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Robbie & Natalie keep Freestyle Music Park in Business


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Mmk, let's see if I remember how to do one of these PTR things. It's been a while since my last one (which I never even finished - but listen, I'm really sorry about that. Promise. Does it help any if I say I feel REAL bad about it? 'Cause I do.)

 

But really, what can I say about Freestyle Music Park that you couldn't guess yourself? We were there last Thursday when the park was open from 4-10pm, and we were basically 2 of 5 people that were in the entire park. Theming? Excellent. Rides? Not worth much more than the $16ish we paid to get in (Carolina discount, yo.) We had the park done in less than an hour and a half, and that included a separate lap for photos.

 

The B&M: I loved the color scheme, and the ride itself was fun in a cute sort of way; but it's nothing to write home about. I actually liked the music incorporated into the coaster (except in the station, the lift, and the end course break run, where it was WAY too loud), but Robbie (All Clear) didn't seem to care for it. The odd thing about the coaster was that it was basically one long, continuous grey-out for me (which isn't something I experience too often on rides), but the coaster wasn't even what I'd call "intense." I have no idea how they pulled it off, but props to whoever engineered that oxymoron of a coaster.

 

The ferris-wheel coaster (as you can see, I have the names of these rides totally chiseled into my rock of a brain) : I really enjoyed the lift, but the coaster part couldn't have been more than 30 seconds long, which was pretty disappointing. It was like riding Top Thrill Dragster without the thrill. Or the -ster. So that leaves us with what? Top Drag? Uhhh, yeah.

 

The soaker coaster thing: Really rough. Rougher than any of the other soakers I've been on (which is a grand total of one, but who's really counting?) Robbie and I sat in the back to avoid getting drenched which worked out pretty well for the most part. My hair got a little damp, but we all gotta make sacrifices these days, eh?

 

The kiddie: It was a kiddie. Fin.

 

The other coaster I've not yet talked about: As far as mine trains go, it was probably the roughest I've been on. The speakers weren't working, so I don't know if that's something they're still working on, or if they'll just never play again. The only thing that really saved this coaster was a BIG FREAKING FIREBALL at the end, which I did NOT see coming; and it was that lovely fireball that ended up being the highlight of the entirely trip for Robbie and me. I love you, Fireball!!!!

 

The dark ride: I never got to HRP when it was HRP, so I had no idea what was actually in the original dark ride beyond the fact that it was themed to an acid trip (which I'm sure you all know how TOTALLY FAMILIAR I am with those. Totally. I go trip on the acids all the time. Green acids...blue acids...I've, uh, tripped them all. Yep.) Still, I can GUARANTEE you the Nights in White Satin was better than what it is today, because it was nothing but motionless 2-d cardboard cutouts. Granted, the new owners had, what? Two months to completely gut the ride and put a WHOLE NEW RIDE in? So maybe it's temporary. Lord, I hope it's temporary. But it was just SO bad that Robbie and I just HAD to get shirts in honor of the ride, and part of me wonders if that wasn't exactly what the new park owners were going for all along. Sneaky b@st@rds and their reverse psychology. They're gonna make a fortune.

 

All in all, Freestyle Music Park HAS potential. It is DRIPPING with potential. I'd love to see it make it and really become something, like the next Universal or Disney. But judging by what the park has to offer right now, judging by what the new owners have to work with, it's gonna take a miracle.

 

(And shade. Holy crap, does that park need shade.)

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And then we left. Good timing too, eh? Look at the throngs of people rushing in.

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I felt so bad for these guys. No audience to sing to. :'( I guess they get paid either way, but STILL. My guilt complex overrides any ounce of logic I have in me.

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Completely empty restaurant.

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Kinda creepy theming...

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Theming theming theming....

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Theming...

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But see that metal thing with the two arrow heads? You can't see it all from here, but that's where the AWESOME fireball happens (i.e. that's where MAGIC happens, mmmhmmm.)

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Mine train

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I think this one speaks for itself.

