A Walk on the Wildwood Boardwalk in 1988

Brothers Bill and Seph Cherkasky take a walk on the Wildwood boardwalk in the summer of 1988 as Bill documents the walk with the family VHS camcorder. The walk goes from 16th Aveune to Poplar Avenue and includes Seaport Village, Morey's Pier and Hunt's Pier.

[@phillymanpete]

The time before the internet, personal computers, and mobile phones. The good old days!

[@dinakudlack3594]

😊

[@markaraujo26]

wow this brings me right back to the vacations with my grandparents thx u so much for posting 👍

[@fr3dr02]

Exactly how I remember the Wildwood boardwalk 😢

[@williammuntzer7374]

Thanks for sharing this memory. My wife and I owned a home in North Wildwood from 1990 through 2004. Little Nicky's while on our way home from the beach. People watching abnd ice cream in the evenings. It was a wonderful time.

[@phillymanpete]

Little Nicky's was my favorite. We would stay at the Golden Rail and after the car was unpacked the first thing we did was to walk the block to the beach and get slices. I was upset when the owner decided to call it quits.

[@Pstevensperhaps]

Such a precious moment in time. The boardwalk late 80's / early 90s at Wildwood is where my soul is and forever shall be! 🤓❤️ thank you for the sweet memories!

[@frankd.4528]

That brought back a lot of memories especially Hunt’s Pier, where we had to go on every ride like twice a night when we were there!

[@sjtom57]

So many memories, both happy and sad.

[@docwillis1443]

Thanks for posting. My parents used to take us there in the 80’s. Brings back memories. It was a better place then.

[@robkrasinski6217]

One of the biggest hits of 1988 can be heard on Morey’s Pier here, Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. I heard it a lot on the radio then and the later singles Together Forever and Strong Strong Man also 1988.

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

I laughed when it got to that point. Unexpected Rickroll. I Would Die 4 U by Prince is heard at one point too.

[@robkrasinski6217]

I wanted to go back to Wildwood in 1988, we went in August 1982 and August 1983 with our late father who passed on March 8, 1986 from a car hitting him at night 2 miles from our house, he was walking. But my mom saw on the Philly news with Jim Gardner that needles and waste was washing up on NJ beaches so she said no to Wildwood and we went to Ocean City, MD for the first time. But we stayed in a newer hotel that opened the year before called Dunes Manor. We were driving around at night checking out different hotels. I didn’t ride Trimper’s Haunted House, Pirates Cove, or Morbid Manor walk through on the pier but I did go through a walk through haunted house and a fun house at Jolly Roger park as well as a train ride and a car ride on a track. I went through the Trimper Bill Tracy attractions in July 2000 as well as a dark ride at Jolly Roger and on the pier. I returned to Wildwood with our mom and her man friend who moved in with us early 1994 in Aug 1995, June 1996 and June 1998, and July 5-9, 2011. I did every remaining dark ride and haunted attraction during my return visits including Castle Dracula and Dungeon boat ride, Golden Nugget in 1996 and 1998 as well as Escape from Dinosaur Beach. Dante’s Inferno, Dark River, Casa Macabra on the three Morey’s Piers as well. And in 2011 Ghost Ship, Morbid Manor on Sportland Pier by Eric Princz which only lasted 2011-2012, some former Castle Dracula people worked there and a walk through inside Strand Theater, where Zombie World ride was, Curse of the Mummy 3D and Jersey Junkyard on Morey’s Wild Wheels former Fun Pier. That pier is getting a new look in the front and the dark attractions Morey’s added were removed after 2011. I missed out on the Whacky Shack on the former Hunt’s Pier, I didn’t ride it in early 80’s and it was SBNO and behind a white wood wall across the pier in Aug 1995. Only the front of the pier was open that year and it mostly had kiddie rides. Then it was Dinosaur Beach for three years then the Morey’s bought it.

[@infinite_vortex]

This is truly magic, an amazing time capsule Bill. Thank you so much for sharing. Can't wait to see more footage. You've been doing great trip reports/observations for decades now!

[@DarkinthePark]

Thanks Sean!

[@peterkleinhenz]

This is incredible! I am so, so bummed that I wasn't around to see this because all of the Bill Tracy attractions must have been amazing. I know it's unreasonable, but part of me hopes that at least one of these attractions will be recreated someday.

[@robkrasinski6217]

Well, make Randy Senna an offer to use the Whacky Shack props and maybe cars in a new Whacky Shack. He has most of the props and a few cars in his boardwalk arcade on shelves. The props are like the lady that was sawn in half and the clock, not sure if he has the Knit Wit. Maybe you would be better off building a new building with Sally cars and track, and using some of the old props mixed with new ones. You would probably have to build your dark ride on Sportland Pier since Morey's probably aren't going to entertain such an idea. Sportland once had Dr. Blood's House of Horror from the 70's to 1983, and it sat closed from 1984 to early 2007 when it was razed but props and cars were saved from it and Randy stored the props in his Randyland building in the old Woolworth.

