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Moreys Piers Discussion Thread


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Out of curiosity, does "it" often breakdown?

In my experience, yes. But isn't that generally a prerequisite for most kick-ass rides?

 

True. If a few breakdowns here and there are the tradeoff for such an awesome cycle, I'll take it.

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Just posted via their FB...

 

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Oh and has it been mentioned here that the tram operator on the back of the train and the roof over the front car are now gone?

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Interesting that Morey's blames the delay on the custom nature of the ride, while it actually is a regular off-the-shelf model, or are they talking about the ride being constructed on the pier / beach / close to the sea? Hope they get the ride open soon though!

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Interesting that Morey's blames the delay on the custom nature of the ride, while it actually is a regular off-the-shelf model, or are they talking about the ride being constructed on the pier / beach / close to the sea? Hope they get the ride open soon though!

 

The Moreys have confirmed it is not an off the shelf model.

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^ Fly- the Great Nor'Easter is quite smooth. It's not quite as smooth as a B&M invert, but with those restraints, you get zero headbanging and can appreciate the layout.

 

Sea Serpent was one of the smoothest boomerangs I've ridden.

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Update: Moreys just posted the coaster is (finally) open. We'll be down this wknd so will try to check it out and will report back.

 

Quick questions:

 

1. How good has Fly - The Great Nor'Easter been since its extensive retracking/new trains?

 

2. Is Sea Serpent as bumpy as any other Boomerang? (considering it was the first Boomerang in the US)

 

Nor'easter is ridiculously smooth. Bill and I rode it in July and both got off gushing about how mindbogglingly smooth and fun it is. I'm not shitting you. Sea Serpent is good, great view from the first lift/drop, fairly good and smooth for a boomerang. I don't ride it as much as its the only big coaster on the central pier and it does get lines on weekend evenings, and a shuttle so the line crawls. If its during the day its not too bad usually.

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We were down in Wildwood this past weekend and got to ride the new addition a couple of times. It still has that new coaster smell. Crazy smooth and comfortable. My daughter got on Flitzer for the first and only time last year, and she loved it back then, so I had to ask her, "which one do you like more, Flitzer or Runaway Tram?" She didn't even hesitate and screamed "RUNAWAY TRAAAAAMMMMM." It's definitely a different experience but IMO it fits that good family coaster void left behind perfectly.

 

Oh yeah, and we talked her into doing her first Skycoaster. That was ridiculously easy. "Hey sweetie, do you want to FLY?" "YEAH I WANNA FLY!!!" Zero fear from her throughout the entire process. Now she wants to do it every single time she sees one. I may have inadvertently created a four-year-old monster.

 

Other than that, we spent the majority of our time down at the shore at Morey's two awesome water parks. They're both fantastic, they cram a lot of stuff into not a huge amount of space, they're very family friendly and let the kids do almost everything that the grownups could (as long as there were lifejackets involved, of course). We're definitely going to be spending some time here as much as we can. On the other hand, we had got discount Splash Zone tickets... that's the budget waterpark across from Mariner's. Less said about that one the better. Probably won't ever set foot in there again.

 

Last thing... if you're hungry, go to Joe's Fish Co on Surfside, and get a table upstairs with a view of the pier. Damn good food and a chill atmosphere makes it a great place to relax and recharge. Can't believe it took me this long to do that but it's another must-do for us every time we come down from now on.

 

Missing those Wildwood vibes already.

 

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Plenty of people queueing up for the Tram late on a Sunday night. They've got a winner on their hands for sure.

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^ Nice report, Chris! Shame we didn't link up this weekend.

 

The missus and I spent the weekend at my folks, and got up early Saturday to hit Morey's Raging Waters for the first time in... maybe 15 years? I'm not exactly sure when but it was certainly well before they put bars in the joint!

 

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It's neat being on the piers this early, eerily quiet. Did you know you can bike on the piers in the morning before they open?

 

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But its weird to not be doing Breakfast In the Sky when on the pier this early.

 

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The weather Saturday was gorgeous. After the last few weeks of searing heat and humidity in the area, it was sunny, with light clouds and 75 with no humidity. Just perfect. We made sure to get in at opening to try to get ahead of any potential crowds. Right to the lazy river.

 

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We used to come here all the time as kids. The park is very much the same, but in the very long time since I've visited they've revamped/expanded the kids area, added much more themeing especially to the lazy river, lounge chairs everywhere, and of course Pig Dog, a beach bar attached to the park, in addition to a beer/snack stand in the park.

 

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The missus wasn't really up for slides but as kids we always loved "Skypond Journey" which is a small slide into a pool down another small slide into a pool and so on before one big drop at the end. It lasts for a long time and its pretty mild save for the end. We also checked out the snack stand and got some morning cocktails and a pretzel.

