Hard Rock Park And Freestyle Music Park (Myrtle Beach, SC)

PLEASE NOTE: THIS ATTRACTION IS NOT LONGER WITH US.

In 2008, Hard Rock Park opened on the (possibly cursed) burial grounds of Waccamaw Pottery in Myrtle Beach, SC. Despite boasting rides based on Led Zeppelin and The Eagles, Hard Rock Park closed after its first season. In 2009, the park reopened under new management and a new name, Freestyle Music Park. But like Hard Rock Park, Freestyle Music Park only lasted one year. You can still see some of the rides (including the Led Zeppelin roller coaster) from the road, along with the huge Les Paul guitar.

But what caused two parks, one with serious brand and band recognition, to only last one year each in an area that, according to the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber Of Commerce, averages over 14 million tourists a year? According to Theme Park University, the Hard Rock Park owners were counting on twenty to thirty thousand visitors a day. In July of 2008, they were only averaging between two to three thousand per day. Why were the numbers so low? Theme Park University felt the not-so-family-friendly ticket prices had a hand in it:

"Anyone who entered the gates above the age of 3 was required to pay the full $50 admission fee, no exceptions. The general public perception of this policy was (and remember kids, in the world of business, perception is reality) the senior operating management at Hard Rock Park were a bunch of greedy bastards."

But Jon Binkowski, one of Hard Rock Park's developers, felt it came down to a lack of money, both on the part of Hard Rock Park and its potential visitors:

"'Though billed during its development and opening as a $400 million park, most of that price tag went to pay debt and for other financial things,' Binkowski said. 'The park itself really only had about a $225 million budget to build this whole park,' he said. The large amount of financing is one of the biggest factors Binkowski said led to the park's demise, coupled with a slowing economy and $4 a gallon gas prices that ate into the discretionary dollars available to the tourists the park counted on."

In 2009, a group of investors armed with a more family-friendly attitude, better prices, better marketing, and a new name opened Freestyle Music Park, hoping to give Myrtle Beach the music-themed amusement park it deserved. It also failed.

What To Know Before You Go

GPS Coordinates: (33.7146246, -78.93700939999997)
Location: 211 George Bishop Parkway, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
Private Property: Yes. It's all fenced in.
Phone: ABANDONED PROPERTY
Hours: ABANDONED PROPERTY
Cost: ABANDONED PROPERTY