Myrtle Beach, South Carolina (PRWEB) July 08, 2013
The economy may be improving, but families are still looking for bargains as they plan their summer vacations. Some of the best ways to save on a vacation in South Carolina’s premier resort, Myrtle Beach, include staying at an oceanside campground and buying combo-passes for popular attractions.
Today’s campgrounds offer many of the same amenities found at hotels and resorts. Some also offer a variety of accommodations. For example, America’s five-time Park of the Year (in the Mega Park category) is perched right on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean and it offers both houses and well-equipped RVs and campers for rent. At Ocean Lakes Family Campground, guests can enjoy one mile of private beach, pools, scheduled activities and even onsite restaurants. With more than 300 rental units and 893 campsites, it bustles with activity. Its Sandy Harbor Family Fun Center offers two-acres of activities like a game center, mini-golf course, a pool area with sun decks, and an indoor/outdoor cafe. The campground also has freshwater lakes for fishing, an onsite Nature Center, skate park, and even a laundromat and grocery store. All in all, this place is a kid’s paradise with large playgrounds, a Surf Camp, and even a day camp called Kamp Starfish that convenes from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Many Ocean Lakes regulars also make special trips to the 310-acre campground for scheduled events throughout the year. For example, the 15th Annual Ocean Lakes Bluegrass Weekend set for August 23-24 attracts Bluegrass fans from around the country who come to enjoy the music of famous bluegrass bands.
Ocean Lakes is also close to a number of popular Myrtle Beach attractions that offer great bargains for vacationing families.
A five minutes drive is all it takes to get to Family Kingdom Amusement Park, a Myrtle Beach tradition for over 40 years. There’s no charge to enter the open park which is the home of the world-famous Swamp Fox wooden roller coaster one of only four wooden coasters in the Carolinas. This year, Family Kingdom has added four new rides: the Twist ‘n Shout steel roller coaster, the Kite Flyer hang-gliding ride, the Frog Hopper bouncy ride, and the Flight School mini airplanes. With these additions, the park now has 37 different rides, including old favorites like the Giant Wheel and the Log Flume. Unlike other parks, Family Kingdom sells individual ride tickets, but an All Day Unlimited Ride Wristband provides the better value.
Free entertainment is also a tradition at Myrtle Beach’s only seaside amusement park. Family Kingdom has clowns, magicians, jugglers, stilt walkers, face painters and balloon sculptors regularly to provide family-friendly free entertainment.
One of the best values at the beach is the Family Kingdom-Splashes combo pass. It enables guests to enjoy both the amusement park and its sister water park, Splashes, on the same day or on different days. Splashes offers speed slides, water flumes, and a 425-foot lazy river complete with waterfall.
When it’s time to get out of the sun, there’s another big value option for families at WonderWorks, located at Myrtle Beach’s center of fun, Broadway at the Beach. WonderWorks is an upside-down amusement park for the mind.” The exterior appears to be a building that seems to have crashed and landed on an old-time crab shack. The first wonder for visitors to this building is passage through a tunnel that flips them over and puts them right side up with the interactive wonderland inside the upside down building. There’s 50,000-square-feet of fun and more than 100 exhibits guaranteed to entertain people of all ages. This year, WonderWorks expanded its Virtual Sports to enable guests to play soccer, basketball and other sports, and expanded its Lazer-Tag facility to 2,100 square feet. An interactive electricity exhibit that lets guests literally get in (safe) touch with 100,000 volts turns guests arms into virtual lightening rods.
Perhaps the most exciting change for 2013 is WonderWorks’ 6D Extreme Motion-Simulated Thrill Ride. It combines 3D films, special effects, full motion seats and surround sound. Riders in the 12-seat theater will experience the sensations of dramatic elevation drops, stiff breezes, up to 2 Gs of acceleration, and 400 movements per second. While other places that have motion theaters charge $ 8 or more just for the ride, WonderWorks delivers additional value by including it with the price of general admission.
WonderWorks is adjacent to Soar & Explore which offers a zip line and ropes course. Guests can soar 50 feet over Lake Broadway on the only zip line over water along the East Coast. Revamped with a tropical theme for 2013, the Ropes Challenge Course features 33 different challenge elements and extends 40 feet into the air with obstacles like swinging steps, a tremor bridge, tightrope walk, and vertical and angle stairs.
The best deal here is also a combo pass the adrenaline package. At $ 39.99 for adults and $ 36.99 for ages 4 to 12, it provides big value. Visitors get access to WonderWorks, a two-way zip line ride at Soar and Explore, and one game of Lazer-Tag.
Broadway at the Beach itself is a great attraction for value-conscious families. The largest festival entertainment complex in South Carolina, it features three theaters, 23 restaurants and eateries, Carmike’s Broadway Cinema 17 (featuring BigD Ultimate Movie Experience), and more than 100 specialty shops, amusements and nightclubs. Mr. Nigels Music and Fire Circus co-headline with free shows that rotate throughout the week in various locations on the property. Strolling entertainment like living statues and singing and dancing groups can be enjoyed throughout Broadway, and there are fireworks shows over Lake Broadway every Tuesday and Friday throughout the summer.
So, why not plan a summer vacation to Myrtle Beach. There’s lots of sun, fun and savings galore for the entire family.