My mom and dad honeymooned at the Thunderbird in May of 1967, and I was a honeymoon baby! Thank you so much for sharing these videos with us. Just lovely.
$27.34 according to the government's BLS inflation calculator, but your figure of $50 is probably more accurate given the inconsistent way that big gov measures inflation.
This is simply MAGICAL. Thank you so much for sharing this from the personal archives. Your dad seemed like a cool guy. So much amazing footage in this some places that are still there, others that are not, and I love the backstories behind it. It may sound weird but the videos I do try to emulate that style and feel of 80's and 90's home videos, not new style vlogs. There's something special about showing memories of places. Would love to see more footage like this in the future, if you ever feel comfortable sharing.
Thanks Sean...our dad was a great guy...he passed in 2010. Now I'm the one documenting Wildwood...and my daughter is about the same age as I was in this video. I do have more videos similar to this one that I plan on uploading...so stay tuned!
What a great video. I was actually down there that same week, at the Water’s Edge in the Crest. Went there every summer from 1969 to 1987. Everything always looked mostly the same to me and I always found that comforting. Went another summer or so and then 1996 was the last year I was there until 2021, when my wife’s friend invited us down. She finally got hooked like I was and we go every year now, but it’s definitely not what it used to be.
As a kid in the 80s from Delaware, we would vacation in Wildwood every summer and stay at the American Inn. I think it was very close to the Lou Booth because I remember that name well :) Great memories of the boardwalk rides, lime rickys and macks pizza. Hoping to come back one day soon. American Inn is still there!
Wow, this brings back memories. From the late 70s through early 90s, my family stayed in Cape May for a week every Summer with frequent trips to Wildwood (I was also twelve in 1987). What a fantastic era to grow up in NJ! As a young adult, I stayed in WW with friends many times. After a 20+ year hiatus, my wife and I visited in 2022 and 2023. Some things have certainly changed, but it's still Wildwood. It still has the charm of the old motels and diners, as the town hasn't been bought up and corporatized with mega resorts and tourist traps. Still has the piers and the gigantic beach on the south end. Still a fun place to visit, but the 80s/90s were really awesome in WW.
The Thunderbird was great. My friends and I used to stay there whenever we could during our trips to Wildwood in the early to mid 90's. Sadly it is gone, but the memories live on. Thanks for the video and trip down memory lane.
How old was your dad? He sounds a bit up there seeing how he was joking he was a senior citizen with the other old folks at the end. I guess he's like my dad who was 47 when I was born. He was 59 when I was 12. Your dad seems like a cool guy knowing all the sights! Great vid man!
@@thenakawulskis8611 Okay. We only ever met Lou Booth (a woman). Her husband was either deceased or they were divorced by the time we started staying at the motel. I do remember her having kids though.
Wildwood just isn’t the same without a functioning Hunt’s Pier or even Dinosaur Beach and Castle Dracula. I experienced all of those like you guys did but there were a bunch of years I missed like 1984-1994, 1997, 1999 and up but we went back one more time July 5-9, 2011. I regret not going in Morey’s Haunted House in the early 80’s and Whacky Shack on Hunt’s Pier, and Castle Frankenstein on Fun Pier, it was open from 1978-July 1982 and burned Aug 1984. We went to Busch Gardens in Virginia in Aug 1984. Are you friends with Scott Hand? I think he hates me now, he blocked me from his invite only Wildwoods page with rare photos of long gone stuff and his personal page several months ago. He loved Hunt’s Pier as a kid through 1985 before it was sold to new owners. My younger brother and I lost our mom in the hospital on June 14. Her breathing was bad and they hooked her up to a vent. She had to write down what she wanted to say when she was awake. She slept a lot. We made a decision to remove it with her sister who lives 60 miles away and on the day they removed it she passed within 10 minutes. I loved the haunted attractions at Lake George, NY in August 2004 and at Niagara Falls, Ontario in July 2006. They both have a House of Frankenstein. Niagara Falls has several including a Haunted House and Castle Dracula. You guys went there.
Was Sportland Pier closed and rides falling apart between 1984 and 1989 after Ted Snyder bought it? Dr. Blood’s House of Horror sat there until Jan 2007 when it was razed. Props and stuff were saved and wound up in the Ramdyland building old Woolworth. He has so much crap in there. But he has Whacky Shack props and cars in his arcade on the boardwalk. That stuff was in storage from 1995 until a few years ago. The Whacky Shack, Hunt’s Horror from 1989 and up was SBNO in 1995 and was pushed into a dumpster early 1996.
