oakislander

And by "exciting," you mean "hilarious," correct? good one!

They can call them what they want, but they are not going to make this park any more popular. The park was pretty much deserted all of last year. If they think saying they are going to be more family friendly and to turn this place around they are going to add 4 kiddie rides I think they are wrong. I agree its a start but not as big a deal as they are making it. From what I understand other than changing some names and changing the shows these 4 rides were the big improvements they were banking on to make this park a success. Its going to be exciting to see what really happens.

I agree they needed more to attract families, but these rides are really just to keep very young kids busy. I don't consider them family attractions. I don't think families that have only very young kids are going to spend the money to come to FMP just because they have added these few rides. I still feel what they have done so far will not change attendance in any way. It was just a necessary addition so families that are made up of various aged kids will have something for the youngest to do. The older kids are still not going to be that thrilled with this park.

Personally I don't really get all the excitement over a few kiddy rides. While I think these areas are necessary, do they really bring people into the park? I would think they'd be trying to make the park more appealing to older kids. They are the ones who are going to bug the piss out of their parents to go to the park if they think it will be fun. I don't see that they have done anything to make the park more attractive to this group. I hope the long-term plans are to really add to this park. Hopefully the new owners are financially strong enough to survive a very weak first year instead of going belly up like the previous owners did.

I agree with you. I think the owners were thinking just like you when they set the original admission price. Everyone that was complaining about the price kept comparing it to other theme parks but never mentioned that HRP was comparably priced to other attractions in the Myrtle Beach area. I think the parking fee was a mistake on their part. If they thought that the entry fee was comparable to other MB attractions they should have noticed that they all provided free parking. I think the damage this did was through word of mouth. The locals trashed this park any time they could and used any thing they could think of to make it sound terrible, including the fact that you had to pay for parking. Hopefully today we'll see what the future holds for the new park. I hope its good news.

all that needs to happen to make it an all day attraction is a few more quality attractions and shows and people in the park. I think larger crowds would really change this park. The biggest complaint you hear is that there was not enough to do. When you can do everything in the park in under a few hours it would seem that way, but it was because you never had to wait for anything. If the crowds come that will require you to spend more time there and give the perception of more entertainment for your money.

We had season passes and very rarely went during the day, but the times we did it was a ghost town. The park is going to need a major makeover to make it a viable daytime attraction.

Hopefully the new owners have learned from the mistakes of the past and will make this park work. I think we will start to see how well they "get it" this week as they unveil what they have accomplished so far.

looks like there will be a media day this wednesday and maybe a early soft opening according to this article. http://thesunnews.typepad.com/tourism/2009/04/freestyle-music-park-to-unveil-a-section-of-the-park.html

Since I live close to Myrtle Beach I have followed the Hard Rock Park saga from the very beginning and of course bought season passes and visited many times before it bit the dust. It was easy to foresee after the first month or so that they would not make it. With a well publicized ton of debt and the park deserted they did not have a prayer. My belief is that they messed up by not understanding the way Myrtle Beach visitors spend their vacation. They come here for the beach first and foremost. So most days they spend their time on the beach. After they get sunburned they spend other days at indoor attractions or at least where it is cool and out of the sun. Hard Rock missed the boat on this completely. The place is smoldering hot and humid during the day and they are going to have to figure a way to add some indoor attractions or at least get some shade going or they will never have many daytime visitors. Its the evenings when people are looking for something to do with their families. Hard Rock was a great place to spend an evening out. The problem was that it was too expensive for a family to spend an evening there especially with the additional parking cost and the high food prices. I think if they put together a package that included dinner and maybe even free drink refills at a reasonable price they might get these tourists to come and visit. All the locals need is reasonably priced admission and season ticket prices and they to will come. Personally I hope it works out and I can't wait to return.