For gifts: Don’t let yearlong admission deals pass you by

Still looking for that special gift for someone, something that’s good for more than one memory, and maybe a whole season’s or year’s worth? Don’t let these deals – for all-year access to some area attractions – pass you by.

With one week to go before the grandest gift-giving day of the year, we’ve rounded up some ideas for annual memberships and passes that could help attest to the slogan of the S.C. license plates issued from 1998-2008, from the words lining the light blue mountaintops portrayed: “Smiling Faces. Beautiful Places.”

An annual pass at Alligator Adventure, a special zoo at Barefoot Landing, on U.S. 17 in North Myrtle Beach, with reptiles and other animals native to the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australia, pays itself off easily in three visits. The passes, plus tax, are $49.99 ages 13 and older, and $37.99 ages 4-12. Compare that with daily admission of $19.99 for ages 13 and older, $17.99 seniors, $16.99 military $14.99 ages 4-12.

Thad Bowman, who oversees the park’s public relations, said pass holders constitute “a good following.” He agreed that every visit turns into a new memory and different experience from the previous walk-through, too, especially with the change of seasons and the inhabitants’ adaptations to weather conditions.

The arrival of a flock of Chilean flamingos earlier this year has added extra color and charm to the zoo. Bowman also called this species more “cold-weather tolerant” than the larger type native to Africa and other tropical climes.

The namesakes of the park also shift their modes for “just relaxing” through this time of year, Bowman said, because as cold-blooded creatures, their metabolism slows down, which matches their ebbing of appetite “from October through April.”

However, alligators soak up the sunlight to heat their body temperatures, as designed by Mother Nature, Bowman said, citing a study from North Carolina when gators monitored with sensors showed their body exceeding 80 degrees F, and never mind that the outdoor reading was 32.

Animals await, for education and delight

Enjoy up-close looks at wildlife:

▪ Alligator Adventure – In winter, check for updated hours of operations. Admission always free for ages 3 and younger. 843-361-0789 or alligatoradventure.com.

▪ Ripley’s Aquarium, on 29th Avenue North at Broadway at the Beach in Myrtle Beach, open 9 a.m. daily. Annual passes, plus tax, are $54.99 ages 12 and older, $32.99 ages 6-11, and $14.99 ages 2-5, with a discount on renewals by $10 and $2 in the first two age groups, respectively. Also, “Festival of Trees” continues through Dec. 31, celebrating every U.S. state and territory with its own tree of decorations; free with admission. 843-916-0888, 800-734-8888 or www.ripleysaquarium.com.

▪ N.C. Aquariums, including Fort Fisher, on U.S. 421, just south of Kure Beach, open 9 a.m. daily (but not Dec. 25), for one- and two-year memberships, respectively: $50/$95 individual, $65/$125 couple, and $75/$145 family. Pass also good for N.C. Zoo and reciprocal free or discounted entry to many Association of Zoos and Aquariums sites nationwide. 910-458-7468 or www.ncaquariums.com/fort-fisher. More details: 800-832-3474 (FISH).

▪ S.C. Aquarium, 100 Aquarium Wharf, Charleston, off Calhoun Street, about 1 mile south from Meeting Street exit off U.S. 17, on west side of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge from Mount Pleasant, open 9 a.m. daily (but not Dec. 25). Annual membership options include $79 individual, $109 two adults, and family $169. Also, guided tours of Sea Turtle Rescue Program hospital – managed by Kelly Thorvalson, who grew up in Georgetown – noon and 2 p.m. daily, for extra $10 ages 13 and older, $5 ages 3-12, and free ages 2 and younger – reservations recommended. 843-577-3474 (FISH), 800-722-6455 or scaquarium.org.

▪ Riverbanks Zoo & Garden in Columbia, if you head west and frequent or pass through our state capital, check out this site off Interstate 126 at Greystone Boulevard, just west of downtown. Annual membership choices include $49 individual, and $79 family or grandparents. Also, “Lights Before Christmas,” with about 1 million lights, is 5-9 p.m. daily through Dec. 30 – except for Dec. 24-25 – with separate admission of $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 2–12, and free ages 1 and younger. Regular zoo hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. daily. 803-779-8717 or www.riverbanks.org.

S.C. State Parks “Passport” annual paases come in various options, with the standard choice at $75, including access to both parks lining the Grand Strand.

The park system – with 47 state parks, and state historic sites such as Hampton Plantation State Historic Site, off U.S. 17 near McClellanville – continues its “12 Days of Deals,” begun Monday. As mentioned by Mike Walker, an interpretive ranger at Huntington Beach State Park, a sale this Friday brings a 10 percent discount on passports sold at each park or at southcarolinaparks.com by stating this code: “DAY082015.” This special does not apply, though, to the “Palmetto Passport” rate of $37.50, available to S.C. seniors 65 and older, and residents with blindness or other disabilities.

