5 of the perfect amusement parks in Houston to go to now

Maintain studying to find 5 of our favourite amusement parks round Houston—or inside a brief drive of town—and what makes them definitely worth the worth of admission.

Six Flags Hurricane Harbor

The oldsters at Six Flags know you may have simply as nice an adrenaline rush within the water as you may on dry land, they usually’ve obtained rides which have the joys of curler coasters—solely wetter. Situated only a few miles north of Houston, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor is a water park the place all ages can have a blast whereas staying cool through the metropolis’s hottest days, whether or not they need death-defying plunges or a delicate float.

If rides just like the RipQurl (the place you progress 26 ft per second in a large bowl) or Paradise Plunge (a seven-story free fall) aren’t your cup of tea, they’ve a lazy river and a 500,000-gallon wave pool. Even the littlest mermaids can take pleasure in Coconut Bay or the Treehouse, designed for teenagers. If that is not sufficient, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor additionally hosts concert events and different dwell occasions, too—check their calendar to catch your favourite stars on stage.

Discover it: 21300 Interstate 45, Spring, Texas 77373; 281-355-3300

Kemah Boardwalk

A Texas household vacation spot because the late Nineteen Nineties, the Kemah Boardwalk spans 60 acres alongside Galveston Bay and Clear Lake and is owned and operated by Landry’s, a mega hospitality and leisure company. It is a few 30-minute drive out of city and nicely price a day journey. The Boardwalk is house to fifteen rides, an aquarium, outlets and 10 eating places.

Among the many rides, the Boardwalk Bullet is a singular wood coaster that’s nearly 100 ft tall and reaches speeds of 51 miles per hour. Naturally, there are classics like a 65-foot Ferris wheel, a carousel and a 140-foot drop tower, plus swing and pendulum rides. There’s even a speedboat experience that can take you on a 25-minute journey round Galveston Bay hitting speeds of 40 miles per hour. The boardwalk additionally options an arcade, Halfway video games, playground and splash pad.

Kemah has a marina with 400 slips and a constitution yacht, the FantaSea, providing dinner cruises across the Gulf. With an on-site boutique hotel and loads of eating and leisure choices, you may simply make a weekend staycation out of it.

Discover it: 215 Kipp Ave., Kemah, Texas 77565; 281-535-8100

Houston Funplex

The place can you discover greater than 200 arcade video games, bowling and rides all below one roof inside the metropolis limits? At Houston Funplex—and irrespective of the climate, it is a distinctive amusement park the entire household will take pleasure in. Houston Funplex has its personal esports area, the place teams of 5 or extra avid gamers can collect and play multiplayer favorites like Fortnite and Apex Legends. And youthful avid gamers can take pleasure in Minecraft and Roblox, too. For avid gamers preferring to be unhooked from a PC, there are almost 200 arcade video games to take pleasure in, from retro classics like Pac Man and Skee-Ball to trendy picks like Injustice and Pump-It-Up, they usually all earn you tickets to alternate for prizes on the finish of the day. The park additionally has digital actuality automotive simulators and curler coasters, however there’s much more to do outdoors of screens.

Houston Funplex has a 40-lane bowling alley full with a restaurant, an indoor go-kart observe and a curler rink (the place Beyonce filmed the video for “Blow,” NBD). When mother and pop are worn out, they will flip the children unfastened in a two-story, Texas-sized playground full with a treehouse, arcade video games, ball and foam pits, inflatables, slides, and trampolines. No amusement park can be full with out rides, and Funplex has some spectacular ones—regardless of being completely indoors—together with bumper vehicles, a drop tower and a Ferris wheel.

Discover it: 13700 Beechnut St., Houston, Texas 77083; 281-530-7777

Massive Rivers Water Park & Adventures

A part of the deliberate Grand Texas Amusement Park, a mammoth 645-acre leisure complicated being constructed simply northeast of Houston, Big Rivers Water Park & Adventures is open and stuffed with household enjoyable. It is house to Houston’s greatest lazy river, an enormous wave pool and a slew of slides that cater to all ages. That is not even to say GatorSplash, a kid-friendly space loaded with slides and greater than 300 water-play parts that the park has claimed is the biggest interactive play construction in all of Texas. Extra moist enjoyable will be discovered at Wild Isle, a problem course loaded with inflatables proper in the course of a lake on the park’s campus.

If you wish to keep dry, you’ll discover loads of rides on the Big Rivers Fairgrounds space, together with an intense pendulum experience, a pair of flying rides and a singular curler coaster referred to as Rolling Thunder that spins and flips riders of their automotive as they go alongside the observe. In the meantime, the Dry Adventures zone has an enormous maze you may navigate, archery, axe-throwing, sluice “mining,” a petting zoo (the place you may really deal with child alligators) and a stocked fishing gap. There are two zip traces within the Aerial Adventures space as nicely, together with a pair of ninja programs, a bungee bounce and a mountain climbing wall.

Discover it: 23065 Texas State Freeway 242, New Caney, TX 77357

Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier

Stretching out over 1,100 ft into the Gulf of Mexico, Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier is on the location of the unique amusement park within the space, which operated from the early Forties till 1961, when it was demolished by Hurricane Carla. The modern iteration of the park opened in 2012 however was designed with a heavy dose of nostalgia for its authentic days. Such as you’d count on in a spot that when billed itself as “The Coney Island of the South,” there are many locations to eat, from ice cream and an old style sweet store to pizza by the slice and foot-long canine.

In relation to rides, you’ll discover the requisite Ferris wheel—this one with a sky-high view of the ocean and town from 100 ft up—a two-story carousel, a Viking ship, spinning tea cups, bumper vehicles and different boardwalk icons. The park additionally has some distinctive thrills. The Iron Shark is a 1,200-foot metal coaster that hits 52 miles per hour after a 100-foot carry and Cyclone launches riders by way of a 60-foot loop ahead and backward, whereas the Pirate’s Plunge log flume will cool you off with a pair of drops into main splashdowns. However the perfect experience is perhaps the Texas Star Flyer, which lifts you greater than 200 ft above the Gulf for a swing experience with unimaginable views.

Discover it: 1501 Seawall Blvd., Galveston, Texas 77550; 855-789-7437