Roller Coasters in South Carolina

Gosh, I thought there’d be a bit more, but there are only a few roller coasters in South Carolina! Now, Carowinds does physically occupy space in South Carolina, but technically its address is in Charlotte, North Carolina, so it doesn’t count.

Otherwise, all we’ve got are a handful – all in Myrtle Beach. Once upon a time (i.e. the ’70s), there was a pier coaster down in Folly Beach below Charleston. And for one brief year, there was a wild mouse at South of the Border, a pseudo-Mexican-themed souvenir village on the NC/SC border. But alas, we are stuck with only seven in the whole state.

Click on each coaster’s name below for a video of the ride! Ride all the roller coasters in South Carolina from home!

Family Kingdom Amusement Park

Four of those roller coasters are at Family Kingdom Amusement Park, Myrtle Beach’s oldest seaside amusement park. The original Swamp Fox wooden coaster offers the biggest thrills, while the Twist ‘n’ Shout offers the most uncomfortable jerks. The Kiddie Coaster and the new Dragon are both for smaller kids. Other rides at the park include several flat rides, a log flume, a kids’ ride area, and go-karts.

You can walk around Family Kingdom for free if you want. An all-rides wristband will set you back $50 each, unless you have a group of 24 or more. Or you can purchase tickets for individual rides. In that case, Swamp Fox costs $8 and Twist ‘n’ Shout costs $6. The park is in the middle of the strip, so you can easily walk in if you’re staying anywhere close. Otherwise, plan to pay for parking in a lot or on the street. There is a dedicated Family Kingdom lot – in 2021, it was $10, so I expect it’s $15 or more now.

Pavilion Park

Pavilion Park, as part of the Broadway at the Beach shopping & dining complex, has several rides. Included is Myrtle Turtle, one of those spinning figure-8 coasters. With a name that includes “turtle,” don’t expect thrills. Other rides on the “Fun Park” side are mostly for smaller kids, but there’s one huge Ferris wheel and a decent-looking drop tower. On the “Action Park” side, there are bigger rides.

To play, you can buy individual ride tickets, ticket bundles, or all-day wristbands good for one or two days. Tickets are $2.25 per ticket, but no info on how many tickets each ride costs. I can’t imagine the slide costing the same as “The Beast.” The Ferris wheel costs $13.50 per person. And a wristband costs $45. Parking is free in several surrounding lots.

Funplex

At Funplex farther up the beach, we find Fun in the Sun, another coaster with spinning cars, this one on an oval track and with special “hampster wheel” cars that look a bit more exciting. There are only seven rides at this location, but they all look nice and new, and fairly thrilling.

All rides are on a credit system, like an arcade. Just the coaster would be $10. To get an unlimited ride band costs $29. It looks like there is an adjacent paid parking lot, but nothing specifically dedicated to the park. It’s worth noting that the Myrtle Beach SkyWheel is also in this area.

The Track Family Fun Park

Finally, much further up the beach, we have The Track. It’s mostly two big go-kart tracks (think multiple levels and hairpin curves) with an arcade and a few amusement rides. The roller coaster here is called Shark Party. It’s another one of those spinning figure-8 numbers, but this time with a cute shark paint job. The rest of the rides include bumper boats, a carousel, and two in-a-circle kid’s rides.

Attraction points go on a card, for $1 per point, though the more you buy at once, the more bonus points you get. (Points never expire, and there are Track locations in Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Destin, and Pigeon Forge.) Shark Party costs $9 to ride. It looks like it has its own free parking lot.

Water Parks in South Carolina

We’ve got a few water parks in South Carolina. And at least they aren’t all in Myrtle Beach! (Though the biggest one is.) A couple that have been around for a while have closed in recent years – including one attached to Family Kingdom. And as usual, several are just extra-nice city-run pools.

• Myrtle Waves at Myrtle Beach features 12 slides, maybe 3 kids’ areas, a wave pool, lazy river, and a FlowRider boogie boarding simulator. Daily tickets are around $50, though there are discounts for buying online, kids (~$40), seniors, military, and in the last three hours of the day. Fridays after 3 pm around ~$20 and the FlowRider costs $10 extra. Week-long passes are also available.
• Neptune Island in Hartsville has 4 slides, a lazy river, wave pool, and splash pad for kids. Admission is $20 and under.

• Whirlin’ Waters Adventure Waterpark in North Charleston is a robust city-run park with 5 big slides, 3 kids’ areas, a wave pool, and a lazy river. Admission is around $25 and under. Another Charleston city park called Splash Zone has 2 slides, a lazy river, and a big rainforest-themed play structure. Admission there costs $16 and under. Splash Island features 1 big slide, 1 small slide, a whirlpool, a spray area, and activity pool for $11 and under.
• The City of Greenville has three bigger city water parks. Otter Creek costs $13.50 and under, has 3 big slides and one kiddie slide, a big pool with zero-depth entry, and a spray area. Discovery Island costs $14.50 and under, has 2 slides, a lazy river, a kids’ splash tower complex, and a FlowRider surf simulator. 7th Inning Splash costs $8 and under, has 3 slides, a lap pool, and a baseball-themed splash pad.

• Palmetto Falls Water Park in Fort Jackson is on a military base, but outsiders can still visit for $17. It features a big pool, 3-ish slides, a lazy river, and a kiddie pool.
• Shipwreck Cove in Duncan has a pirate-themed pool with a small lazy river, 2 slides, and a splash area. Admission costs $12 and under.

Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing next year? Let me know in the comments below!