I can answer this, I think. The short answer? Yes. I stayed at the Shore Plaza then. I think by 1988 (I was 10) Sportland was nothing but a dunk tank and go carts. The only ride still on the pier was Dr. Blood’s, but it was abandoned. I have pictures of me as a young child on Sportland. I think it closed in 1983? I’m more familiar with Hunt’s Pier history
From 1991-1998, I would go the Wildwoods in August for the huge record collectables show. I would always get these awesome french fries in a paper bag from some pizza place near the rooftop miniture golf place. Anyone remember what are the names of those places? BTW, the fries were *not* Curley's. I am 100% sure. Thank you for sharing your families videos!
Wonderful vid and all the great tidbits added in. Did your dad visit when the condo craze was in full effect? It must have been pretty devastating for him I would think. Still hard to get over it after all this time
My parents bought a house in N. Wildwood in 1991...and I along with my dad started staying in Wildwood for the entire summer. My dad was still alive during the condo craze but I don't think it really phased him. We were no longer staying in the motels...and many of the ones that were torn down were WAY past their prime. The saddest thing for me was the loss of Hunt's Pier....that was our favorite.
What were all those dumpy looking areas with debris? One was a nightclub that burned and the other area where you showed your 80's station wagon there was junk all around. And there was new construction in 1987, it wasn't just 2002 and up where new construction took place and old buildings were razed, it happened in the 20th century, too but between 2002-2008 it seemed to happen at a faster pace. I will always miss Hunt's Pier and Castle Dracula because I like haunted attractions and themed dark rides. Now Morey's only has three, Dante's, Pirates and Ghost Ship. Rehoboth Beach and ocean City, MD have some cool ones and OC, MD has two Bill Tracy attractions, Haunted House ride through built 1964 and expanded in 1989, and walk-through Pirate's Cove built 1971. I was at OC, MD in Aug 1988 and July 2000, and Rehoboth Beach July 2000. i went through the Bill Tracy attractions in OC, MD in 2000 for the first time, I missed them in 1988 and I also didn't go through the Morbid Manor walk through on the pier in 1988 it burned Nov 1995. It was built by the same guys that did the Haunted House on Morey's Pier, Jim DeMusz, Fred and George Mahana.
I was referring to the Morbid Manor walkthrough on the pier in Ocean City, MD, designed and built by the same guys that did Morey’s Pier Haunted House which existed from 1972-1984. The late Jim DeMusz and Fred Mahana and his cousin George Mahana. MM in OC, MD existed from 1975-Nov 1995. A ride through called Ghost was there late 90’s and up, and now there is a Morbid Manor ride through there. The one in Wildwood on Sportland Pier was by Eric Princz and featured a few things from Castle Dracula and Hunt’s Pier and was open 2011-2012.
Shut your eyes. Only use your ears and nose Smell the funnel cake and all different foods! Hear castle dracula and the vendors and seagulls and waves crashing You know where you are at after that
1:15 is an amazing shot. I was born less than a wk after this video was taken.
I proposed to my wife on the ferris wheel in 2018.
Nuff said
My mom and dad honeymooned at the Thunderbird in May of 1967, and I was a honeymoon baby! Thank you so much for sharing these videos with us. Just lovely.
Neat memory...thanks for sharing!
The Thunderbird gone
Condos now
Honeymoon baby is that what they told you
Hahahaha---I laughed so hard when I read your comment. :) Thanks for that. @@tolfan4438
This is great ...you will always have great memories...and that 10 dollars is probably equivalent to 50 today !! ..lol.
Yes.
$27.34 according to the government's BLS inflation calculator, but your figure of $50 is probably more accurate given the inconsistent way that big gov measures inflation.
I love this! Thanks for posting. I lived in Wildwood. 12th and New Jersey the summer of 1987. I watched intently hoping to see someone I knew.
This is simply MAGICAL. Thank you so much for sharing this from the personal archives. Your dad seemed like a cool guy. So much amazing footage in this some places that are still there, others that are not, and I love the backstories behind it. It may sound weird but the videos I do try to emulate that style and feel of 80's and 90's home videos, not new style vlogs. There's something special about showing memories of places. Would love to see more footage like this in the future, if you ever feel comfortable sharing.
Thanks Sean...our dad was a great guy...he passed in 2010. Now I'm the one documenting Wildwood...and my daughter is about the same age as I was in this video. I do have more videos similar to this one that I plan on uploading...so stay tuned!
