7 Things Every South Carolinian Remembers About the Myrtle Beach Pavilion

The Haunted Hotel at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion opened in 1978 as a dark indoor ride past animatronic ghosts.

The park’s gone now, but South Carolinians who rode it still remember.

Here’s what every South Carolinian remembers about the Myrtle Beach Pavilion.

1. Herschell-Spillman Carousel

Horses weren’t the only animals on the Myrtle Beach Pavilion’s hand-carved 1912 Herschell-Spillman carousel.

WIS-TV reported in 2006 that it’s one of just 150 surviving Herschell-Spillman models.

That story said some of its more exotic animals include an ostrich, a rooster and a giraffe.

Visit Myrtle Beach says the menagerie also includes frogs, lions, zebras and dragons.

You could pick a dragon over a horse.

2. Band Organ

At the Pavilion, the carousel ran to the music of a German-made band organ.

That organ weighed about two tons.

Visit Myrtle Beach says it debuted at the Pavilion in 1954.

WIS-TV reported in August 2006 that the organ and the carousel might stay in a development planned for the old site.

They might also move to another Burroughs and Chapin property, but that story said just where they would go had not been decided.

3. Hurricane Coaster

A wooden roller coaster called the Hurricane: Category 5 opened at the Myrtle Beach Pavilion in 2000.

It reportedly had a 100-foot drop, 14 turns and a top speed of 55 mph.

WIS-TV’s July 2006 look at the park counted 40 rides, with the Hurricane among them.

Coaster Critic reported in March 2007 that the Hurricane had been demolished.

4. Haunted Hotel

Visit Myrtle Beach says the Haunted Hotel opened in 1978 as a dark indoor ride past animatronic ghosts.

Its sign promised “Doom Service Available.”

The South Carolina Picture Project, a nonprofit that documents state landmarks, lists the ride with the carousel and the pipe organ among the Pavilion’s mainstays.

It also calls the Haunted Hotel beloved.

5. Magic Attic

A historical marker at the site says the 1949 pavilion’s Magic Attic hosted bands and other acts.

Some couples met their mates among the rides, the arcade or dancing at the Magic Attic, Sun News reported.

The same marker says the Pavilion’s jukebox played the rhythm and blues later called Beach Music.

If you grew up near the Grand Strand, you’re likely among the many people who still remember dancing the shag at the Pavilion.

WIS-TV called the Pavilion popular for shag dancing, and the shag has been South Carolina’s official state dance since 1984.

6. Concrete Pavilion

The concrete building many people remember was a replacement.

A fire destroyed the earlier pavilion in 1944, and the concrete pavilion reopened in 1949 just north of the old site.

The new building opened on the east side of Ocean Boulevard with a large wooden dance floor on the second floor, a stage and grandstands.

When Hurricane Hazel came through in 1954, WIS-TV reported, people opened the Pavilion’s doors so the storm water could run through, and the building survived.

7. Final Summer

WIS-TV reported in March 2006 that the Pavilion would close at the end of the summer season, after 2005 drew just 850,000 visitors.

Officials planned special events throughout the season and hoped to have a redevelopment plan by mid-2006, with a new boardwalk part of the talk.

By July, Burroughs and Chapin, the company that owns the site, said the park was losing money.

Burroughs and Chapin’s Tim Ruedy said people tend to prefer things that are new and modern to things that are old and quaint.

The South Carolina Picture Project says the park closed to the general public on September 24 and a select group was invited back on September 30.

If you wanted one more ride, that season was your window.

WMBF looked back in 2017 and reported that the rides were dismantled one by one, the arcade games removed and the Magic Attic torn down.

Rides Added Over the Years

Major renovations came to the Myrtle Beach Pavilion in 1978.

Visit Myrtle Beach says the Corkscrew, the Pavilion’s first steel roller coaster, opened that year with a 70-foot drop and two twisting loops.

Rides like the Enterprise and the Mind Scrambler joined the lineup in the 1980s.

A new Ferris wheel arrived in 1987.

A $2 million steel Mad Mouse coaster replaced the Galaxi in 1998.

Which ride you remember best may depend on the decade you grew up in.

Where the Carousel and Organ Went

The carousel outlived the park.

A Sun News feature reported the carousel and some other rides at Pavilion Park at Broadway at the Beach.

Visit Myrtle Beach lists the Wave Swinger, the Rock & Roll Express and the Scrambler there too, alongside a classic carousel.

The band organ had a different path, according to the South Carolina Picture Project, which says it was removed from Broadway at the Beach in 2014 for preservation reasons.

By that account, the carousel South Carolinians rode before 2006 is the one now at Pavilion Park.

Empty Lot Today

As of early 2026, WMBF News reported, the former Pavilion lot that once anchored the Grand Strand's downtown remained largely empty, 20 years after the closing.

The Post and Courier described the site as spanning about 12 acres, with Burroughs & Chapin Inc. as the owner.

As of that report, the site hosted the Carolina Country Music Fest for one weekend each summer.

The Myrtle Beach Adventure Zipline, the final active attraction on the property, closed in 2024.

WMBF's February 2026 story said the city and the property owner were exploring ways to turn the space into the “next big thing.”