Family Kingdom
May 20, 2006
So, I was going to just walk down Broadway to get to Family Kingdom, but my good sense got the better of me and I decided that if I wanted to keep my hearing I would instead head down to the beach and make the walk down.
Now, here is where I don?t really care for Myrtle Beach. I figured, being down to the Jersey Shore many times in my life, that there would be a boardwalk or at least some sort of walkway along the beach. Well, there isn?t, it is just sand and surf. No matter, I had my sandals on, so the sand did not bother me any, and it was a nice enough walk. By this point it was really starting to get dreary and some fog had rolled in off to the distance.
Family Kingdom was easy to find, as their water park is right on the beach.
I headed back inland and across the street to the park where I got a wrist band and headed over to the Swamp Fox.
Interestingly (or maybe not), Swamp Fox is the third new to me John Allen coaster I have been on this year. I found it to be a fun ride, typical John Allen, not overly aggressive, some nice spots of airtime, no laterals to speak of, and this was before the rain.
I walked around the rest of the park checking out the different flats. They have nice selection, all run fairly well, and all kept well:
The dark ride was an interactive ride, and was pretty well done, but on par with others like it.
By the time I had gotten over to the carousel it had started to rain. I had been wet once this day, so I hung out under the carousel as the thunderstorm rolled through. This gave me time to get some nice photos of this well kept, all horse machine.
After about ten minutes the ran let up and the park started to come back to life. Swamp Fox was not yet running, but I sample the rest of the rides, and once done, I hopped back on the Fox.
OMG, what a difference a little rain makes. This coaster took on a how new life with the rain. I was fast, with airtime on every hill. The back seat was giving an incredibly wild ride, throwing you over the hills, especially the second drop. The coaster even showed some life in the turn, screaming around them, and just barely skidding to a halt when it got to the station. These were definitely better rides then earlier in the day, and I got plenty of them. It was a pure joy to ride, and I?m glad this coaster is staying put.
So, I left Family Kingdom very content and headed back up to the Pavilion to get a few things I had missed, like the Haunted Hotel.
I liked this darkride. It was well done, the stunts all seemed to work, and I liked the theme. Some of the scenes were downright creepy.
When I came out of the Haunted Hotel, I came into a downpour. The skies had opened up, and the park had announced that it would be closing for the evening due to the rain. I did take a quick walk around to photo the now deserted park, as even thought they were closing, they seemed to be in no real hurry to kick people out.
I like this shot. The light you see in the background is a flash of lightning.
I headed back across the street to check out the arcades when the heavens opened up and a torrential downpour started. Thunder, lightning, windswept rain all came storming through. I hung out for it to slow a bit, and then made my way back to the car and headed out of town.
I had a pretty good day in Myrtle Beach. It was not what I expected, the crowds were light, but the storm and early closing really put a damper on things.
I would not make it to Busch Gardens on Sunday, I was just too beat from the long Saturday. It really was biting off more then I could chew. Well, it will be there when I am finally ready to get back there, the Pavilion won?t, and that saddens me. It is a nice park, well cared for, with a great combination of old and new rides. I do understand that it is sitting on some prime real estate, but it is a pitty that that land will end up as a high rise condos or hotel. The park fits well in the town, it is more the adult oriented park. I hope the rides, including the Hurricane, can find new homes, though some of the unique rides, like the water rides and Haunted hotel, will not survive, and that is a shame.
Well, if you made it this far, thanks for reading, and please enjoy this parting shot:
Topic: Part 2, Family Kingdom and the Rest (Read 1224 times)