The following is a holding page until a new Freestyle Music Park guide is written. It comes from the first year of the park's operation when it was Hard Rock Park. The park is no longer the same as this page shows.

Park Guide & Photos By: Brian Andrelczyk (CedarPoint6)
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At $400 million, Hard Rock Park is the biggest investment in Myrtle Beach History. This new for 2008 park features 5 coasters, several flat rides, 3 shows, multiple eateries, entertainment along the path, and occasionally concerts. Rather then being solely about rides, this park is about the experience. The 4 areas--Rock and Roll Heaven, British Invasion, Born in the USA, and Cool Country--are situated around a lake. Every night, the lake and the giant Gibson guitar are host to the Bohemian Rhapsody fireworks, laser, and light display. The staff is very friednly and helps to create a very unique atmosphere mixing music and rides. Although not having the amount of rides of some larger parks, there's quite a lot there for a newly opened park and a lot to see and experience.

Click here to go to Hard Rock Park's Official Website.

Other Content:

Interviews with Hard Rock Park Top Management
Grand Opening Photo Gallery
256 Photos from around the Park
Forum Topic with more Information and Reviews

Park Opening Review by Brian Andrelczyk (CedarPoint6)

Outside of Dubai, it’s rare to see a theme park get built from the ground up. Hard Rock park is a 400 million dollar investment and is the U.S.’s newest theme park. Located right near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the park is hoping to draw some of the over 13 million tourists that visit Myrtle Beach each summer. Hard Rock Park is the world’s first rock and roll themed park and is an affiliate of the Hard Rock restaurant chain. Planning began for the park in 2001 with talks for developing the area around the then unused Ice House Theater . Jon Binkowski, now the park’s Chief Creative Office, owned the Ice House Theater and was looking to develop a small carnival style park around the existing lake. After talks with several people, he was introduced to Steve Goodwin (now the park’s Chief Executive Officer). They worked together to develop the park into what it is today. Divided into the entrance area plus 4 sections with rides, the park surrounds a lake in the center of the site.

Entering through the main gates, guests are greeted with Spanish architecture. On the right, a candy and coffee shop. On the left, an 11,000 square foot gift shop. Passing under a bridge with a mural displaying the creation of rock music, guests stroll down a giant guitar shaped path terminating on a lookout point over the lake. Directly across is the giant Gibson guitar monument, which stands on a base that houses a Gibson guitar dealer. The path from the entrance area leads to Rock and Roll Heaven on the left and Cool Country on the right.



Continuing into Cool Country leads to the first of the park’s rides and restaurants. This area has a Southern U.S. feel with wooden buildings and some vernacular architecture. Rockabilly Barbecue is the largest restaurant in the park and features several different styles of barbecue sauce from regions across the country. The Ice House Theater that started it all is also located in this section. This large building existed before the park was built and currently holds an ice stunt show set to country music songs. All the park’s shows are quite good, although this one was the best in my opinion. The skaters did some excellent tricks and while I’m not a fan of country music in the slightest, it was an enjoyable show. Out in front of the theater is Wilson, a cow statue that interacts with guests through a microphone and can spray water and do a number of funny antics. Eagles: Life in the Fast Lane is the major coaster in this section (see the review below). The ‘evil hands’ gripping the station are a great touch and are really well made. To speed up on load times, no bags are allowed into the stations, although the park provides lockers with the first 2 hours free. These are conveniently located next to the major rides in the park. Next to Eagles is the Heavy Metal Graveyard full of scrap metal artwork and a more peaceful place for people to go for a break.



Leaving Cool Country, guests enter into the Born in the USA section. First up is Fort Binkowski, an interactive place for both kids and adults. For an upcharge there’s a rock-climbing wall and ropes course. There’s also a large wooden play structure for kids located inside the area of the Slippery When Wet coaster. This is the centerpiece of the fort area and a draw for riders and spectators. This whole section, while lacking in true ‘rides’ is full of interactive features designed for kids. Across the path is Shake, Rattle, ‘n’ RollerCoaster, the park’s smallest coaster. Nearby are several small carnival style rides that many people thought were brought in as a last minute bolstering of the ride lineup. In fact, the rides are permanent additions to the park with fencing and theming going up. These rides were not intended to open with the park, but instead will open later in the summer with a theme to be announced soon. While I had my doubts about these rides before visiting the park, they do look quite nice and will likely lead the way to growth in this area in the future. Farther back into the USA section is the Great Meals Diner with only the letters ‘EAT ME’ lit up. Across the path is the main stage for Hard Rock Park where all the major concerts will take place. With seats, the amphitheater can seat 8,000, although once removed, 10,000 can fit into the area, spilling back onto the path and creating an interesting mix of concert and park. In front of the amphitheater, a shortened Statue of Liberty stands, sporting sunglasses and a lighter in the raised hand. Further back into the rear of the section is a brightly themed area with midway games like “Whac a Boy Band” (specially designed for the park). Garage Jam is an indoor play area with thousands of foam balls, many air cannons, and other structures. The walls and floor are made of a material to help absorb sound and reduce noise from the air cannons. The USA section is one of the larger areas in terms of area, although it lacks any larger rides beyond Slippery When Wet. This section seems to be more about the gaming and play areas then rides. The British section, however, will fill that void.



