Middletown Official 'Surprised' How Quickly Santa Ferry Ride Sold Out

Didn’t get tickets to the Middletown Santa Ferry Ride?

You’re not the only one. Even event organizers were surprised by how quickly tickets sold Saturday for the township’s first-ever Santa Ferry Ride, to be held Dec. 5.

“I was surprised it sold out so quickly,” said Middletown Township Director of Recreation Janet Dellett, who organized the ferry ride.

Families were told to come to Poricy Park from 10 a.m. to noon this past Saturday to buy passes. But tickets sold out in just over an hour, Dellett said — leaving many families now on a waiting list.

“Some people who waited on line had to be turned away,” she said. “I’m sure some people are disappointed, but everyone was pleasant.”

This is the first year Middletown is putting Santa on a boat, which the township is renting from NY Waterway. In past years, families and children rode with St. Nick aboard an NJ Transit train.

The boat can seat fewer people: The ferry, the new Molly Pitcher, seats 350 people, and there will be two trips, one at 10 a.m. and a second at 12:30 p.m.

The NJ Transit train used last year held 1,000 riders total: 500 on a morning ride, and 500 on an afternoon tour, she said. And in years prior, NJ Transit provided longer trains, holding up to 2,000 people.

“It’s drastically less than the train ride for sure,” she said.

The township turned to a ferry boat because it’s more affordable for the town, she said, even though the ticket price for riders remains the same, $17 for adults and children, and $5 for infants.

However, Middletown is in talks with NY Waterway about possibly adding a third ferry ride, Dellett said Monday. The township is currently accepting applications to be put on a wait list. Fill out a form here (payment is not required).

So far, Dellett said she already has 30 to 35 filled-out applications sitting in her office.