[coasterbruh]

Wanted to know if you guys new some interesting tid bits about some of the attractions in the pavilion and family kingdom. I know one of you will have something to contribute . I decided to do an chapter about the parks at the beach and im still in deliberation on how im gonna actually do this video. Im thinking about showcasing just the parks but since I will be staying at broadway at the beach I was thinking about doing it where I showcase the greater myrtle beach w/ the highlights being the parks.

Any Suggestions?

[fmuman85]

I live only 50 min. from the beach so I can tell you many things about the parks.

As of right now, it seems, there are three parks where there are roller coasters:

Myrtle Beach Pavilion
Family Kingdom
North Myrtle Beach Grand Prix

MB Pavilion: They have a CCI woodie named Hurricane. I dont particularly care for the coaster, the first drop is nice, steep, and large, but the rest of the ride is too rough for me and I experienced no airtime. The Wild Mouse is a fun wild mouse, the first Arrow wild mouse in fact, and there are no trim brakes.

Family Kingdom: They have the Swamp Fox wooden coaster, its been around a long time. Its a fun ride that gives you a decent amount of airtime. They also have a drop tower there but its really short and not very fun.

North Myrtle Beach Grand Prix: They have a Crazy Mouse, the only one at the beach. It doesnt spin as you go down any drops but its still a fun ride.

Each park has its fair share of flat rides, but the Pavilion has the most. Its the only park that seems like a true amusement park compared to Family Kingdom and NMB Grand Prix.

If I were you, I would focus videos on The Hurricane and The Swamp Fox.

I hope this has helped!

[Jay]

In my visit to Myrtle last year I really enjoyed both the woodies. I don't think Hurricane is near as bad in the front seat of any car, due to those damn Gerslaughter trains. I only noticed one really bad pothole, after the second drop, and even that wasn't bad enough to keep me from riding it 13 times over the course of the day. Both helixes are crazy intense, almost rivaling that of Legend at Holiday World.

Swamp Fox is a completely different animal. It's not nearly as intense as Hurricane, but it is super-smooth with tons of floater on nearly every hill.

Mad Mouse at the Pavilion isn't near as good as Crazy Mouse at the Grand Prix, but of course the spinning always adds some extra intensity over the rough, overbraked Arrow.

Also don't forget about the trio of kiddie coasters at Myrtle. Little Eagle at the Pavilion is one of the more unique kiddies I've ever ridden. It's pretty fun and even has a tunnel! Speedy Gonzalez at Family Kingdom and Wacky Worm at Grand Prix are the same ride, though I was only able to ride the Wacky Worm.

Other rides not to be missed is the Haunted Hotel at the Pavilion, and the Great Pistolero Round Up, as well as the Ferris Wheel at Family Kingdom. The first two are excellent dark rides, while the last gives an unforgettable view of most of the Myrtle area.

The 3 parks have a wide assortment of flats but none are 'must rides' but if you see something you like, go ahead and hop on, nothing should have too large a wait.

I doubt you'll be traveling on I-95 since you live in Columbia, but if you want to see one of the most bizarre tourist traps ever, head to South of the Border on the NC/SC line.. I can't even describe it...

I hope this helps and that you enjoy your trip.. Myrtle is a huge tourist destination, and can spend a ton of money there in no time at all... just try to be careful, and don't get suckered into doing something stupid!

[KenB]

I'd heard Hurricane ran a little better last year - in 2003 it was *horrible*. I rode it in April that year, and really had to laugh at the people at Coastermania a few months later who were bitching about Mean Streak and SOB being rough. Combined they weren't half as bad as Hurricane.

Swamp Fox is a great little ride, that I can best describe as a "big Scooby Doo". I got some good to very good air on it in the back seat. I only rode it in the afternoon so can't confirm, but I've heard that night rides can have some tremendous airtime. The view at the top of the lift is just incredible.

Pavilion has a nice flume as well, and some almost-as-wild-as-the-fair flats. Oh, and something NOT to be missed is their rapids ride - it's positively insane! Most of the outside portion is right next to the sidewalk so you can see people walking around outside the park, and the rest is in tunnels with waterfalls. These are much longer than the one on Rip Roarin' Rapids. The tub will spin 100 times more than on RRR as well, and you will either get soaking wet or completely drenched. Oh, and for photo / video ops it's placement next to the sidewalk lets you get real close for some good shots. Hurricane is next to a sidestreet so you can get some good shots of it from outside the park as well.

