A Family Weekend in Myrtle Beach Where the Resort Is the Destination
- busyboymomchronicl
- Jul 15
- 5 min read
When most families plan a trip to Myrtle Beach, the itinerary can fill up quickly. There are restaurants, shows, attractions, beaches, and more mini-golf courses than you could probably visit in one vacation. But sometimes, the best family getaways are the ones where you do not try to fit everything into a single weekend.
For this trip, our main destination was not the boardwalk or even the beach. It was Sun
Outdoors Myrtle Beach.
We still made time for a few fun Myrtle Beach experiences, including breakfast at National House of Pancakes, dinner surrounded by dinosaurs, and a ride on the SkyWheel. However, the resort was the heart of our weekend and the place where we spent most of our time.
That made this getaway feel much more relaxing than trying to rush from one attraction to another.
Staying at Sun Outdoors Myrtle Beach
Sun Outdoors Myrtle Beach is not your typical hotel stay. The property is large, and once you arrive, it feels like you have entered a separate vacation community with cottages, campsites, water attractions, activities, dining, and plenty of room for families to spread out.
For a family like ours, having more space immediately makes a trip feel easier. Instead of everyone being squeezed into one traditional hotel room, the cottage setup gave us room to settle in, keep snacks and drinks nearby, and enjoy slower moments between activities.
That is one of the reasons I would consider the resort a destination on its own. You are not simply booking somewhere to sleep before heading back out the next morning. Families could spend a large part of the weekend right on the property and still feel as though they had a full vacation.
The Carolina Splash Water Park is naturally one of the biggest draws for families. There are water slides for the kids who want more excitement, a splash area, pools, and a lazy river for the family members who would rather slow things down. The resort also has cabanas and outdoor concessions near the water attractions.
Having several different water options in one place is especially helpful when traveling with children of different ages. Everyone does not have to agree on one activity. Some of the kids can make their way back to the slides while others float around the lazy river or take a break by the pool.
And when everyone is finally ready to get out of the water, the fun does not have to end.
The resort also offers activities and amenities beyond the pool, including bowling, playgrounds, sports areas, on-site food options, and a general store. That variety makes it much easier to spend an entire day at the resort without hearing, “What are we doing next?” every five minutes.
One thing families should know before arriving is that the property is big. This is not the kind of place where you will necessarily walk from one end to the other every time someone wants to change activities. A golf cart can become part of the experience and make getting around much more convenient, especially when you are carrying towels, pool bags, drinks, and everything else that comes with a family water-park day.
For a quick weekend, I would keep the schedule simple. Arrive, get settled, explore the property, and let the kids choose one or two things they are most excited to try. The next day can be your full resort day, with one planned outing later in the afternoon or evening.
You paid to enjoy the resort, so give your family time to actually enjoy it.
Starting the Morning at National House of Pancakes
A full family day requires a good breakfast, and National House of Pancakes—or NHOP—made an easy addition to our weekend.
And no, I did not say IHOP.
National House of Pancakes is a Myrtle Beach breakfast spot with the type of menu that works well when everyone in the family wants something different. There are plenty of sweet breakfast choices for the pancake and French-toast lovers, along with eggs, breakfast meats, omelets, and savory options.
A sit-down breakfast also gave us a chance to slow down and talk about what everyone wanted to do that day. Sometimes the best part of a family trip is not the biggest attraction. It is sitting around the table, sharing bites from each other’s plates, and building excitement for what comes next.
After breakfast, we were ready to head back into the fun.
Dinner With Dinosaurs at DinoLand Cafe
Dinner is usually just the place you stop between activities, but DinoLand Cafe turns the meal into an experience of its own.
From the moment families walk inside, there is something to see. The restaurant is filled with dinosaur theming, including life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, themed displays, and a lava mountain.
This is one of those restaurants where the kids are not just asking when the food will arrive. They are looking around, pointing things out, taking pictures, and deciding which dinosaur they want to visit next.
For families, that makes dinner more memorable without having to add another full attraction to the schedule. You can sit down, eat, rest your feet, and still give the kids an experience they will talk about after the trip.
The dramatic theming makes DinoLand especially fun for younger dinosaur fans, but it is not limited to little kids. Even older children and adults can appreciate the creativity and all the photo opportunities throughout the restaurant.
It was a fun way to end the day before heading out for one final Myrtle Beach experience.
Seeing Myrtle Beach From the SkyWheel
You cannot visit Myrtle Beach without spending at least a little time near the boardwalk, and the SkyWheel gave us that classic Myrtle Beach moment without requiring us to plan an entire day in the area.
Located along the boardwalk, the SkyWheel rises approximately 200 feet above the Myrtle Beach coastline. The enclosed gondolas make the experience feel calm and comfortable while still giving families that feeling of being high above everything.
As the gondola moved higher, we could look out over the beach, the boardwalk, and the lights below us. It gave us a completely different view of a destination we have visited before.
For families who are not interested in thrill rides—or who have children with different comfort levels—the SkyWheel offers excitement without feeling like a roller coaster. You can sit together, take in the views, and enjoy the moment instead of bracing yourself for a big drop.
Riding later in the day also made it feel like the perfect ending to our outing. We had
breakfast, enjoyed the resort, ate dinner with dinosaurs, and then saw Myrtle Beach from above before returning to our cottage.
A Myrtle Beach Weekend Without the Rush
There will always be more to do in Myrtle Beach than you can fit into one trip, and that is okay.
This weekend was not about checking every attraction off a list. It was about choosing a few experiences that our family would enjoy and leaving enough room in the schedule to relax.
Sun Outdoors Myrtle Beach gave us the space and activities to make the resort the main destination. National House of Pancakes added a relaxed family breakfast, DinoLand Cafe turned dinner into its own adventure, and the SkyWheel gave us an iconic Myrtle Beach
memory.
Together, they created a weekend that felt full but not exhausting.
And when you are traveling with kids, that might be the best kind of getaway.
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