The Evolution of Attractions on Panama City Beach

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Panama City Beach, FL -
Panama City Beach lost an integral element in the destination's attractions arsenal when Miracle Strip Amusement Park closed permanently on Labor Day of 2004. Since that time there have been some new attractions added along our beaches, like Ripley's Believe It Or Not, but the void left by the closing of a full-scale amusement park has not been filled. Today the cries for another park to replace Miracle Strip have waned very little, and emotionally there remains a lingering mourning for the place that left us all with so many fond memories.

Panama City Beach lost an integral element in the destination's attractions arsenal when Miracle Strip Amusement Park closed for good on Labor Day of 2004.

Today as you drive along Front Beach Road, it is hard to imagine that the desolate looking rundown property was once the home to so many firsts. Many a visitor to our beaches and locals alike took their first coaster ride on the clickety-clack track of the 2,000 foot-long Starliner wooden roller coaster. If those spooky looking cars with the skull on the back that bumped around in the dark on the Haunted Castle Ride could talk, we'd probably hear lots of stories about first kisses. Best of all were the countless "Kodak moments" when toddlers drove a car or a jeep, or piloted a boat or a plane round and round in circles, waving and smiling to parents who patiently waited for each lap, and waved back with pride.

Will there be another amusement park like Miracle Strip to call Panama City Beach home? Probably not. The costs of operating an amusement park today present an overwhelming obstacle. The expense of purchasing, maintaining, and operating amusement rides, as well as providing general liability insurance makes the return on investment nonexistent. Examples of this trend include Cypress Gardens in central Florida, which was purchased and updated a few years ago to include amusement rides like the beloved Starliner. A couple of years later the park was sold in bankruptcy, and the new owners are attempting to sell the rides. Last year the 400 million dollar Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina filed bankruptcy after less than a year of operation. The park was purchased for around $25 million. Whether the new owners can make those numbers work remains to be seen, but they discovered the need to discount the $39.95 adult admission to as low as $8.88. Finally, the Six Flags Corporation filed bankruptcy a few weeks ago on June 13. Enough said.

Breaking even or making a profit in the shoulder seasons on Panama City Beach is tenuous at best. You see a facility the size of Shipwreck Island or Miracle Strip Park, with a couple hundred daily employees, needs the condos and motels to be at or near the capacity of the summer season. The guests in those lodging establishments also need to be mostly families. Of course once school starts in our core Southeastern markets that doesn't happen. A large park that operates profitably on weekends in the fall or early spring is usually located in a major market, or at least metro area with a local population of a half a million people or more. Across America the customer base in most towns is further diluted in the fall by high school and college football, band, cheerleading, and other school extra-curricular activities.

So where does that leave Panama City Beach in the quest to replace Miracle Strip Park, and offer quality things for families to do? The Walsingham family was right on target when they built a Ripley's walk-thru museum they cleverly call an "Odditorium." Gary Walsingham and his family are considering the construction of another walk-thru attraction with an equally unique façade. Inside you'll experience entertaining elements like mazes and optical illusions as you take the mentally challenging trek through the house of fun.

Construction is well underway on the Shubee "Flow Rider" on Middle Beach Road. The "Flow Rider" offers patrons the chance to ride a unique wave of thousands of gallons of water forced in the surfer's direction. "Flow Rider" surf boards aren't much bigger than a large skate board, which adds to the challenge. There is also a boogie board option that's not quite as difficult, but certainly not lacking in fun. A complete waterpark might cost upwards of 20 or perhaps 30 million dollars, depending on the land and type of attractions, but the unique single attraction Flow Rider has a far better chance of a return on investment.

A NASCAR go-cart track is also being discussed by investors, and while we may have a plethora of go-cart tracks on Panama City Beach, the NASCAR association brings a different style and mindset to the attraction. Promotional tie-ins to the most famous racing brand in the world could also afford the attraction a strong positioning among amusement seekers.

ROI, (return on investment) liability and litigious issues, best use of land, and cost of operations all make it tenuous at best for the consideration of a large amusement complex to be built on Panama City Beach. The clustering of amusement devices into one tract of land makes for a large complex, but it is proving to be more and difficult for those types of facilities to survive. Gulf World Marine Park and Shipwreck Island Waterpark continue to entertain hundreds of thousands of visitors and locals every year, but don't look for attractions that size to spring up anytime in the future. Smaller, more singular operations seem to be the direction of growth for the amusement industry, and Panama City Beach is attracting our share of those types of entertainment facilities.

We can still cling to our memories of the fun-filled experiences Miracle Strip Park, but we can also look forward to making millions of new ones on a myriad of attractions throughout the twenty-one mile stretch of Panama City Beach.

Note from Editor: Buddy Wilkes is General Manager of Shipwreck Island Waterpark and a guest contributor to TripSmarter.Com.