Lyrical Leaps in Myrtle Beach

I love music and I love amusement parks. I've never seen these two loves come together quite as well as in the Freestyle Music Park. Formerly Hard Rock Amusement Park, it's 55 acres of music, roller coasters and fun. Myrtle Beach has a lot of amusement parks, from water parks, to a NASCAR playground but I enjoyed Freestyle the most, just because of the overall music theme. The rides, shows and park areas all reference some aspect of pop music.




The Time Machine is Freestyle's signature roller coaster, with a 155 foot lift and six inversions and loops. I didn't get any where near this monster but my daughter rode it 3 consecutive times. The highlight is that the tracks have five separate audio tracks that you can choose while riding-60s, 70s, 80s, 90s and 00s.





I found it difficult to believe that riders would remember what tunes were playing as they whooshed through stomach-churning loops but my daughter reported hearing the Supremes for the 60s track, Michael Jackson for the 80s and Mariah Carey for the 90s.




The park is divided into different "lands," including Myrtle's Beach, Kids in America, Country USA and Across The Pond, with corresponding architecture and music.
As a big British Invasion fan, Across the Pond was a highlight for me. Strawberry Fields and Cream served ice cream and pastries with names like "Lucy in the Sky," that were lost on the young customers.



Then there was the requisite Double Decker bus with a London phone booth for good measure. Across the pond is also lined with shops selling Rolling Stone, Led Zeppelin, Bob Marley (Bob first broke internationally across the pond in London) and Sex Pistols t-shirts.




There was even a Penny Lane Cafe complete with a Black Cab parked out front.



Homegrown music was also in the spotlight, with beautiful stained glass tributes to the Architect of Rock N' Roll, Little Richard.



As well as the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.




This cluster of geographical music group names also featured Berlin on the other side.




I loved spotting signs like this. Never knew rock, coffee and ice cream blended so well.