In Seaside Heights, New Coaster, Sky Ride Return Stirring Dreams Of Summer

SEASIDE HEIGHTS, NJ — With each passing day, the signs of summer get more frequent. A warm(ish) breeze. A clear, sunny sky.

And more rides on the boardwalk.

Facebook groups have been abuzz with discussions following the construction of the new Hydrus roller coaster on the expanded Casino Pier, with photos and video of its progress posted regularly. On Tuesday, one poster in the Seaside Heights Boardwalk group noted the sky ride chairs have been put back on the ride.

That, of course, has people excited. But it's the construction of the Hydrus, the new roller coaster, that is stirring the most excitement. One of the enduring images of the destruction of Superstorm Sandy was the JetStar roller coaster sitting in the Atlantic Ocean after the boardwalk collapsed beneath it, and while it was beloved by generations of locals and tourists alike, its replacement is far more modern.

The Hydrus evokes coasters like Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. It is a Gerstlauer manufactured Euro-Fighter roller coaster, with a 72-foot vertical lift and beyond-vertical drop, according to the Casino Pier website.

"The sensational first drop of 97 degrees is just the beginning," the description says. "Tracking at 45 miles per hour, passengers will glide the 1,050-foot coaster track which includes a vertical loop, an Immelman turn and a heartline roll during its course."

The coaster's cars seat eight passengers each.

In addition, a 131-foot Ferris wheel is expected to open this summer as well. Casino Pier's description of it says it is manufactured by Technical Park and will have 34 gondolas that hold six passengers each. One gondola will offer wheelchair accessibility, according to the description.

Maria Mastoris, marketing manager for Casino Pier, said the Ferris wheel's leg structures were erected last week.

"The pieces of the ride will be delivered in the upcoming week and we will start constructing," she said. There is no set date for the completion of the ride, she said.

For those eager to get a jumpstart on summer, Casino Pier announced it will be holding its annual Easter sale on ride credits both online and in person at the boardwalk. The sale will be held April 14-16 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the boardwalk, and online from April 13-17, according to the Casino Pier website.

The roller coaster isn't being received positively by everyone, however. Within hours of the circulation of video of the test runs of the Hydrus, the New Jersey Sierra Club issued a news release reiterating its criticism of the land swap between the borough and the owners of Casino Pier that enabled the construction of the coaster.

In the swap, approved by the state Green Acres program, the borough gave up 1.4 acres of beach on the north side of the existing pier in exchanges for an equally-sized plot between Carteret and Sampson avenues and the historic Dentzel-Loof carousel. An additional parcel of land near the Garden State Parkway was included in the trade.

“They’ve stolen public land to build this roller coaster on," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. "This land had belonged to all of us and now it belongs to a private company. There is really no trade-off because we don’t have other public beaches to replace this with."

"Beach access is limited in New Jersey," he said. "Our concern is they are not only taking public land that we paid for, but this historic site will be washed out during the next storm. We should be moving structures back from the water’s edge, not expand buildings closer to the ocean and taking away public access."

Photo via Jim Brill's video of the Sky Ride chairs, used with permission