Parks of the Deep South 2006 Photo Update!

[bgwfreak#1 Nintendo Fanboy!]

I can't believe they said that the wacky worm can't have adults on it when the one up at MB Grand Prix let me get my credit on it. lol

I'm glad I didn't even bother with it 2 years ago when I was down there.

Last time I was, I just rode Swampy a couple times and left for Pavilion.

[FlippyTrick09Elissa + Hangman Fanboy]

DANGIT! I missed yall AGAIN! I probably coulda went!

[brotherdaveI Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

I guess I'm in the minority here, but, we went to Family Kingdom in June and had a great time! Ok, it's not the most picturesque park out there, but, we found it a relatively clean traditional park. The Swamp Fox was excellent! Some nice airtime and in great shape. Can't say the same for the Hurricane up at Pavilion. Family Kingdom had a decent Western Themed Sally interactive dark ride, a nice train ride, and an excellent log flume! Oh, and the rest rooms were very clean and modern, which usually is a good gauge on a park's overall upkeep.

Pavilion was fun also, but, we noticed that they're obviously not putting much money into the park's appearance and maintenance for their final season. The Hurricane was brutal, but the Mad Mouse and Little Eagle coasters were lots of fun. They also had a great log flume (nice underground tunnel) and two dark rides. The Treasure Hunt is a typical Pirate themed Sally interactive ride, shorter than Family Kingdom's. But, the real 'treasure' of the park was their Haunted Hotel. I really hope someone saves this great dark ride. It would be a real tragedy to lose this gem! Best ride in the park!

Overall, we liked both parks about the same. If any of you are going to check out Pavilion before they close, make sure to get to Family Kingdom if just to ride the Swamp Fox. You won't be dissapointed!

[stevenpensacolaCan I park my donkey here?]

We're headed to WhiteWater next week....how were the employees.

We visited WW several times before Six Flags took over and really enjoyed ourselves. We went post Six Flags takeover, and found that the employees had developed the typical this is just a summer job I don't give a rip I'm only 15 attitude often seen in other six flags parks.

It appeared that some of the rides (slides) were not placed into "operation" until enough bodies were in the park....and some of the big family tube rides were loading really really slow due to the fact that they had to wait and wait and wait for the conveyor to bring up the next tube....we had the feeling they were really trying to pinch pennies there.

Please tell me the park has gotten better.

[SharkTumsSite Admin]

We were really impressed with White Water. Friendly staff, good operations, great atmosphere.

Only complaints were that one set of body slides weren't open, and the dispatching on the family raft ride SUCKED!

Seriously though, I bet you'll have a great time, it was so much fun!

[stevenpensacolaCan I park my donkey here?]

Only complaints were that one set of body slides weren't open, and the dispatching on the family raft ride SUCKED!

That's one of the things I remembered....The ride was set up to be loading on one side while dispatching the other....but they had one person up there, running one side, with a raft arriving about once a minute.....the conveyor should be full of rafts! I suspect that the unloading of the rafts at the bottom is the real holdup, as quite a few people seem to have trouble getting out of those things.

You've got to love the waterslides through the woods though.

[htomc42I Love Donkeys!]

I just did my own tour of Myrtle Beach amusements this weekend, and I also went by the Family Kingdom amusement park.

You missed a dark ride which makes the park suck a little less badly, although not much. Its "The Great Pistolero Roundup", which is one of those shooting type rides for points. Its much like that Pirates of the Carribean-themed one at the Pavilion Amusement Park; this one is themed as Mexican bandito shoot-em-up, where you're after the bandits and bags of gold. This ride is on the other side of that salt marsh that goes through the middle of the park. I'll have pictures online soon.

That dark ride, and the Swamp Fox coaster, are the only two good things in that entire park. Its a shame that when the Pavilion closes, it will be the ONLY park in the Myrtle Beach area!!! There was once a park in the Ocean Drive section of North Myrtle Beach, along the highway. Its a strip mall now. There was also once a park called "Magic Harbor" in Surfside Beach, about 10 miles south of MB-- it had closed several years ago, and now its completely gone, probably eaten up by a campground.

I shudder to think that when the Pavilion closes, Family Kingdom will be the only park in the entire region, except for a very small and somewhat wimpy park at Myrtle Beach Grand Prix, along the highway at the edge of North Myrtle Beach, and a similarly small and cheesy little park at South of the Border along I-95. The closest real amusement park will be Carowinds in Charlotte NC - some 150 miles away! This will be a tremendous loss for Myrtle Beach.

[JonathanDonkey eat mullet pump.]

Well, Family Kingdom will only have one season with that title, with Hard Rock Park opening in 2008.

[htomc42I Love Donkeys!]

I just did my own tour of Myrtle Beach amusements this weekend, and I also went by the Family Kingdom amusement park.

I've finally got pictures of my own Myrtle Beach adventure online; I'll be going back again this weekend for some more!

HToMC Goes to Myrtle Beach

It takes a while to load- there are a ton of pictures, and those are all just thumbnails. I'm still working on that page and reorganizing things.

[JonathanDonkey eat mullet pump.]

Great report and photos. It definitely is sad to see some of the unique things down there that have been removed for another t-shirt shop, strip mall, or condo.