That era really was Wildwood's peak. It'll never be the same. If you weren't there for it at the time, you can't really put it into words. The piers. The rides. The PEOPLE. Let's just say they're "different" today. My sympathies. The vibe then was completely different. This video took me RIGHT back.
@@euroyen420 Everybody. People are just trash today. They dress, act, and think like illiterate degenerates, are proud to be the lowest of the lowest common denominator. Something is so very wrong.
1986 could have been the last season for Hunt's pier. I remember wildwood in the 70's the boardwalk was great then when sportland pier was still in existence. And the jackrabbit at Midway pier.
I remember walking down the boardwalk and seeing all the old folks sitting under the pavilions. We'd always say look at all the old people. Now I'm one of them. What memories. Great video.
The cold shadow of death stalks you. The reaper wants your bones for his pavillion made of bones at his summer home. The withering effect of time creeps across your flesh. BEHOLD THE OLD!
As a Dark Ride Historian, Hunts was pure magic! Definitely inspired by Disney, it, never less had its own charm. Bill Tracey props everywhere, original rides, it was the best Pier in Wildwood!
Hunt's pier was the greatest! Great classic dark rides, and I've always felt that the Golden Nugget mine ride was a partial inspiration for Big Thunder Mountain in Disney World.
This is AWESOME! Wildwood in 1986! I love Wildwood today and I loved Wildwood then but my love for Wildwood was born practically when I was born ohhhh 60some years ago! I remember every sound on each of the rides posted here along with the twists and turns... I am forever grateful that my parents introduced Wildwood's Beach and Boardwalk to me and my sisters when we were very young; that love continues today in my 67th year... Once it's in your blood, it remains there forever! Wildwood By The Sea! Thanks so much for posting this!
Ahh... the 80's! I was a kid at the time and my family would always vacation in Sea Isle City for a week or two. We always did a night on the Wildwood Boardwalk. It was always my favorite night of our vacation week as a kid! I am 40 now and I still love the Wildwood Boardwalk!!
irishpuppy39 - i know i havent recovered from the loss. So many good memories. I find it interesting the the Pirate Ship Skua doesnt get as much love as some of the other rides on hunts...loved that ride
@@drumlover1687 I miss it, too. I visited Hunt's Aug 1982 and Aug 1983. I didn't ride the Whacky Shack though or the car ride under the Flyer. I didn't return to Wildwood until Aug 1995 and the pier was half shut with kiddie rides on the front and a white wood wall across the pier blocking access to the remaining old Hunt's rides that were SBNO like Hunt's Horror (Whacky Shack through 1988), Golden Nugget, Log Flume, and Rapids. It was called Atlantic Pier and was just leased by the Catanosos that year. I returned June 1996 and it was transformed into Dinosaur Beach Adventure Theme Park and the Nugget, Flume, and Rapids were running again. The Hunt's Horror had its props and cars removed to be saved, and the building was trashed into dumpsters. You can see cars and props from the Whacky Shack in a new arcade on the boardwalk. I returned again June 1998 and rode the Nugget for the last time, and Log Flume for the first and last time. It is operating in Iowa. The Nugget was rebuilt at Knoebels as a coal mine ride.
It's cool seeing what this place used to look like (and see what Hunt's Pier was). My dad always tells me how great Hunt's Pier was, as I was born in the early 2000's and never got to experience this. It's weird to think about how a place I've been going to all my life used to have a whole other ride pier that I was born too late for.
I feel bad for those of you born in the early 2000's because you didn't even get to experience Dinosaur Beach (former Hunt's Pier) which was open from 1996 to 1998 and had the Golden Nugget rethemed with dinosaurs, a dinosaur dark ride, the Hunt's log flume rethemed with dinosaurs, and the 1985 rapids ride with a dino theme and other rides. From 1999 on it was mostly go-karts and the Morey's bought the pier. There's a nice mirror maze on it now at the boardwalk end. Also, Castle Dracula burned down Jan 16, 2002. It opened 1977 over the 1919 old mill boat ride which became the Dungeon. You never got to experience that, either. Morey's Pier once had a creepy 3 floor walk through haunted house from 1972-1984 and a one level version from 1988-1991. The pier with the Great White used to be Fun Pier and had these custom built rides like Lost World dark ride, Crazy House fun house, and Castle Frankenstein which was a ride through from early to mid 1970's, and a walk through from 1978-1982, then it closed, and burned Aug 1984. Here is a picture of it flickr.com/photos/edwaste/33046086118/in/photostream/ That was located about where the Great White returns to the station across the pier now. Great White was built 1996. Parts of the pier had to be rebuilt after the 1984 fires, the other fire burned the Lost World and Crazy House on Nov 24, 1984, 1985 season was a bunch of carnival rides and the Jungleland boat dark ride, different than the one on Hunt's Pier. Fun Pier closed after 1985 and the pier was mostly empty 1986, 1987, 1988 then a circus was on the pier at some point between 1987-1989. Morey's bought the pier 1987. It became Wild Wheels Raceway and Adventure Pier in 1992. Now they just call it Adventure Pier. Guess the other name was a mouthful.
Do you remember a ride that you could get into and it would take you under water so you could look around. I don’t know much about it but I remember when jaws 2 was playing everywhere on the boardwalk and I was terrified to go on that ride. I kind of remember it being a submarine.
Thank you for sharing this! I graduated in 1986, and went to Wildwood w my extended family nearly every summer. I was looking through the crowds for us! The Flyer was the first rollercoaster I'd ever been on. Every image here just tugged hard at my heart! Also loving the 80s hair, clothes, and music!