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Soak'd - I don't know what purpose it serves to leave out the E. Is it hip? Is it all the rage? Is the letter E offensive to some people? Is it the number 13 of the alphabet? PLEASE TELL ME!

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Kiddie

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A lone entertainer entertaining the only people in the park (who I suspect are her proud family coming to see her in action).

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Okay. Let me get this straight. You can disassemble an ENTIRE ride and redo it within a matter of a couple of months, but it's too much for you guys to replace the zippo lighter with a torch for Lady Liberty? Really? You couldn't take five minutes to whittle one out of balsa wood? Put a fake ice cream cone in there or something?

 

Wow. It's official. FMP is run by commies.

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This little area was fun. *shrugs*

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This is a picture inside the queue. I'm not even kidding. I can see more with my eyes closed.

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Ohhhh...this thing.

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There were a couple of areas like this in the park, where, if I wanted too, I could have easily HAD MY FINGERS TAKEN OFF. I'm not kidding - I'm 5'4 1/2", and it would only have taken one tiny hop for me to grab onto the track. Obviously I know NOT to do that, but what about the GP? Doubt it. Remember the rolling head at SFoG? Anyone? Good thing no one goes to this park, else someone would've died by now.

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I'll admit, I like the new name they came up for this one.

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Yep...pretty British.

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Oh wait! You mean to tell me that this land in FMP is called "Across the Pond?" Well, I'll be!

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A look at the coaster across the pond.

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Hands off ladies, he is TAKEN.

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I was disappointed in this thing, because each falling stream of water is NOT it's own unique note. I wanted to play my OWN song, not whatever bought & paid for Led Zeppelin song is programed in there.

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So apparently a time machine is nothing more than a zeppelin with some spiderwebs and cogwheels on it. Who knew?

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The rest of the train was completely empty.

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I don't know what I took this crap photo for, but at least you can see where the camera is for on-ride photos.

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You can't tell in the picture, but that stuff on the walls is actually a mosaic of album covers.

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Okay, so as long as we're talking about crowds and how there weren't any, let's discuss operations. Ugh. They weren't too bad for the other rides, but this thing had one train running and it dispatched (no joke) approximately once every 15-20 minutes.

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Mmmm...B&M support goodness.

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It actually was crowded at the park, it's just that the Harry Potter books are TRUE and everyone had an invisibility cloak.

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I'm hoping when/if the park closes, they'll let me have the B&M test seat.

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*Insert your own Scare Force One joke here.*

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Children are invisible in South Carolina.

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Don't worry that FMP lowered its ticket prices. They're obviously gonna make millions on merch sales.

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Seriously, it was Robbie & Natalie & No One Else Day at the park.

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Myrtle's Beach? Myrtle who? Hmmm...I feel like there's an allusion here I'm just not getting...

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Awwww! Easily the most attractive people in the park.

 

(Also the only people in the park, but whatever. LET ME HAVE MY MOMENT.)

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See? Pretty, pretty theming.

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I have a hunch that there used to be something sitting on that little red circle...

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OH MY GOSH ALL THE PEOPLE WE MUST KNOCK DOWN TO BEAT TO THE RIDES.

 

(There are gonna be a lot of terrible oh-heavens-look-at-all-these-people-and-note-my-adorable-and-charming-sarcasm jokes, so you better get used to them now)

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I know HRP/FMP wanted to attract an older crowd, but I think they might have overshot it a bit.

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We arrived about five minutes after the park opened. As you can see, we did not beat what I'm sure was an INSANE rush.

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Hard Rock Parkway...I'd like to know how the street name isn't infringing on any copyright laws.

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This was the 4th billboard in a row within a 100 yard stretch of road about 40 miles away from the actual park. Then we didn't see another billboard for the REST OF THE DRIVE. Talk about putting all your eggs in one basket.

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Awesome TR!

 

And I do give FMP credit for the retheming they were able to accomplish in the whole 2 months they had. I think most of the names fit reasonably well without being too generic.

 

However, that place has to be hemorrhaging money. I don't see how they can possibly make it.