[@chevalierjd]

Bill, thank you sir! I have sooo many memories from being a kid and visiting Wildwood over the summer school break. Nothing more exciting than helping my Dad to pack up the station wagon and we'd go to the shore for a week with other families from my Philly neighborhood! I still remember the salt air, taffy, and skee-ball arcades!

[@DarkinthePark]

I share many of those same memories!

[@kpbaltimore]

This brings back so many memories. Loved the Mountain Magic Leather Shop.

[@gregorycoates9643]

I remember the terrible smell while walking and shopping on Seaport Pier. Never knew where it was coming from.

[@DarkinthePark]

I remember someone telling me it was from the type of wood they used...a red wood.

[@MagneticNorthbound]

Lmaooooo----that is a memory we share. Always felt bad for the vendors who must have gotten locked into that poop-smell-cycle.

[@owlnswan4016]

This is wonderful. Thank you Bill and Seph.

[@DirtyMovies76]

Amazing! I could watch this all day

[@capincrnchy]

I lived in N. Wildwood 1983-1991..... basically lived on the boardwalk (and later worked there when I got old enough) in the summers. I remember a school buddy and I walking around seaport village shortly after it opened, but before the main season began... also, my mother was kicked out of Ed's Funcade "for life" because she allegedly hipchecked one of the quarter stacker games...so many memories... thank you for sharing.

[@robkrasinski6217]

I’m glad you guys documented all this stuff that isn’t there anymore including Hunt’s Pier and Castle Dracula. I’m building different years of Wildwood boardwalk and piers in this game Planet Coaster and I tried in RollerCoaster 1-3 but I started over in Planet Coaster. But you can’t make a proper ocean in Planet Coaster because of the landscape border which can’t be altered. In RCT3 you can make the water go to the horizon if you place it at a certain height. Then it looks like the ocean. RCT3 and Planet Coaster are made by the same developer and are 3D. The first two RCT’s are isometric. You can ride the rides in RCT3 and Planet. There’s also Parkitect which can be 3D and the rides can be ridden.

[@DarkinthePark]

I'm glad you documented the wildwood boardwalk during your visits Robert.

[@gantmj]

This brings me back to the old amateur VHS recording days when I used to yell "zoom out" the whole time. Ah, nostalgia.

[@Briboski1979]

I love these videos! Thank you for sharing

[@VL-co1ij]

Who remembers the seaport village smell?😮

[@DarkinthePark]

How could you forget? I think that was one of the reasons the pier didn't survive.

[@garbo8962]

Smelled for what a year. Somebody said it was from the fire resistant plywood.

[@DarkinthePark]

@@garbo8962 Smelled until the day they tore down the pier.

[@kpbaltimore]

The worst! 🤢

[@laurelfryberger8460]

OMG I thought that was just me!!

[@MindofSmoothie]

Another great one! I do regret being a scaredy cat and never riding the Whacky Shack . Even when I was a little older and it was Hunt's Horrors never did it. I love the more "recent" videos, knowing that if any of the videos were filmed after the first week after the 4th of July, that there is a chance that I could have been walking on the boards right past the person filming. I think I would shit if I ever came across a video and saw me or my family in the background.

[@JohnSmith-wv5km]

Fascinating how it's both so different and so similar now

[@DarkinthePark]

Good observation...I agree.

[@gmsvalley]

I have been going to Wildwood since 1975, every year we try to spot the changes from the previous year. It was fun to compare 1988 to 2023, I came back yesterday. If I add up all the days spent in Wildwood, I have lived there more than one year. The biggest difference now is that Wildwood is no longer a cheap place to stay, 5$ ice cream on the beach, funnel cake 8-10$, Curley's fries 17$, pizza slice $3. I am not talking about the price to stay, Wildwood is no exception, like everywhere, it is very expensive, the best way to save money is to travel with family to split the Motel in half. People ask me why I still go there, it is a bit of nostalgy, nice beach, boardwalk, a bit of shopping at 5$ or less, Ross dress for less, Dollar Tree, Walmart. Coming from Canada, sometimes we find good deals, but we pay $1.37 to get $1 us dollar, we have to keep that in mind.

[@DarkinthePark]

@@gmsvalley It's expensive traveling anywhere anymore. Combining your vacation with extended family is a good idea.

[@DarkinthePark]

@@gmsvalley You should join my Wildwood Facebook Group...I've been posting lots of now and then photos: facebook.com/groups/1508910293246623/

[@davidhibbs6989]

It's strange that I was here just this past August for the first time since 1978' and their was only 2 things still here on the boardwalk since I came here back in the 60's and 70's with my parents. And that is mack's pizza and Laura's fudge! Everything else is 100% different. Hunts Pier long gone and all of the rides that I remember and only half of the people and very heavy police presence. Completely different era now! Another 40 years from now everyone will be saying the same thing about their era!