I'm a 47-year-old Canadian and I spent many wonderful summers there when I was a child. First we stayed at the Beach Waves Motel (now renamed) and eventually went on to the Paradise Inn. I have absolutely wonderful memories of that place. I haven't been back since 1990 and probably won't be able to go again but I'll always LOVE it!!
I Miss them old Rides 1970s and 80s were The best for me Now I'm 62 years old Still enjoy the Wildwoods and live near Wildwood I will never Leave Capemay County Wildwood Love it.
One of my favorite places was the Casino Arcade. So many great memories. The fresh made potato chips, the clam and oyster bar. The shooting gallery on the main part of the boardwalk. The place that sold the fresh squeezed juices.
Your video is now instantly my favorite! You have preserved a significant piece of local history very clearly. This is a wonderfully nostalgic and important video to those of us who actually remember all that great stuff on Hunt's pier that is no longer there. Thank you very much for this well-shot, clear and steady footage of our memories... and the glimpses of the "real" 1980's hairstyles!!!
This video was completely amazing! 1986 - the very best summer of my life. I just moved to Wildwood in May of that year and I've never had a summer as memorable as that one! Major kudos for this.
Fantastic video. I remember riding the Golden Nugget with my Dad when I was a little boy in the 60s. And the Hunt's rollercoaster was a WW landmark. I don't understand why Hunt's Pier has been allowed to decay for so many years. If the Morey family now owns it, why don't they develop it? They've done a wonderful job on the 2 other piers that they own. Everything has to change. I'm just glad that WW manages to keep reinventing itself and not go into permanent decline (like Coney Island).
@@DelbertSting-th7if I was between junior and senior years in HS and got my DL at the end of summer. I was born just before the cutoff and was usually the youngest of my group. But ya, life really kicked into gear summer of '86. Almost forgot, end of summer was the Cinderella concert at Wildwood Convention Hall. Best show of that summer, at least for me... hoping your summer was just as memorable or even better!
I was 14 back in 86, grew up in Pennslvania and my family went to wildwood every summer for a week. Id save my money all year and when we were there I would blow it all in the arcades, they were my favorite thing to do on the boardwark, besides eating pizza. Great memories.
I hear you there. I was 13 and all I did during the week my family was there was play arcade games and swim. My parents would get pissed at me because I would spend all of the quarters they kept for tolls on the parkway. Remember the toll booths with the baskets you would have to throw the change in?
This was also before Morey's Piers owned almost everything. That started to happen in the 90's as Morey's reopened the former Fun Pier as Wild Wheels Raceway and Adventure Pier (just Adventure Pier now), and in 2000 purchased the former Dinosaur Beach park that ran from 1996 through 1998 on the former Hunt's Pier. That's why the Nugget sat for 10 years, the Morey's became the owners and didn't know what to do with it. It's rebuilt at Knoebel's in PA now called Black Diamond.
Awesome video, Mel! "Watch the tram car, please" is part of most of SJ summers. I'm craving it so badly now that it's freezing. Thanks for the awesome memories! -Helen
Been going to WWNJ since I was born in 1971, I was 15 when you made this vid. Was always the family place to go without breaking the parents bank. So much has changed over the past 47 years for me going there. Now instead of going for a family vacation, I go for the Irish Fest and fall car show with my now 18 year old son. Love the vid!!
This could have been my dad’s video. My dad videoed our vacations in Wildwood from 1983-1991. He passed away that year. Thank you for helping me to remember him just a little bit more. BTW, we stayed in the Shore Plaza at 26th and the Boardwalk.
I miss Hunt's Pier. Now it's just a crappy pier with go-karts and metal buildings. And some things on the front, like eating places, and a mirror maze. I visited Hunt's Pier when it was still owned by William "Bud" Hunt the son of the founder William C. Hunt between 1980-1983. I rode the train, Keystone Kops, Jungleland, Golden Nugget, and Pirate Ship Skua. I failed to ride the Whacky Shack, it had a really awesome facade. We usually went to the amusements at night. My father passed Mar 8, 1986.
The person giving instructions on that music express ride at 2:40 is my aunt. She passed away in early 2021 from liver failure. I wasn’t around to experience the 80s, so it’s really cool to get a glimpse of this.
Oh my GOD! This video bought back so many memories! Especially the Mine ride. I remember you use to get a wooden coin after you got off the ride. Love those Wildwood days!
I loved the video. Wildwood and Cape May were a great part of my life during the summer. So much so that my parents bought a condo in 1984 right next to the Admiral Motel. It was so nice to have a place to go on vacation. The boardwalk is far superior to one down here in Myrtle Beach. I miss going there.
Hunts was the best pier in 50's to 70's. Went there as kid then took my kids there. Would always stop there first and ended there hour before closing time. Pirate ship, jungle ride, & gold mine ride were great. One weekend in September my kids went on the pirate ship so many times that the nice older gentleman collecting tickets let them on for free. He gave one of the kids a pretend gold coin from pirate behinds bars. Wish I know what happened to coin but my son thought it was real and got a lot of enjoyment from it.
Been going to wildwood with family since 1968 .we would rent 2 or 3 beach houses and stay 2 weeks every year.great place to bee still going with my family. As a51 year old dad. Have many pitchures with family members , that have long past,but the new generation keeps it exciting. Wildwood is a special place.
This is the best thing I have ever come across on youtube. Thank you so much for such a great video.The memories came back to me in seconds of all the great fun times we had down at the wildwood shore. AWESOME !
This video is priceless. Peak 1980s. I think 86 was my first summer in Wildwood, only 5 years old. We'd stay at The Astronaut motel in Crest. We went every year and I continue to go every couple years. There are some other fun places to vacation, but Wildwood is a unique experience and I love it.
