Hard Rock Park Myrtle Beach, SC
4May2008 Filed under: Revolutions Author: Caesi
When I heard that 5 million dollar theme park was being built in Myrtle Beach, I was so excited. I worked @ resort right next to the proposed area and all I could think about was getting a season pass and taking a ride on a roller coaster when I got off of work each day.
First the Backstage Tour went up. It was a free mini tour of what the park would look like and a pre-gift shop with some rock memorabilia. It was decent however I was disappointed on how the park was set to be laid out.
Hard Rock Park is now a reality off of Hwy 501. I got a few VIP passes from work so N* and I went there last night for a first glimpse at the park. It’s grand opening is set for May 9th. The park was exactly as expected, semi-entertaining but overall a let down.
My Biggest Complaints:
The park itself is located behind the old Waccamaw Pottery shopping area. It took us at least 10 minutes to figure out how to get into the parking lot. The signs that they put up led you on roads that weren’t even created yet. The entrance is located on the same road as The Medieval Times. When you finally get through the crazy turns that are the entrance, you must pay $10 to park. Park in a spot selected by a guy with an orange cone stick may I add.
Once you’ve made your way from the rear of the parking lot passing hundreds of open parking spaces you pay the $40-50 to get in. This might I add does not include entrance into the shows playing at the amphitheater. You will pay extra for the concerts.
This park is a theme park. I repeat a theme park. It is not an amusement park. It is full of nothing but 100 versions of the same store selling you $30 t-shirt and restaurants serving $8 hot dogs. We took a trip on the top 4 anticipated rides:
- Led Zeppelin Coaster—–> 6/10
- Eagles: Life in The Fast Lane—–> 4/10
- Moody Blues: Nights in White Satin—-> 7/10
- Slippery When Wet—-> 5/10
With a height ordinance in effect thanks to the airport, the roller coasters lasted a mere 40 seconds and didn’t go nearly high enough for my taste. Moody Blues only gets a high score because it is an acid trip simulation which is hilarious.
All in all, I would say that the tourists will get a kick out of the park, however I cannot see myself ever paying to go into the park. Here is the link to all of the photos of the park we took: flickr.com/oubipaws
BTW: Funny note, if you see the comment below from “doubtful” I did a little ip research and it turns out that comment is from Hard Rock Park itself. Woot!
6 Responses to “Hard Rock Park Myrtle Beach, SC”
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Doubtful
May 4th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
What a lot of piss n vinegar. You must be one unhappy person. The rides are all longer than 40 seconds.
Caesi
May 6th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
@ Doubtful:
The park is not work the money. Enough said.
Grand Strand Bloggers » Blog Archive » Blog Roundup for May 13
May 13th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
[...] Caesi posts her review of Hard Rock Park , and draws a sniffy comment from an [...]
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May 14th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
[...] Caesi posts her review of Hard Rock Park , and draws a sniffy comment from an [...]
Seriously?!?
May 15th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Seriously?!?!? You couldn’t see all the signs? Stevie Wonder could have found the entrance within 5 minutes.
Let’s see… First there are those god-forsaken sandwhich boards all over George Bishop and Outlet Blvd., I swear that they multiply every week, There there are the two 4×8 (?) signes at the front of the old Mall (back of the park) that say Gate 1 and Gate 2, which are employee entrances and then to top it off, there are the two BIG ASS gates that say Hard Rock Park on them where Fantasy Harbor used to be.
It’s a hard enough time to miss all the signs in the dark when I’m driving drunk back from the Boathouse; it’s a wonder how you could miss them in the day.
Say what you want about the park, but you sound like you’ve had it in for them since you first went there last year - sorry that the layout didn’t meet with your approval.
I haven’t ridden the Zeppelin coaster, as I have a medical condition, but all of the videos I’ve seen on youtube have it running at around 2 minutes. Not to nitpick, but now that you have my AR in gear, if you think there isn’t difference between 2 minutes and 40 seconds, then I’ve got something about eight inches for you to test out.
Really, after reading your posting I’m left wondering if your HMO paid for the corn cob up your ass or was it an elective surgery.
Shoeless
July 6th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
I’m a taxi driver here in MB. Although I have yet to go to the park, I do encounter quite a few of the tourists who have and the general feeling they share is one of disappointment. Most feel that the park is overpriced and that they are not getting enough bang for thier buck. The locals feel that the park has been unfair to them in particular, in that they do not offer discounts. From what I understand, ticket sales are far less than expected. I’m sure a lot of that can be explained by the lackluster economy, but a sizeable chunk of the blame can be placed upon the shoulders of HRP’s management team for not reaching out to the local population for their support. Many times, tourists visiting MB will ask a local opinions about where to go and what to do, I know this from practical experience and yes I do like to make money, but I don’t rip off my customers by lying to them that they will have a great time at HRP, I give them an honest opinion based on what I know and heard from others that have visited HRP (I like to get the return business and if my customers feel I misled them, I might not get the callback). One of the main things that bothers a lot of the cabbies here in MB is the fact that HRP has chosen an upstart cab company called Rock Star Cab to exclusively service the park. This cab company has chosen to color their taxis with gaudy ads for HRP. Unfortunatly the city of Myrtle Beach does not allow advertising on the outside of taxi cabs and as an end result this company was denied medallions to pick up within city limits. Now their base of opperations are located in North Myrtle Beach, about 20 miles away from the theme park,… how convenient. In Horry County, there are roughly 300 taxis opperating, Rock Star has about 15-20 of these cabs. So in choosing one particular cab company over all the others, HRP managment has alienated the 280 or so other cabs in the area in favor of a cab company which really cannot service them properly. Smooth move HRP.