Morey's Piers will feature GCI wooden roller coaster for 2013

billb7581 said:

They also modified the track on the Great N'oreaster, obstensibly to make it smoother.

Perhaps they are just trying to re-market the "hold you back and down and shake the sh*t outta ya" replacement trains the ride already received. I would find it hard to believe actual track was replaced. Steel track deosn't get 'reprofiled' as easily as a woodie. It gets replaced, and that is very rare.

Believe what you want. I am merely stating what Moreys put on their blog.

We were testing out improvements made to the Great Nor’Easter’s track in a couple different spots. Our team worked out some knots through the corkscrew and sidewinder areas making for a much smoother ride. Feel the difference yourself in Summer 2012!

http://www.moreyspiers.com/blog/moreys-piers/above-and-beyond

That bridge looks ridiculous. "Inspired by" Santiago Calatrava? More like completely ripped off. Except Calatrava's bridges make sense where they are, whereas this one is on a beach.

xX eNeRtIa Xx said:
SteveWoA ^
Have you ridden Wildcat at HP lately? heh..

Yes, and I LOVE that ride. Even before the train swap... Always loved it. I don't mind a bit of roughness.

Gravity Group does some nice rides.. But they don't match up for me. Have you ridden Voyage lately? Last time I rode it was near abuse. Ravine Flyer was good, but also had that one spot that popped you in the rib... There is a bit more finesse and engineering in GCI rides, and it shows. Build quality, track design, layout, trains, etc...

We need more GCI's in the US. More the better. :) This one looks great.

Someone on another forum insists...without revealing his source..that this project is not happening. Or if it does happen, it won't be on this timetable. I'll take that at face falue. If the article turns out to be inaccurate, well, hey, I'm just a guy who loves roller coasters. The L.A. Times, on the other hand, is a respected news source. If this coaster DOES get built, I figure it will challenge for my #1 spot. If it doesn't, life goes on (long after the thrill of living is gone.)

Here are Jack Morey's words

Ok, now the hard part. In order to make room for the Sky Scraper (which we also think is a classic) we have decided to permanently remove the Jersey Junkyard and the Mummy from Adventure Pier. I know this is hard for some of you to appreciate, but we just did not think these attractions were the quality that most people expected of Morey’s Piers. Fear not, as this will also give us the ability to focus more dollars and effort on the other dark attractions on Surfside and Mariner’s in addition of course to preparing for the new woody… which I can’t seem to get a straight answer from my brother on with respect to when it will be released for construction.

This coaster will NOT be open during anytime in the 2013 season. Period.

I'm hearing that they are waiting for the price of lumber to come down, who knows?

Also according to a guy that works there they are not just remarketing the old/new restraints on the GNE

Vekoma, the manufacturer of the Great Nor'Easter and Sea Serpent, recently visited the piers to resurface and renovate the GNE's track. It will provide a much smoother ride experience in 2012.

The price of lumber coming down? They'll be waiting a while I bet... if not forever.

They should contact Cedar Fair or Six Flags. They've gotten rid of a lot of trees over the years. Maybe they're hoarding the wood.

I should have more properly said they are trying to time the lumber market.

I'm thinking it has more to do with Morey's not wanting to spread itself too thin considering there are many other projects in the works.

Is anyone else thinking that Great Nor'Easter, with new trains and now trackage, is going to end up being more expensive than if they'd gotten a B&M? Nope, OK, just me. Carry on.... :)

Still - why on Earth does Morey's need all these hotels when they never needed so many before.... ;)

Because the people who operate the other hotels in the area are jerks who enforce requirements that are designed to basically eliminate the weekend traveler (three night minimum stay? Really?), and all of the hotels in the area are ancient, run-down dumps available for $300/night? The hotel business in Wildwood isn't a business in the usual sense, it's more of a racket. Why? Because the supply is inadequate for the usual business rules to apply. So if you can't take time off of work and you want to spend the weekend in Wildwood, either you throw away an extra night's lodging (which the innkeeper will happily re-sell to someone else), or you stay up by Atlantic City.

Or you rent a room from Morey's.

Parking is a similar problem, and Morey's has a plan to deal with that issue as well, but it isn't going to make the local "businessmen" very happy. They're going to have to build hotels instead of selling parking spaces for rates that change hourly.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:
Because the supply is inadequate for the usual business rules to apply.

I apologize if I'm misunderstanding here ... but isn't that THE definition of supply and demand?

Jerry said:
How do they Hurricane proof that?

Pile drive deep footings and pray you don't take a direct hit.

The Moreys never had a chance for a B&M inverted because B&M was booked for serveral years out, and did not want to work with the footprint. Vekoma did, and already had a sit down looper spec'd for that footprint, which was never built. (actually, it ended up at a competing pier, and now is in SFG.)

Therefore, the GNE was able to materialize on a fast track procedure. The new trains were added to appeal to more riders with new restraints. Vekoma had hoped to sell more of the new style coaches, but that never took off either. The track work is needed, as the GNE has now run for 17 summers, and is a marquee ride. Unlike other themers, SLC's are a second tier coaster, the GNE runs 2 trains frequently, and is a workhorse. Its always a work in progress, trying to improve the experience.

Since opening, the GNE has had 2 new sets of shoulder harnesses, 3 new paint jobs, a Kumbak built evac platform, a Kumbak built service platform under the lift motor, a new lift chain, an exterior LED lighting package, new coaches, and a roof added to the loading station. Does this add up to muchos dollars? Yes. Is this easier than replacing the GNE with a new coaster and tearing up Ocean Oasis below? Yes again.

Was that the Kamikaze on Hunt's/Konko's party pier, or whatever it was called at the time? I always heard that was slated to go to Morey's to replace the Jumbo Jet but wound up on Hunt's for some reason.

Yes, the Morey's passed, according to Vekoma, as they felt the Sea Serpent was too similar, and the decision was a good one.

I always hated the Kamikaze because they tore down the Flyer and Pirate Ship Skua to put it up. The Skua was our favorite ride as kids. Hunt's pier was our (for lack of a better word) Disneyland.