Thank you so much for sharing. I had so much fun in Wildwood in the late 80's and 90's. We would rent a shack for pennies and just have fun. Sitting on the beach hiding our beers. Pool hoping to clean the sand off us, and then enjoying the boardwalk until it closed. So much has changed and now Wildwood has priced itself out of my pay grade. I can go on better destination vacations for cheaper than a week in Wildwood......I still have those memories though
This was one of the first roller coasters that I rode as a child (the very first being The Jumbo Jet on Morey's Pier). I was heartbroken when they got rid of The Flyer. I could have stayed on that ride forever! Thank you for the video to help me relive my favorite ride!
Yeah, the only "original" dark ride left. It arrived at Morey's Pier around 1980-1981 and was altered over the years. All the rest burned or were torn down. Whacky Shack, Castle Dracula, etc. At least Mariner's Landing has Ghost Ship now to fill the void. But a cool haunted house, Morbid Manor at Sportland Pier closed before last year, it was only open 2 years.
lol! I'm amazed that it is still there. We actually took a drunken walkthrough of that at 3 in the morning, in the complete dark, slowly following the track with our feet... Gosh, that was the early Nineties I believe. We almost got arrested for trespassing, but the guards just let us go...
I was 4 in 86 too ! Thanks for posting this video. My best memories on this planet is the wildwood boardwalk in the 80's and early 90's. My 'happy place' is the memory of me standing out front of Dracula's castle too scarred to go in. Awesome awesome video.
Thanks for the great video! Brought back a lot of memories. My family used to go to Wildwood every June for a week from the mid-1970s until about 1980. My favorite rides as a kid were the Whacky Shack and the Golden Nugget mine ride. In fact, that Golden Nugget mine ride made such an impression on me that I now explore abandoned mines as a hobby here on UA-cam. I’ve met one other abandoned mine explorer who told me the same thing, too! That Golden Nugget mine ride certainly was a classic! We always stayed at the Ranch House Hotel in Wildwood which burned to the ground sometime in the 1980s, I believe. Right next-door to it used to be a restaurant which I believe was called the Blue Dolphin. Not sure if that still standing. I guess most of those doo-wop hotels are no longer standing. They were really creative and cleverly designed hotels that all had a unique, crazy theme. Ah, memories!
Some of my favorites: The Flyer, Great White, Keystone Kops, Dante's Inferno, Raiders, Dracula's Castle + boat ride. And there was an awesome arcade there. I used to play the Pokerroll machines in the back. There was this realllly long stuffed snake on the ceiling I was saving up for, but never ended up getting enough. I'll stop before the nostalgia kills me
@mel I can not believe this! I just was looking up old videos of wildwood and spotted me and my Dad on the Tramcar!!! The guy that says “hey”!! Omg! Thank you so much for capturing this moment!!
Great memories of all those summers I spent in and around Wildwood from 1972 to around 1985 when I moved to Atlantic City. I wrote every one of those rides... every one! They were great... I miss that time.
Thanks for posting this! I used to love the Golden Nugget when I was a kid. I haven't been on the ride in years. And even more was the Flyer. That was my very first roller coaster that I ever went on. You just brought back some good memories before Wildwood went to total crap.
Mid-70s for me, went there with my family to spend a weekend when I was i single digits; later, those church bus trips to Wildwood in the neighborhood were well attended (for which we had to hike to the beach from where they stored the buses in the back of the town). Most of those rides I rode (the water attraction was the outlier) were there. And yes...that's a beach. I tell my friends in Florida that there's beach and then there's BEACH...this vid brings it all back.
This is excellent!!! It's so hard to find anything with the flyer in it. I was 12 years old in 1986 and was in wildwood that summer. Good times and memories. Love that you also got the golden nugget, keystone cops, and the jungle ride on this video. Thanks for the video. Haven't seen these things in a long time. Oh yeah, MAC'S is still my favorite pizza 🤣👍🏻🤘🏻
Bless you for that footage of the Golden Nugget. I've been on it in its current form as the Black Diamond at Knoebels, but the original theming looks a lot more intricate. I love the outdoor sections (Knoebels has it entirely indoors)
This is really well done. The camera moves and choices of editing are more sophisticated than you'd expect. This video follows the action and cuts to details just like something from "Jaws" - it's great, great work. And a terrific archive. Bravo.
wow, great nostalgia here. awesome camerawork and editing too. you're probably the only person with video of the inside of the Golden Nugget. totally awesome.
Awesome! thanks for the video...Im 43 and wilwood is still pretty cool, but it was better in the 80's...nowadays, you have to take $400 just to have one day on the boardwalk, its expensive as hell...in the 80's you could take 40 bucks and spend the day there, before the russians and the one after another, interchangeable obscene t-shirt stores that exist now, it was more family-friendly and cool attractions....god i miss the old days!!!
OUTSTANDING video. My family used to go to Wildwood every summer as I was growing up (shout out to the old Bali Hi Motel!), and this brings back all the good times (80s hairstyles included). The shots of the Golden Nugget, in particular, almost bring a tear to my eye. Thanks for posting it!
Sad but true. Started going with my family in the 60's. Wildwood was the greatest back then. Still go and always enjoy it, but nothing like when I was a kid.
