Houston doesn’t have any amusement parks since Astroworld closed many years ago, but Trader’s Village is stepping in to fill that void. They’ve been continuing to expand their selection of rides and now advertising them on billboards around town.
If your kids like to ride rides and you like a deal, Trader’s Village is for you. The rides are inexpensive and a $10 wristband permits unlimited rides all day. There’s a scrambler, bumper cars, a ride that goes up and down, a swinging boat, a play structure for smaller kids, and others I can’t recall. Unlike Kemah, most of the rides at TV are meant for smaller kids < 12. Around the rides area are food vendors and places to sit. Best of all, the whole thing is right in the middle of a huge flea market.
Trader’s Village is a flea market franchise with three locations in Texas. One thing that is unusual about this flea market compared to others are the number of vendors selling animals, especially birds and rabbits. Also there are always pure bred puppies for sale by small time breeders who tend to set up in one area of the flea market. Also a good place to buy bootlegged DVDs of live concerts, kid’s clothes, and cheap toys made in China. You can rent a red wagon at the main entrance to cart around all your finds.
Trader’s Village is quite a long drive from Clear Lake, but as long as you are out that way you might want to check out Cypress Outlet Mall (bigger and better than the one in Dickinson) and the incredible Aquarium World fish store which is also somewhere out that way (my husband knows the location of all the good fish stores). That place has an aquarium the size of a room, a koi pond and lots of exotic salt water fish–lion fish, sea horses and rare varieties. Honestly, my kids were as entertained at that store as they are at any “real” aquarium!
