Morey’s Piers is one of many boardwalk amusement
parks in New Jersey, but this is easily the best one. Located on the southern tip of New Jersey
in Wildwood, this amusement park is deceptively large. You have three different piers of
amusements, nearly 60 different amusement rides, and two beachfront water parks. Find out what
makes this park so great in this review.
This park originally opened in 1969
with just one pier and was fitting named just Morey’s Pier. This is the pier
that is now known as Surfside Pier today.
The second pier was incorporated into the
park in 1976. Morey’s purchased Marine Pier and renamed it Mariner’s Landing. This pier
was located 0.5 miles down the boardwalk.
The third pier was acquired in 1988.
Morey’s reopened the pier in 1992 as Wild Wheels Raceway & Adventure Pier, but today
it’s just known as Adventure Pier. This pier is roughly 0.25 miles from Mariner’s Landing and
subsequently 0.75 miles from Surfside Pier.
While the acquisition of piers was the
most economical way for Morey’s to expand, it results in a bizarre set-up. Each pier has
a different set of operating days and hours. Mariner’s Landing tends to be
the pier with the longest hours. This is the best pier for families. It tends to
be open from late April or early May until roughly Columbus Day. The other two piers are typically
open from Memorial Day until Labor Day, but check the calendar to confirm prior to your visit.
In peak season, Morey’s Piers is open extremely late. All 3 piers can be open as late as
midnight. This is fantastic since these piers and the boardwalk as a whole come alive
at night with all the lighting and energy. However, the closing time is dependent upon
crowds and weather. If the park isn’t too busy or there’s inclement weather, expect the
park to close earlier without much notice.
Mariner’s Landing tends to open the
earliest. Unless you visit on a weekend, Surfside Pier and Adventure Pier
don’t tend to open until the evening. This can make it tricky to experience
all the rides in a single weekday. That’s especially true for thrill-seekers
since the best pier for them is Surfside Pier. Along with all the rides, you also need to
account for the time getting between piers. Walking between Surfside Pier and
Adventure Pier takes roughly 15-20 minutes. And you can’t really speed walk it because
of how packed the boardwalk usually is.
However, you can take a ride on the infamous
Wildwood Tram Car if you’d prefer not to walk. This quirky yellow and blue tram car rolls
down the boardwalk constantly spewing…
As of 2022, a one way ticket costs $4.
There is also an unlimited pass for $10, but it’s only valid until 5 pm.
All 3 amusement piers have free admission; however, it can be costly to ride anything.
Each ticket costs $1.25 and most rides cost between 4 and 10 tickets. Pay per ride is the best
option if you only want to ride a few attractions. If you want to ride many attractions,
including every roller coaster, the pay-one-price wristband is your best
deal. This costs a whopping $114 as of 2022. It does include most rides on the
amusement piers plus both water parks.
The two water parks have gated admission unlike
the amusement piers. Raging Waters is located on Mariner’s Landing and Ocean Oasis is located
on Surfside Pier. You can purchase individual admission for each water park. Both open as
early as 9 am and they have early bird specials. Each water park is small, but each has
a compact mix of slides. I think Ocean Oasis is the superior one for thrill-seekers and
Raging Waters is the superior one for families. One downside if you plan to visit both is that
you can’t purchase a shared locker between them. You have to purchase lockers separately at each.
Before delving into the piers, let’s talk about the arrival experience. There are a bunch of
hotels and condos within walking distance of the park, but I typically stay at
a name brand hotel further north. If you arrive by car, you’re going to have to
pay to park. Whatever you do, do not park at the lot between Atlantic Ave and E Schellenger
Ave. That is the one my GPS typically navigates to if you punch in Morey’s Piers and I think
it would have cost $60-70 for the entire day.
If you only plan to stay a few hours,
street parking is the best deal. That will cost you $2 per hour and you can
pay online instead of feeding the meter.
If you plan to stay an entire day, look
for a parking garage near the boardwalk. One I recommend is at the very end of East
Oak Ave. That one has cost me $10-15 per day.
While the piers themselves are
spread a ways from each other, the individual piers are pretty compact
and densely populated with rides. It really is amazing how much Morey’s
has crammed into such little space, especially considering a lion’s share of
their rides are on Surfside and Mariner’s.
