Visitors enjoy short lines opening morning

Crowds were sparse in the morning just after the park's grand opening, but that was a good thing for Darlene and Kevin Murray and their nine-year-old daughter Alexa.

The family, from Highpoint, N.C., was headed to ride the Led Zeppelin roller coaster for the third time because the lines were so short.

"We love it. We feel like have the whole park to ourselves," Darlene Murray said. "We're VIPs."

They were disappointed that Slippery When Wet wasn't open yet.

"We keep walking by to see if it's open. They said they were testing it," she said.

High gas prices, at $3.54 for a gallon of regular Friday in Myrtle Beach, did not hinder their roughly four-hour drive to get here.

Area tourism leaders are hoping people will spend money on trips this summer despite the slumping economy. They have said rebate checks should help, and that people might see Hard Rock Park as more affordable than driving down to Florida's theme parks.

Murray said there's no way they would have canceled their vacation.

"You work hard, you need to have fun,'' she said.