As it gets closer to 2011 it's out with the old and in the new. The new year holds a few big changes for the Myrtle Beach area.
The first big change: Dixie Stampede will become Pirates Voyage.
"Some folks may ask me why I would want to change Dixie Stampede after our incredible success all these years. Nearly seven million guests have enjoyed the show over the last 18, years," Dolly Parton said in an September interview in Business Week. "It may be a bold move but I think it's the right one. Myrtle Beach has so many repeat visitors because it is such a great vacation destination, it made sense for us to create a new adventure for families to enjoy and what speaks to this area more than Pirates, so grab your hats and eye patches and head on over to the Pirates' Voyage!"
In June 2011, guests will experience swashbuckling pirates on the Carolina coast. Crimson and Sapphire
Pirates will battle each other on deck, in the water and in the sky above their full sized pirate ships in a 15-foot-deep indoor lagoon to the cheers and delight of their fans in the arena. All the renovations come with a $11 million dollar price tag.
Closer to the coastline, the next year means the New Sky Wheel opens. Crews began working on the monumental ferris wheel this september. The new attraction will be just off Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach just a couple blocks away from the old Myrtle Beach Pavilion site. The 190-foot sky wheel will be the largest east of the Mississippi River.
"We feel like that's going to be an icon for Myrtle Beach," Mayor John Rhodes said.
2011 also means the end for some businesses. In the Market Common district, Blue Mer is holding the last of a liquidation sale. The store's closing their doors on January fifth. Blue Mer was included in the grand opening of The Market Common on April 3, 2008. Immediately the store experienced less than expected sales and throughout 2008, 2009 and 2010. Bates is now in debt, and calls the venture a "financial disaster."
"Throughout our time at The Market Common we have concluded that there is a lack of traffic and lack of interest in the complex in general and see no immediate changes which would allow us to continue to operate and be profitable here," Bates says.
In terms of hurricanes, experts are predicting already that there's a good chance it will be a strong season.
For the 28th year, the team at Colorado State University recently released its 2011 hurricane season forecast.
Right now, they're saying they'll be nine hurricanes in 2011.
The team will update its predictions on April 6, June 1 and Aug. 3. The season runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
