Monday, Jun. 30, 2008

Aisles of adventure

The newest attraction on Ocean Boulevard has tourists and locals alike seeing infinity.

The Ripley's Mirror Maze is only 2,000 square feet, but inside it looks like the never-ending dungeon of some medieval castle - with red exit-strip lighting. Optional 3D glasses cause the lights to fracture and multiply, making the task of getting from one end to another even more challenging.

The maze, next to the Haunted Adventure at Ocean Boulevard between Ninth and 10th avenues North, has attracted slightly fewer visitors than the house, said Chad Netherland, marketing director for Ripley's Aquarium, the company's flagship attraction here.

The maze - one of three that Ripley's operates in the country - opened two weeks ago.

It's difficult to say which is more entertaining - actually trying to walk through the maze, or watching others walk through.

Take, for example, the journey of three diminutive girls from Sterling, Va., on Friday afternoon. In tank tops and sunglasses, they obediently listened to the rules - put on plastic gloves, walk with your hands out in front of you, don't touch the mirrors - before dipping into the air-conditioned darkness.

"O.M.G.," Michelle Menefee, 17, said - Internet parlance for "Oh my God." "This is so weird."

After fumbling their way toward the middle of the maze, they ran into trouble.

"It's this way," Menefee said.

"No, it's this way," said Sogand Rahmani, 18, before walking into a mirror. "No, it's not this way, I lied. It could be any way."

Zack Kligman, 16, a junior at Myrtle Beach High School, took his girlfriend, Marley Favata, 15, a sophomore at the school, to the maze Friday.

"It's trippy," Kligman said. "I don't know what is a mirror and what's not."

Netherland said the half-million-dollar investment showed the company was committed to the future of downtown Myrtle Beach, an area that has been somewhat in flux since the shuttering of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park in 2006.

"It works out well to put it in conjunction with our other attractions," Netherland said.

The Myrtle Beach maze is the company's third in the country, behind Grand Prairie, Texas, and Gatlinburg, Tenn.

Even more so than some of Ripley's other attractions - which also include the Moving Theater, a Super Fun Zone arcade and the Believe-It-Or-Not! Museum - the maze appeals to people of all ages, Netherland said.

While some zip through in mere minutes, others are not so lucky. Wade White of Jamaica, who works at the attraction's front desk, said he had a couple earlier last week who took more than a half hour to figure it out.

After about 15 minutes, Naira Cortes, 15, of Virginia Beach, Va., and her cousin, Dayna Cox, 11, also of Virginia Beach, made it out.

"Yes!" Naira said upon seeing the sun again. "I did it!"

customer at Ripley's Mirror Maze