Eagles to rock Myrtle Beach

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After an introduction by Hard Rock Park's Steven Goodwin (right), members of the rock band The Moody Blues, Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward and John Lodge, talk with the park's CEO on stage back in October at the park's Backstage Tour facility in Myrtle Beach. Photo By Randall Hill/The Sun News

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VIP Hard Rock seating invitation-only

If you've been invited to purchase seats at Hard Rock Park's grand opening concert bash for $400 or $600, consider yourself lucky.

The general public does not even get a chance to swipe their silver, gold, platinum or black credit cards for these tickets, but invitations have been sent to the lucky few.

The everyday rock fan can still buy a ticket package to the two-day event the $400 million park is orchestrating to celebrate its debut year.

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Hard Rock Park unveils new ride

When the Eagles come to Myrtle Beach, they'll be able to ride their own roller coaster.

Hard Rock Park officials on Monday announced a roller coaster in the park would run to the Eagles' 1976 hit "Life in the Fast Lane."

The public will be able to experience the two-minute ride on the park's longest coaster starting April 15, the first day of the park's "soft opening." Officials say the park will be fully operational May 9.

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Hard Rock Park vows to rock again

It appears the music isn't over for Hard Rock Park.

Shuttered after its inaugural season and forced to file bankruptcy, the $400 million rock 'n' roll theme park in Myrtle Beach will rock once again as a new ownership group plans to reopen the attraction by Memorial Day.

And, most importantly to budget-minded patrons (who isn't, these days?), the new operators have vowed to slash admission prices, perhaps remedying one of the park's biggest customer gripes. The park admission will be $35-$40, instead of $50, a sum that raised many eyebrows along the Grand Strand.

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A rollercoaster ride:

It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. No, this is not “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens, this story happened right here in our beloved Myrtle Beach.

Right under our noses, Hard Rock Park was opened and filed for bankruptcy in a matter of months and looked to be a black eye on the history of Myrtle Beach, but thanks to FPI MB Entertainment, now looks to be back and ready to roll for 2009. The park, which was one-of-a-kind and was supposed to put Myrtle Beach on the amusement park map, came and went in a little less than two years, although it appears to be back on track.

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Arlo Guthrie visits Hard Rock Park eatery

When the movie "Alice's Restaurant" came out in 1969, two years after the famous song was released, the producers wanted to open a chain of food joints, with cut-out posters of the folk composer Arlo Guthrie. Guthrie said no.

Now, almost 40 years later, he's not so opposed. A lot has changed since then, he said Monday in Myrtle Beach, where he celebrated the upcoming opening of Alice's Restaurant in Hard Rock Park, the first such eatery he has endorsed.

"There's a lot more tolerance for people actually trying to make a living than there used to be," he said. "It's become part of the vernacular of the culture. And so it's eased up. ... The standard's a little different. The times are different."