The compact nature causes the
piers to be bursting with energy, especially since the park also draws on the
energy of the nearby beach and boardwalk. This park has an awesome atmosphere. There
really isn’t any theming, but that’s the norm for most boardwalk parks. Rides are colorful
and well-maintained. Because they have limited space to expand, Morey’s is constantly upgrading
their pre-existing attractions. Just look at how they put new trains on Sea Serpent and completely
retracked Great Nor’Easter. How many other parks would do that, especially the latter?
It also helps this park has some of the friendliest staff members out there, which
further reinforces the park’s pleasant feel.
Operations are usually very fast at Morey’s.
Since many people use the pay-per-ride option, Morey’s has every incentive to
load rides as quickly as possible. And in most cases they do. Even on weekends,
most rides are less than a 10-15 minute wait.
There are a few exceptions.
First, if you visited during 2020, operations were glacially slow due to the
cleaning procedures and reduced capacities. Know that was an outlier and not the norm for Morey’s.
Second, Great White usually has both trains on the track, but on quieter days they will only load one
of the trains until the ride has a steady line. I’m guessing this is to reduce the
risk of valleying with guests on-board. But they only do this when the ride has a
short wait, so it’s not too big of an issue.
Third, this park does allow chest mounted Go Pros; however, multiple operators stopped me and had to
call a supervisor to ask if it was ok, which would delay a dispatch. I wish this is communicated
better to employees in future seasons.
Fourth, if you plan to visit the water parks, go
early. They are pretty dead for the first hour, but their limited throughputs can cause
lines to back-up by the afternoon.
Moving onto the ride lineup, Morey’s Piers is
jam-packed with attractions. The park currently has 7 different roller coasters. The best of the
bunch is Great Nor’Easter. For most of its life, this was an extremely rough Vekoma SLC littered
with headbanging. But because the park added new trains with vest restraints and retracked
90% of the coaster before the 2017 season, it is quite smooth now. That makes it possible
to appreciate the fast-paced and frenetic layout. You are hurtled through all 5 inversions
and the near-misses are world-class. Not only do you have the usual foot-choppers with
supports, but this coaster also wraps around a water slide. These near-misses are why the park
has a strict no loose-article policy and forces everything to go in a locker, but it truly is in
the name of safety since the lockers are free. I have a separate review going into more detail,
but the way Morey’s transformed Great Nor’Easter into an enjoyable attraction is admirable.
Another Vekoma that they have improved over the years is their boomerang in Sea
Serpent. It’s the best boomerang in the US. The vest restraints eliminate all headbanging
and this one tracks smoother than others as well, so it’s an enjoyable and very forceful experience as you experience over 5 Gs on the trio of
inversions going both forwards and backwards.
Great White is their only true custom coaster
and the primary ride on Adventure Pier. This CCI wood coaster is uniquely placed
directly on the beach and it has a solid layout. The turns have good laterals and
quite a few hills give decent pops of airtime. The ride is mostly smooth too and I believe
the one rough spot in 2021 that I mentioned in my review was retracked for the 2022 season.
The park also has a nice mix of family coasters. Runaway Tram is my favorite of the bunch. Lightly
themed to that aforementioned Wildwood tram, this coaster is super smooth, gives two
laps, and has some mild force at points. I have a review for this coaster as
well that goes into more detail.
Doo Wopper is a relatively rare Zamperla
wild mouse. This one has decent laterals on the initial hairpin turns, but the brakes
and shallow drops result in a dull second half. This ride is lightly themed to fast food, so there
are some fun visuals along the course though.
Rollie’s Coaster is a Pinfari zyklon. The
coaster itself is your standard layout, but it has more restrictive
over-the-shoulder restraints. The ride is thankfully smooth and there are
some ok positive Gs on a few of the pullouts.
Lastly, you have Wild Whizzer, a SBF Visa
spinner. This is your standard figure 8 layout, but it does have a very long cycle. This
is the best coaster there for kids.
Mariner’s Landing and Surfside Pier each
feature a cluster of roughly 10 kiddie rides. These are the best two piers by far for younger
guests. Mariner’s Pier also features some slow observation rides that can be enjoyed by all
ages, including their massive Ferris Wheel.
Morey’s has a deep collection of flat
rides for adults. You’ll find a bevy of spinning rides on Mariner’s Pier, but my three
favorite flats are located on Surfside Pier.
AtmosFear is an intense Larson drop tower. It
stands just 14 stories tall, but you drop like a rock, getting a gut-wrenching stomach-dropping
sensation and floater airtime the whole way down. This ride also gives a breathtaking
view of the beach and it’s accompanied by on-board audio to boost the anticipation.