The haunted hotel is pretty well done, and I think they've added a Sally dark ride too. One negative is they apparently took out their Gravitron. They have / had one at Family Kingdom too which was about as good a ride, but the Pavilion one was incredibly fun because they'd really pump up the tunes in that one. Something I'll never forget is our ride op / DJ "gettin jiggy wit it" while playing the Will Smith tune of the same name at a rather high volume with a full light show - all while spinning us around at 4.5 G's. You just don't get that kinda show at a corporate theme park - well not since Dee got fired from our flyer crew anyways lol.

Family Kingdom is much more laid back. It does have many of the same flat rides as MBP, and the lines will almost definitely be shorter. Their Sally dark rides is quite good, if not quite up to the Scooby Doo level. Ditto the suggestion for the Ferris wheel. One word of warning - the "drop ride" is incredibly lame, so don't get your hopes up. It looks like it should be decent, but the launch up is weak and it doesn't do anything on the way down except creep slowly back down the tower. There's more to the park than it looks like, and it has a certain charm to it.

KenB

[LocoDriver]

Just got back from the beach. I was at the Pavilion last night. I rode the Hurricane in the very back seat. Good speed, but still a little rough. On a scale from 1-10, 10 being roughest I would put it at an 8. Just a little rougher than the Hurler.

Wild mouse was a decent ride, but I still prefer Ricochet.

One more note about the Hurricane. They only had one train running (Blue train) with pretty long lines on a Saturday night. PC had two trains running on Hurler Monday afternoon with no wait. Good Job Carowinds!

[bgwfreak]

The only interesting thing I know is that one of Kenney Chesney's recent videos was filmed at the Pavilion and Family Kingdom.

Hurricane has great air time last year, but the helixes are by far the worst I've ever seen. They aren't even banked!!! :rolleyes: What were they thinking?

If they'd remove the helixes it'd be a perfect ride. Or at least last year in the front it was.

[montumax]

If they'd remove the helixes it'd be a perfect ride. Or at least last year in the front it was.

The original design didn't have the one at the road. It was more of a traditional turn around.

[Jonathan]

The helixes are best parts of the ride, in my opinion. And, of course, that third hill that dives to the right. I really like the Hurricane, despite the fact that it beats the living crap out of you. Or maybe that is the reason why I like it?

[swampfox43]

Wanted to know if you guys new some interesting tid bits about some of the attractions in the pavilion and family kingdom. 

Not really sure what kind of tidbits you want but here are a few.

Swamp Fox opened on June 25th, 1966 using 55 miles of yellow pine, 300 yards of concrete and 20 tons of steel, cost $300, 000 in material & labor and took 4 months to build. B)
One of the Swamp Fox trains came from the <a href='http://rcdb.com/ig1954.htm?picture=1' target='_blank'>Shooting Star</a> coaster that ran at Lakeside Park in Salem, VA. which closed in 1986.


Pavilion opened in 1948 (according to a t-shirt I have)
Mad Mouse was Arrow's first mouse coaster when it opened in 1998.
Hurricane officially opened on May 6, 2000.
It was the Myrtle Beach areas 4th wooden coaster to be built since 1951.
This was the Hurricane's original logo design, but it ended up not being used.

The first helix is 594º and the second helix is 720º.


Hope this helps a little.

[coasterbruh]

Just wanted to thank you guys for all the help on the info! Unfortunetly I wasnt about to use the family kingdom info because the park virtually closed because of the rain! :angry: But it was still a pretty good trip! Even gave the site a "shout out" in the closing!

Next stop....Japan!!

[montumax]

You could have gone and filmed where "These United States" use to be!

[coasterbruh]

^ where is that...or do i wanna know

But I am looking for ideas for next years international trip...

[swampfox43]

where is that...or do i wanna know

There's a Kroger there now. It was in the Ocean Drive area right on Hwy 17.

I put my aerial view of the coaster with a map to give you a better idea.

<a href='http://members.aol.com/wecorhsc/Nmyrtle_sunfun.jpg' target='_blank'>Coaster & Map</a>

[bgwfreak]

Wow I've only seen that one pic on rcdb (which is a postcard I believe).

That coaster was tiny.

Although it looks like it might have had some good little pops of airtime juding from the small hills.

[swampfox43]

Wow I've only seen that one pic on rcdb (which is a postcard I believe).

That coaster was tiny.

Although it looks like it might have had some good little pops of airtime juding from the small hills.

No, I took that picture back in 1985 from a friends airplane. The coaster was smallish but looked bigger from the ground. It did some a few good pops of air.