British Invasion is the second section in the back half of the park and has the most rides of any area. The major draw to this section will be Maximum RPM when it opens up. The current target date is June 2nd along with the Grand Opening of the park. In the back of this section, utilizing the old strip mall already existing on the site is Nights in White Satin: The Trip. This unconventional dark ride is very interesting, so be sure to check out the review down below. Exiting the ride leads into a large gift shop and then an indoor hall leading to Alice’s restaurant. The hall has a large blank wall to be signed by anyone and also has lots of record covers along the top. Next to that is the Pinball Wizard arcade, featuring tons of arcade machines, air hockey, and other games. Alice’s restaurant on the far end of the hall and arcade is a sit down eatery with table service for those wanting something a little more upscale then other park food in the park. The regular eatery in the in the British Invasion section is Carnaby Street Café with food like Fish n’ Chips and Steak and Mushroom Pie. This themed restaurant is centrally located in the area with indoor and outdoor seating. There are spaces for live entertainment including dancers. Next to the café is the London Taxi ride, the most intense of the non-coaster rides. Built by Huss, the ride is currently on the lowest setting and still provides a crazy and thrilling ride. Nearby is the All the King’s Horses Carousel, designed for the park. Behind that is the Roadies’ Stunt Show, 15 minutes of acrobatics and effects with a funny storyline to go along with it. The actors were very talented and did some very cool stunts. Other shops and attractions dot the section. The Punk Pit is an obstacle course of inflatables to bounce through. There are two sections, one for younger kids, and one for adults and teens. While not a large attraction, it’s incredibly fun to bounce around in. Continuing out of British Invasion takes guest across a large wooden bridge towards the Rock and Roll Heaven area.



The last of the 4 areas is Rock and Roll Heaven. As Jon Binkowski described it, if heaven for music lovers was a tropical paradise, this would be it. With bright colors and tropical foliage, this section of the park isn’t very large, yet still has a variety of things. Of course, Led Zeppelin: The Ride anchors this section. It’s the only ride in this area. The other major attraction of this section is the Malibu Beach Party show, a slapstick comedy show featuring many different songs. The show is incredibly cheesy and has about as many bad pans as possible shoved into 20 minutes, but I really enjoyed it and would definitely see it again. This show uses an existing section of seating and overlooks the park’s lake. It’s definitely worth a look if you have some extra time during the day. Directly behind the seating area is Reggae River Falls, a large interactive play structure with a big bucket of water continually filling and dumping. Across the path is Taste of Paradise Grill that offers a variety of foods and drinks with a tropical flare. Outdoor seating is conveniently located right across from Reggae River Falls so parents can enjoy a meal or drink will kids go play. And with one exit in and out of the play structure, parents don’t need to worry about kids getting lost. An interesting feature in this section of the park is the music. While all the sections feature theme-specific music, this area takes popular rock songs and covers them in a midi format along with a steel drum rendition to give the full tropical island feel. As strange as it sounds, it actually works. It’s certainly interesting to here something like Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” as a steel drum song. The last major feature of this area is the crafts bazaar, a large open space with room for local craftspeople and artisans to display and sell their work. The content here will likely change everyday so something new will always be happening.



While not in a section of its own, one cannot forget the Bohemian Rhapsody fireworks show. One of the original concepts of the park plan, this fireworks, light, and laser show is synched to the popular song. The show takes up the entire lake area, so there are great viewing spots all around the park. For a daily show, it seemed quite long and was of a very high quality. The coasters still run during the show, if you’re lucky you may catch some of the show from Zeppelin’s lifthill.

All in all, the park really blew away my expectations. The CEO made the point that this park isn’t trying to draw enthusiasts in. It’s not really a coaster park, but is instead something of an experience. A lot of people have complained so far about the lack of rides. I really didn’t see this. Sure, a park can always use another big coaster, but to me, the amount of stuff here seemed to be just right. What I liked about the park was that I didn’t have to rush. I didn’t feel like I had to run around, ride things over and over, and hurry to make sure I got in a full day. Perhaps some of that came down to the fact that the place wasn’t packed, but at the same time I feel that the whole atmosphere of the park was a lot more relaxed. Rather then come at you with “rides, Rides, RIDES!,” it seems that the park looked at more of the experience. Ride some rides, see a show, go do some of the interactive stuff. Interactivity was a really big thing too. All through the park were places to interact with other guests or things in the park. A fountain in front of Led Zeppelin plays Stairway to Heaven when you pass your hands under the water. Step in a phone booth in the British Invasion section and you may just get a call from a rock star. In my eyes, what could potentially be seen as a lack in rides is more then made up for by the little considerations that all come together to make the park great. In terms of atmosphere, I feel this place has some of the best. Of parks that I’ve been too, only Islands of Adventure and Disney can really match this feel and in some ways I’d say Hard Rock excels. It’s not my favorite park, but it’s a place I could easily see myself spending several days without really getting bored. The $50 entrance may be a bit steep for a newly opening park, but with concerts included, it seems like a lot of days the price would be fully worth paying. It’s good to see a park of this scale come to fruition, especially after the 7 years of planning that went into it. And while no one would give me a straight answer as to what’s coming next, I am told there is plenty of room for expansion and the next major attraction and show are already being considered. If you ever have the chance, make sure to check our Hard Rock Park.