Morey's Piers
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Morey's Piers is an Amusement Park located in Wildwood, New Jersey. It has over 100 rides and attractions among its five facilities. The parks sit on top of three piers, and on the beachfront ends of Surfside pier and Mariner's landing contain Raging Waters and Ocean Oasis water parks.
Surfside Pier is home to the Giant Slide, Morey's Piers' first attraction. The 25th Avenue Pier is also home to the multi-level Zoom Phloom, the inverted suspended looping coaster The Great Nor'Easter, and the colossal AtmosFEAR drop tower. Dante's Dungeon is a scary dark ride that was added to the pier in 1980 and renovated.
Mariner's Landing houses the Sea Serpent, the first 'Boomerang' roller coaster to operate in the United States, and is the second oldest coaster of its type in the world. Towering behind the Sea Serpent is the tallest Ferris wheel on the east coast, The Giant Wheel. In addition to these thrills, the Schellenger Avenue Pier hosts Pirates of the Wildwoods (a 3-D Dark Ride), Rollie's Coaster, and a large assortment of children's rides.
The Adventure Pier is "for the extremist in all of us." With the Great White wooden roller coaster, the Screamin' Swing which clears the White's track by feet, and the Skycoaster and Spring Shot, make the Spencer Avenue Pier a small, but action packed pier for the serious thrillseekers. From 1957 until the mid-80's, this pier was known as Fun Pier and was owned by Joe and Pete Barnes then by William and Helen Howard from 1978-1984. Fire destroyed Castle Frankenstein, Lost World, and Crazy House attractions in 1984, putting the pier out of business.
Both Raging Waters and Ocean Oasis waterparks have slides such as the Cliff Dive, Sky Pond Voyage, and Shotgun Falls. There are also interactive fun-filled children's areas like Bonsai Beach, Shipwreck Shoals, and Camp Kid'Tastrophe.
A fourth pier, most recently known as Dinosaur Beach, was purchased in 1999 and is used mostly as a support facility. The pier holds the oldest surviving ride on the Wildwood Boardwalk, The Golden Nugget Mine Ride. Morey's Piers is studying the feasibility of restoring and reopening the ride in the near future. It houses a few go-kart tracks and the Sky-Scraper ride. Previously known as Hunt's Pier 1957-1990 sold by Hunt family in fall 1985 and some rides razed in 1989 like the Flyer wood coaster built in 1956-57, Ghost Town train ride around Flyer, mini hot rod cars under Flyer, Jungleland boat ride, Pirate Ship Skua. Other rides included the Whacky Shack (removed early 1996) and Keystone Kops with antique cars (removed 1995) and the Log Flume (built 1970, removed 2001 sent to a park in Iowa).
Nickels Midway Pier (established 1977-formerly Marine West, Playland, Blaker's) had the Castle Dracula walk-through from 1977-2001 which had the Dungeon boat ride which was built 1919 as Ye Olde Mill and the castle burned by arson Jan. 16, 2002. The pier was home to the Jack Rabbit/Dracula's Screem Machine wood coaster from 1919-1984, rides from 1985-1998, and a water park from 2000-present. The wax museum along the boardwalk in the old carousel building burned late 1992 along with the entire block of shops and restaurants.
History
Morey's Piers was established in 1969 by brothers Bill and Will Morey. After Will died, the Pier was passed on to Will's sons Will and Jack Morey. The small pier only included a slide, a miniature golf course, and a restaurant at 25th Avenue in North Wildwood. By the middle of the 1970s the pier expanded, adding new rides and attractions. Later, Morey's Piers made a deal that would help turn their small business into an empire when they acquired the Schellenger Avenue Pier. The pier was renovated, a water park was erected, and in 1984 the Sea Serpent roller coaster, the largest attraction to have been built on the boardwalk, was added to the Schellenger Avenue Pier. By 1988, the 25th Avenue Pier received a water park and in 1993 the third pier, the Spencer Avenue Pier, was purchased. 1995 saw the opening of The Great Nor'Easter. On August 14, 1995 a 36-year-old maintenance worker was killed after being struck in the head by the foot of a passenger riding the Great Nor'Easter. The passenger was also injured. A year later the Great White debuted on the Spencer Avenue Pier. Since then, Morey's Piers has expanded and grown, adding the latest in new rides and technology usually every year.
