Broadway at the Beach Blog

How much fun would it be to have Broadway at the Beach as your headquarters for your Myrtle Beach vacation? When you stay on-site, you're just a few convenient steps from the activity, excitement and awesomeness that makes Broadway "ground zero" for fun and entertainment in the Carolinas.

There's no other spot that serves up such an amazing variety of shopping, dining, theater performances and free street entertainment every night throughout the summer.

Consider how convenient it will be to simply park your car after a five-minute drive back from a hot day on the beach. Everything you need for the rest of the day is right at your fingertips at Broadway. Stroll among the shops to find that unique vacation souvenir. Enjoy the free street entertainment on your way to dinner at one of more than 20 different restaurants. After dinner, experience attractions that range from outdoor rides to indoor adventures. Take in a live show one night and a movie the next. Dance the night away at a nightclub or relax on a deck overlooking Lake Broadway with a tall drink or specialty brew.

More and more families are discovering that staying right on-site at Broadway is one of the most fun-filled ways to spend a Myrtle Beach vacation. The three hotels at Broadway all offer great amenities like spacious rooms, fitness centers, pools, and complimentary breakfasts.

The Fairfield Inn is a short walk to the Legends In Concert theater where tribute artists perform live six nights a week. Next door to Legends, dinner is served with a bit of Hollywood glitz and glamour at Planet Hollywood. Jacuzzi suites are available for when you're not luxuriating in a lounge chair beside the outdoor pool.

If Fido is along for the family vacation, the welcome mat is out at Holiday Inn Express where some pet-friendly rooms are set aside just for animal lovers and their companions. The kids can access their favorite video games on free wi-fi, and after an evening of shopping and entertainment at Broadway, Mom and Dad can relax in the whirlpool or join the kids for a swim in the outdoor pool.

Looking for the best seat in the house for fireworks? The Hampton Inn overlooks Lake Broadway where fireworks light up the sky every Tuesday and Friday. There's free wi-fi so you can send your friends lots of vacation selfies as you relax in the indoor or outdoor pool. After checking out the incredible Ripley's Aquarium next door, you have plenty of time to enjoy the luxury of the Hampton's sauna and whirlpool. The Hampton Inn will even work its connections for you, so ask about its special packages that include restaurants and attractions.

From kiddie rides and thrill rides, to live theater, movies, one-of-a-kind attractions, and outdoor performers, there's always something awesome going on at Broadway at the Beach.

Wouldn't your family love to be in the center of it all?

July 25 is National Carousel Day, a holiday created to honor the first carousel patented by its inventor, William Schneider of Davenport, Iowa, in 1871.

Celebrate the day with a ride on one of our two carousels – or both.

Located near Capriz at Pavilion Park West, the kids will love riding the beautiful Morgan-Chance carousel made in the mid-1980s.

But while this carousel is a beauty, our other is a real, historic gem.

Built by two brothers-in-law in 1912, our Herschell-Spillman Carousel is located at Pavilion Park East near the Hampton Inn at Broadway at the Beach. There are less than a handful of these wonders still operating in the world, making riding this carousel a truly memorable experience.

Unlike many traditional carousels that showcase only horses, ours has many different animals on it, including frogs, lions, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, roosters and more. The animals are hand-carved out of wood, hand-painted, and have real glass eyes.

Some of the animals on our carousel are rare even for a Herschell-Spillman. For example, our frog (hop toad) is dressed in human clothing and the stork has the image of a baby carved on its side. Other special animals include the ostrich, sea serpent, and the "flag" horses which have the image of the American flag carved on their sides and tails of real horse hair.

At Broadway, history and fun come together on National Carousel Day.

There's nothing better to top off a summer day at the beach than a nice dinner, followed by a blockbuster action movie.

Except maybe a blockbuster action movie in 3D on a giant floor-to-ceiling movie screen, with state-of-the-art sound systems, and high resolution, awesomely bright picture quality. And, in Myrtle Beach, that means heading to the one place that delivers the ultimate movie experience, the BigD Theater at Broadway.

Starting Friday, July 25, you can sit back in a comfortable leather seat that actually rocks, slip on a pair of 3D glasses, and be amazed by one of the most anticipated movies of the year. It's "Hercules" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson taking on the iconic role of the the powerful son of the god king Zeus.

But be forewarned: when you catch a 3D movie at BigD, you'll become part of the action. Images will jump off the screen right before your eyes and booming sounds will swirl all around you, as the theater walls vibrate. Can you endure ferocious giant lions and slithery serpents leaping from the film and armies of the undead swarming all around you?

If not, you can choose a 2D option on the BigD giant screen. Or you can head over to the Carmike Cinema where 2D and 3D versions will be shown on more traditionally-sized screens.

