The Ripken Experience Myrtle Beach

The Ripken Experience is not an experience. It's a host site/company with nice facilities and well-organized, smoothly-run tournaments. If you want an "experience," you and/or your team will need to plan activities. There is free parking in large lots, and free admission for spectators. You're allowed to bring food, drinks, coolers, tents, chairs, etc. But complimentary cold water, cups, bleachers, and shaded picnic tables are also available. There are several concession options on site, too. Professional photography & game streaming services are available at an extra cost, but personal photos, video, and streaming are permitted, too. There are two sets of covered bleachers and a functioning scoreboard at each (turf) field. An announcer and 2 umps are provided for each game. Fields are modeled after big league fields, with posted facts. Metal cleats are banned, but gum & sunflower seeds are allowed. The complex is large and well-maintained with lots of batting cages & bullpens/warmup mounds. There's also a climbing structure playground. The main snack bar and merchandise/photo shop are air conditioned. The shop has a good variety of souvenir items at high-but-not-horrendous prices and some practical (no logo) items like bat grips, wagons, and catcher's gear. I thought the digital photo package was a great deal, but the prices for printed photos seemed a bit silly. A lot of people were buying them, though. The snack bar prices were way too high, but the souvenir cups were cute. There was a former MLB player at the opening ceremony, and skills competitions on the first day. There were no other supplementary activities, just games. There weren't clinics, speeches, events, practices with other teams, big screen replays of classic games or highlights, etc. No activities - baseball related or not, at the facility or away - were organized/planned. The location also doesn't have a museum, looping reel on a monitor, or even a wall of captioned posters from Cal Ripken Jr's career. There are a few pictures of the baseball great, and a recorded message from him played towards the start of each game. The orange playground may even be a nod the the Orioles' colors. But, there is not a lot of Ripken at Ripken. Myrtle Beach isn't a baseball town. The Pelicans, a Cubs' minor league team, plays nearby and there are some batting cages at mini golf courses. We didn't see anything else baseball-related outside Ripken. Players will see kids from all over the country during the tournament, but they could/will see kids from all over the country just by being in Myrtle Beach. Teams don't interact beyond playing baseball against each other. Games finished early each day, with only a game or two per team, even during brackets. Probably smart since it was incredibly hot and humid throughout our stay. But it felt like a lot of "down time." My son's age group had 20 teams, and 3 were from our state. (Those teams' areas geographically touch. Not Ripken's fault. Maybe our coaches wanted to hang out together at the beach.) After playing 5 games, teams were separated into a A and B brackets, not unusual for large tournaments. There is a rushed, assembly-line type "ring ceremony" for each team after elimination. I don't know what winners experience -- the kid I cared about didn't make it that far. Going into this, you should know/remember 80-95% of teams leave after a loss. (Depending on how you classify runners-up and the B bracket.) So, winning is a big deal, and "losing" isn't so bad. Each player got 3 "free" souvenirs: a tumbler mug, a bag tag, and a ring. Not very exciting swag for kids, but maybe the cup and tag are practical, and a lot of people love souvenirs. The tournament is cashless, but the rest of the town isn't. In fact, most of the places away from the complex add a surcharge for credit cards. This is a nice tournament with nice fields. There are lots of touristy things and a beach nearby. My son had fun, but he loves almost everything about baseball. Overall, it wasn't an experience, just a long tournament in a tourist destination.

Came here for 12U tournament which was an alternative to doing Cooperstown. It’s a great facility and here are my pros/cons: Pros •Dedicated person to announce players live and they let siblings sing 🎤 Take me out to the ballgame at the 4th inning which is adorable •They play music in between innings keeping parents in a good mood •Professional photo options through partner Glossy Finish •Concession stand/cafe area has air condition and metal chairs so it is such a relief to get out of the heat and into those cold chairs •Ample parking everywhere •Facilities are nice •Turtle pond at the front of the park provides entertainment every time we walk up for a game 🐢 •They provide buckets of cold water in dugouts for players - that is a nice touch •You are never far from someone who works there if you have a question •Provide complimentary gifts for players and coaches plus free tickets to local attractions for players Cons •Need more shade. They have shades over bleachers but they could add more •Sometimes they play ads in between innings which seems crazy cause we spend so much money to be here - why do you need advertising money 💰 •Bathroom next to sno cone station needs full cleaning and updating (others are good) •Team photos require 8 families to buy them which is nonsense imo Overall great trip and great area to be near the beach

This place is the Disney World of baseball. It's clean, wonderfully maintained, easy maneuver around, and has a very friendly and accommodating staff. You can tell they have been doing this for a while and are very good at it. Some tips; have the ball players ride together in one vehicle if possible, only need turf shoes (no dirt here), staff will play music and cannot use your walk up playlists, very little shade and it's HOT here, they supply dug outs with cold water jugs.

Oh my goodness!!! You couldn't ask for a better experience. We went for the week to watch our grandson play ball. The staff were WONDERFUL! I struggle with walking distance, and they provided golf cart drivers to take me to and from the fields. It was artificial turf, so they played even in the rain(as long as there was no thunder/lightning). There were bathroom facilities, snack bars, a playground, fishing holes, and shopping for suvineers. It was HOT so bring your cooling towels. We could bring in our own food and drink(except alcohol) but they provide a beer garden if you need that. It has to stay within the parameters of the bed garden tho. We had a great week!!!

The complex is nice and the games were well run for the week we were there. The fields handle rain very well. The batting cages are nice and numerous. We had no problems with parking at any of our games. We had 1 game assigned to the Carolina Coastal field about 20 minutes away and that field was sub-par. The grass was dead or dying all around and made the field look neglected. The location is near so many other activities including the beach, water park, Grand Prix, Broadway On The Beach...