Pirates Hideaway at Casino Pier is a bizarre roller coaster.
This steel coaster was built by Wisdom Rides and it features an eye-catching facade, a
spiral lift hill, two outdoor drops, and a mysterious enclosed layout.
But is there anything to see on the inside?
Find out in this review of Pirates Hideaway.
Until 2003, Casino Pier was home to Wizard’s Cavern, an odd Mack wild mouse that served
as the inspiration for Pirates Hideway.
Wizard’s Cavern had many of the same characteristics.
A fancy facade, a spiral lift hill, two outdoor drops, and a mostly enclosed layout.
Wizard’s Cavern had an extensive history.
The coaster was relocated more times than almost any coaster.
The ride originally opened in 1959 on the German fair circuit as Broadway Trip before
coming to America, were it operated for brief stints at Seattle’s now defunct Fun Forest
Amusement Park, Cedar Point, and New Jersey’s now defunct Palisades Amusement Park from
1962 to 1967.
After the 1967 season, Palisdes Park had Mack refurbish the coaster and reintroduce it as
the Love Bugs for the 1968 season.
Just a few years later, the ride was again relocated to Nantasket Beach’s now defunct
Paragon Park and the Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto.
While the exact date is not known, Love Bugs was rethemed as Wizard’s Cavern and opened
at Casino Pier sometime in the 1980s.
Because of the ride’s age and frequent relocations, it was no surprise Wizard’s Cavern reached
the end of its service life after the 2003 season.
The ride didn’t have the best reviews from enthusiasts, but coaster fans could appreciate
the ride’s history.
But Wizard’s Cavern’s story doesn’t end here.
The ride was apparently a fan favorite among most park-goers, so Casino Pier opened the
spiritual successor to Wizard’s Caverns in 2007 in Pirates Hideaway.
The ride was oddly built by Wisdom Rides.
While Wisdom has built over 100 roller coaster worldwide, they mostly build kiddie coasters.
Pirates Hideaway is one of their largest coasters ever even though its no more than 25 feet
or 8 meters tall.
And like its predecessor, Pirates Hideaway has been relocated.
This time just within the confines of Casino Pier.
During the 2016-2017 offseason, Pirates Hideaway was moved across the boardwalk to accommodate
Hydrus, the park’s Gerstlauer Eurofighter.
The ride has a carnival-esque facade more reminiscent of a traveling dark ride or fun
house than a roller coaster.
And to the ride’s credit, the pirate ship themed cars look fantastic.
They have all sorts of details on the front and sides of the train.
Between the facade and cars, you’d think this coaster would have some nice theming
on the inside, but spoiler alert, it does not.
While the cars look cool, they have some issues when you go to ride them.
The biggest issue is the lack of leg room, particularly in the front row.
The other issue is the extremely tight lap bar that feels like it wasn’t designed for
adults.
Both these can cause a serious comfort issue for riders.
Unlike most coasters with a fancy control system, Pirates Hideaway is downright archaic,
which is stunning considering the coaster was built within the past 15 years.
The operators have to manually push trains out of the station and there’s nothing stopping
trains from bumping into each other in the station.
It’s not a violent collision or anything, but how many other rides casually let trains
just bump into each other like this?
Pirates Hideaway begins with a spiral lift hill.
You’re propelled to the top via this egg-beater mechanism, which is very reminiscent of what
Zamperla used on their Volares.
The first drop is quite snappy and I actually think I got a faint bit of airtime despite
how it was probably no more than 15-20 feet tall.
You then rise up a small hill, round a corner, and drop down the ride’s second largest
drop, which can’t be more than 10-15 feet tall.
You then rise up another hill and then the issues start.
For one, you are harshly braked.
Remember how I mentioned the lack of leg room and tight restraints?
You have a high chance of banging your knees and/or getting punched in the gut if you’re
an adult.
And at this point you enter the ride’s show building expecting a grand reveal of pirates.
However, you get nothing.
I’m not even exaggerating when I say this, but you find more theming at your local Walmart.
The ride is called Pirates Hideaway, but it really should be called Pirates in Hiding.
There are no pirates at all.
No animatronics, no statues, and not even a cheap sticker.
It’s just a big empty warehouse.
The warehouse also lets in quite a bit of light, which does spoil the layout.
You have a small series of drips traveling the length of the building.
None of the dips are particularly fast nor do they offer any thrills.
But they are comfortable at least.
The issues re-emerge when you reach the lower level.
There’s a brake before the final pass that can sharply bring the train to a halt.
When this happens, get ready for your knees and stomach to take more abuse.
More often than not, you are lightly tapped which presents another issue.
Every single turn on Pirates Hideaway is unbanked.
This isn’t an issue for most of the ride when you’re traveling rather slowly, but
it becomes an issue at the end of the ride when you’re on the lower level of the ride
with a head of speed built up.
Keep in mind, you’re not going faster than 15 mph or 24 kph, but its enough to inflict
pain at the end.
Pirates Hideaway’s finale consists of two sharp hairpin turns.
Normally I praise coasters for delivering strong laterals.
But that’s contingent upon them having comfortable trains.
Pirates Hideaway does not.
So it can really bang you up when you’re thrown side-to-side in those cramped cars.
To add insult to injury, that’s followed by the ride’s final brake which stops you
quite harshly so you’re going to slam your stomach and knees again.
If you’re a larger person, there’s no way to avoid these slams on Pirates Hideaway.
I’m small enough that I can avoid these issues by angling by legs sideways and bracing
myself on the stops and turns, but when you have to ride a coaster so defensively, can
you call it fun?
So what would I rate Pirates Hideaway?
I would give this enclosed coaster a 2 out of 10.
Quite simply, it is not a very good ride.
Despite the flashy exterior, the ride has zero theming on the inside which is a wasted
opportunity.
The ride just consists of an underwhelming series of small, slow drops and potentially
painful brakes and turns.
The ride is among the worst paced coasters and needs to be ridden defensively.
Since I am able to ride this coaster defensively, it narrowly avoided my top 25 worst coaster
list, but it came really close to making that list.
So those are my thoughts on Pirates Hideaway, the awkward Wisdom Rides hybrid coaster and
dark ride at Casino Pier.
Have you ridden this coaster or the original Wizard’s Cavern?
What are your thoughts on this odd attraction?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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