3:05 p.m. (local) June 3---
CHARLOTTE, N.C.--- Delayed at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport which gives me ample time to reminisce about "Nights in White Satin: The Trip" ride I took last night at the new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The psychedelic inspired journey is what industry folks call a "Dark Ride" which dates back to 1800s "scenic railways" and Futurama at the 1939 New York World's Fair.
Think a "Tunnel of Love" boat ride.
Earlier in the day Moody Blues songwriter Justin Hayward told me he wrote the song about sex. The Hard Rock Park ride does not reflect that, although my pal Jen told me the first time she had sex was to "Nights in White Satin." So Justin, as our fearless leader has said, "Mission Accomplished."
As we boarded the "Trip" a friendly teenager handed us cardboard 3-D glasses........
...I told the young man I had been doing 'shrooms.
I think he thought I was serious. He said, "Well you will enjoy the ride even more." We walked through a tilting glow-in-the-dark entry way that looks like some kind of futuristic security check at one of our great American airports. In fact I think I've seen this gateway at Sky Harbor in Phoenix, Az..
Just like a "Tunnel of Love," a total of 20 cozy cars are linked in pairs. Each car is equipped with high-fidelity on board audio which plays the epic 1967 hit "Nights in White Satin" complete with the trippy spoken word part I still don't understand. Can someone clarify?
We rode through green lasers, a gentle rainstorm and 14 images that are allleged metaphors from the song. But no images were naked. We didn't ride very fast which disappointed us. I would have liked one quick spin around or bump. The biggest jolt was being deposited into a Hard Rock Park gift shop as we disembarked.
Somewhere in the distance I hear my boarding call for for my flight back to Chicago.
Flying in America today----now there's a "Dark Ride."
Dave Hoekstra has been a 
I recently visited Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach and after paying $272 to get in me and 4 children I was very disappointed. A lot of the stands were closed, Maximum RPM wasn’t even operational, we were turned away from a few rides more than once due to them shutting down, The food was less than desirable especially at $10 for a mini Pizza and $4 for a small soft drink.
Many of the stages had no entertainment on them.
We went thru it twice in les than 6 hours. My opinion for the Price it isn’t worth it.
Michael,
There will be more to come, especially in July within the Sun-Times travel section. I will say I was floored when the small shot of 1800 for my birthday cost my friend $10. Then I bought a 20-oz. bottle of Mountain Dew for the road---$3.20.
Thanks,
Dave
The part you heard was
Breathe deep the gathering gloom
Watchlights fade from every room
Bedsitter people look back and lament
Another days useless energies spent
Empassioned lovers wrestle as one
Lonely man cries for love and has none
New mother picks up and settles her son
Senior citizens wish they were young
Cold hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colors from our sight
Red is gray and yellow white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion
Hey there,
Thanks! And I was there in 1967.
Dave
My wife, two kids and myself went to the Hard Rock Park. It cost us four $217.40 to get in the temp was in the 90's and it cost me twelve dollars and forty~four cents to get 4 20 oz waters which was very over priced! The Maximum RPM ride closed, the mushroom kids ride closed, the Nights In White Satin ride closed, not one of the Dippin Dots booths were open, which my kids wanted. The park seemed very small and very few rides for a Fifty dollar(plus tax)ticket.They should have made sure that the few rides that they do have were operational BEFORE they opened the park with a Fifty Dollar ticket price. Not a good way to spend a day or $217.40. Wouldnt tell any of my friends about it except to stay clear of the place till they get it going good and lower the ticket price. we live about Fifty miles north of Atlanta Georgia close to Six Flags over GA. They have a much nicer and larger park for about the same price.
Jeff
Hey Jeff,
What day did you attend?
Dave
When it comes to amusement parks such as this one, there are always going to be growing pains. Although I'm not a huge theme park person, the music connection certainly intrigues me when it comes to Hard Rock Park.
A quick look of the venue's Web site revealed a few attractions that I would like to know more about -- if you had a chance to visit them -- namely the Roadies Stunt Show, the Pinball Wizard Arcade and Slippery When Wet. When it comes to the latter, I think I'm more interested in if the attraction deserves to carry the name of THE best Bon Jovi release ever.
As for rides that should have been a part of this new adventure, I loved your earlier suggestion of "Riders on the Storm" by the Doors, but that might be because I dig the Doors. Then again, something involving stormy waters and trippy music sounds like a blast to me.
I look forward to more info about this park, especially since budget hasn't allowed me to travel in several years. For right now, the biggest trip to Hard Rock will have to be through my Hard Rock Monopoly game! LOL.
my friends and i visited the park on sunday 7/6. we couldnt wait to get there and the employees on the outside were all excited, making us more excited. upon entry, we realized how small this place is. the park was not busy and there were no lines for the rides. we went to the led zeppelin roller coaster, and discovered it was closed indefinately. the employee blocking the entrance barely spoke english and couldnt answer our question (all the english speaking employees were at the main gate). the next roller coaster, max rpm, was closed as well. we were very disappointed at this point, and were also half way around the park already! we walked around, hit one ride, and hit some of the stores. the stores were all the same. they have multiple songs playing at the same time in different areas of the park, but its all so small it sounds like 5 songs playing at the same time, which got old real fast. we went to guest services for a refund and had to WAIT IN LINE! we were not the only ones dissatisfied. they were cool about the ticket refunds but not the parking refund ($10 to park!). the lady said ‘people paid $20 to park to see this place under construction…’ i dont care what people did before the park opened, im not satisfied and im asking for a refund for whats happening now! before she escorted us out (similar to being kicked out of a concert!) she gave us a brochure stating this was not a ‘ride’ park. yea, im ok with that, but youre advertisements say otherwise (you know, the ones on the radio every commercial break!)
this park is severely overpriced and hopelessly overhyped. even if all rides were open, you could visit every ride and shop, eat lunch, and still be done in 2-2.5 hours tops. im a big hard rock cafe fan and visit all of the restaurants that i can, but this place is ruining the hard rock name.
Thanks Tom,
Some things weren't open even on opening day (June 2), Check out my July 6 Travel story on the Sun-TImes website. Peace,
Dave