 

She jumped back in the lazy river while I ran around the entire park hitting every single slide. The tube slides ("Rocket Raft Run", most of which you can see in the photo above) have been there since I was a kid and are still a favorite, so good. The mat "Speed Slides" are absolutely terrifying. Before I rode I saw a guy getting off cupping his junk and wincing in pain and after my ride I completely understood why. During the final doubledown you completely come off the slide and slam back down on it. These slides have been here since I was a kid, and you always did this, but doing it now makes you appreciate how resilient children are. Ouch!

 

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Here you can see the pools for the Speed Slides, the parks hot tub, and above is Skypond Journey.

I was looking forward to "Shotgun Falls", a small drop into a 6 foot freefall (pictured below). I used to just spend an hour doing this over and over. This was my jam. Well, this time I got the wind knocked out of me, water up my nose, and almost drowned. In spite of this, I very much enjoyed the experience. One and done, though. The final set of slides was "Serpentines" a pair of body slides that have also been there forever and - just as I remembered - is just kinda slow and short and lame.

 

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After a while we met back up for another lap or two around the lazy river before eventually wandering over to Pig Dog for more beers and snacks. My phone was in a locker so no photos from the bar, sorry bro. You can click that link and check it out tho.

 

By now it was after noon and the crowds were starting to pick up so we decided to hit a few more things and bounce. Before leaving we did one more lap in the lazy river and I hit the tube slides once more. They've got a great little waterpark here, I'm looking forward to a return visit at some point this season or next. We needed something to soak up the drinks so why not the best pizza ever?

 

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Speaking of Macks, they just won best slice for the 2nd year in a row in the Annual Wildwood Pizza Tour.

 

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Seagulls are particularly aggressive all along the Jersey shore this year. Ocean City has hilariously hired hawks/owls/falcons to chase all the seagulls away and apparently its working. If you're eating on the boardwalk or beach, pay attention to your surroundings and cover your food. They are no joke and will snatch your entire hoagie/pizza slice/ice cream.

 

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After our sweet buttery cheesy delight we walked it off down to Surfside to check out the just opened Runaway Tram. Have I mentioned I absolutely hate the placement of the sign behind the brake run? Ugh.

 

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The ride was a station wait so we decided to wait a few trains for the front row.

 

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It wasn't a long wait, but the ride does go around twice, in case that hasn't been mentioned.

 

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It does only run one train and yes the roof over the front car was removed as was the "fare collector" on the back. At the Coastin' By The Ocean event some friends were told it had to do with weight but that they are working on a solution to add it back for next season. We shall see...

 

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As expected, they did a really nice job around the ride area, and it fits in like its been there for years.

 

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In typical Morey's fashion, the squeezed a ride - the kiddie train - underneath Runaway Tram's lift.

 

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The restraints are minimal, no seatbelts (shout out to Flitzer), and perfectly comfortable, even for a tall guy like me.

 

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The ride itself is awesome. Its not gonna shatter any top 10s but it looks great, and I think it'll be a big hit for them. Shame it took them so long to get it up and running this season, but it is what it is.

 

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Afterwards, I managed a quick ride on IT before we headed home for naps and dinner. We did come back up around 10pm to grab some ice cream and check to see if lines were manageable but upon popping down Adventure Pier both Great White and Screamin Swing had lines out of their entrances, there was a giant mob of people around the go-karts, and the Sling Shot and Skycoaster lines had to be at least 30 minutes each. We opted to just people watch, shop and enjoy our blizzards from Dairy Queen. Did I mention Khor Bros at the front of the pier had a line that was 30-people deep? Peak season Wildwood, folks.

 

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Thanks for reading.

Edited by boldikus
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Thanks, brah. And it wasn't just the line, we might have gone back to Kohrs to check again, but then DQ had a strawberry cheesecake blizzard. It had strawberries and actually pieces of cheesecake and graham cracker in it. Brah. And Dawn was able to get a Reeses blizzard, so we were both happy campers. We sat on one of the benches looking over at Adventure Pier to eat them and so we could watch and listen to people losing their sh*t on the Sky Scraper. Good times.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I stopped by quickly yesterday to ride Wild Whizzer and Runaway Tram. I didn't realize the theming was already taken off the Runaway Tram cars (didn't see the Boldikus photos from a few days ago). I really enjoyed the coaster and the fact they give you two laps, but the operators were slow. I took an average of 3-4 minutes for the ride ops to check lap bars.

 

I finally tried a slice from Macks and was blown away. Now that's a great slice, far superior to anything at Cesari's.

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I stopped by quickly yesterday

Wow, did hell freeze over or what?

 

No, I was staying in AC and had time to spare and leftover tickets from a previous holiday sale (and two new credits).

 

I won't spend a day there until there build another big coaster. Although, Macks and Fascination make it worth a short stay.

 

Have you heard any news on the Pinball Museum coming back?

