PA, NJ, NY TR Day 7. Moreys Piers June 25th 2008

If your wondering where Day 6 is? Don't worry. We just moved camp from Lake Glory near Knoebels to Jackson NY at a campground called Tip Tam (Pretty good and quiet campground) Had steak dinner on the grill and did shopping and laundry and just vegged with a campfire and smores.

Except for SFGADV the rest of our trip is parks I had never visited before. The first being Morey's Piers.

Rob and Debbie had visited a couple times including their honeymoon but Rob had still not gotten to ride Great white in two visits prior. Im glad to say he got his rides finally. More on that later.

We traveled down the Garden state parkway. Passing the later visited Seaside Heights, Atlantic CIty and Oceanside and finally ended in Cape May NJ and parked near the north pier at Moreys.

Rob and Deb bought the waterpark option. I did not. We did the north pier together. Two small coasters were nice and Nor Easter packs a punch. The darkride is ok on the north pier. Each Pier has a tilt and carousel. We split up so Rob and deb could do the waterparks on the north and middle pier and decided we'd meet at the facination parlor at 530 which later turned into a fiasco but it wasn't bad.

I walked the boardwalk checking out things and noticed a separate vendor darkride that looked like it could be cool. We never did do it and I proceeded to the middle pier. The darkride on this pier is a hoot and ends with a spoof of the tramcar. I also found a ride much like a claw but it is just plain wicked. One of the most intense flats I've ridden, Much more intense than a powersurge and to add to that. It repeats it's cycle SEVEN TIMES! I did the middle pier then went down to the south pier. Again walking, checking out the shops and stores and arcades. If you ever wanna see 10 pizza parlors, 10 chicken and seafood shops. 30 T shirt and assorted shops all within one mile. The boardwalk at Moreys is the place. Anyhow as Im walking Im asking where the Facination parlor is. Most employees there are Russian, Very nice, thorough but totally clueless to whats where or anything like that. From "Whats Facination?" To I don't know was my answers untill I asked a cop and he told me it was just south of the south pier. I found it, It was closed with a sign open at 5. The south pier opens at 5 and I arrive to find Great white testing but not opening. I ride the darkride on the south pier. The Scariest 28 seconds in the history of darkrides, AKA, DOn't bother and proceed to go back to Facination to meetup with Rob and Debbie.

Its Moreys so allow some time for meetups. I was very willing to wait a half hour or so for our meetup but 45 minutes, then a hour go by. I start asking if theres another facination? "I DON"T KNOW, MAYBE!" I never get a good reply. Oh well. I watched the monster truck rides, Had a twenty minute conversation with a knockout Siberian woman who was doing a essay and started by asking me how to spell Value. LOL. 630 a full hour after meetup time and I decide Im going to do Great White knowing that ROb and Deb would eventually be there. I rode twice. Nice coaster. Needs a little trackwork midcourse but it was fun. Kinda Reminded me of Martins Comet but not as forceful.

Im exiting the ride and Rob and Deb show up. Rob gets his first rides on Great White and we do a walkthru 3d thing. a couple other things and decide it's time for food. Well we found a buy one chicken dinner get one free and ended up with 4 chicken dinners for three people which we couldn't possibly eat it all but made a serious dent in it. Good value in food at Moreys, I imagine the totall amount of competition keeps it that way.

Its getting late. we do the middle pier again and ride the insane spinny upsidedown thing again. Deb wants to ride the ship side of the ship-peddal seagull thingy. We get in line but find the ship thing (Suspended Monorail which you don't have to pedal) The line was very long. So we decide were doing the Sea Gulls.

Rob and Deb ride alone and I get my own Gull. IF I ONLY KNEW!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE HECK? The type of this ride I'd ridden before had a power assist that would kick in if you stopped peddaling. NOT THIS THING and the length of it is about 3 times longer than it should be. To add insult to my woes. I have size 13 tripple E width shoes on and can't keep a steady rhythem peddaling because my shoes are hitting the front or sides of the compartment. More insult is the fact that being alone the car was lopsided and extremely hard to peddal in the curves. I get a quarter of the way around this thing, Im sweating like crazy. Beat and OMG. IM NOT EVEN A QUARTER INTO IT!

I think I can, I think I can! I think I can! Puff, puff, huff huff! OK, IM dead now! IM ONLY HALF WAY!. Chug, chug! Huff Puff! I stop! Have too. Wheres the gear shift, The power assist? HELPPPPPPP!!!!!!!! Im 3/4s. Out by the ocean, Alone! Strandded as it were!

