Casino Pier is one of several boardwalk parks on the Jersey Shore, but it’s the only one in
the town where Jersey Shore took place. Located in Seaside Heights, Casino Pier is celebrating
its 90th birthday. One decade ago, the park was ravaged by Superstorm Sandy. An event like that
could destroy a park. In fact, this storm closed Funtown Pier just down the boardwalk. But Casino
Pier came out stronger than ever. Find out why this park is worth a pit stop in this review.
Casino Pier opened in 1932. Seaside Heights is one of the most popular vacation towns in New Jersey,
so the park sees a steady flow of visitors in the summer months.
The park thrived for nearly 80 years until fall 2012 until Superstorm Sandy hit. A large
section of the pier collapsed. 18 rides were destroyed or fell in the ocean.
However, the owners persevered and miraculously opened a subset of the pier in 2013.
In 2016, the park rebuilt the pier and had its officially grand reopening. Then in 2017, the
park acquired 1.36 acres of beach from the city. They used this land to build their biggest coaster
ever in Hydrus, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter with a beyond vertical plunge and three inversions.
This coaster was originally supposed to be placed on the pier where the Jet Star and Star
Jet roller coasters once stood, but building it over land was better for the ride’s longevity.
This land swap came at a cost though. Casino Pier gave their classic 1910 carousel to the city,
who intends to rebuild the attraction in a new home later this year.
Casino Pier is one of the primary attractions on the Seaside Heights boardwalk.
This pier is bustling with energy, particularly on summer nights.
And this energy carries over to the park. Casino Pier has zero theming, but rides are packed close
together so there’s a lot of motion around you. I’m torn whether I prefer the park by day or
night. It’s amazing seeing how close the park is to the beach and ocean during the day,
but the rides themselves look even better at night since most have great lighting packages.
This place feels similar to a nicer looking permanent carnival.
Then you also have the Breakwater Beach water
park just a few blocks away that Casino Pier also owns.
Casino Pier is a free admission park. You then can pay per ride or purchase a
wristband. Most kiddie rides cost 2-3 credits and adult rides cost between 4-10 credits.
Each credit costs $1. This is the best option if you only want to ride 2-3 rides.
Alternatively you can buy a wristband if you plan to ride a lot of attractions.
Casino Pier seems to do a lot of specials, so check what the best option is on the day of your
visit. The cheapest option I see on the website currently is $40-45 for a 2 hour ride wristband,
but I’ve purchased all-day ones in the past. A combo wristband between the amusement and
water park is currently offered for $75 online. Breakwater Beach does not have free admission,
so you need to purchase some sort of ticket, which ranges from $33-$43 for adults
depending when you arrive. You also will need to pay to park.
Like many amusement parks situated by the beach, parking isn’t free. You can either find street
parking or utilize one of many parking lots around the park. The latter have typically
cost me about $10, which is pretty fair given their proximity to a super touristy beach.
Operations at Casino Pier are mixed. On one hand, dispatches are pretty fast.
This keeps lines manageable. The coasters usually have a 10-15 minute wait at worst.
The longest line routinely is for the Centrifuge indoor scrambler due to its popularity, limited
throughput, and slow loading. A full queue for that one can take roughly a half hour.
Casino Pier is usually open late; however, this park’s closing time depends how busy the beach and
boardwalk are. This makes the park susceptible to closing on days with inclement weather.
Casino Pier has a well-rounded ride lineup. There are only a few roller coasters,
but there are plenty of other attractions for kids, families, and thrill-seekers.
Hydrus is the best coaster. This Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter features a super compact layout,
but it packs in plenty of fun elements. The beyond vertical drop delivers strong ejector airtime.
The vertical loop and barrel roll both offer nice hangtime. And it’s very reridable too
between the relatively smooth trackwork and the lap bar only restraints. Hydrus is short,
but it’s a great fit for a boardwalk park like this, which I cover in its own review.
Pirates Hideaway is a bizarre creation from Wisdom Rides.
This is an indoor coaster inspired by the old Wizard’s Cavern. It starts with a spiral lift
before navigating a few small drops outdoors. Then you head inside. But you don’t see pirates.
