Amusement park at Margaritaville Biloxi has a name and rides on the way
The Ferris wheel could be spinning and the Aerobar rising over the waterfront at Margaritaville Resort Biloxi by the end of the summer.
The East Biloxi amusement park now has a name — Paradise Pier Fun Park — and the brand is starting to show up on social media.
The rides that were built in Europe will be packed in shipping containers this week, said Tessy Lambert, chief marketing officer for Lodging & Leisure Investments that operates Margaritaville.
The equipment should arrive in Biloxi in June, she said. Locals and visitors will be able to watch from Beach Boulevard and the rooftop waterpark at Margaritaville as the rides are assembled and Paradise Pier opens.
“Late summer 2022 is the goal,” she said. “People are so excited.”
This will be the largest family entertainment attraction in South Mississippi. Many of the attractions along the beach were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and haven’t returned.
Among the rides coming at the new amusement park are a 20-story high Ferris wheel that will be the centerpiece of Paradise Pier and provide views out to the Gulf of Mexico and the barrier islands.
The Aerobar, built by European company Aeorophil, also will provide Gulf views and will appeal to Parrotheads who follow all things Jimmy Buffett and Margartaville. Riders sit facing each other in a circle with a bartender in the middle. The ride slowly rotates as it climbs 115 feet in the air — 137 feet with the two-story parking garage underneath. The ride takes 2 minutes to go up and down and 5 minutes on the top, according to the company website.
The amusement park also will have swings and other rides, food and games and will be directly adjacent to Escape arcade and indoor amusement park at Margaritaville Biloxi.
Already built is a platform on which the new amusement park will be constructed. The platform does double duty — raising the park above the storm surge and providing parking underneath..
The rides can be taken down and moved to a huge storage facility on the Coast if a hurricane is forecast for South Mississippi, Lambert said.
Also under construction at Margaritaville is a new elevator to service the hotel, she said, as the tourist season kicks off.
The waterpark at Margaritaville already is open for spring break visitors, as is the waterpark at Centennial Plaza in Gulfport.
The company announced last month plans to expand White House Hotel across White Avenue in Biloxi, adding 50 hotel suites and an event center.
This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 1:05 PM.
