First Look – Morey’s Piers Ghost Ship Is OPEN!!!
After being closed since the fall of 2019, Morey’s Piers Ghost Ship, the Ignis Fatuus, has officially opened!
Morey’s Piers held a soft opening of the Ghost Ship on Friday, July 28th at 7 pm. While it wasn’t announced online, the Wildwood Video Archive caught wind and was able to get up to the pier by 8 pm to film a walk-through of the attraction.
To watch the full walkthrough of Morey’s Piers Ghost Ship, scroll down to the bottom of this page.
Morey’s Piers Ghost Ship
Back in the summer of 2010, the attraction was unveiled with a hefty price tag of 3,000,000 dollars, securing its position as one of the most expensive haunted attractions in New Jersey.
To accommodate the Ignis Fatuus, Morey’s Piers made significant changes, including the removal of a mini-golf course, to construct a peculiar ship-shaped building.
The layout of the attraction took visitors on a journey from the boardwalk level up to two stories, providing captivating views of Mariners Pier.
Throughout the years, the ride underwent some modifications. The storyline remained essentially unchanged, but its operating hours saw a shift. While previously accessible day and night, after the summer of 2017, the attraction became exclusively available from 6 pm onwards.
Morey’s Piers had been waiting for quite some time to get this ride ready to open for the public. The main reason why it was closed for so long was due to the Covid-19 restrictions in New Jersey. After the restrictions were dropped most of the shore towns had issues hiring staff. This was mostly due to the pause in J1 students.
After being shut down for three years, Morey’s faced the challenging task of reopening the ride.
Jack Morey first announced that the Ghost Ship would be opening during an interview. There Morey talked about some of the challenges that they faced in order to get the attraction ready for the public.
Extensive reconditioning and refurbishment were required due to the prolonged closure. For over three years, the attractions faced harsh winters, salt air, hurricanes, and more.
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As a result, some changes were made to the attraction for this summer.
The most significant change is that only the first floor of the attraction is open to visitors. The second floor of the ship needed significant work, and attempting to open both floors would have delayed the summer opening.
Upon entering the ship, visitors will notice changes in props and staffing. To efficiently operate the ride with a required staff of 7 or more persons, they combined them on the first level instead of spreading them across two floors, leading to more screams of excitement!
Another highly anticipated change is the adjustment in pricing. While in 2019 the admission price was 8 tickets, this summer season visitors will only be charged for 6 tickets.
Before entering the ship you should know the back story to the attraction steeped in Tri-State history.
The storyline of the film draws inspiration from the Philadelphia Experiment, a mysterious event where the Navy was supposedly conducting an experiment to render a ship invisible. However, things take a terrifying turn as the experiment unintentionally transforms the entire crew into zombies.
The Wildwood Video Archive did a full history video about the Philadelphia Experiment and how it relates to the Ghost Ship attraction. You can watch that video by clicking HERE.
In the new theme, you find yourself embarking on a daring adventure into the Ghost Ship, also known as the Ignis Fatuus, with the mission to locate the research team that ventured inside to explore it after its mysterious landing on Wildwood Beach.
After you are briefed by Central Command, you are told that the German ship had been lost for over 75 years. The visitor is shown footage collected by the scientists which shows cases of many different beings onboard.
You are then sent on your way to find these missing scientists.
The toxic substances on board had a harrowing impact, transforming the crew into grotesque creatures, forever trapped on the ill-fated barge as either fully deceased or half-dead monstrosities.
As visitors venture through different rooms, including the crew quarters and communications room, they’ll face relentless assaults from spectral forces, making for an eerie and gripping experience.
Will you find the team or even make it out alive?
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