I'm listening to a Casey Kasem AT40 countdown right now from June 7, 1986 on an internet radio, he just passed this month. That was the same time period as this video, think, Janet Jackson was a "new" artist then. I miss Hunt's Pier, I visited between 1980-1983. I remember riding the Nugget as well as some of the other custom rides. It's a crying shame it's all gone now. Today's kids will never know the magic of Hunt's Pier like I did. Well, it has a cool mirror maze now on the boardwalk. But not much else. At least the Nugget lives on at Knoebel's in PA, my home state. I'm from Allentown, PA home of Dorney Park, which also changed since the 1980's, and was sold to Cedar Fair from Ohio in July, 1992 and some classic dark rides that I rode like Journey to the Center of the Earth (mill chute ride) were torn down after 1992. But, Dorney now has haunt attractions (some indoor) in the fall. In Wildwood, 1986 was before Morey's owned everything, they only had 2 piers then, Morey's and Mariner's Landing, they bought the defunct Fun Pier in 1987, the dark rides at Fun burned in Aug and Nov 1984. At least Morey's built a cool maze around 1996 that is still there on the former Fun Pier. But, they got rid of the newer dark ride and haunted walkthrough Mummy 3D over 2 years ago. I rode the Lost World dark ride and Crazy House fun house at Fun Pier in early 1980's, but didn't go in Castle Frankenstein. It was supposedly closed in 1983 and 1984 before it burned. It was a walk-through with two floors of horror. Sort of like Castle Dracula at Nickels' Midway Pier which opened 1977 and burned Jan 16, 2002. Frankenstein opened 1978. Morey's had a 3 floor walk-through Haunted House from 1972-1984 and a one level version also called Haunted House from late 80's to early 90's. I didn't go to Wildwood between 1984-1994, or 1997, 1999-2010, 2012-present.
my GF is from Allentown and still is very sentimental about Dorney. We still go almost every year and wow, has it changed. We rode many of the classics before they tore them down. you mentioned Journey to the Center of the Earth. Remember the enclosed spin ride - The Iceberg? - which they painted black & became 'The Meteor' for a season or two before they trashed it. The circling rocket planes, The old scary skylift which seemed like it was going to fall any second, the flying Dutchman coaster - which I don't think I got a chance to ride. And the parking lot on the hillside, where Steel Force is now... She still talks about the old original Carousel and the day it burned down. Anyways, good to share some of the past! cheers! btw - I was scared to death of Frankenstein's Castle on Fun pier. I would just hang around and watch people going in and out... also, I remember someone died on the water slide there, when a section of it came apart. That was one of those early water slides, where you needed that thick foam mat, or you would tear your back up on the seams! I also remember there was an accident on the Jumbo Jet coaster, where the train never made it over the hill and came back down backwards into another train, Not sure if anyone was killed...
Thanks for the shots of Hunt's Pier. Now that it's gone it's just not the same on the boardwalk anymore. I used to love to play miniature golf at Hunt's Pier Skyline Golf
That era really was Wildwood's peak. It'll never be the same. If you weren't there for it at the time, you can't really put it into words. The piers. The rides. The PEOPLE. Let's just say they're "different" today. My sympathies. The vibe then was completely different. This video took me RIGHT back.
By "different" do you mean blacks and immigrants...lol yep, agreed, it aint the same..what happened..
💯
@@euroyen420 Everybody. People are just trash today. They dress, act, and think like illiterate degenerates, are proud to be the lowest of the lowest common denominator. Something is so very wrong.
@@euroyen420 Cry about it old man
1986 could have been the last season for Hunt's pier. I remember wildwood in the 70's the boardwalk was great then when sportland pier was still in existence. And the jackrabbit at Midway pier.
I remember walking down the boardwalk and seeing all the old folks sitting under the pavilions. We'd always say look at all the old people. Now I'm one of them. What memories. Great video.
sjtom57 I was thinking the same thing :) At that age, I was never gonna be that old. LOL
The cold shadow of death stalks you. The reaper wants your bones for his pavillion made of bones at his summer home. The withering effect of time creeps across your flesh. BEHOLD THE OLD!
Me too 🤣 I'm pushing 70 and doesn't seem possible..
I’ll be there next.
I'm one of the older folks now 😅
As a Dark Ride Historian, Hunts was pure magic! Definitely inspired by Disney, it, never less had its own charm. Bill Tracey props everywhere, original rides, it was the best Pier in Wildwood!
Hunt's pier was the greatest! Great classic dark rides, and I've always felt that the Golden Nugget mine ride was a partial inspiration for Big Thunder Mountain in Disney World.
Even after 60 years I never get tired of goin down da shore!
This is AWESOME! Wildwood in 1986! I love Wildwood today and I loved Wildwood then but my love for Wildwood was born practically when I was born ohhhh 60some years ago! I remember every sound on each of the rides posted here along with the twists and turns... I am forever grateful that my parents introduced Wildwood's Beach and Boardwalk to me and my sisters when we were very young; that love continues today in my 67th year... Once it's in your blood, it remains there forever! Wildwood By The Sea! Thanks so much for posting this!
in 1984 we would pack as many people in my 76 Montego that would fit and hit the road from Philly. The Clover Motel had rooms for $28 for the weekend
I was 17 in the summer of 86. I knew the boardwalk like the back of my hand. Thank you for the trip down memory lane.
When you wish you had a time machine...
I totally agree with you on that. Even though I am 16 years old.
Ahh... the 80's! I was a kid at the time and my family would always vacation in Sea Isle City for a week or two. We always did a night on the Wildwood Boardwalk. It was always my favorite night of our vacation week as a kid! I am 40 now and I still love the Wildwood Boardwalk!!
I love the Marlboro cigarette advertisement on the Tram Car! How times have changed!! 80's were the best!!
Sea isle rules
I don't think my family ever recovered from the loss of Hunt's Pier. Thanks for the walk down memory lane.
irishpuppy39 - i know i havent recovered from the loss. So many good memories. I find it interesting the the Pirate Ship Skua doesnt get as much love as some of the other rides on hunts...loved that ride
Was their 4 piers
I feel the same way as you do. Hunt's pier was the greatest!
