. Katy has better soil, if you look at a soil map you'll see what I'm talking about.

Both Disneyland in CA and Disneyworld in FL are very flat landscapes, it allows Disney to tailor to their specific visions.

What about flooding? Well Disney knows how to build in swamp areas, think Orlando. In Orlando the main grounds are actually around 15-20 feet above sea level as they are effectively on the roof of a massive building. There are tunnels all under the property. They didn't "dig" anything out, they built it up. So Katy being around 50 feet above sea level won't be a problem.

Why do I mention that? Well, once "Disney's America" as I've heard it been called is built, there will be zero need for any amusement park EVER in the Austin area. Besides, 6 Flags has been closing many of its parks, they aren't doing very well. No need to pin your hopes on a trashy amusement park when a few hours away may be Disney.

Now about waterparks, Schlitterbahn attempted multiple times to get one built in Cedar Park but it fell through. Now, they are going through some legal problems after the beheading at the KC park. Apparently the rides were designed without any engineering but through trial and error. This explains why I always would get stuck in eddies and stuff... The S. Padre Island one just went into bankruptcy on some of the extra land surrounding the property which the bank took over.

Austin doesn't need an amusement park or waterpark for these reasons. I don't consider Hawaiin Falls to be a decent park, there was a death there and some lawsuits are occurring.

We do what we do well. We are the only place with an inland surf park, I mean where else can you go surfing so far in the interior. We have the only Grand Prix in America. There's UT, there RR Express. There's plenty to do here folks.

[Trainwreck20]

I think it is simpler than all that - we don't have an airport that can compete with Houston or Dallas, especially for international flights. SA has made its name as a destination city for entertainment. If Disney wanted, they could spend the bucks and make an incredible park in the Hill Country - terrain won't stop them.

[RoamingTX]

The best part is not caring.

Lake Travis on a warm Tuesday morning when the water is still cool, a 3’ curl on the back of the boat and my kids laughing their ass off with their friends as they judge the wipeouts is all the amusement park I need.

Best part. We figured that out by renting a boat for 3 days, which was way cheaper than 3 nights at planet mouse or some other plastic bullnuts.

12 years later, my daughters tell their friends the story while they drive the boat and watch me wipe out.

[Antny12]

I tried looking up the Disney rumor but couldn’t find anything that looked legit- and even so it would take years and years to complete that but that would be really cool if true.

[DashRiprock]

The Disney rumor has been floating around for at least 40 years,probably more. And it's always the same thing - "I know a guy who knows a guy who says Disney is secretly buying up all the land near [Columbus/Bastrop/La Grange/Flatonia/Sealy] using shell corporations". And yet no one ever actually knows anybody who sold their land to one of these shell corporations, even though they'd have to buy out hundreds if not thousands of family farms to make it happen.

Also, Houston is what, 5 or 6 times bigger than Austin and they can't even support an amusement park. Why does Austin need one?

[mark311]

Amusement parks make most of their money during the summer months when the kids are out of school. Unfortunately, it is normally so hot here from late May to September that it just doesn't sound fun to me. SoCal has the perfect weather for Disneyland and other amusement parks. Just going to the Houston zoo or Fort Worth zoo here during the summer exhausting because of the heat. Now waterparks are a different story. The one in Pflugerville seems to be gaining popularity making it to where people don't have to drive down to Schlitterbahn any longer. The season passes at Typhoon Texas are also very reasonable for what you get.

https://www.typhoontexas.com/austin

Something like a Great Wolf lodge on the outskirts of Austin makes sense to me though.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by DashRiprock

The Disney rumor has been floating around for at least 40 years,probably more. And it's always the same thing - "I know a guy who knows a guy who says Disney is secretly buying up all the land near [Columbus/Bastrop/La Grange/Flatonia/Sealy] using shell corporations". And yet no one ever actually knows anybody who sold their land to one of these shell corporations, even though they'd have to buy out hundreds if not thousands of family farms to make it happen.

Also, Houston is what, 5 or 6 times bigger than Austin and they can't even support an amusement park. Why does Austin need one?

Flo-Cal Real Estate Investors (FREI) has purchased or has options on close to 59,000 acreas of land divided into 3 plats of approximately 44,000 acreas, 12,500 acreas, and 2,000 acreas.

The plats will be used for a Theme Park Resort and a Cruise Ship Port located near Matagorda Bay. This is another reason Austin wouldn't work, remember Disney likes to have a port for their cruise lines.

Also, about Houston not supporting an amusement park. Well you have to remember Disney is a big draw. People from all over the world would go there but mainly from the central part of the country. Someone from Chicago would say "hey it's a quick flight down to Houston for Disney or a longer flight to Orlando or LAX".

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by RoamingTX

The best part is not caring.

Lake Travis on a warm Tuesday morning when the water is still cool, a 3’ curl on the back of the boat and my kids laughing their ass off with their friends as they judge the wipeouts is all the amusement park I need.

Best part. We figured that out by renting a boat for 3 days, which was way cheaper than 3 nights at planet mouse or some other plastic bullnuts.

12 years later, my daughters tell their friends the story while they drive the boat and watch me wipe out.

This right here. SO much better than a spoon-fed amusement park, especially when there are several within a couple of hours' drive.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

I think it is simpler than all that - we don't have an airport that can compete with Houston or Dallas, especially for international flights. SA has made its name as a destination city for entertainment. If Disney wanted, they could spend the bucks and make an incredible park in the Hill Country - terrain won't stop them.

No doubt IAH was probably a big factor, as was access to the labor force in Houston (everyone wants to work at Disney).

However, don't think that you could build whatever you want in the Hill Country. As an example, the reason Comanche Trail and Steiner Ranch Blvd don't "connect" and are a few hundred feet apart when they meet 620 is because there is a large cave. Had they connected them SRB would've been built over a cave and the landscape would've caved in.

When Disney buys land, they want to be able to utilize all of the land. You simply couldn't do that in a karst landscape. Also, the Austin City Council would try to regulate Disney way too much telling it how to design its buildings and the environmental process would be a nightmare. In Houston with no zoning, Disney can do whatever they want.

[cBach]

Originally Posted by mark311

Amusement parks make most of their money during the summer months when the kids are out of school. Unfortunately, it is normally so hot here from late May to September that it just doesn't sound fun to me. SoCal has the perfect weather for Disneyland and other amusement parks. Just going to the Houston zoo or Fort Worth zoo here during the summer exhausting because of the heat. Now waterparks are a different story. The one in Pflugerville seems to be gaining popularity making it to where people don't have to drive down to Schlitterbahn any longer. The season passes at Typhoon Texas are also very reasonable for what you get.

https://www.typhoontexas.com/austin

Something like a Great Wolf lodge on the outskirts of Austin makes sense to me though.

You apparently have not been to Six Flags Fiesta Texas in the summer. Hot as hades but still packed to the gills.