Family Kingdom Carousel- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

The horse is fiberglass, but it still looks great!

The unique Family Kingdom Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina has a famous carousel that many amusement park lovers seem to overlook on their visit. Upon first glance it is not a unique ride and even features fiberglass horses. However, this machine once spun at "the Casino" in the famed Asbury Park, New Jersey. The machine is Philadelphia Toboggan Company carousel number 87 and today it brings joy to beach-goers visiting the sunny shores of a place not much different than the oceanfront property it used to occupy several hours north.

The ride is covered in hundreds of white lights to keep it looking beautiful all day long.

While most sources list information on the history of the Herschell-Spillman machine down the road at Myrtle Beach Pavilion, many do not have any information on this carousel. Records indicate that it was installed at the Casino for the 1923 season. There it had a beautiful building covered in delicate metalwork around the roof's edge, hundreds of white lights that covered the roof and ornate glasswork in the doorways. It is not known when, but sometime during the downfall of Asbury Park the Casino sold the carousel's wooden horses to get the money to keep their park afloat. The Casino finally followed the trend of amusements in Asbury Park and closed its doors for good.

The artists were smart enough to keep the P.T.C. sign painted on the center column. It is great when a park appreciates its carousel's history.

Obviously the owners of Family Kingdom saw the sale of the Casino's carousel as a stroke of good luck for them. They bought it and installed the machine in a corner of the park in a brand new building where it still spins today. The new owners have taken care of the ride and today it looks the best it has in a long time. To help preserve the carousel's look a group of local artists were brought in to pain the panels and rounding boards. Nature scenes abound and show the many different types of animals found in the wild areas of the Carolinas. The horses look very good for fiberglass steeds and proudly spin on a machine with a very storied past. Family Kingdom has given the ride paint accents not far from the scheme it sported at the Casino and has covered the wood in white lights that burn night and day. A piece of history was saved when the Casino carousel was moved to Myrtle Beach, make sure you stop and see it.


This horse has a great position like it is pawing the ground.	The rounding boards depict sea scenes and other things found around the Carolinas.	Family Kingdom keeps the carousel in excellent running condition.