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May 12, 2008

Eye candy...

By Robert Niles I will be flying from Los Angeles to Orlando on Tuesday, so I will leave you with a little eye candy as I am in the air most of the day.

Theme Park Insider reader Mike Duchock checks in with a couple photos from Hard Rock Park's opening ceremony last Friday: (His photos follow)

After a few weeks of the "sound check" soft opening HRP in Myrtle Beach officially opened its doors for full operations last Friday, May 9th. Some morning rain showers ended just in time for a short ceremony celebrating this momentous occasion. Horry County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland and South Carolina governor Mark Sanford's wife and son joined HRP CEO Steven Goodwin for a guitar smashing and to officially open the gates. The new $400 million theme park will celebrate its grand opening June 2nd - 3rd.

The day turned out to be a perfect theme park day- beautiful weather, thin crowds, and short waits. Every attraction and show was open except for the unique Maximum RPM coaster featuring the unique Ferris Wheel-type lift system. Crowds were virtually non-existent and lines were short throughout the entire 12-hour operating day giving guests the feeling that the park was all to themselves. Personally I never had to wait more than 3 minutes for a ride, even on the signature Led Zepplin: The Ride coaster. Bike week is currently going on in Myrtle Beach with HRP is hosting it's own expo in the parking lot. As a result, parking is free for all guests and you can buy a two day ticket for $75 this week only.

Hard Rock Park opening ceremony

Hard Rock Park opening ceremony

TPI readers Russell Meyer and Steve Lee each filed extensive trip reports on Hard Rock Park, with photos and video.

And now we hit the rewind button. Inspired by last week's King of the Theme Park Graveyard Tournament, Reader Ryan Roppel e-mailed a couple of classic photos of the Disneyland Skyway:

Classic Matterhorn

Classic Matterhorn

I know, having the Skyway cut through the Matterhorn like that killed some of the illusion. But, darn it, flying through a mountain was just so cool... ;-)

See you from Orlando Tuesday night....

Readers' Opinions

From Joshua Counsil on May 13, 2008 at 9:32 AM
Excited to see your Orlando trip report, Rob. You always have some interesting insight.
From Derek Potter on May 13, 2008 at 5:26 PM
Oh sweet Jesus....those looked like $3000 Gibson acoustic guitars they were smashing (cringe).
From Gareth H on May 14, 2008 at 6:30 AM
Aaaah, look me up in Orando, send me a message if you're heading to Universal, could always pop over for a couple of hours!
From Mike Duchock on May 14, 2008 at 8:42 AM
Those were some very expensive and beautiful Gibson acoustics that they smashed at HRP. Afterwards I took a closer look at one and said to CEO Steven Goodwin that it was such a shame to destroy a such a thing of beauty. His reply: "I think it's even more beautiful now." Gotta love that rock n' roll attitude. I managed to snag a small piece of one!

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