My isn't it pretty (HUFF, PUFF!) out here. Rob and Deb behind me started the come on chant! I said thats fine, you got two people and a evenly ballance car but I THINK I CAN!

Ugh, Ow! Huff Puff and to add further insult to the last 1/4 they throw in a bunch of little swooping curves that I've alread explained were much harder to peddal.

CHUG, Puff, I think I can! I think I can! IM going to make it. I will! That or die of a coranary!!!!!! I make the station which I see them let people off at. NO SIR. You must peddal the 200ft up to the loading area! MOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. They unlock the seatbelt. I fall out of the car. Roll down the steps and die in a heap of sweat! I DID it, IM dead! But Im feeling pretty good as in after a good workout.

We decide were going to hit Great Nor Easter before closing. What a fantastic lightshow the coaster has on it. Only pausing where a train climbs the lift but the disco effect is in full swing for the ride. The new restrainst IMHO no more comfortable than the old ones. However you can take your hands and move them away from your head. Great White is for some reason much more intense than the other SLC's I've ridden. With the trick. Pain and headbang free and just a awesome ride.

1200, Piers close. We decide to hit Facination where rob and deb were supposed to meet me but this ones just north of the north pier! LMAO!

Me and Deb get five dollar rolls of tokens. Man this facination is tough. Mainly due to the number of players. It takes me about 10 games but now Im winning. I got a red line and about 6 normal facinations and ended up with 30 tickets. Deb won about 4 times. I ended up getting a chicken clock that has to be worth about 10-15 dollars for 20 tickets. I gave the other 10 tickets to Deb and she got a couple things. We made out! You could seriously win some big nice prizes in facination at Moreys without spending a small fortune. However this depends on the number of players as well.

Nice park, nice employees, Nice beach front atmosphere!

Moreys was much better than I expected, I don't really know what I expected and as one person told me. Morey buying all the piers and making it POP was the savior of this place, it was just too expensive otherwise to do more than one or two.

Next up, Seaside and Casino Piers.

Chuck, Huff, Puff! Nungester

I got the impression from former trip reports that Moreys was craptacular and rides were awful. It just goes to show you that your attitude has a lot to do with how much fun you have. :) I'll have to check it out sometime.

Oh Rob said, Im surprised you didn't get Morey'd. Oh well. I had a good time and didn't aproach it as some enthusiast. Matter of fact the most rides I had on any one coaster was three and I could have basically had ERT conditions on any of htem.

Chuck, who'll have to return and try some deep sea fishing in the area.

Someone found MAELSTROM. One of my favorite flat rides ever!

Morey's is a fun place to spend a long summer day and the international employees are some of the nicest international employees I have run into in any amusement park.

I agree Dragonfrost to all your comments. The Siberian woman I met and chatted with was working in the area for the summer. I said this must be hot to you. She said, "Yes, Its very hot" and told me summer highs in her hometown were about 67*

Chuck

Since you are interested in Fascination I ask if Knoebels still has their Fascination game. Years ago, many parks had this game which was a skill game that served as an replacement for Bingo in places where the game of chance was illegal or limited to charities. It was a fun geme in its own right and many people would visit the parks and beach areas frequently to play the game.

Fascination used to be found at Kennywood, West View and Conneaut Lake in the western part of PA. There were certainly other parks in the eastern part of PA and in NJ that had the game. There even was a Fascination parlor in Times Square years ago.

There are a number of reasons why the game is not as common as it used to be. Fewer amusement parks, especially those with free or low general admission may be one of the reasons. Note that Knoebels still has a free gate and Fascination at the Wildwoods is not within the gate of a park.

^Yes, Knoebels has Fascination....as does Darien Lake. But nobody else has Flipper's. :)

Not sure how anyone doesn't "get" Morey's....that place ranks right up there with IB and SCBB as "beach-park destinations" from my all-too-limited experience.

Charles - - -> Malstrom (At Mariner's Landing) is one of the sickest rides I've ever seen. It has a fantastic Lighting Scheme and an insane cycle. I can't even think about riding it.

I also made the mistake and chose the gull over hte boat. That was close to about 10 years ago. It's the perfect "ride" for ride fans trying to lose weight.

Wildwood as a whole is a great place to spend a few vacation days. The piers are almost empty (except for the waterparks) when they open and they run late into the night.

Cape May is nice, but for different reasons. (Especially in the off-season).

Quick Question -> Are there still some empty areas on the boardwalk that are either closed up or torched for insurance? It always seemed that when I went there, there were always a few areas that just didn't make it - which lessened the overall experience.