It is a unique KMG frisbee. This one features lap bar restraints, so you’re entire upper-body
is weirdly exposed for a ride like this. This freedom enhances the already strong airtime
this ride delivers. And since this ride gives a long cycle, you come out of your seat plenty.
Kong is a Larson flying scooters placed atop a building, so you get some neat visuals. It’s also
exceedingly easy to catch a breeze, so you get some good movement. Just do not snap the cables or
else you will be immediately kicked off the ride.
Adventure Pier features some expensive
upcharge attractions. The SkyCoaster, Spring Shot, Screamin’ Swing, and Skyscraper are
super thrilling flats you can find elsewhere, but you also have the super weird Boat Tag. It’s
a hybrid of a splash battle and bumper boats. Riders board these aquatic tanks and fire
balls with an air cannon at other tanks and the cage adjacent to those on the boardwalk.
Meanwhile, riders off-ride try to activate mines that will comically drench riders. I don’t know
of any park that has something quite like it.
The piers also have a nice collection of dark
rides. The best of the bunch is the Ghost Ship walkthrough. This attraction features a chilling
atmosphere and lots of energetic scare actors, who are even allowed to touch you! This
attraction has been closed the past few years, but it crushes most Halloween haunts
between the theming and scares.
Dante’s Dungeon is a haunted house dark ride. This
one is just a step above a carnival dark ride for me. The scares were loud and plentiful,
but the visuals weren’t too special.
Pirates of the Wildwoods is a 3D dark
ride that has always been closed for me, but I’ve heard mixed opinions on that one.
Then Adventure Pier has this weird
fun house called Luna’s Lost Labyrinth that starts off strong before dumping you
outside in this unthemed mess of fencing.
The best attraction overall is Zoom Phloom. This
Hopkins log flume is one of the best out there. It’s nearly 6 minutes long and it offers great
visuals as you travel past rides and even underneath the boardwalk. Both drops are pretty
sizable and zippy. Just note that single riders are not allowed on this attraction.
Moving onto the two water parks, I much prefer Ocean Oasis. This is where
you’ll find the two best slides. Sidewinders is a thrilling mat slide with a massive
double down with some frightening airtime.
Then Cliff Dive is a body slide consisting of a
single, steep plunge that gives a little pop of airtime as you rush towards the ground.
Then you have a few other slides, including Riptide Rapids that intertwines with
Great Nor’Easter, but no other standouts.
Raging Waters is the better option for
families. The water slides are a lot slower at this one. The Speed Slides are a
decent duo of mat slides and then you have the unique Sky Pond Journey with a bunch of
elevated splash down pools on the way down.
For food, your best option is to grab
something off the boardwalk. Morey’s doesn’t have too many restaurants inside the
park and you have to walk between piers anyway. My favorite snack is the Original Idaho Potatoes.
These French fries are super fresh and yummy. Curley’s Fries are nearly as good in terms of
quality, but their portions are much smaller. Then you also have two notable pizza places
in Mack’s and Sam’s. I know plenty prefer the buttery taste of Mack’s, but I think Sam’s
tastes more like a traditional New York slice.
Then while this review is focused on Morey’s
Piers, the Wildwood boardwalk has plenty of other shops and entertainment options. One that
I definitely want to note is the Retro Arcade. I wish I had photos of all the rare
games inside, including Fascination, but the owner has a strict no photo policy.
Lastly, make sure to pack sunscreen. This probably goes without saying for most
boardwalk parks, but there is zero shade here and you will be cooking in the sun all-day.
So do I recommend Morey’s Piers. I sure do! This is New Jersey’s best boardwalk park and a flat out
good amusement park overall. It has such a unique atmosphere combined with a strong ride lineup.
The coasters are decent, but the supporting mix of flat rides, dark rides, and water rides makes
the overall collection of attractions notable. The park is quite pricey, but that’s the biggest
downside. I always have a great time at Morey’s.
As for when to visit, I would probably recommend
a summer weekend for thrill-seekers since Surfside and Adventure Pier have longer hours.
Families will probably enjoy the lighter crowds of a weekday, especially since they’ll spend a
large chunk of their time on Mariner’s anyway.
So those are my thoughts on Morey’s Piers. What
are your thoughts on this Wildwood, NJ boardwalk amusement park? What is your favorite pier?
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate
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there will be a lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here
at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!
