Blog at Myrtle Beach

Hard Rock Park, which opened this year in Myrtle Beach, recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. While the overall economic problems certainly had an impact, court papers filed by Hard Rock Park said that its “inability to engage in effective out-of-market advertising” was one of the major reasons why the Park failed. They plan on developing a marketing campaign that will “position them properly for the reopening,” but its unclear if the owners will be able to raise the $10 million to $40 million needed to mount that type of campaign.

Even before the park opened, local businessmen were concerned over the lack of advertising. Last November, the park’s head of marketing at the time, Kerry Graves, said that they would rely on media buzz to create awareness rather than creating a national marketing campaign. While the park did get some mentions at the national level, it wasn’t considered enough by marketing experts.

“Early on, we sensed there would not be enough out-of-market advertising,” Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce president Brad Dean said. “We encouraged them repeatedly - probably to the point of annoying them - to consider more. … They needed to persuade visitors to visit the park even before they had packed their bags.”

While the owners of the Hard Rock Park are trying to get everything together for a spring 2009 reopeing, there’s alot of skepticism as whether that can happen. In addition to the lack of advertising, there were alot of other issues, such as the high ticket prices, which were out of line with the market, according to theme park experts. Hard Rock Park charged $50 for everyone over 3 years old, with an additional $10 fee for parking. Also, while the owners were banking on strong attendence from local residents, there was no discount for the locals.

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My family and I did go to Hard Rock Park this summer (late August) when we went down to Myrtle Beach for our annual vacation. While we enjoyed it, I remember being really irritated at the surprise $10 parking fee, which was in addition to the $150 that we spent on tickets.

The new Hard Rock Park is opening this year in Myrtle Beach and CNN has a nice writeup on the new theme park.  Hard Rock Park represents the first move by Hard Rock (of Hard Rock Cafe’s) into amusement parks. It’s the first major new amusement park built in the US in about a decade.

A new Myrtle Beach company is planning to offer direct flights to Myrtle Beach from Pittsburg, PA, Newark, NJ, and Niagara Falls, NY.  The company - Myrtle Beach Direct Air and Tours, is finalizing plans to start flights beginning March 1st and running until November 1st.

The company will also offer package deals - including golf, hotel and entertainment packages.

You can read the full article in the Myrtle Beach Sun Times here.

The Myrtle Beach Pavilion is right in the center of Myrtle Beach - its been there for almost a century.  But after this summer,th Pavilion won’t be there any longer.

“There are not enough people loving it economically,” said Tim Ruedy, vice president of operations for the sports, entertainment and recreation division of Burroughs & Chapin Co., which operates the Pavilion. “All things have to be supported, and for the last number of years, it just hasn’t been financially viable.”

Many visitors are getting older and likely don’t want a spin on a roller coaster. To younger children, used to video games and computers, the rides seem quaint, he said.

Cnn.com provides a nice memorial to the Myrtle Beach Pavilion.

If you’re looking for a bunch of South Carolina and Myrtle Beach restaurant reviews, then check out myrtlebeachscrestaurants.com.
Reviews by location or type of food, along with directions and maps.

I mentioned a bit earlier something about the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and how much fun it was to see them.  I found a nice article today in Thestate.com that describes all the things that go on at a Pelicans’ game.

“To be as successful as the Myrtle Beach Pelicans have been requires catering to fans who don’t call South Carolina home.”

Reports out of Myrtle Beach today that they did indeed break the world’s record in an attempt to create the worlds tallest sandcastle. It was completed on Thursday, despite an attempt by vandals over the weekend to destroy it. The final tally? 32.5 ft, breaking the old record of 29.25 ft. It took six professional sand castle builders from Team Sandtastic of Florida eight days to build the sandcastle, which contains 130 dump truck loads of sand.

Myrtle Beach is right smack in the middle of its annual Sun Fun Festivalhttp://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/myrtlebeachonline/entertainment/events/14700166.htm?source=rss&channel=myrtlebeachonline_events, which includes an attempt to build the world’s tallest sand castle

Myrtle Beach Has More Spirit! Spirit Adds Non-Stop Service to Boston
Friday April 28, 5:10 am ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–April 28, 2006–Spirit Airlines announces new service from Myrtle Beach to Boston’s Logan International Airport. Service starts August 15, 2006.

“We’re ecstatic to give Myrtle Beach more Spirit!” said Barry Biffle, Chief Marketing Officer of Spirit Airlines. “Area customers have been asking for more Spirit service from Myrtle Beach and we’re delighted to offer Boston as our next destination. Boston is a perfect getaway for leisure and business travelers alike. This service will be just in time for leaf-peepers.”
Full article here

Nice article on golfing at Myrtle Beach

“Myrtle Beach: heavy is the head that wears the crown, but the king still has power to lure traveling golfers
Myrtle Beach is the self-proclaimed golf capital of the world and it has some ammunition to back up its braggadocio.”