By Kathleen Vereen Dayton, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
Oct. 28--Magic wands will soon replace the butterflies that once filled a major attraction at Broadway At The Beach.
The former Butterfly Pavilion, which closed in December 2002, is being transformed into a magic kingdom filled with dragons, pixies, princesses and unicorns, all brought to life by cutting-edge computer technology and, its creator says, a little magic.
The new, interactive family attraction will fill a custom-designed space left dormant at Broadway at the Beach for nearly two years.
B&C bought the Butterfly Pavilion out of foreclosure in September 2003 for $4.3 million.
The pavilion had struggled financially since its inception and only operated for 18 months.
Magically, the new attraction is expected to open in about seven months, just in time for the summer tourist season.
MagicQuest, an interactive family attraction offering games built around a medieval, magical theme, will be the first attraction of its kind and is expected to roll out to other areas of the country.
Creator Denise Weston says she chose to launch MagicQuest in Myrtle Beach because she was looking for 'the perfect family venue.' Weston is currently based in Rhode Island but is planning to move to Myrtle Beach. She has been developing toys, games and interactive children's amusements for more than 25 years.
Among her achievements are children's play and pool areas for Disney Cruise Lines, Club Disney and Disney Quest; a four-acre Loony Tunes park for Six Flags, Ohio; and The Great Barn at Stone Mountain, Ga.
Weston's company, Creative Kingdoms, began in 1999 and has won numerous awards.
Creative Kingdoms has joined with Burroughs & Chapin, Co. Inc. to form a new company, New Kingdoms, with MagicQuest as their first venture.
Tom Jones, B&C's chief of sports, recreation and entertainment, said the company was attracted by MagicQuest's focus on family interaction.
The 22,500-square foot former Butterfly Pavilion, located between the IMAX Theater and Broadway Cinema 16, is being transformed into a fairy-tale fantasy world of castles, drawbridges and a Stonehenge-like circle of stones that will conceal computers where participants will be able to choose games, or quests.
'It's a perfect building for what we're going to do,' Weston said.
Children can play the game with their friends or parents. A magic wand presented to each participant has the technology to recognize the participant individually and allows the child to command lightening bolts, open treasure boxes, control music and other feats of the imagination. More than 250 different special effects can be created with a wave of the wand, and each quest a child chooses on computer is unique.
The MagicQuest attraction plans a huge product line of costumes and interactive MagicQuest accessories.
'I think this is a winning idea. This has tremendous potential for the next new attraction, nationally,' said Myrtle Beach city spokesman Mark Kruea.
A team of 30 people are working on MagicQuest, including six computer programmers and special effects 'wizards.'
B&C declined to say how much the renovation of the former Butterfly Pavilion would cost.
'We really don't disclose that, but it's a whole lot of money,' Jones said.
Horry County Council chairwoman Liz Gilland said she is impressed by Weston and thinks the concept has brains.
'In today's Harry Potter society, magic is a popular theme,' Gilland said. 'I think, like any of the other excellent attractions here, it will be some thing new for people to get excited about who have been here, and for those who have never come before, they'll want to get to this first and then enjoy all the other attractions the Grand Strand has to offer.'
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