Hard Rock Park, Unplugged

05-10-08

Hard Rock Park, Unplugged
Ryan Sickles

(Myrtle Beach, SC) – Tanned skin in bikinis, grumbling Harley’s, sandy shorelines, and now… rock and roll?

That’s exactly what Jon Binkowski had in mind at the conception of Hard Rock Park in 2001. The 55-acre theme park is built on the tract of land that was previously occupied by the Waccamaw Factory Shoppes outlet.


One doesn’t have to travel very far to see the economy around the theme park has changed within the last year – property value has virtually doubled, renovations and new additions are being expanded at quite a rate. Hard Rock Park CEO Steven Goodwin states they employ around 2300 workers - a number he says is still growing.

In a world of billion dollar amusement park enterprises, one has to ask what $400 million dollars delivers. Well, surprisingly quite a lot. Goodwin says, “we hit the economy at the right time.” With a design team whose resumes parallel Disney Imagineers, Chief Creative Officer Jon Binkowski describes Hard Rock Park as a place for the family to explore together. One of Binkowski’s team’s accomplishments was creating these subtle “Hard Rock Discoveries” throughout the park’s environment. In one instance, a bathroom mirror has a timed delay to give the illusion of psychoactive alteration. Another are projection images displayed throughout the park, that when touched, they become animated and adapted to touch.

Park guests can explore six themed land areas that surround the nine acre lagoon - used to house both daytime displays and the Bohemian Rhapsody nighttime show. Inside each section, the park aimed to bring at least one ‘buffeteria’, walk-up restaurant, and cart for dining options, says Binkowski. Food quality is on par or exceeds the best in the business. With 350 speakers around the park there remains no shortage of loud rock blaring to visitors. Binkowski says the objective was to deliver adult and youth appeal within each section of the park, so the family could explore together and not have to separate from one another like other venues.

When asked about the possibilities of a Hard Rock Hotel, Goodwin stated it was in talks as part of a larger expansion. He went on to say there are no plans to move the existing Myrtle Beach Hard Rock Café, which “is a successful landmark” as he calls it.

The iconic 70-foot Gibson guitar towers on top of a 15-foot Gibson Shop, almost dwarfing all attractions but one: Led Zeppelin - The Ride. The attraction pushes-the-envelop of the park’s FAA regulated height, by standing just under the limit at 155-feet. Binkowski says the band requested the park play all of the attraction’s theme song. The solution was to utilize a preshow room…five of them to be exact, where guests queue up. Inside preshow rooms park patrons find themselves surrounded by crowds in the middle of a Led Zeppelin concert for a five minute surround sound experience before being loaded onto the trains. The Bolliger & Mabillard attraction loads and unloads guests in the middle of the Zeppelin blimp. Park guests and roller coaster enthusiasts don’t need to worry about the theme park’s height limit, though. Goodwin says, “we don’t think height makes a good roller coaster.”



If coasters are not your thing, then you can enjoy the theme park’s 50 different rides and attractions, including four other roller coasters and five shows. Children can enjoy numerous play structures and rides throughout the park. They can protect their fort by launching foam balls in air powered cannons back at the enemy in Garage Jam!, summit the rock wall at Kids Rock! State Park, or go for a ride at Muddin’ Monster Race.

Perhaps the most mesmerizing attraction is Moody Blues Nights in White Satin The Trip. After speaking with contractor Sally Corporation’s John Wood last fall, this was one of my most expected attractions. This 3-D dark ride takes guests along a psychedelic journey that words can neither illustrate nor explain. Moody Blues cut a special version of the song to fit the attraction’s requirements. The ride was constructed in the pre-existing building, which General Manager Dale Kaetzel says currently houses employee offices, cold food storage, shops, and has enough room that Kaetzel says they can even add another dark ride if they wanted to.

With construction still ongoing throughout the park, Binkowski says the park will make another announcement within the next month for a new kids section. A Halloween event and other seasonal events are also on the future agenda for Halloween Haunt fanatics.

The theme park will operate on a seasonal schedule. One that Goodwin says, “it gives time to clean up the park, renovate, and fix so it’s better for visitors in summer.” Kaetzel mentioned that the park only has estimates on capacity right now, but they predicted around 15,000 to 20,000 visitors on a busy summer day would equate to about $30,000 to $35,000 profit after operation costs of a full day. When asked about how many yearly visitors Goodwin expected to have in the future he mentioned, “I don’t have room for seven million guests.” Though Goodwin says, “hopefully never,” would construction cease and Hard Rock Park remain stagnant. “My goal is for families to come spend $600 on a great vacation, not go to Disney and spend thousands.”

Hard Rock Park is a theme park that chases not just a theme of kickass rock and roll, but a theme of perfection. Does $400 million deliver what you expect? No. It delivers more. But don’t go running expecting a Hard Rock Park near you just yet. Hard Rock Park was the by product of strategic envision, Goodwin says, “it couldn’t be done again today.”


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Myrtle Beach’s Bike Week begins this weekend, which is hosted at Hard Rock Park. The festival runs through May 18th and includes performances by Kid Rock, Rev Run, The Charlie Daniels Band, .38 Special and Shooter Jennings. The park's Grand Opening is June 2nd. For more info visit www.hardrockpark.com or call 843-236-ROCK.