@@drumlover1687 I miss it, too. I visited Hunt's Aug 1982 and Aug 1983. I didn't ride the Whacky Shack though or the car ride under the Flyer. I didn't return to Wildwood until Aug 1995 and the pier was half shut with kiddie rides on the front and a white wood wall across the pier blocking access to the remaining old Hunt's rides that were SBNO like Hunt's Horror (Whacky Shack through 1988), Golden Nugget, Log Flume, and Rapids. It was called Atlantic Pier and was just leased by the Catanosos that year. I returned June 1996 and it was transformed into Dinosaur Beach Adventure Theme Park and the Nugget, Flume, and Rapids were running again. The Hunt's Horror had its props and cars removed to be saved, and the building was trashed into dumpsters. You can see cars and props from the Whacky Shack in a new arcade on the boardwalk. I returned again June 1998 and rode the Nugget for the last time, and Log Flume for the first and last time. It is operating in Iowa. The Nugget was rebuilt at Knoebels as a coal mine ride.
Why hunt pier? Was it better?
It's cool seeing what this place used to look like (and see what Hunt's Pier was). My dad always tells me how great Hunt's Pier was, as I was born in the early 2000's and never got to experience this. It's weird to think about how a place I've been going to all my life used to have a whole other ride pier that I was born too late for.
Me too 2005
I feel bad for those of you born in the early 2000's because you didn't even get to experience Dinosaur Beach (former Hunt's Pier) which was open from 1996 to 1998 and had the Golden Nugget rethemed with dinosaurs, a dinosaur dark ride, the Hunt's log flume rethemed with dinosaurs, and the 1985 rapids ride with a dino theme and other rides. From 1999 on it was mostly go-karts and the Morey's bought the pier. There's a nice mirror maze on it now at the boardwalk end. Also, Castle Dracula burned down Jan 16, 2002. It opened 1977 over the 1919 old mill boat ride which became the Dungeon. You never got to experience that, either. Morey's Pier once had a creepy 3 floor walk through haunted house from 1972-1984 and a one level version from 1988-1991. The pier with the Great White used to be Fun Pier and had these custom built rides like Lost World dark ride, Crazy House fun house, and Castle Frankenstein which was a ride through from early to mid 1970's, and a walk through from 1978-1982, then it closed, and burned Aug 1984. Here is a picture of it flickr.com/photos/edwaste/33046086118/in/photostream/ That was located about where the Great White returns to the station across the pier now. Great White was built 1996. Parts of the pier had to be rebuilt after the 1984 fires, the other fire burned the Lost World and Crazy House on Nov 24, 1984, 1985 season was a bunch of carnival rides and the Jungleland boat dark ride, different than the one on Hunt's Pier. Fun Pier closed after 1985 and the pier was mostly empty 1986, 1987, 1988 then a circus was on the pier at some point between 1987-1989. Morey's bought the pier 1987. It became Wild Wheels Raceway and Adventure Pier in 1992. Now they just call it Adventure Pier. Guess the other name was a mouthful.
Do you remember a ride that you could get into and it would take you under water so you could look around. I don’t know much about it but I remember when jaws 2 was playing everywhere on the boardwalk and I was terrified to go on that ride. I kind of remember it being a submarine.
Thank you for sharing this! I graduated in 1986, and went to Wildwood w my extended family nearly every summer. I was looking through the crowds for us! The Flyer was the first rollercoaster I'd ever been on. Every image here just tugged hard at my heart! Also loving the 80s hair, clothes, and music!
I'm a 47-year-old Canadian and I spent many wonderful summers there when I was a child. First we stayed at the Beach Waves Motel (now renamed) and eventually went on to the Paradise Inn. I have absolutely wonderful memories of that place. I haven't been back since 1990 and probably won't be able to go again but I'll always LOVE it!!
You remember the water slide in Rio Grande? The concrete one?
We stayed at the Paradise Inn for many years, too! My girls are now 43 and 49. Haven’t been back to WW for about 5 years now.
You captured it, dude. You just... captured it.
Splendid. Perfect video. Bless you for posting this.
Great video!!! I love the blouse and mullet on the baseball thrower at 5:15
I Miss them old Rides 1970s and 80s were The best for me Now I'm 62 years old Still enjoy the Wildwoods and live near Wildwood I will never Leave Capemay County Wildwood Love it.
I will retire there too. Best place
One of my favorite places was the Casino Arcade. So many great memories. The fresh made potato chips, the clam and oyster bar. The shooting gallery on the main part of the boardwalk. The place that sold the fresh squeezed juices.
I come back here to this great video to enjoy my youth and remember my parents and what they went through to let me enjoy my youth...
This is the Wildwood I remember! I miss the Golden Nugget.
Your video is now instantly my favorite! You have preserved a significant piece of local history very clearly. This is a wonderfully nostalgic and important video to those of us who actually remember all that great stuff on Hunt's pier that is no longer there.
Thank you very much for this well-shot, clear and steady footage of our memories... and the glimpses of the "real" 1980's hairstyles!!!
Still true over a decade later. Timeless.
Hairstyles were hideous, right☺️???
This was back when each pier has it's own personality! Before it all went corporate plastic! Hunt's pier was one of the best!
This video was completely amazing! 1986 - the very best summer of my life. I just moved to Wildwood in May of that year and I've never had a summer as memorable as that one! Major kudos for this.
