The Margaritaville Resort in Biloxi, Mississippi will be even more of a family destination by summer's end.

The popular gulf-front resort is preparing for the arrival of an amusement park to its property. The park now has a name -- Paradise Pier Fun Park -- and it should be up and running by late summer 2022.

The rides were actually built in Europe and will be packed in shipping containers this week, according to Tessy Lambert, chief marketing officer for Lodging & Leisure Investments that operate Margaritaville. The equipment should arrive in Biloxi by June she said.

Visitors and locals will be able to watch from Beach Boulevard and the resort's rooftop waterpark and see the rides assembled.

This new park will be the largest family entertainment attraction in South Mississippi as many of the area's attractions along the beach were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and have not returned.

One of the highlights of the new Paradise Pier Fun Park will be a 20-story high Ferris wheel that will provide views out to the Gulf of Mexico.

Another big attraction is the Aerobar, built by European company Aerophile. Riders will sit facing each other in a circle with a bartender in the middle. The ride slowly rotates as it climbs some 115 feet in the air (137 feet with the two-story parking garage underneath). The ride takes two minutes to go up and down and five minutes on the top.

The park will also have swings and other rides, food, games, and more. It will be directly adjacent to the Escape arcade and the indoor amusement park at Margaritaville Biloxi.

One of the great functions of the park is that the rides can be taken down and moved to a nearby storage facility should a hurricane be forecasted for the area.

Places to Go Tubing in Louisiana

When it's summertime in Louisiana and you need to be outside, in the water is where it's at. And while our water isn't exactly crystal clear, it still is nice to take a dip in sometimes. Here are a few of the spots around the state where you can get in the water and enjoy a leisure tubing trip down a river or creek.

 

More From Classic Rock 105.1