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Introduction: Holiday Trip to Galveston Island
Review: Courtyard Marriott Galveston
Review: Cajun Greek
Review: Sunflower Bakery
Review: BLVD Seafood
Review: Pleasure Pier
Review: Jimmy’s on the Pier
Review: Pho Tai
Review: Gypsy Joynt
During our travels up and down Seawall Boulevard in Galveston, my son became excited every time that he saw the tea cup Ferris wheel at Pleasure Pier. We dedicated one afternoon to visiting Pleasure Pier’s amusement park with the sole purpose of enjoying as many rides as possible. This was better in theory than in actual application.
Pleasure Pier was located a few minute walk from BLVD Seafood. While that is the case, you cannot park at BLVD then walk to the pier. Paid parking was available on either side of Seawall Boulevard and there was a paid parking lost across the street from the pier. I paid $10 to use the parking lot due to the amount of available spots.
There are two restaurants on the left, Bubba Gump’s and Lt. Dan’s, prior to entering the pier. Bubba Gump’s had a line for dining room seating, while the bar area had plenty of open seating. A children’s carousel was located just outside of the pier on the right. Pleasure Pier has ticket booths on either side of the main entrance. The booths on the right side are for general admission, while those on the left side are for will call and military admission. The adult price for all day was $29, with my military discount, the price dropped to $26. My son received free admission because he was two years old. After a quick security check, we were in the park.
The first thing that I noticed was the size of the pier. The pier was fairly large, but with the amount of attractions and people visiting, space was limited. Before I get into the rides, I should note that my son is 36 inches tall. This limited the number rides that he could enjoy. The first ride, the one that brought us to the pier, was the tea cup Ferris wheel. Let me tell you, my son did not enjoy this ride at all. It was so bad that he ugly cried (not posting pictures of that. LOL) for the entire four minutes. The ride gave us nice views of the Galveston shoreline. My son was ok once we were back on solid ground.
My son loves anything to do with water, so the logical next ride was Pirate’s Plunge. This attraction was one in which guests (up to four) rode in a water log through a series of turns culminating in a big splash to guests stand inside of the fenced in area. I do not know if my son would have enjoyed the ride because he starting crying as soon as we entered the queue. After 30 minutes, we made it to the front of the line only to be turned away because he was not over the 48 inch minimum height requirement.
I decided to try a few more rides that had the 36 inch height requirement. The Frog Hopper, car carousel, nor the merry go round were of any interest to him. There was even a guy walking on a ball that did not impress my son.
One ride that I wanted to try was the giant swing. It looked cool, but the more that I thought about it, I am not a fan of swinging that high over the ocean.
While they are not pictured, Pleasure Pier had the usual compliment of amusement park games. There were a few food and beverage stands located on the pier. The food/drinks were a bit pricey. To illustrate this, a can of beer cost $10.
Final Word
I enjoyed the short time that we were at Pleasure Pier. We will definitely be returning when my son is a bit older. The admission fee was appropriate, but the price of food and drinks was a bit too much. I would recommend a trip to Pleasure Pier if you have a few hours in your schedule.