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Great PTR; I laughed out loud at most of those captions.

 

What day did you go? I've seen some other photo reviews of the park, but I've never seen it THIS empty... (Loved the picture with the tumbleweed. Nice use of editing. )

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That was an awesome TR. If you're a bit rusty on posting these up then I wasn't able to tell. Looking forward to future TR with you two kids.

 

By the way I wish the park luck because it's depressing looking at all that empty space where people should be at.

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Great TR Natalie. I was excited when this opened up as Hard Rock Park, but obviously my opinion has changed somewhat. If I'm ever in the area I will make sure to check it out.

 

BTW, was that a tumbleweed I saw in one of the pictures???

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We were there last Thursday when the park was open from 4-10pm, and we were basically 2 of 5 people that were in the entire park. Theming? Excellent. Rides? Not worth much more than the $16ish we paid to get in .

 

All in all, Freestyle Music Park HAS potential. It is DRIPPING with potential. I'd love to see it make it and really become something, like the next Universal or Disney. But judging by what the park has to offer right now, judging by what the new owners have to work with, it's gonna take a miracle.

This pretty much sums up our experience with the park last year as HRP.

 

I still say that had this park been built in an area that could REALLY support a park, it would have more than a fighting chance.

 

But Myrtle Beach? I just don't see it lasting. It's too bad really because it's all about location.

 

Even if this park had been built in an area that already has an established park, like Philly, Chicago, San Fransisco, etc, there are enough people in those areas that it *could* have had a competitive chance.

 

And then there are those huge markets WITHOUT a major park - Houston, Seattle, Phoenix, Miami, Las Vegas, Boston, etc...

 

Why...WHY did they choose Myrtle Beach?!?!

 

--Robb

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^Because the previous owners really didn't care about building a park that could last. All they cared about was bailing out their failed entertainment/shopping venues!

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^ Oh, yeah! I forgot about that part!

 

It really does seem that Hard Rock Park was a "cover up" for their financial losses and while they built something that was also an epic failure, those original guys certainly did make out pretty well!

 

--Robb

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It really is a shame...this park does seem like it could be a fun time, but it seems to have some sort of curse on it.

 

I always saw this place as more of a museum of rock n roll with some rides to distract you but they never marketed it, nor by the new signs are they currently doing it, as that.

 

I have everything crossed possible for this park to succeed this time around, but looking at trip reports like this I don't think it will happen. A+ for effort from the new owners though.

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That was pretty entertaining. Great Job.

 

Although I do feel bad, this place looks even more screwed than before.

 

So just wondering, On the Time Machine are they intending that each of those doors for the different decades has a train that features different music from those decades?

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FMP just crossed into the CF zone - Roundabout?? Ugh...

 

It's really too bad, because this place had the potential to be great. If only, as Robb said, they chose a better location to build it in the first place. I really can't see it lasting until the end of August, unless they do something huge before then - which, with the way the economy is right now, I don't see happening.

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This looks pretty much exactly how Wild Adventures did back in 2002...and that park is still standing.

 

I think we should wait until the summer season rolls around before we make any sudden judgments. Natalie visited the park on a cruddy day (weather-wise) during the week in late May/early June, so this is not too surprising.

 

When school lets out and the weather gets warm enough where people will actually be attracted to the Myrtle Beach area, I have a feeling that attendance will pick up considerably at Freestyle Music Park.

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This looks pretty much exactly how Wild Adventures did back in 2002...and that park is still standing.

But have you ever been to Wild Adventures during a concert day when like 10,000 people show up to the park?

 

They at least have that going for them.

 

Do you think HRP ever saw a 10,000 person day? Or ever will?

 

--Robb

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Awesome trip report I must say. It has to be one of the most entertaining PTR I have scene in a while, and I really liked the pictures.

 

While I am no HRP buff I got to see allot of parts of the park I don't remember seeing before, so thanks.

 

It's a shame to see this park so empty. I really hope this park makes it, I really think it has allot of potential. Just needs to get the people through the door.

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