What a great video. I was actually down there that same week, at the Water’s Edge in the Crest. Went there every summer from 1969 to 1987. Everything always looked mostly the same to me and I always found that comforting. Went another summer or so and then 1996 was the last year I was there until 2021, when my wife’s friend invited us down. She finally got hooked like I was and we go every year now, but it’s definitely not what it used to be.
As a kid in the 80s from Delaware, we would vacation in Wildwood every summer and stay at the American Inn. I think it was very close to the Lou Booth because I remember that name well :) Great memories of the boardwalk rides, lime rickys and macks pizza. Hoping to come back one day soon. American Inn is still there!
The American is right next to Lou Booth (now Le Boot). In fact, Lou Booth originally built the American Inn, then sold it and built Lou Booth Motel.
@DarkinthePark as a kid I was very friendly with the D'Andrea family that owned American Inn. Great memories at that property
I was 22 and running rampant thru Wildwood lol
Your pop did a great job! Thanks for sharing this video
Wow, this brings back memories. From the late 70s through early 90s, my family stayed in Cape May for a week every Summer with frequent trips to Wildwood (I was also twelve in 1987). What a fantastic era to grow up in NJ! As a young adult, I stayed in WW with friends many times. After a 20+ year hiatus, my wife and I visited in 2022 and 2023. Some things have certainly changed, but it's still Wildwood. It still has the charm of the old motels and diners, as the town hasn't been bought up and corporatized with mega resorts and tourist traps. Still has the piers and the gigantic beach on the south end. Still a fun place to visit, but the 80s/90s were really awesome in WW.
I love the narration at the very end “they are frolicking”
The Thunderbird was great. My friends and I used to stay there whenever we could during our trips to Wildwood in the early to mid 90's. Sadly it is gone, but the memories live on. Thanks for the video and trip down memory lane.
These are AMAZING memories!! Wildwood was my childhood home away from home... thank you for sharing this video! Your dad sounds like a great guy!
Thanks...he was a great guy!
Really cool video. Thanks for sharing! Please post if you have any others. I loved Wildwood in the 80s!!!
This is wonderful...thank you for sharing it with us...
How old was your dad? He sounds a bit up there seeing how he was joking he was a senior citizen with the other old folks at the end. I guess he's like my dad who was 47 when I was born. He was 59 when I was 12. Your dad seems like a cool guy knowing all the sights! Great vid man!
Thanks. My dad was born in 28 so he was 61 in this video.
@@DarkinthePark Oh wow he was up there when ya were born. Nice.
Le Boot!!!! Been going there since I was a kid. 40 years later and still go there. Love Wildwood ❤
Did you ever meet Lou Booth when she owned the motel?
@@DarkinthePark Maybe, but if I did, I was only a kid. I will ask my Mom when I see her this weekend.
@@DarkinthePark Just asked my Mom and she said yup, we met the husband and wife, both very nice people 🤗
@@thenakawulskis8611 Okay. We only ever met Lou Booth (a woman). Her husband was either deceased or they were divorced by the time we started staying at the motel. I do remember her having kids though.
Wow this was filmed on my 15th birthday... Grew up in Cape May 🫶
I still can't believe castle dracula burned down. Stupid kids broke in and apparently made torches. The rest is history.
Inside job. No need to look any further, than the owners.
I remember every year that little book would come in the mail with all the hotels in it...I gotta find one of those.
Wildwood just isn’t the same without a functioning Hunt’s Pier or even Dinosaur Beach and Castle Dracula. I experienced all of those like you guys did but there were a bunch of years I missed like 1984-1994, 1997, 1999 and up but we went back one more time July 5-9, 2011. I regret not going in Morey’s Haunted House in the early 80’s and Whacky Shack on Hunt’s Pier, and Castle Frankenstein on Fun Pier, it was open from 1978-July 1982 and burned Aug 1984. We went to Busch Gardens in Virginia in Aug 1984. Are you friends with Scott Hand? I think he hates me now, he blocked me from his invite only Wildwoods page with rare photos of long gone stuff and his personal page several months ago. He loved Hunt’s Pier as a kid through 1985 before it was sold to new owners. My younger brother and I lost our mom in the hospital on June 14. Her breathing was bad and they hooked her up to a vent. She had to write down what she wanted to say when she was awake. She slept a lot. We made a decision to remove it with her sister who lives 60 miles away and on the day they removed it she passed within 10 minutes. I loved the haunted attractions at Lake George, NY in August 2004 and at Niagara Falls, Ontario in July 2006. They both have a House of Frankenstein. Niagara Falls has several including a Haunted House and Castle Dracula. You guys went there.
Sorry about your mom.