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  • 1 month later...

I've highlighted the parts us nerds will be interested in, but this is a good read. (via Moreys website)

 

How To Buy (or perhaps not buy) a Roller Coaster

https://www.moreyspiers.com/buying-a-coaster

 

Roller coaster shopping is a tad more complex than clicking the “Add to Cart” button on Amazon Prime. It involves test riding, traveling overseas and, in some cases, struggling to communicate to a Russiancab driver who speaks five languages (none of them English) that you need to find an ATM because you neglected to exchange your cash for Euros at the airport.

 

At least, that’s the experience 2nd generation partner Jack Morey, along with COO Geoff Rogers, had during a recent, whirlwind trek through Europe. The mission: Investigate potential new trains (aka, the vehicles in which you sit) for our wooden Great White coaster, which reaches just over 100 feet.

 

Our intrepid duo started the six-day trip at Ireland’s Tayto Park, named for a company that invented the first flavored potato chip. In 2015, this theme park installed the largest wooden roller coaster in Europe, the Cu Chulainn. Inspired by an Irish mythological hero similar to Hercules, it’s reminiscent of the Great White in size and speed. But the front wheels of the Cu Chulainn trains —arguably the most technologically advanced of their kind in the world —exist on a separate axle and steering mechanism, meaning less banging around at every turn and way less wear-and-tear on the tracks. In other words: A potential win-win for both Morey’s Piers and our guests.

 

“The measure of a thrilling ride used to be how much it beat you up,” says hotel operations manager Zack Morey, Jack’s son. He wasn’t on this trip, but he did travel to Denmark and Sweden last year for the three-day, six-park, 16-roller-coaster crusade that resulted in the buying of our newest coaster, the Runaway Tram.“Today, that measure is how smooth the ride is.

 

”We already know we like the manufacturer of these trains, the Cincinnati-based Gravity Group —it’s a company comprised of “smoothing technology” engineers. And we also know Jack and Geoff enjoyed their experience aboard the Cu Chulainn—they rode twice just to be sure. The next step will be a trip to the city of Wisconsin Dells for another test ride, to see how the trains perform on a coaster with a more similar construction to ours. If all goes well, we may pull the ($1 million plus) trigger for a Great White upgrade in 2021.

 

Typically, these purchases are made at conventions hosted by IAAPA, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. (“They’re such a great mix between the sophisticated Europeans dressed in business suits, carnival operators and even clowns,” says Jack, who’s attended about 50 of these conventions and counting.) Sometimes, you can buy an entire coaster off the showroom floor, but more often than not the purchase of a major new coaster can take years. (There’s a ton of research and design involved, and only a handful ofhigh-quality manufacturers that serve six continents.) In Paris, another leg of Jack and Geoff’s trip, the guys did attend an IAPPA convention, but that was largely for top-secret business we can’t reveal... yet.

 

But roller coaster shopping trips are never just about buying. They’re also about getting inspired to bring new ideas and new energy back to the piers. For this reason, Geoff and Jack took a detour to Cologne, Germany. Here, they continued the comedy of errors that involved more failed attempts at exchanging their money (apologies to that cabbie!). But, more importantly, they visited Phantasialand, a favorite park of Jack’s father, Will Morey, Sr.

 

Will knew a thing or two about inspiration through travel, first during his honeymoon when he and his wife, Jackye, spotted a fancy hotel called the Americana in Mexico, which led to the development of Wildwood’s Pan American Hotel. Or, more recently in 1968, when he spotted a giant slide in the parking lot of a Florida shopping mall that he thought might be a hit on the Wildwood boardwalk, marking Moreys entrée into the amusement business.

 

The desire to travel for inspiration only grew from there. For this process, Will coined a word: Wildwoodize. In short, it means to see or be inspired by something so fantastic, it could never be afforded, then figuring out how to do it on a Wildwood, summer-season-only budget. It’s a mentality that’s stuck through each generation of Morey men.

 

So, what Phantasialand ethos might you expect to see Wildwoodized in the near future?

 

“The fantasy,” Jack says. “It’s mesmerizing, like being inside a children’s book. I always say: Think of that six-month old baby looking up in his crib, smiling at one of those mobiles. That’s how I want adults to feel when they step foot on the pier. The goal is to bring out the inner child in all of us.”

 

We’ll keep you posted on plans for upping our fantasy game. In the meantime —just trust us on this —get your money exchanged before traveling abroad.

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Oooh I like the sound of that.

Took the words right out of my mouth. I don't think Great White is that rough of a woodie but if they're looking into making it even better who am I to complain? And if there's even more coming like they're alluding to, I can't wait!

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Also hearing murmurs of Sea Serpent getting a new train with the vest restraints (or maybe just new restraints?). We'll see, its only rumors at this point.

Edited by boldikus
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