Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier

Looking for things to do in Galveston, Texas?

 

Galveston Pleasure Pier is one of the few spots in the world that has this many rides over the water! Known as “Coney Island of the South”, the pier juts 1130 feet into the Gulf of Mexico and is 120 feet-wide. The Galveston amusement pier now boasts one roller coaster and 15 other thrilling rides. The original Pleasure Pier stood from 1943 until 1961 when it was destroyed by a hurricane. A soft opening event was held on May 25^th, 2012. The total cost of the project is estimated at sixty  million dollars but will bring new jobs back to the Galveston area.  Three million guests are expected to visit the pier in its first year of operation. The park is located at Galveston Pier 21. There will also be a retail center called Shops at Pleasure Pier on the north side of Seawall Boulevard and a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant will be built to go along with the rides and games.

 

The main attraction is the brand new, 100 foot tall steel roller coaster dubbed “Iron Shark.” It’s a Gerstlauer Eurofighter style ride compacted into a tiny footprint.  The Pleasure Pier's Iron Shark roller coaster will attack when least expected with its 100‐foot vertical lift and beyond‐vertical drop. Tracking at 52 miles per hour, the vehicles will glide the 1,246‐foot coaster track.  Check out the video embedded below to see the ride in action:

The pier will feature a number of traditional rides, including a 36-foot double-decker carousel and a 100-foot tall Ferris Wheel. Another highlight of the Galveston boardwalk is the Texas Star Flyer, a 230 foot tall swing ride which swing your dangling feet out over the ocean. Please note, this ride is not yet open as it is still under construction. Rides closed are the Galaxy Wheel, Texas Star Flyer and Revolution.

The Pleasure Pier Galveston theme park is wholly owned by Landry's, Inc.

Additional tags:

pleasure pier galveston

galveston fishing piers

galveston things to do

pleasure pier galveston tx

paradise pier Galveston

paradise pier galveston tx

Read More...

Best Kept Industry Secret

I recently had the pleasure of attending the ASTM International F24 committee on amusement rides and devices bi-yearly conference held in New Orleans, Louisiana. There were more than 125 attendees of the event which included individuals from Canada , the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US. The ASTM F24 committee is the best kept secret in the amusement industry. Why? If you're looking for a job in the industry everyone tells you that you have to attend IAAPA, the yearly colossal expo show. From what I've heard, the park representatives present are under huge pressure to try and sell or purchase new rides, so it feels like you are getting in the way if you want to hand someone your resume. At the ASTM conference there is no pressure, everyone is totally relaxed and open and friendly. Not to mention nearly every attendee (except for myself) seemed to have a vice president, director, manager, or president attached to their job title. And they were all willing to sit down and have a conversation with me. How awesome is that? If you're looking into a job in ride design or engineering you need to join ASTM and participate in these meetings.


I will let you in on another piece of information. Nearly all of the engineers I talked to expect new employees to have at least six months of actually working at and amusement park under their belt, especially working hands on with rides. Oh, and Disney expects students applying for internships to have at least a 3.0 GPA. I hope that helps some of you young engineering out there looking to get into the amusement park industry.

Read More...