Hard Rock Park: Feel the music in Myrtle Beach
DETOURS | $400 million theme park in S. Carolina first devoted to rock 'n' roll
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- The world's first rock 'n' roll theme park could have been built in Los Angeles, whose musical legacy rides from Johnny Otis to the Doors. Or Memphis -- my choice for the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. (I'm sure we will see an Elvis World amusement park in our lifetime.) And London -- where the Hard Rock Cafe debuted in 1971 -- could have been considered.
But the Hard Rock Park is in Myrtle Beach, S.C., an area better known for golfing than great music.
(AP)
HARD ROCK PARK: 211 George Bishop Parkway in Myrtle Beach, S.C., www.hardrockpark.com or (843) 236-7625.
HOURS: Open from 10 a.m. to 1 a.m. through Aug. 31. Check online to see when the park is closed or has shortened hours during the non-summer season.
COST: $50 a person; free for children under 4. Go to the Web site for specials, such as $45 general admission when you buy your tickets online two days before visiting the park. Parking costs $10 unless you have an annual pass ($150).
A satisfaction guarantee says that guests who are not convinced Hard Rock Park will "rock their world" within 30 minutes can receive a full refund. See Web site for details.
UPCOMING CONCERTS: KC and the Sunshine Band, Aug. 30.
READ MORE: Visit Dave Hoekstra's Scratch Crib at blogs.suntimes.com for more of his take on Hard Rock Park.
I'm dazed and confused.
The $400 million park had its grand opening June 2. The 55-acre venue is divided into six areas, each with different themed music playing in the background. There are five roller coasters, restaurants and nearly 40 attractions.
Most guests enter under a canopy saluting "Rock 'n' Roll Heaven" with a courtyard featuring 350 commemorative bricks devoted to dead rockers. I found late, great icons from Junior Wells to Pops Staples, although Link Wray's name was misspelled "Ray."
After rock heaven, you float by a British Invasion area that includes a Carnaby Street Cafe, a 150-foot tall Led Zeppelin roller coaster and a prominently displayed quote from John Lennon: "A working class hero is something to be." Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues collaborated on a slow moving tunnel of love-type ride called "Nights In White Satin -- the Trip."
More than one person has told me this was the first song they had sex to.
The ride isn't that good.
Not far away, a "Born in the U.S.A." area honors American-born rockers and includes a Statue of Liberty holding a Zippo lighter instead of a torch. On the pedestal are the Neil Young lyrics, "Keep on Rockin' in the Free World." The area also features a 10,000-person capacity pavilion that hosted the Eagles on opening night.
Like a great guitar solo, the magic is in the notes you don't play. I liked understated stuff like the Whack-A-Boys Band game, similar to Whac-A-Mole.
A portion of the park was called "The Magic Mushroom Garden." Who would've thought that magic mushrooms would be celebrated in a family amusement park? There's a kids area called "Garage Jam!" where hyper tots blast each other with foam balls in a large multi-level space that looks like a small IKEA store.
One of my favorite things about the park was found in the shadows of the Caribbean-themed Paradise Grill. The walls are adorned with excellent tiki god statues of dead rock stars like George Harrison, Mama Cass Elliot and Joey Ramone.
Just as colorful is the oddball Americana you see when you drive into Hard Rock Park. The Mullets were appearing at a roadhouse called the Boathouse. A street called Fantasy Way leads you by the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament theater, and across the way is Christ United Methodist Church. The church is in a tall, contemporary building that looks like it once was a theater. You sense this all used to be something. Like Billy Joel.
"This property was visualized as a theater destination 15 years ago," said park President and Chief Operating Officer Felix Mussenden during a tour of the grounds. Myrtle Beach entrepreneur George Bishop built music theaters for the likes of country singers Ronnie Milsap and the Gatlin Brothers.
"The vision was a bigger, better Branson," Mussenden said. Bishop died in 1997 before his Branson-by-the-Beach could be fully realized. His son sold off pieces of the property, which is how Hard Rock entered the picture.
"It's a great market," Mussenden continued. "There are 14 million annual visitors [to the 60-mile Myrtle Beach area known as "the Grand Strand"]. This is the last growing market in America for a theme park. There's 89,000 hotel rooms and [7,000] campsites. This is Orlando, Florida, 20 years ago. And Orlando doesn't have the beach."
Right now, Hard Rock Park is an engaging, albeit overpriced trip through rock 'n' roll history. General admission is $50 a person (free for children under 4), which is still cheaper than the average arena rock concert. All rides are free with admission. Food is as expensive as a Cher face-lift. I paid $8.99 for an order of fish and chips. My friend bought me a shot of 1800 at the Whammy Bar, a pseudo biker roadhouse. The libation was served in a tiny plastic shot glass that set her back $10.
On opening day the park was not completely open.
The "Maximum RPM!" sports car/Ferris wheel wasn't running at the time. The "Lost in the '70s" indoor area was not finished and Alice's Restaurant, the Arlo Guthrie-endorsed eatery, was not ready. It has since opened and is the only restaurant in the park with table service. Alice's features a healthy menu created with the folk singer's input and serves dishes such as "Woody's Favorite Penne Pomodoro," tender pasta tossed in homemade tomato sauce and roasted Italian sausage, $14.95. The "City of New Orleans" shrimp creole is $19.95.
Hard Rock Park doesn't have a Hard Rock Cafe. The closest one is about four miles away at the Broadway at the Beach outdoor mall. (Hard Rock Park is its own business; it has a long-term licensing agreement with Hard Rock International.)
The centerpiece of the park is a nine-acre lagoon. A 70-foot tall aluminum, steel and neon replica Les Paul Gibson guitar looks out over the water.
A country music revue on ice takes place daily. The "Cool Country" section includes the "Life in the Fast Lane" roller coaster. The ride maxes out at 31 mph. It's set in an abandoned saw mill as the Eagles' "Life in the Fast Lane" blares over speakers. Shadows of rats scamper across the saw mill before you take off. Joe Walsh -- the only fun Eagle -- rode the coaster before the band's June 2 gig.
"Our concept doesn't have to be the biggest, fastest roller coaster like Six Flags," said Mussenden, who used to run Universal Orlando Resort. "We don't have the money to build something similar to Universal or Disney with the greatest storytelling. Let the music be the background to the park. Music has such an emotional attachment to people. And the park will continue to change as music changes."
Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page consulted on the design of the "Whole Lotta Love" ride, which features Robert Plant screaming, "Woman!!! You need. Loooooove..." during a a 155-foot drop. The band did not want the song edited during the 90-second trip.
Other Hard Rock Park partners include the Moody Blues and the Eagles. Mussenden said Pink Floyd was not interested and the Beatles declined because their camp has plans for a Beatles-themed amusement park.
Dennis Speigel is president of International Theme Park Services, an industry consulting firm based in Cincinnati. He said it will be no walk in the park for the company to achieve its goals.
"These are difficult times even for parks that have been established a long time," Speigel said. "All the parks are suffering from the economic turndown as well as the impact of high oil prices. They have invested $400 million into Hard Rock Park. They were projecting 3 million annually and 30,000-40,000 people a day. They're not hitting anything close to that.
"Look at the Chicago area with Six Flags Great America," he added. "It doesn't do 3 million a year and it's been there since 1976. And Chicago has a bigger tourist base and residence base than Myrtle Beach. They're being quite aggressive."
Hey, it's rock 'n' roll.
Now we'll have to wait and see if a major Myrtle Beach amusement park can shake, rattle and roll.