[@DarkinthePark]

There are more places on the boardwalk that would have been there in the 70s. Douglass Fudge has been in that same location for a long time. The Kohrs brother's at 26th Ave is still the original building. Snow White has been at its location since then.

[@redrubyslippers8284]

Those definitely were the days!!😅❤❤❤

[@chiarac3833]

Remembering a night at the boards where my brother had ro ride the tilt-a-whirl, then promptly went and vomited over the railing onto the go kart track. You could hear people screaming. I warned him against riding but you know how that goes... I still feel bad about that.

[@DarkinthePark]

yikes

[@chiarac3833]

@@DarkinthePark I warned him...

[@garbo8962]

Does anybody remember the guy Lou something who used to sing at end of seaport pier on weekends? He was originally from south Philly and heard he is performing out west. Have a couple of his great cassette tapes that he used to sell. We used to stay at both the beach court & beach cove hotels at 20 th street just off the boardwalk. Can remember back in the 1960's getting Mack pizza for 25¢ a slice and during weekday lunches we would get Nates Hot dog special think it was 4 or 5 for only a $1.

[@joelashadali]

Great times in our early 20s running rampant in wildwood lol....lots n lots of stories Casbah Fairview Shamrock Sundance Stardust Quo Vadis $10 rooms in boarding houses Buses from philly Friends with seasin long rentals

[@neilonicko1]

thats the year I learned how to start swimming at the Tangiers in 1988..

[@beingmyself000]

That’s funny. It was also in the late 80’s that I learned to swim at the Sunflower Motel.

[@frankpfaff9675]

I used to stay on 19th at the Malibu which is still there. Went to little nickys pizza alot and remember the seaport village and Ed funcade and everything else. Great times and memories. That frog game also by Morey's pier was still there as of last year and I don't think they ever changed the devices you hit to flip the frogs up.

[@sylvania104]

I lived in 1900 Boardwalk in 1985-1989

[@rogerrendzak8055]

Back when, the Wildwood boardwalk was interesting, and had diversity. Back when all the piers weren't all owned, by one family, with 'one track'($), ideas😒.

[@Dylan-Hooton]

Cool! Do you have footages for the Halloween Horror Nights 1986 at Universal Studios Hollywood or the Halloween Horror Nights 2000 event at Universal Studios Florida?

[@DarkinthePark]

Unfortunately no.

[@robkrasinski6217]

Bill, or Seph, do you know if that one floor haunted house that was on Morey’s Pier through 1991 was there in 1988 or did it arrive in 1989? The old three floor haunted house opened 1972 and was razed after 1984.

[@austinsteiner9363]

Do you happen to have any footage from the 90s recorded in Sussex County NJ? Or anywhere in northern NJ?

[@DarkinthePark]

No.

[@ColeWalker]

Do you know if anymore footage exists of the animatronics that were in Castle Dracula? Also any clips of Shamron with working audio?

[@DarkinthePark]

Stay tuned for documentary on Castle Dracula that we plan on releasing next month. Shamron was a static prop that was not animated.

[@bradbel]

If you were alive during this time (in the “West”) just listen. Close your eyes and listen.

[@rick3747]

In the mid 1990s, does anyone remember the pizza place near the old roof top miniture golf? The pizza place had incredible fries served up in paper bags. They were even better than Curleys. I have been trying to remember what pizza place that was and what was the old roof top miniture golf for years now.

[@DarkinthePark]

If it was the pizza place near the Bella Vista it was Mike's Pizza. We used to get pizza there sometimes.

[@rick3747]

@@DarkinthePark I don't remember Mike's. I also thought it could possibly be Angelo's as they even had a "fresh cut fries" sign on their storefront.

[@russellziske7385]

Was the Bon Aire inn still there?

[@DarkinthePark]

I don't remember the Bon Aire Inn. Where was that?

[@thegodofmusic04]

5:51 that may or may not be me 😂😂😂 what was the date of this video

[@DarkinthePark]

I don't know the exact date of the recording....I didn't write it down way back when.

[@Droodog127]

I wish Bozo was working lol those late 80's ones were crude , I started working NWPD summer 89' and 90' think we had 2 or 3 of them in the mug books in makeup 🤡

[@DarkinthePark]

Yeah....I always remember Bozo when he was at the front of Sportland Pier. He really knew how to draw a crowd.

[@DirtyMovies76]

“High and dry, high and dry”

[@realmccoy]

Wow one of my family members was a cop in NWW during those years. Do u remember Tony Cardella?

[@judycriblear7615]

Does anyone remember the run away train.😊

[@DarkinthePark]

Do you mean the Golden Nugget on Hunts Pier? If so, yes.