Jew Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Just to add to what Elissa said... -I didn't think Led Zeppelin was terrible, but I didn't think it was amazing either. I think it is a great "GP ride," in the sense that they will just be amazed with the stats and the "zOMG, it has music" element. But it definitely rattled a lot more than any other new B&M ever has. The song choice (Whole Lotta Love) is a great song that doesn't fit a roller coaster. The preshow I thought was well done, but just not something take makes sense operationally. -As Elissa said, the park is very small. To the designers credit, the lake in the middle really made it feel bigger than it was. -Agreed on the no shade comment. The indoor air conditioned areas seemed to be the busiest areas in the park. -Ditto on the staffing comment as well. It is clear that they projected much bigger things with how they are staffed/operating. But all the staff they did have there seemed to be really into their jobs. -We also thought the park felt like MGM Grand Adventures...great looking park with not enough to do and no life. -I didn't think the food was horrible. I had the grilled chicken burger at the place across from the water play area and it wasn't amazing, but I've definitely had worse at theme parks. I like that it looked like there were lots of food options available though. -I like the "nice touches." The guitar fountain and the Cow Statue were fun. "Phonehedge" looked cool too. -It doesn't seem like there is lots for kids to do. A roller skater, a couple of generic zamperla kiddy rides, a couple of smaller flats, and what seems like an endless number of play areas. The park definitely needs more kids rides, and could probably use a "signature" kids ride or two. I actually really like the fact their design philosophy was not to build a separate kids area because it breaks up the family, but they definitely need to add more kids stuff to each land. Overall, I see lots of potential for the park. If they adjust their operating plan and add a few more signature attractions (it looks like there is lots of room for expansion) I can see it being a moderately successful park. For a brand new, non Disney or Universal park, it looks REALLY nice. It has a decent collection of "GP" rides (by that I mean rides the GP will probably enjoy, but enthusiasts won't), but it still definitely needs more to do. I would recommend checking it out, but not planning on spending an entire operating day there. There's no way there is enough to do to fill a 10am-1am operating day yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disneyfan1313 Posted June 15, 2008 Author Share Posted June 15, 2008 It is interesting - after reading others comments and looking back through our photos, I think to a certain extent we were caught up in the hype and excitement of the new park. There really is not much to do which is a huge issue, it feels like it is hemorrhaging money which is going to stop/slow any future expansion which it needs to keep alive. I honestly keep coming back to the same thing that first entered my mind when I walked in - what demographic in the area are they trying to capture?! The area seems *very* religious which goes against the hard rock image - most Myrtle Beach tourists seem to be from the south and not international / big city. Time will tell I suppose! Misc Thoughts - Led Zeppelin - I didn't notice the roughness, but to me a pretty pleasant surprise. I really enjoy sit down B&M's so I am sure that had something to do with my enjoyment. The preshow is silly and designed by someone without a thought of how regional theme parks operate. If you have no interest in Led Zeppelin the pre show is borderline painful and if you want to have multiple rides....groan. The capacity issues that it will cause as well are huge, unless the preshow and load areas are working in sync your either going to be holding trains or starving load, neither of which is good. I would bet within a year the preshow is shortened, you are given an option to watch or not or the doors are just left open. Food - The food was of "six flags quality", but the prices were a bit silly. Having food and drinks priced higher than universal / six flags, etc will just cause people to leave the park. I guess they are relying on annual passholders getting a discount for most of their volume. Nights in White Satin - I like this ride because it is insane it ever got built. It appeals to such a small spectrum of the world and is insanely high on the kitsch factor. It's unique and thats why I enjoyed it so much. Staff - The park was horribly overstaffed, but also seemed to be of two camps - Really great levels of service or laughably bad "I'm emo and ignoring you on purpose". They need to trim a little and level out the quality of their staff. Hard Rock Cafe has shown there is a way to be different and have piercings but still provide quality service. Just some thoughts... Joe - Turner Field was the worst MLB ballpark experience I have ever had. We literally got yelled at by everyone from the parking to food, got missinformation or "I don't know" from everyone we asked a question of, and then got separated as we left because they decided to close off the main exit before everyone had left. Transcript of Conversation - Me - "My wife is in the big gift shop at the main entrance" Security - "Its closed - she ain't in there" Me - "I just left her there 3 minutes ago - the store says its open 1 hour after the game and its only been 30 minutes" Security - "She ain't in there" Me - "Look - I can see her - shes waving from inside - see her blonde hair" Security - "If you go down there i'm calling the police" Me - Sigh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParkTrips Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 haha, awesome. I've had a lot of mediocre experiences, but never really bad. I hate their traffic control. The ballpark itself pretty mediocre too considering all the great parks built recently, but I guess when baseball wasn't the reason for building that's what we get. oh well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swimace Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 That sucks that Led Zeppelin is so rough! I guess it's a good thing that the park has room for expansion, because it sounds like it really needs it. I love Little Five Points, it's so different from what you would usually expect to find in Atlanta. Were you going to The Variety Playhouse? That place is awesome. Yup, It was before a Vampire weekend concert at the Variety Playhouse. I have seen two shows there and Its honestly my favorite concert venue. Its so small and so narrow that no matter where you are you're extremely close to the stage. When it comes to Atlanta I think I'm more of a Masquerade fan because that venue gets a little crazier. Variety Playhouse is really nice though for smaller indie shows that are more chill, and the place is set up really well so that you can always get a good view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
no_brain_er Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 I went the Wednesday before you guys and I have to agree about the dark ride. It was seriously one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It totally made my day. (Plus, my dad loves the Moody Blues so we had to go on at least twice.) However, I have to disagree with you about Life In The Fast Lane. I rode in the front row and it was actually really fun! It was smooth, fast and just a good ride. Hmm... Now that I think about it, I should post my pictures! But yeah, Hard Rock Park is very nice and it's worth at least one visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kraken613 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 To bad LZ isnt that good. I was looking forward to it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Its good to see you guys get away from Florida for a little while! Thanks for posting this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackskellington101 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Awesome TR Reed and Stacy. I will admit, I've bought into the hype for Hard Rock Park as well and probably will sing the song of it's potential until I either visit and have a meh time or it dies a slow and painful death, both of which sound possible from the opinions given throughout the thread. I think the park has so much promise and it's issue may be just a minimal install base along with being in the wrong place. I could be way off base here but I would think if this park would have been built down here in the Orlando area, there might be some different tunes sung. The benefit of clustering would help this park out, I would think, but it's a little late for that. I think if they get the operations in order, expand some more, possibly get themselves a proper water ride or two (Yellow Submarine anyone?), it might be getting on the up and up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mxman005 Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Will be in the park in exactly one week. Hopefully I'll have TR whenever I get back. With RPM too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorwingel Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 This has to be one of the best PTR's ever. It's just way too funny. Even though the park looks so-so, it's great that you guys seemed to still have a lot of fun. I really want to go on the dark ride! That looks like a one of a kind experience. Weird, but completely unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coaster Palooza Posted June 18, 2008 Share Posted June 18, 2008 Thanks for the TR Reed & Stacey! I appreciate everything you and R&E let us know about this park. With the airline tickets rising and gas prices soaring, this really helps us to plan on if we would go here or not. This year isn't in the cards. Maybe we'll go next year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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