Honest Review of the new Hard Rock Park
July 22nd, 2008 CharlieWhile on vacation in Myrtle Beach, I decided to take my two sons to the new Hard Rock Park. Since the park is new, there was very little information available on it, so I’m giving you my honest review. I did go to HardRockPark.com and looked at attractions and directions. Even there, I felt the info was limited.
This review is being written by someone that loves thrill rides. We have been to many of the major parks in recent years, (Disney World, several Six Flags, Universal Studios and Busch Gardens). My sons and I go for the rides and rarely go to the shows.
I knew right away, this trip was going to be a little different. The park is located in between two churches, and next to Medieval Times (a dinner show). From different areas in the park, you can see the Beach Church and other things outside the park, so you don’t get that “immersed” feeling.
We arrived at 5 PM on a Tuesday, there were very few cars in the parking lot. We paid the $10 for parking and were directed to our parking place by at least 6 people. After paying the $45 per person admission fee, we entered a very clean plaza and was very impressed with the cleanliness of the park. I did not notice even one thing out of place during the visit. Also every employee (crew member) was very friendly and helpful.
Those were the highlights of the trip. The park itself is some what small. It is currently a 55 acre park and compared to an average Six Flags at over 200 acres, Hard Rock Park seems small.
The park has 50 rides and attractions. The showcase ride, is a coaster called Led Zeppelin - The Ride. This coaster sends you 15 stories high, 65 mph, and loops 6 times - all set to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” We went straight to this ride to kick-off the evening. There was no wait and walked straight into the “pre-show.’ It was about a 5 minute video on the band and then we were able to get on the ride. The ride itself was better than average. I would compare it to The Incredible Hulk at Universal Studios in Orlando. We did ride the ride a second time and my two teenagers were terriblely bored having to watch the video again before we rode again. We might have tried a third time later in the evening, but the video kept us away.
The next thrill ride was a very tame one called “Maximum RPM!” The best part of this ride was karaoke in the que. Several participants did a very good job, but my ears are still ringing from one guy’s attempt.
We then ate at Great Meals Diner (a 50s style dinner) where a quartet was performing acapella. One of the members of the group looked and sounded just like Sanjaya Malakar from American Idol.
It did not take long to make the loop after that. We hopped on a 3D dark ride, the Swings and another tame coaster. We made a second loop and tried the Arcade and Garage Jam which was a lot of fun. After that my sons were ready to go and I looked at my watch and it was not even 8PM. The park stays open until 11PM on that night with fireworks at 10PM, but I could not convince them to stay for that.
So if you are looking for a bunch of thrill rides this park may not be for you. What was surprising, there were plenty kiddie rides and attractions. Lots and lots of kiddie rides. Most notable: Reggae River Falls, a playground/water ride tribute to Bob Marley; London Cab Ride, a whirligig ride in a classic English automobile replica; Garage Jam!, a multilevel playground complete with hundreds of foam balls among other things. For families with young kids, let them bring their swim suit. There are several places to get wet.
We did not attend any of the shows, but there was plenty of great music around the park. I’m told that when it gets dark, the atmosphere changes and you get a “City Walk” type feel. Might be a good place to take a date, but a little pricey for that.
GRADES
Cleanliness: A+
Staff: A+
Thrill Rides: B-
Enough Rides: C
Value IMO: B-
I’ll keep you posted on the rest of the Myrtle Beach trip if anything warrants.