A lot of kids I went to High school with( I went to Lower) first job was at Castle Dracula
@@davidprice5771 Wow!!!! Kinda, the same here!! And I went, to Wildwood High.
Was Sportland Pier closed and rides falling apart between 1984 and 1989 after Ted Snyder bought it? Dr. Blood’s House of Horror sat there until Jan 2007 when it was razed. Props and stuff were saved and wound up in the Ramdyland building old Woolworth. He has so much crap in there. But he has Whacky Shack props and cars in his arcade on the boardwalk. That stuff was in storage from 1995 until a few years ago. The Whacky Shack, Hunt’s Horror from 1989 and up was SBNO in 1995 and was pushed into a dumpster early 1996.
Fellow, local perhaps🤔??
I can answer this, I think. The short answer? Yes. I stayed at the Shore Plaza then. I think by 1988 (I was 10) Sportland was nothing but a dunk tank and go carts. The only ride still on the pier was Dr. Blood’s, but it was abandoned. I have pictures of me as a young child on Sportland. I think it closed in 1983? I’m more familiar with Hunt’s Pier history
Great video. I had to save it, Bill
From 1991-1998, I would go the Wildwoods in August for the huge record collectables show. I would always get these awesome french fries in a paper bag from some pizza place near the rooftop miniture golf place. Anyone remember what are the names of those places? BTW, the fries were *not* Curley's. I am 100% sure.
Thank you for sharing your families videos!
Wonderful vid and all the great tidbits added in. Did your dad visit when the condo craze was in full effect? It must have been pretty devastating for him I would think. Still hard to get over it after all this time
My parents bought a house in N. Wildwood in 1991...and I along with my dad started staying in Wildwood for the entire summer. My dad was still alive during the condo craze but I don't think it really phased him. We were no longer staying in the motels...and many of the ones that were torn down were WAY past their prime. The saddest thing for me was the loss of Hunt's Pier....that was our favorite.
What were all those dumpy looking areas with debris? One was a nightclub that burned and the other area where you showed your 80's station wagon there was junk all around. And there was new construction in 1987, it wasn't just 2002 and up where new construction took place and old buildings were razed, it happened in the 20th century, too but between 2002-2008 it seemed to happen at a faster pace. I will always miss Hunt's Pier and Castle Dracula because I like haunted attractions and themed dark rides. Now Morey's only has three, Dante's, Pirates and Ghost Ship. Rehoboth Beach and ocean City, MD have some cool ones and OC, MD has two Bill Tracy attractions, Haunted House ride through built 1964 and expanded in 1989, and walk-through Pirate's Cove built 1971. I was at OC, MD in Aug 1988 and July 2000, and Rehoboth Beach July 2000. i went through the Bill Tracy attractions in OC, MD in 2000 for the first time, I missed them in 1988 and I also didn't go through the Morbid Manor walk through on the pier in 1988 it burned Nov 1995. It was built by the same guys that did the Haunted House on Morey's Pier, Jim DeMusz, Fred and George Mahana.
You're probably referring to 2 Mile Landing....where there is a seafood restaurant.
Morbid Manor, didn't burn down. It wasn't erected 'till 2010, and it closed, in 2012. I 'scared' there, for Teddy Syder, in the last year☺️!!!
I was referring to the Morbid Manor walkthrough on the pier in Ocean City, MD, designed and built by the same guys that did Morey’s Pier Haunted House which existed from 1972-1984. The late Jim DeMusz and Fred Mahana and his cousin George Mahana. MM in OC, MD existed from 1975-Nov 1995. A ride through called Ghost was there late 90’s and up, and now there is a Morbid Manor ride through there. The one in Wildwood on Sportland Pier was by Eric Princz and featured a few things from Castle Dracula and Hunt’s Pier and was open 2011-2012.
Sounds like Dad had some breakfast Schlitzes
Wait…you found my ten bucks? Just kidding. Great video!
I spent weeks every summer there in the 70s 80s and 90s
I stayed at 23rd ave. It has really changed
Much has changed...but there is still a lot that is the same.
Bill's 10 dollars
$30 dollars in today's money 💰
Shut your eyes.
Only use your ears and nose
Smell the funnel cake and all different foods! Hear castle dracula and the vendors and seagulls and waves crashing
You know where you are at after that
Lil bill and Joseph are grown adults now probably pushing 50!😅
Yep...Joseph turned 50 and I'm 48.
Good stuff ….better at 1.5 x speed tho 😁
Thank God for multiple playback speeds! :)
FACT: I NEVER WANTED TO GO BACK TO PHILLY ,