Amusement park draws business to North Myrtle Beach oceanfront

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH—In April, When News13 first checked with Benny Visan about the new amusement park set to open across Ocean Boulevard from his beachwear store, he was cautiously optimistic.

“I’m really thinking something like that could really work,“ Visan said on April 15.

By all accounts, it’s working well so far.

The O.D. Pavillion and Amusement Park, which opened Aug. 1 on the oceanside corner of Ocean Boulevard and Main Street in North Myrtle Beach, is seeing brisk business. The owners tell The (Myrtle Beach) Sun News the park draws close to 2,000 visitors a day.

Visan says he can tell as soon as he walks outside at night—when the park is open—that something great is happening in the neighborhood.

“You can tell there’s a lot of movement,“ Visan said on Monday. “A lot of people come at night, and sometimes the store is full with 50-100 people at a time,“ he said.

Visan and others hope the park’s success could breed more businesses to come to the Ocean Drive area, and spark a rejuvenation along the north end of the Grand Strand.

“People used to hang around here all the time,“ he said.