Maximum RPM! at HRP

I don't see how this is any different then going to Florida and spending a day at Busch Gardens, it's not as if it is a resort park like those at Orlando. Spending a day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg on a family vacation to Virginia is another fair comparison.

Agreed, this is a major theme park and assuming that all business is going to be secondary to the beach and other Myrtle Beach attractions is simply foolish. A major park like this with the Hard Rock brand is going to draw in plenty of people who will have otherwise never gone to Myrtle Beach.

I think the park's location will only help but if HRP was in the middle of a field with nothing for 30 miles all around I'd still be confident in its success. They're going to be able to pull from markets that are already affected by Carowinds, BGE, Kings Dominion, SFOG, etc. But the location at Myrtle Beach makes the park's reach absolutely massive. Way beyond what a typical regional park would have.

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CoasterDaddy said:
Just had to chime in and say, What was my original question? Actually I hear that Maximum RPM! has been seen in motion yet not sure if any cars are running on it.

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Here is a video of the wheel in motion from http://www.discovermyrtlebeach.com/video/H...RPM1stWheel.wmv

If that link doesn't work, go to:
http://discovermyrtlebeachforum.com/index.php?showtopic=1469&pid=3932&st=0&#entry3932
scroll to post #3.

5-8-08. No signs of running the cars yet.

Also, the park has once again changed their May operating times for May.
The new times are:
May 09 10am to 10pm
MAY 10 10am to 10pm
MAY 11 10am to 10pm
MAY 12 10am to 10pm
MAY 18 10am to 7pm
MAY 24 10am to 10pm
MAY 25 10am to 10pm *** Edited 5/9/2008 9:39:40 PM UTC by swampfoxer***

Personally, what the park has to offer doesnt wow me, so maybe I am biased.

Also, I somewhat agree with Matt. I do think the first year or two the park will draw people to MB that otherwise wouldn't be there, but I am having trouble seeing the park draw these people back.

On the flip side, maybe I am totally wrong and people will actually come to love MB, and return year after year for both beach and park?

Time will tell I guess.

..and that's kinda what I was reading from the beginning. The park itself doesn't compel you, personally, which would explain why you'd expect something as backwards as a discount when you most desire to go. Just sayin'. *** Edited 5/9/2008 9:51:03 PM UTC by matt.***

OK, but back to my point

This park will run a family of 4 over $200 with admission, games and food.

The former pavilion and Family Kingdom feature free admission (great for families where the parents dont ride much)and the freedom to come and go as you please, and convient downtown location within walking distance to resturaunts, so you are not as likely to get sucked into park food prices.

Will families have this kinda money to blow on the park?

Like I said before, I am going to MB this year. None of the coasters there are must do's, and for me and my wife it would cost over $100. I am not going.

I know its not comparing apples to apples, but we can both get wrist bands at Family Kingdom for under $50, and I know I can have a good time there even without the big coasters.

Just to put the cost into perspective, a room at the Crown reef, a bueatiful all ocean front place with many pools, hot tubs and a 575' lazy river 9all ocen front) is only costin us $79/night! To me, MB has always been about great value. I worry if others look at it like I do.

Time will tell though. And I think the way we will see if I am right is if they do add a discount late admission. If they did, i would consider going then. *** Edited 5/9/2008 10:01:16 PM UTC by Gary B***

Ok, but here's my point I was making earlier:

It's just a park that happens to be at Myrtle Beach. The stuff nearby gives the park automatic cache and a huge base market to work with. You're acting as if the only people going to the park are beach goers and golfers, an incidental part of the vacation much like the Pavilion was.

HRP is a completely different beast. This isn't a park that people are going to just happen to go to just because it's there. It's working to be a well defined, major attraction in and of itself. People are going to travel from all over just to go to the park. A good park branded "Hard Rock" doesn't need Myrtle Beach, just like plenty of other parks around the country don't need Myrtle Beach. *** Edited 5/9/2008 10:13:25 PM UTC by matt.***

And that I can agree with. I just hope it works. Maybe with future attractions it will grab me. Just right now it doesnt have that draw to me.

I am anxious to see trip reports. I hope I am dead wrong. I hope it becomes huge. How great would that be for me being that I go there every year.

Right now I worry that too many people are looking at the Hard Rock name and not at the place itself.

Though I will admit, I have been guilty of paying $12 there for a cheesburger before!

Like I said before, how is this park any different then BGT?

People don't go to the Tampa Area to go to BGT, but a lot of them spend a day there when they go. This is throwing any effect of the Orlando parks out the window and just standing on BGT alone.

I am curious as to how far away the park is advertising by TV ads? Here in Charlotte, they are advertising pretty heavily on TV. Of course, Charlotte is only a 3 hour drive but I wonder if Atlanta, or even cities beyond are getting TV ads.

I read that MB's "bike week" (which happens to be this week) is actually being held at HRP this year. That ought to be something.

HRP chose MB because it is already a major tourist destination for millions. They are steep in tradition at MB. They have had Canadian week for decades and many other large events that have been going on for decades. The HRP is simply another thing to do while people are already there. Sure, many people will make the special trip just for the park but hey, you're at the beach so that's a plus in itself.

And don't forget the Swamp Fox (celebrating 42 years this year!!). One of the few seaside woodies still in existance and from what I have been told, will be for many more.

Sorry to stray off topic......

I'll be going to the park in September, but I was already planning a MB trip with my family, so I can't say for sure that i would have made a special trip all the way from Southern West Virginia.

The park really doesn't seem to have a spectacular assortment of attractions. It's the Hard Rock brand that attracts me. That and the fact that the park seems very well themed, like IOA.

I can't figure out how MRPM works. I understand that the cars are "ferris wheeled" up to the first drop, but how on earth does the car get fixed onto the track from the wheel to the rest of the ride? Does the wheel stop moving so the track can align?

Other than Led Zeppelin, the coasters look rather tame. I'm looking at the experience of being in a rock environment for the whole day. That sounds very exciting to me.

People don't go to the Tampa Area to go to BGT...

Huh? Why else do people travel to Tampa?

He worded it funny but I believe that's basically what he meant. People travel from all over to go to BGT but it's not exactly because of all the other wonderful things to do in Tampa.

Just like HRP isn't going to be relying completely on residual traffic from Myrtle Beach attractions.

quick question. Matt, have you ever been to MB?

Yes.

alright. I have never been to tampa, so I can't input on that.

I think its a toss up. Will normal MB vacationers visit HRP. I don't think many will.

Will HRP draw people in who would otherwise not visit MB? Ofcourse I think they will, but being that its the first HRP, will have such a strong name like we think?

On even another side, I guess, though, it might draw people in for the park, and they might love the rest of the area also, making them repeat customers.

It will be neat in the comming months and years to see how attendance does. See if they draw the crowds, and see if they ever do have the need to add an evening plan.

For now, all we can do is speculate. I hope we can have a great discussion like this at the end of the season and find out from people who have been there how it went.

How many is "not many" though? Some quick Googling says that about 10 million people a year visit Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas every year. If they capture just 5% of that, that's a base attendance of 500,000 just from residual Myrtle Beach traffic alone.

UGH! There you go again, Matt...bringing logic into the discussion. You're such a party-pooper! ;)

And thats a very impressive number Matt. I apologize if I am being unresanoble Mamoosh in my thinking. I am just trying to picture the park fitting into the area.

With the 10 million visitors per year figure, and the 5% logic, I can see how it looks like its going to work.

I'm not against it working. I just have my doubts.

Who said you were being unreasonable? Certainly not I.