They’re in hiding. You literally see nothing. It’s a big empty warehouse. The indoor portion
is pointless between the non-existent visuals and the harsh braking. This ride is certainly unique,
but it’s not good, which I mention in a review. Xolo Loca is the newest roller coaster.
This is a SBF Visa Big Air coaster that circles around the park’s kiddie coaster.
Xolo Loca opened since my last visit to the park, but I have ridden a clone of this coaster at the
Texas Kalahari Resort. This coaster offers two experiences in one- a family friendly spinning car
and a hamster wheel car that can invert. This is a better layout than the other SBF Visa spinners and
the hamster wheel is dizzying, but the turns can cause your head to tap against the restraints.
Hot Tamales is a small kiddie coaster from L&T Systems. It’s a pretty lackluster layout,
but it’s fine for kids and adults are allowed to ride without issues.
This is part of a cluster of roughly a dozen kiddie rides at Casino Pier.
For adult flats, you have plenty of standard spinning rides. Most are
relatively new given this park’s history. There are four notable flats here.
Centrifuge is the most notable. This was an indoor scrambler that was lost in Superstorm Sandy,
but it was recently rebuilt. This one is operated has the usual speed,
but the blaring lights and music result in a fun and disorienting experience. It feels
a dance club. Do not miss this ride if you’ve never tried an indoor scrambler. It is worth
noting that you need a partner to ride though. The same goes for their 13 story Ferris Wheel,
but this ride is well worth it for the picturesque views of the park, beach, and boardwalk.
Shore Shot gives similar views, but you have much less time to take them in.
This drop tower is technically an S&S double shot, but it might as well be called a quadruple shot
since Casino Pier gives double rides. This 125 foot or 38 meter tall drop tower doesn’t have
the ejector pops like other S&S double shots. Rather, you get floater airtime more akin to
what you get on the larger space shots. But it’s still fun between the sensations and views.
Lastly, Super Storm is a Technical Park inverting frisbee with a long and diverse cycle.
The swings provide great airtime and then full revolutions offer wonderful hangtime.
Then there are 4 upcharge attractions not included on wristbands.
Skyscoaster and Skyscraper are absolute thrills as they fling you over the water,
but they’re super pricey and will run you $22-35 per person. There’s also a go-kart track.
The one I would consider is the Sky Ride. This ride goes outside Casino Pier way down
the boardwalk. It costs $5 for a one-way trip and $8 for a round-trip. The views aren’t as
impressive as the Ferris Wheel, but you do get a better tour of the boardwalk.
As for dark rides, Casino Pier lost Stillwalk Manor in Sandy. Now, they just have an ok fun
house in Surf Shack. I’d love to see them get another traditional dark ride in the future.
Casino Pier also no longer has any water rides. They had a flume that was also lost in Sandy.
However, you do have Breakwater Beach. I have not visited this water park,
but it appears to have a small mix of tube, mat, and body slides.
There are also some attractions beyond the rides. Casino Pier owns 2 mini golf courses,
including Wacky Rooftop Golf, which is filled with fun obstacles. Then there is also a
sizable arcade chalk full of modern games. With most boardwalk parks, I recommend getting
food outside the park, but Casino Pier serves really good pizza. I never can resist a slice.
So do I recommend Casino Pier? If you’re in Seaside Heights on vacation,
absolutely! This is a solid boardwalk park. You have a solid headlining coaster in Hydrus plus
a few other nice rides. There are enough rides for all tastes and thrill levels.
There are 8 New Jersey boardwalk parks. Morey’s is easily my favorite,
but this is a close third behind Playland’s Castaway Cove. There is a pretty significant
drop-off in quality after these 3 in my opinion. Because of their proximity to each other, it’s
possible to hit multiple parks in a single day if you’re on a coaster roadtrip in search of credits,
but Casino Pier is worth a few hours to enjoy the atmosphere and flat rides beyond the coasters.
So those are my thoughts on Casino Pier, the boardwalk amusement park in Seaside Heights,
New Jersey. What are your thoughts on this park? Do you agree it’s now stronger than ever just one
decade after Sandy? Let me know what you think down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review,
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since there will be a lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster.
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