Searching for the Lost Coaster – Morey’s Piers’ Jumbo Jet

 

Searching for the Lost Coaster – Morey’s Piers’ Jumbo Jet

Morey’s Piers in Wildwood, New Jersey, has been creating unforgettable memories since 1969.

The adventure began when brothers Bill and Will Morey introduced the iconic Wipe Out slide, and over the years, they’ve expanded their vision to include roller coasters, water parks, and countless other attractions spread across three piers.

The Morey brothers were true pioneers, introducing unique rides that set the stage for the amusement industry as we know it today.

One of their most groundbreaking attractions was the Jumbo Jet, which debuted in the U.S. at Morey’s Pier in the summer of 1976.

Manufactured by the German company Schwarzkopf and originally named Jet Star 3, the Jumbo Jet quickly became a fan favorite.

Unlike anything seen before, it featured a smooth, fast ride with a revolutionary spiral lift hill that set it apart from traditional American roller coasters.

The Jumbo Jet had become a symbol of the growing popularity of European-style rides in the U.S.

It’s the first major ride the Morey’s had purchased to help compete with their neighboring amusement park, Hunt’s Pier. While Hunt’s had the Flyer Wooden Coaster, Morey’s brought on the Jumbo Jet.

Since it was a big deal to even bring a coaster over from Europe, Morey’s hung up a massive billboard on the boardwalk that said, “Imported from Germany.”

Unlike traditional coasters with long trains, Jet Star III coasters used individual cars that could hold multiple riders in a bobsled-style seating arrangement.

Riders were secured with lap bars, as Schwarzkopf designs often relied on high-banked turns to keep forces controlled.

The Jet Star roller coaster trains had motors on them, specifically within the cars, to power the electric spiral lift that propelled them up the hill.

This was very different than the lift chains other coasters had at that time.

For more than a decade, the Jumbo Jet was a Wildwood staple, thrilling visitors with its fast-paced loops and twists.

But by 1987, the coaster had begun to show signs of wear, and despite its popularity, it was taken down.

What followed next was straight out of a mystery novel: Rumors began to swirl that the Jumbo Jet had been sold to a German broker, who then flipped it to Russian buyers in exchange for two rail cars filled with–of all things–tomato ketchup.

The grand question is, did it really sell to Russia for all that Ketchup? That’s what we wanted to find out.

This started a year-long search, interviewing over a dozen people to get answers and traveling to other countries to find leads to where the Jumbo Jet coaster went.

In the coaster world, this ride quickly became known as the lost coaster.

In the video below,we detail our search and conclusion of where the coaster is. Interestingly enough, there is still one part of the coaster left up on Morey’s Piers today.

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We want to send a special thank you to the Morey Family for taking the time to work with us on this project.

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