Fantastic video. I remember riding the Golden Nugget with my Dad when I was a little boy in the 60s. And the Hunt's rollercoaster was a WW landmark. I don't understand why Hunt's Pier has been allowed to decay for so many years. If the Morey family now owns it, why don't they develop it? They've done a wonderful job on the 2 other piers that they own. Everything has to change. I'm just glad that WW manages to keep reinventing itself and not go into permanent decline (like Coney Island).
Really great footage! My parents took me here back in 1984. I was 7 at the time.
The 80s were my golden years in Wildwood omg we had so much fun...
Me too. I was 13 in the summer of 1986.
@@DelbertSting-th7if I was between junior and senior years in HS and got my DL at the end of summer. I was born just before the cutoff and was usually the youngest of my group. But ya, life really kicked into gear summer of '86. Almost forgot, end of summer was the Cinderella concert at Wildwood Convention Hall. Best show of that summer, at least for me... hoping your summer was just as memorable or even better!
I was 14 back in 86, grew up in Pennslvania and my family went to wildwood every summer for a week. Id save my money all year and when we were there I would blow it all in the arcades, they were my favorite thing to do on the boardwark, besides eating pizza. Great memories.
I hear you there. I was 13 and all I did during the week my family was there was play arcade games and swim. My parents would get pissed at me because I would spend all of the quarters they kept for tolls on the parkway. Remember the toll booths with the baskets you would have to throw the change in?
This was also before Morey's Piers owned almost everything. That started to happen in the 90's as Morey's reopened the former Fun Pier as Wild Wheels Raceway and Adventure Pier (just Adventure Pier now), and in 2000 purchased the former Dinosaur Beach park that ran from 1996 through 1998 on the former Hunt's Pier. That's why the Nugget sat for 10 years, the Morey's became the owners and didn't know what to do with it. It's rebuilt at Knoebel's in PA now called Black Diamond.
Awesome video, Mel! "Watch the tram car, please" is part of most of SJ summers. I'm craving it so badly now that it's freezing.
Thanks for the awesome memories!
-Helen
Great Job. Please leave this up forever...
Macks Pizza Will Be Still #1 Love their Pizza
I Tried Sams Pizza its good. not as greasy as Mack's
Yes they are.
Sams 🍕.lol
sams
No it is Sams!!!
Great video, it brought back so many memories. I kept looking to see if I recognized any of my family since we always went to WW!
Been going to WWNJ since I was born in 1971, I was 15 when you made this vid. Was always the family place to go without breaking the parents bank. So much has changed over the past 47 years for me going there. Now instead of going for a family vacation, I go for the Irish Fest and fall car show with my now 18 year old son. Love the vid!!
This could have been my dad’s video. My dad videoed our vacations in Wildwood from 1983-1991. He passed away that year. Thank you for helping me to remember him just a little bit more. BTW, we stayed in the Shore Plaza at 26th and the Boardwalk.
I miss Hunt's Pier. Now it's just a crappy pier with go-karts and metal buildings. And some things on the front, like eating places, and a mirror maze. I visited Hunt's Pier when it was still owned by William "Bud" Hunt the son of the founder William C. Hunt between 1980-1983. I rode the train, Keystone Kops, Jungleland, Golden Nugget, and Pirate Ship Skua. I failed to ride the Whacky Shack, it had a really awesome facade. We usually went to the amusements at night. My father passed Mar 8, 1986.
The person giving instructions on that music express ride at 2:40 is my aunt. She passed away in early 2021 from liver failure. I wasn’t around to experience the 80s, so it’s really cool to get a glimpse of this.
Hey I went to Wildwood in 1986 when I used to live in the States. Thanks for the reminisce. :lol:
Yeah, thanks for this! Great memories from my teenage years. Now I go with my own kids every summer!
beautiful time capsule!
I went to wildwood twice. Once when I was 4, and then once when I was 8. I’m excited to go this year for my 10th birthday 🥳
Despite being a coaster fan born in 2001, I love footage of parks from the 80's/90's, so thank you for this.
Tommy Carr ...omg...i went on all of those rides in 86...lol..i still know all of the names of the rides..so much fun
Thanks for the Memories
My parents have been going to wildwood since they were young and wow, it looks completely different
Oh my GOD! This video bought back so many memories! Especially the Mine ride. I remember you use to get a wooden coin after you got off the ride. Love those Wildwood days!
I loved the video. Wildwood and Cape May were a great part of my life during the summer. So much so that my parents bought a condo in 1984 right next to the Admiral Motel. It was so nice to have a place to go on vacation. The boardwalk is far superior to one down here in Myrtle Beach. I miss going there.
Great times as a kid with my family. Went every year from around 1980-1986. This brings back such nostalgia, thx..
Thank you for this! My family vacationed there every year in the 80s and I nearly lost my mind watching this; such amazing memories! And that MUSIC!!
Hunts was the best pier in 50's to 70's. Went there as kid then took my kids there. Would always stop there first and ended there hour before closing time. Pirate ship, jungle ride, & gold mine ride were great. One weekend in September my kids went on the pirate ship so many times that the nice older gentleman collecting tickets let them on for free. He gave one of the kids a pretend gold coin from pirate behinds bars. Wish I know what happened to coin but my son thought it was real and got a lot of enjoyment from it.
one of my favortite youtube vid hands up
Thanks
Omg the best years of my life! The 80’s!
thanks so much for this trip down memory lane. good summer times with family and friends this brings me back to. espess 1986.
Been going to wildwood with family since 1968 .we would rent 2 or 3 beach houses and stay 2 weeks every year.great place to bee still going with my family. As a51 year old dad. Have many pitchures with family members , that have long past,but the new generation keeps it exciting. Wildwood is a special place.