Do you have the courage to face all that Hercules delivers from the BigD screen?

Kids of all ages love to bring home vacation souvenirs. That's always been a way to prolong the memories of all the fun had during that precious time at the beach. But how can everyone in the family go home with something special without breaking the vacation budget?

What if you could find something for under $5 each? We've done the shopping and found some pretty nice items at two very cool shops, Crabby Jack's on the north side of Broadway, and Crabby Jill's on the south side.

Check out these 5 ideas:

1. Little girls (and grown up girls, too) love to be fashionable. Flip Flop Art Glass Earrings say both beach and fashion. They come in a variety of colors, each with a little tropical flower on top. And at just $4.99, the girls in your family can keep a bit of their beach vacation with them all year long.

2. Sometimes the trip home from vacation can seem like forever. Keep the kids from getting bored with Under the Sea Playing Cards. These souvenirs will occupy the kids and entertain them for hours. At just $4.99 for the deck, the 14 different images and 54 fun facts in these cards will buy you a quiet ride home at a bargain rate.

3. Teens always need a key chain or two, so what about one that features tiny dangling dolphins and a small corked bottle filled with sand and sea shells from the beach? For just $3.99, they can keep their beach memories close for a long time with a Seashells by the Seashore Key Chain.

4. Mom and Dad will be reminded of romantic strolls along the beach each time they see their Kissing Seahorses statuette that they take home. Adorned with seashells and cute as can be, it's a real steal at $4.99.

5. When vacation is over, it's back to the normal routine. We're all crabby from time to time, so why not turn those frowns into smiles with a humorous sign? For just $4.99, take home a sign for your kitchen or family room that teases "Quit-Cher Crabbin" or "We Serve Crabs, Actually We'll Serve Anybody."

It is possible to get great souvenirs for under $5 each. You just need to know where to look. These top 5 and more can be found at Crabby Jack's and Crabby Jill's.

We get questions about Broadway at the Beach every day. Visitors stop by Guest Services or drop us a post on our Facebook page wondering about all sorts of things. Most folks are intrigued by the sites, the sounds and the size of Broadway. We're asked about our fireworks, traveling performers and even the fish in our lake. So we thought we'd share ten interesting facts about Broadway that answer many of the questions we're asked. And, if you have more, head over to our Facebook page and ask away!

1. Broadway at the Beach's 14 million visitors a year literally come from all over America and beyond. The top 5 states that send us visitors are North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.

2. Our 75 in-line shops and 30 kiosks offer everything from trendy sandals and delicious fudge, to beautiful jewelry and apparel. We even have a magic shop called Broadway Magic.

3. Sixteen nightclubs provide a wide variety of entertainment from comedians performing at the Carolina Comedy Club to live bands playing all kinds of music at several clubs in Celebrity Square and nearby restaurants.

4. Twenty-six attractions fill up your senses at Broadway. Tribute artists give high energy performances at Legends In Concert and an awesome magic show is currently playing at The Palace. Ripley's Aquarium lets you walk through a tunnel with sharks swimming overhead. You can even get your photo taken with a life-like wax model of your favorite star at our new Hollywood Wax Museum.

5. There are more than 20 amusement rides in 3 different parks around Broadway. From kiddie rides to thrill rides, we've got it. It's also an adventure to soar over Lake Broadway on a zipline or have some fun just riding on the lake in a jet boat, paddle boat or water rollerz.

6. Events are a regular part of the Broadway experience. Broadway at the Beach hosts an average of 25 events and/or festivals annually including several 5K's, car shows and charitable walks. And our Christmas Tree Lighting Celebration is one of the most popular events in the area as we illuminate our 52 foot tall tree with 141,000 lights as performers bring in the holiday season.

7. Just how big is Lake Broadway? Our 23-acre lake is 100 feet across and 1 mile in length. Depths range from 3 to 15 feet.

8. How many fish are in our lake? We've stopped counting! We originally stocked the lake with about 29,000 fish including Bream, Catfish, Hybrid Bass, Japanese Carp and Israeli Carp when we opened in 1995. A quick look around and you'll see that we have a pretty healthy (and growing) aquatic population that now also includes wildlife such as seagulls, turtles, ducks and more.

9. Our fish consume approximately 34,000 ponds of fish food every year, thanks to our many visitors who stop on the bridges at our feeders and toss in the food that draws the fish up to the surface for chow.

10. Our most popular regular events are our fireworks shows held Tuesdays and Fridays at 10 p.m. during the summer as well as several seasonal shows throughout the remainder of the year. Weather permitting, we'll present 30 free fireworks shows this year. And by seasons end, we will have exploded nearly 100,000 shots over Broadway.

Now that you have the facts, come out and enjoy!