When I was growing up in the later 70’s and early 80’s my family would always take summer vacations in Wildwood NJ. One of my favorite parts of Wildwood in those days was the Hunt’s Amusement Pier which opened in 1957. The pier had its share of off the shelf rides, but what made it special was a wonderful array of custom built rides. Although none of these rides were on the scale or had the level of complexity of the ones at Disneyland, any Disney fan visiting the pier during its heyday would clearly see the influence of Walt Disney and Disneyland.
At the front of the pier was the Flyer, a classic custom built wooden roller coaster, under which ran a steam train ride that went through a western ghost town, and a car ride similar to Autotopia. The intertwining of the rides is definitely reminiscent of the way rides like the Monorail and Submarine voyage intertwined at Disneyland. Behind the coaster was Jungleland. Although not as large and complex as Jungle Cruise it clearly shared all the major elements found in that ride.
Towards the back of the pier was the Golden Nugget Mine Ride, a hybrid dark ride roller coaster that was likely inspired by some of the early Frontierland rides. There was also the Pirate Ship Skua, a walkthrough pirate themed fun house. It pre-dated Pirates of the Caribbean by 5 years, but still has those Disney style details.
In the late 60’s the pier added the Keystone Kops dark ride which will remind Disney fans of Mr Toad’s Wild Ride.
Sadly all these great rides are now long gone mostly replaced by off the shelf rides on other piers, although there are still a few good custom rides left in Wildwood. On an happier note, many of the elements of the Golden Nugget were rescued by Knoebels and became park of it’s spiritual successor The Black Diamond.
At the front of the pier was the Flyer, a classic custom built wooden roller coaster, under which ran a steam train ride that went through a western ghost town, and a car ride similar to Autotopia. The intertwining of the rides is definitely reminiscent of the way rides like the Monorail and Submarine voyage intertwined at Disneyland. Behind the coaster was Jungleland. Although not as large and complex as Jungle Cruise it clearly shared all the major elements found in that ride.
Towards the back of the pier was the Golden Nugget Mine Ride, a hybrid dark ride roller coaster that was likely inspired by some of the early Frontierland rides. There was also the Pirate Ship Skua, a walkthrough pirate themed fun house. It pre-dated Pirates of the Caribbean by 5 years, but still has those Disney style details.
In the late 60’s the pier added the Keystone Kops dark ride which will remind Disney fans of Mr Toad’s Wild Ride.
Sadly all these great rides are now long gone mostly replaced by off the shelf rides on other piers, although there are still a few good custom rides left in Wildwood. On an happier note, many of the elements of the Golden Nugget were rescued by Knoebels and became park of it’s spiritual successor The Black Diamond.