❤️
This is the best thing I have ever come across on youtube. Thank you so much for such a great video.The memories came back to me in seconds of all the great fun times we had down at the wildwood shore. AWESOME !
A little slice of heaven here on earth. Thanks for this. Much much better times.
Thanks for this ... really hard to find video from the 80s... brings back some great memories of a time long past.
The sunglasses at 3:38 are amazing.
Yesssss
Absolutely. Only other time I’ve seen a pair like that was at a Sears optical department a few years ago... I was wise enough to buy em, hehe!
Loved this video. I performed with a band in Wildwood from 1974 to 1977. I saw a Senior Discount :) Now I'm a senior at age 71!! Wonderful memories.
This video is priceless. Peak 1980s. I think 86 was my first summer in Wildwood, only 5 years old. We'd stay at The Astronaut motel in Crest. We went every year and I continue to go every couple years. There are some other fun places to vacation, but Wildwood is a unique experience and I love it.
I was 15 going on 16 then thanks I miss the rides like that too:)
The Pirate Ship and the Golden Nugget!!!!
Thank you so much for sharing. I had so much fun in Wildwood in the late 80's and 90's. We would rent a shack for pennies and just have fun. Sitting on the beach hiding our beers. Pool hoping to clean the sand off us, and then enjoying the boardwalk until it closed.
So much has changed and now Wildwood has priced itself out of my pay grade. I can go on better destination vacations for cheaper than a week in Wildwood......I still have those memories though
AMAZING I LIVE HERE NOW & SHARE THIS WITH ALL MY PEEPS...GREAT JOB
This was one of the first roller coasters that I rode as a child (the very first being The Jumbo Jet on Morey's Pier). I was heartbroken when they got rid of The Flyer. I could have stayed on that ride forever! Thank you for the video to help me relive my favorite ride!
This is amazing. I had no idea Dnte's Inferno was there in 86. It's still going strong!
Yeah, the only "original" dark ride left. It arrived at Morey's Pier around 1980-1981 and was altered over the years. All the rest burned or were torn down. Whacky Shack, Castle Dracula, etc. At least Mariner's Landing has Ghost Ship now to fill the void. But a cool haunted house, Morbid Manor at Sportland Pier closed before last year, it was only open 2 years.
lol! I'm amazed that it is still there. We actually took a drunken walkthrough of that at 3 in the morning, in the complete dark, slowly following the track with our feet... Gosh, that was the early Nineties I believe. We almost got arrested for trespassing, but the guards just let us go...
I was 4 in 86 too ! Thanks for posting this video. My best memories on this planet is the wildwood boardwalk in the 80's and early 90's. My 'happy place' is the memory of me standing out front of Dracula's castle too scarred to go in. Awesome awesome video.
I´ve been here in about 85/86 and I could remember the yellow sightseeing trains! Thank´s for the nostalgic memories of when I was six years old.
Thanks for sharing your video brings back memories. I was 18 and that was the year I graduated high school. Much simpler times back then.
What a time. I just turned 21 in 86. Crazy times in Wildwood. I love the look of this....done on film.
Thanks for the great video! Brought back a lot of memories. My family used to go to Wildwood every June for a week from the mid-1970s until about 1980. My favorite rides as a kid were the Whacky Shack and the Golden Nugget mine ride. In fact, that Golden Nugget mine ride made such an impression on me that I now explore abandoned mines as a hobby here on UA-cam. I’ve met one other abandoned mine explorer who told me the same thing, too! That Golden Nugget mine ride certainly was a classic! We always stayed at the Ranch House Hotel in Wildwood which burned to the ground sometime in the 1980s, I believe. Right next-door to it used to be a restaurant which I believe was called the Blue Dolphin. Not sure if that still standing. I guess most of those doo-wop hotels are no longer standing. They were really creative and cleverly designed hotels that all had a unique, crazy theme. Ah, memories!
Some of my favorites: The Flyer, Great White, Keystone Kops, Dante's Inferno, Raiders, Dracula's Castle + boat ride. And there was an awesome arcade there. I used to play the Pokerroll machines in the back. There was this realllly long stuffed snake on the ceiling I was saving up for, but never ended up getting enough.
I'll stop before the nostalgia kills me
😢❤️. I feel that.
lol...great memories, thanks.
Great video. I was 9 yrs old then. Absolutely loved WW back then. Great memories
@mel I can not believe this! I just was looking up old videos of wildwood and spotted me and my Dad on the Tramcar!!! The guy that says “hey”!! Omg! Thank you so much for capturing this moment!!
Thanks for posting this.
Reminds me of Summers of my childhood.
This is awesome..I lived in Wildwood for 2 Summers '84 and '85... Thanks for posting this Mel!
Great memories of all those summers I spent in and around Wildwood from 1972 to around 1985 when I moved to Atlantic City. I wrote every one of those rides... every one! They were great... I miss that time.
Every so often, I return to watching this fabulous video. Thank you Mel and John...
Thanks for posting this! I used to love the Golden Nugget when I was a kid. I haven't been on the ride in years. And even more was the Flyer. That was my very first roller coaster that I ever went on. You just brought back some good memories before Wildwood went to total crap.
Mid-70s for me, went there with my family to spend a weekend when I was i single digits; later, those church bus trips to Wildwood in the neighborhood were well attended (for which we had to hike to the beach from where they stored the buses in the back of the town). Most of those rides I rode (the water attraction was the outlier) were there.
And yes...that's a beach. I tell my friends in Florida that there's beach and then there's BEACH...this vid brings it all back.
Yes! The beach went on FOREVER! Gulf Coast beaches are much wider than beaches on the Atlantic in Florida.
