Hard Rock Park rolls onto S.C. coast

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. -- Little is permanent on South Carolina's Grand Strand. But much is reused.

That point will be made with a loud ka-raaaang with the April 15 opening of Hard Rock Park. The Southeast's first new amusement park in nine years is rising just west of the Intracoastal Waterway, partly on the long-dormant Fantasy Harbor entertainment complex and partly on the rubble of the Waccamaw Factory Shoppes.

With 55 acres of rides, eateries and shops on a 140-acre site south of U.S. 501, the $400 million park will be about half the size of Carowinds or Dollywood. It will also be the northernmost four-seasons amusement park in Eastern North America, the first anywhere associated with the Hard Rock Cafe brand, and the first theme park in the world hard-wired to the enduring appeal of rock 'n' roll.

Hard Rock Park's five themed sections, which border a lagoon, invoke big names in popular music.

Born in the USA, which includes the all-ages Shake Rattle & Roller coaster and the Slippery When Wet suspended coaster (people on the ground can blast riders with water cannons), is home to an amphitheater that can seat 2,000 visitors -- plus 10,000 standing and 8,000 on the lawn. Local and regional bands will play throughout the day, and major groups will occasionally appear.

British Invasion is the largest themed area. Its thriller is the Maximum RPM coaster with riders boarding a "sports car" rotating via a Ferris wheel-like structure to the track above. Nights in White Satin: The Trip is an indoor "dark" ride in which cars glide over 720 feet of track in 4 minutes.

Rock & Roll Heaven has Led Zeppelin -- the Ride, the park's signature coaster. The track runs close to three-fourths of a mile with six inversions and a 120-foot loop. The ride, synchronized to "Whole Lotta Love," reaches a maximum speed of 65 mph. The live Malibu Beach Party show will showcase acrobatics, diving and motorcycles.

Cool Country attractions include Midnight Rider, a coaster with Southern rock; a giant swing ride; and the Muddin' Monster Race round-ride. Country on the Rocks, an 860-seat indoor venue, will feature a souped-up ice-skating show.

And Lost in the '70s, an indoor amusement arcade, will mix new games with classics such as Pong, Donkey Kong and Pac-Man.

Aside from Led Zeppelin's 15-story superstructure, Hard Rock Park isn't easy to see from U.S. 501. The frontage road still holds a derelict chunk of the Waccamaw Factory Shoppes. Investors hope to raze and redevelop the site as a retail-residential complex to be called Paradise City.

This anticipates a bridge and ramp from U.S. 17 Bypass, the main highway from Charleston and Wilmington. This exit over the waterway would funnel parkgoers into the site without them having to navigate U.S. 501 and its warm-weekend traffic snarls. A bypass bridge is a couple of years down the pike, so for now, visitors will just have to deal with the traffic.

Try turning on the radio: You might find Freddie "Boom Boom" Cannon's "Palisades Park," the 1962 ode to rockin' fun in amusement parks, the Beach Boys' version from 15 years later, or the Ramones' punked-up single from a dozen years after that.

It recycles just fine.