On June 16, 2008, at approximately 1:20AM, a portion of Mariner's Landing caught on fire damaging the Seal Flume and the Super Scooters attractions. The fire was believed by investigators that it started under the boardwalk. All three piers reopened the 73 attractions with the exception of Seal Flume and Super Scooters
Golden Nugget Removal
On, December 11, 2008 Morey's Piers Announced That the Golden Nugget attraction on the Former Hunt's Pier would be demolished. Morey's also announced that they would have a ceremony for the Golden Nugget and that is currently slated for Saturday, January 31, at noon. The Golden Nugget Mine Ride originally opened in July of 1960 on the newly constructed ocean side section of Hunt’s Pier. The Golden Nugget was built three stories high with the top floor giving riders a mine car ride through the “desert.” The classic coaster ride was specially constructed for Hunt’s Pier by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and was engineered by John Allen. Bill Tracy designed the ride’s theme through Amusement Displays.[1] In the end, the Golden Nugget was just not viable given New Jersey State regulations and Industry safety standards. [2] A petition so stop the distructing of the Golden Nugget has been posted. [3]
It has been announced that Knoebels Amusement Resorts has entered into agreement with Morey's Piers to acquire the trains, tracks, and ancillary mechanical equipment from the Golden Nugget ride. The equipment was moved to Pennsylvania in early 2009 for a planned reproduction of the Golden Nugget at it's Elysburg park. The original stunts and gags included in the ride were not part of the sale and have been retained by Morey's Piers for usage elsewhere. [4]
Rides and Attractions
Surfside Pier
- Formula One Raceway (56" or taller for unaccompanied riding; 44" to 55" must ride with adult)
- Sky Coaster (42" or taller)
- The Great Nor'Easter (between 52" and 80" tall)
- AtmosFEAR! (48" or taller)
- Baby Venice
- Cycles
- Dune Buggies
- Howitzer
- Mini Scooters
- Mini Tea Cups
- Shark Bite
- Kiddie Train
- Jump Around!
- Balloon Race
- Carousel
- Condor (58" or taller)
- Dante's Dungeon
- Demolition Derby
- Flitzer (36" or taller)
- Giant Slide
- Gravitron (44" or taller)
- Rock and Roll (48" or taller)
- Rockin' Tug
- Space Maze
- Super Scooters (42" or taller)
- Surfside Miniature Golf
- Tilt-A-Whirl
- Zoom Phloom (36" or taller)
- Doo Wopper (36" or taller)
Former Hunt's Pier
- SkyScraper (48" or taller)
Mariner's Landing Pier
- The Sea Serpent (48" or taller)
- The Maelstrom (52" or taller)
- CanAm Raceway (56" or taller)
- Climbing Wall
- Jack in the Box
- Pink Elephants
- Airplanes
- Convoy
- Kiddie Boats
- Kiddie Swings
- Sunny's C. Gull's Lookout Lighthouse
- Mariner's Arcade
- The Giant Wheel
- Pirates of the Wildwoods
- Moby Dick (42" or taller)
- Sky Cycle (48" or taller)
- Rollies Coaster (36" or taller)
- Sky Ships (48" or taller)
- Carousel
- Tea Cups
- Kite Flyer (42" or taller)
- Waltzer
- Wave Swinger (48" or taller)
Adventure Pier
- Great White (48" or taller)
- Screamin' Swing (48" or taller)
- The Inverter (48" or taller)
- SkyCoaster (42" or taller)
- The Spring Shot (44" or taller)
- Shark Bite (between 36" and 56")
- Wacky Whip
- Mini Scrambler (under 48")
- Snake Slide
- Carousel
- Curse of the Mummy
- Sky Ride (36" or taller)
- Tilt-a-Whirl
Ocean Oasis WaterPark and Beach Club at the Surfside Pier
- Activity Pool
- Cliff Dive
- Camp KidTastrophe
- Endless River
- Fountain Pool
- Gang Slide
- Lil' Dipper Pool
- Lilly Pads
- Rocket Raft Run
- Rope Swing
- Serpentines
- Shipwreck Shoals
- Shotgun Falls
- Sky Pond Voyage
- Speed Slides
- Beverage service
- Private cabana rentals with towel service
- Hammocks
- Outdoor pool tables
- Games such as chess and backgammon
- Retail Area
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