Wow, thanks for posting! I loved riding the golden nugget as a kid!
This is excellent!!! It's so hard to find anything with the flyer in it. I was 12 years old in 1986 and was in wildwood that summer. Good times and memories. Love that you also got the golden nugget, keystone cops, and the jungle ride on this video. Thanks for the video. Haven't seen these things in a long time. Oh yeah, MAC'S is still my favorite pizza 🤣👍🏻🤘🏻
wow great memories and dccc,s own mel toxic too
born in jersey!! :)
...memories... videos like these are priceless.
I love the clothing....haircuts and the music being played
Bless you for that footage of the Golden Nugget. I've been on it in its current form as the Black Diamond at Knoebels, but the original theming looks a lot more intricate. I love the outdoor sections (Knoebels has it entirely indoors)
This is really well done. The camera moves and choices of editing are more sophisticated than you'd expect. This video follows the action and cuts to details just like something from "Jaws" - it's great, great work. And a terrific archive. Bravo.
wow, nice retrospective! :D
wow, great nostalgia here. awesome camerawork and editing too. you're probably the only person with video of the inside of the Golden Nugget. totally awesome.
Wow, what a trip down memory lane. Thanks so much.
Thanks for saving some great summer memories
Awesome! thanks for the video...Im 43 and wilwood is still pretty cool, but it was better in the 80's...nowadays, you have to take $400 just to have one day on the boardwalk, its expensive as hell...in the 80's you could take 40 bucks and spend the day there, before the russians and the one after another, interchangeable obscene t-shirt stores that exist now, it was more family-friendly and cool attractions....god i miss the old days!!!
Best memories ever growing up and vacationing ever Summer in Wildwood.
OUTSTANDING video. My family used to go to Wildwood every summer as I was growing up (shout out to the old Bali Hi Motel!), and this brings back all the good times (80s hairstyles included). The shots of the Golden Nugget, in particular, almost bring a tear to my eye. Thanks for posting it!
I go backto Philadelphia and Jersey
every summer. I love going to wild
wood each year. Morey's is my
favorite pier.
excellent vid man. THIS is Wildwood how I remembered it as a kid. It's nothing like it used to be nowadays.
Sad but true. Started going with my family in the 60's. Wildwood was the greatest back then. Still go and always enjoy it, but nothing like when I was a kid.
I'm listening to a Casey Kasem AT40 countdown right now from June 7, 1986 on an internet radio, he just passed this month. That was the same time period as this video, think, Janet Jackson was a "new" artist then. I miss Hunt's Pier, I visited between 1980-1983. I remember riding the Nugget as well as some of the other custom rides. It's a crying shame it's all gone now. Today's kids will never know the magic of Hunt's Pier like I did. Well, it has a cool mirror maze now on the boardwalk. But not much else. At least the Nugget lives on at Knoebel's in PA, my home state. I'm from Allentown, PA home of Dorney Park, which also changed since the 1980's, and was sold to Cedar Fair from Ohio in July, 1992 and some classic dark rides that I rode like Journey to the Center of the Earth (mill chute ride) were torn down after 1992. But, Dorney now has haunt attractions (some indoor) in the fall.
In Wildwood, 1986 was before Morey's owned everything, they only had 2 piers then, Morey's and Mariner's Landing, they bought the defunct Fun Pier in 1987, the dark rides at Fun burned in Aug and Nov 1984. At least Morey's built a cool maze around 1996 that is still there on the former Fun Pier. But, they got rid of the newer dark ride and haunted walkthrough Mummy 3D over 2 years ago. I rode the Lost World dark ride and Crazy House fun house at Fun Pier in early 1980's, but didn't go in Castle Frankenstein. It was supposedly closed in 1983 and 1984 before it burned. It was a walk-through with two floors of horror. Sort of like Castle Dracula at Nickels' Midway Pier which opened 1977 and burned Jan 16, 2002. Frankenstein opened 1978. Morey's had a 3 floor walk-through Haunted House from 1972-1984 and a one level version also called Haunted House from late 80's to early 90's. I didn't go to Wildwood between 1984-1994, or 1997, 1999-2010, 2012-present.
my GF is from Allentown and still is very sentimental about Dorney. We still go almost every year and wow, has it changed.
We rode many of the classics before they tore them down. you mentioned Journey to the Center of the Earth. Remember the enclosed spin ride - The Iceberg? - which they painted black & became 'The Meteor' for a season or two before they trashed it. The circling rocket planes, The old scary skylift which seemed like it was going to fall any second, the flying Dutchman coaster - which I don't think I got a chance to ride. And the parking lot on the hillside, where Steel Force is now... She still talks about the old original Carousel and the day it burned down. Anyways, good to share some of the past! cheers!
btw - I was scared to death of Frankenstein's Castle on Fun pier. I would just hang around and watch people going in and out... also, I remember someone died on the water slide there, when a section of it came apart. That was one of those early water slides, where you needed that thick foam mat, or you would tear your back up on the seams! I also remember there was an accident on the Jumbo Jet coaster, where the train never made it over the hill and came back down backwards into another train, Not sure if anyone was killed...
It's so nice how people dressed even back then. and they just went to an amusement park.
Wow thank you for posting. That took me back to my childhood. I miss the rides on Hunts Pier and Dracula's Castle. Wow those were the good days.
i thoroughly enjoyed that!!!
Wow...Loved Wildwood. This would have been around the time that I was going Down the Shore by myself.
Thanks for the shots of Hunt's Pier. Now that it's gone it's just not the same on the boardwalk anymore. I used to love to play miniature golf at Hunt's Pier Skyline Golf