Pavillion Farewell Season

This one is for fun

From Jake Countiss
Posted August 17, 2006 at 9:48 AM
As many people know, this is the last year for the Pavillion. If you don't know the story, the owners of the Pavillion are tearing the park down at the end of this year to put in some strip malls. So when I was down their to go see Hootie and The Blowfish, I wanted to go their for one last time here is how the day went.

Treasure Hunt, A shoot em up game that is very short but fun. 7/10

Hurricane, Rough, but a very good layout. The roughness though is just so bad that I had to hold on to the rail in front of me during the helixes. 8/10

Pirate, Just a standard pirate ship 5/10

Mad Mouse, A mouse style of coaster with trains that don't spin. The restraints hurt though 6/10

Haunted Hotel, A really stupid haunted ride that looked really cheap. 4/10

Rainbow, A ride like Rocket Power Airtime at Carowinds but with a absolutely great view of Ocean Boulevard and the ocean. 7/10

Log Flume, A unthemed and very dry log flume. 6/10

Hydro Surge, A river rapids ride that will absolutely drench you. 9/10

Himalaya, A stardard spinning fair ride. 6/10

I actually got a few more rides on Hurricane and Hydro Surge plus the Haunted Hotel (Air conditioning) and Treasure Hunt( Another Air conditioned ride). It was pretty sad to see the neat little park before it will get torn down in a couple of months. The ratings might not be very impressive but the park is much better than Family Kingdom. I think they should have waited to close the park in 2007 but I think they wanted the mall to be open when Hard Rock Park comes in 2008. The Pavillion just would not have enough to compete with Hard Rock Park. Family Kingdom will probably close down when HRP comes plus the Grand Prix.

From Jake Countiss
Posted August 20, 2006 at 3:51 PM
I also went to a small go kart place called Fun World which was a dump.

From Derek Potter
Posted August 20, 2006 at 9:21 PM
I remember the Pavilion from way back. They used to have a wild mouse and a corkscrew coaster back when I was a kid. I've been there countless times over the years, and I'll miss it. The owners just weren't making any money with it anymore so they saw no other way but to get rid of it. Moving it was an option at one time, but probably was abandoned when Hard Rock came to town. The Pavilion has been a staple of Myrtle Beach for 50 years. Sadly, the dollar signs and allure of high end retailers and a mega resort hotel will always win out over the financial woes of a struggling amusement park. Another classic seaside amusement park bites the dust folks.

From Jake Countiss
Posted August 22, 2006 at 11:29 AM
I don't think it was money, I just think that they new Hard Rock Park was coming so the Pavillion would then go bankrupt. So now they will see if the mall is up when the Hard Rock Park comes. They have saved two of the attractions but it is just the Caroseual and the German organ thing.

From Christy Shuman
Posted August 22, 2006 at 1:29 PM
I personally think the Pavillion sucked, so Farewell!!!lol That roller coaster there is the ROUGHEST roller coaster I have ever riden

From Derek Potter
Posted August 22, 2006 at 9:24 PM
Nah it was money. I read an interview with Burroughs and Chapin, the owners of the Pavilion and countless other Myrtle attractions. They were talking about the increasing costs and lower revenue and blah blah blah. Apparently the decision was almost made to close the Pavilion at the end of last year, but they decided to keep it open one more year. I'm sure that Hard Rock coming to town had at least a little something to do with it, but I think that the closure was inevitable anyway. The land is prime real estate right by the beach with a lot of foot traffic, and the actual plan right now is to have a high rise 5 star hotel, pricey shops like Saks 5th avenue, and a few scattered amusements around the property. High end hotel rooms and high end retail stores spell more money for the property, and it's always about the money.

From Jake Countiss
Posted August 23, 2006 at 7:11 PM
Christy, I know it donsen't have high tech rides but it does leave memories. I rememeber when I was little when I used to go their every time we where on vacation. The small park will never be forgotten in my mind. Thank you Pavillion for the memories.

From Tom C
Posted August 31, 2006 at 3:31 PM
I remember taking trips up from Charleston and going to Murtle Waves and the Pavilion... I loved the log ride there, b/c it had that tunnel thingy, and was quite long... I also remember the rainbow there had great views, but I don't remember too much more of it, than it always seemed a little seedy... but I guess parks like that typically do.

From Jacob Palmer
Posted September 1, 2006 at 10:12 PM
It was about money. The city has been wanting it to close for years. It sits on prime real estate, which equals big time tax dollars.

From steve lee
Posted October 1, 2006 at 12:13 PM
Well, yesterday was the "Last Ride" event. They limited admissions to 4,000 peeps at $40 a pop. The last 400 or so tickets went on sale at 2PM and the line went literally around the block (luckily we spotted some friends towards the front of the line and got them to hook us up).

It was a great event. The limited admission resulted in virtually no lines for most of the attractions (Hurricane and the Wild Mouse probably topped off at about 10 minutes, while the slower loading Haunted Hotel and Treasure Hunt ran about 20 minutes). Actually, the longest lines in the park were at the food stands (all food and drinks were free).

A really nice last day, and I'm really sad to see this park driven out by the real-estate mongerers (note to the real estate people - it wasn't the park that brought the trashiness to the strip. It was everything else on the strip. Thanks for playing and good luck with those condos).

From Derek Potter
Posted October 1, 2006 at 10:28 PM
I read an article about Myrtle Beach losing it's funkiness with the closing of the Pavilion. Nothing could be more true. What's more is that there are a whole lot of locals that are none too pleased with the loss as well. Burroughs and Chapin, the owners of the park and property (and countless other MB properties as well), haven't been winning any popularity contests lately.

That section of the beach has always been one of my favorites, because of all of the little attractions and the park. There was always a party there in the summertime. Yeah sometimes it wasn't the most favorable crowd, but it was charming nonetheless. Now it looks like residents and visitors are in for a couple more high rise hotels (like there aren't enough of those), and of all things...a shopping mall. There was talk of adding rides, but honestly I'll believe it when I see it. This part of the town had personality, now replaced by a fancy 5 star resort and a soulless, uppity center of commerce, all in the name of progress...well lets not kid ourselves here...money. It's all about the money. After all, attracting more affluent tourists is more important than the countless number of middle class, blue collar tourists who've been coming for decades right??? I consider myself a bit of businessman, and I understand that business needs to be good, but this was by no means B&C's only stake in town. The Pavilion wasn't Universal Studios or Disney, and it wasn't raking the money in, but value is very seldom spelled out in dollars and cents. The heart and soul of the Myrtle Beach strip has been ripped out, and I'll miss it....I'll miss it a lot. What a shame.

From steve lammert
Posted October 2, 2006 at 12:51 PM
I've been to Myrtle Beach, but never seen the Pavilion. Where was it?

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