Regular prices for State Park Passports are:

▪ Statewide Park Passport for $75.

▪ Park Passport Plus for $99 – With some free benefits such as some nature/education programs that otherwise incur small fees, and free admission to Atalaya at Huntington Beach State Park, house tours at Hampton Plantation (for as many as four people), and the lighthouse at Hunting Island State Park.

▪ Inland Park Passport for $50 – For access to 42 inland state parks, excluding the five coastal area parks: Myrtle Beach, Huntington Beach, Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site in Charleston, as well as Edisto Beach and Hunting Island. (Also “Seven-Day Passport” available, for $35, for one week.)

Also, both local state parks are open every day of the year – also with free park admission statewide Dec. 24-25, to close the aforementioned “12 Days of Deals”:

▪ Myrtle Beach State Park, on U.S. 17 Business, one mile south of Farrow Parkway/South Ocean Boulevard, across from Seagate Village. Winter hours 6 a.m.-8 p.m. through February. 843-238-5325 or www.myrtlebeachsp.com.

▪ Huntington Beach State Park, on U.S. 17, between Murrells Inlet and Litchfield Beach, across from Brookgreen Gardens, with winter hours 6 a.m.-6 p.m. through March 1. 843-237-4440 or www.huntingtonbeachsp.com. (Reach the Friends of Huntington Beach State Park at 843-650-6666 or www.friendshbsp.com.)

More state park details from 803-734-0156.

Brookgreen beauty year round

Brookgreen Gardens, on U.S. 17 between Murrells Inlet and Litchfield Beach – also with its own Lowcountry Zoo, full of local native animals – boasts its own beauty in any season, even on a blustry, wintry day without any sunshine.

Two basic membership options, good for 12 months, are $65 individual and $100 household, with some perks and discounts, and two complimentary one-visit guest passes to give to someone else.

Details at 843-235-6000, 800-849-1931 or www.brookgreen.org.

Annual pass rolls for SkyWheel

The Myrtle Beach SkyWheel continues sales of annual passes for unlimited general admission rides or “flights,” each of which entails three revolutions.

Pass prices through Dec. 31 are $25 for ages 12 and older, and $15 ages 3-11. That compares with respective regular single ride prices of $13 and $9. Admission’s always free for ages 2 and younger. The pass does not cover VIP rides, which remain $50 and $35 per flight, respectively. However, passholders are accorded discounted general admission tickets for as many as four guests per day.

Buy passes anytime until 4 p.m. daily on site at the SkyWheel, 1110 N. Ocean Blvd., adjacent to Myrtle Beach’s Plyler Park, at Mr. Joe White Avenue.

December hours, weather permitting, are 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays, 1-7 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Details at 843-839-9200 or myrtlebeachskywheel.com.

Go to town in teeing off with mini-golf

Five sister miniature golf courses in Myrtle Beach city limits share a 2016 season pass for $69.99, good for all five courses:

▪ Jungle Safari Mini Golf, 7101 N. Kings Highway; 843-315-0311

▪ Captain Hook’s Adventure Golf, 2205 N. Kings Highway; 843-913-7851

▪ Dragon’s Lair Fantasy Golf, at Broadway at the Beach; 843-913-9301

▪ Jurassic Golf, 2900 S. Kings Highway; 843-913-5333

▪ Shipwreck Island Adventure Golf, 3301 Adventure Golf, at South Kings Highway; 843-913-5330.

Details at 843-424-0181 or myrtlebeachfamilygolf.com.

Celebrate being young with parents, grandparents

The Children’s Museum of South Carolina, 2204 N. Oak St., Myrtle Beach, also has corralled a number of membership options, with its own annual “passports” for year-round entry. They include a family choice for $90, “Just for Two” option for one adult and one child for $50, and a grandparents-grandchildren deal for $85.

Details at 843-946-9469 or www.cmsckids.org.

Water-park seasons resume in May

Two of the three local water parks, which open in later May for the summer through about Labor Day weekend, sell season passes:

▪ Wild Water & Wheels, 910 U.S. Business S., Surfside Beach: Passes for ages 3 and older, plus tax, at these rates through Dec. 24: Full park pass, including unlimited go-carts, bumper boats and miniature golf, for $89.90 online, or $94.90; and water park only, for $49.95 online, or $54.95. 843-238-3787 or www.wild-water.com.

▪ Myrtle Waves, at U.S. 17 Bypass and 10th Avenue North Extension, Myrtle Beach, opening May 17 for weekends, then daily as of June 6: Season passes, plus taxes, are $39.99 online through Dec. 31.843-913-9250 or www.myrtlewaves.com.

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "For gifts: Don’t let yearlong admission deals pass you by."