Our Stay, Play and Eat Weekend at Morey’s Piers

Written by

Liz@ThisFullHouse

in

Arts and Crafts and Fartsy Stuff, Family Travel, Reviews & Partnerships, So, You From Joisey?

My family and I were very honored to have been invited, as special guests of  Morey’s Piers, to spend the weekend in Wildwood, NJ and meet the famous Morey brothers, in person.  

Okay, so I was THRILLED!!!  

I got to revisit some of my favorite childhood memories of summertime(s) past:  when my twin brother and I would spend our days playing on the beach, as my parents sunned themselves while listening to my dad’s favorite doo-wop radio station (WCBS FM 101.1), and then follow the parade of flip flops, begging our parents for “Please, just one more quarter?!?” to play any one of the dozens of carnival games (it was a long time ago, shuddup!) along the 2 miles of boardwalk, at night.

Okay, great, but what really made this family getaway even MORE fabulous:

• It was Father’s Day weekend
• I was able to convince my husband, Garth (not his real name) to take time off from work
• It was his first full weekend off in 5 weeks
• See first bullet

My oldest daughter, on the other hand, could NOT get the time off from work and, well, as you can well imagine, she wasn’t very happy about it…either…which brings up a pretty important traveling tip, when road-tripping with teens.

Planning a family vacation isn’t always easy:  contrary to popular opinion, most especially with older kids.  My best suggestion?  Don’t try and make any concrete plans and leave plenty of breathing room in your schedule; it’s just easier that way.

A hospital ride was so NOT in our original itinerary.

Long story, short (you’re welcome!) after someone accidentally knocked her in the head with their locker door (yep, she’s my kid a’ight!) and then being treated for a migraine at the hospital (migraines ARE the devil!) my middle girl was more than ready to help us…ever so gently…kick our mini-beach vay-cay into high gear.

We judge distance by exits (not miles) here on the Garden State Parkway and/or New Jersey Turnpike 🙂

Wildwood is approximately a 3 hour car (or bus) ride from NYC: and, depending on traffic, it is about 2 hours south from us.  Leaving later than we had originally anticipated actually worked out in our favor; we missed the usual Friday night shore traffic….SCORE!!!!

We arrived a little before 11:00 p.m. and were immediately made to feel right at home by our hosts:  there was an awesome tote waiting for us in our room, it was filled with beach-inspired treats and a very special early birthday present for our youngest daughter, who was also celebrating her 12th birthday.  She slept in late with her big brother, who then wondered why his neck was soooooo sore, the next morning.

Our classic Jersey shore experience included a stay at an iconic retro-inspired beachfront hotel:  we were treated to two nights at the StarLux Boutique, built in the space-age (i.e. the Jetsons) architectural style popular during the 1950’s and 60’s on the Jersey shore and one of a collection of hotels owned by Morey’s Resorts here in Wildwood, NJ

The last time we drove through Wildwood was a few years ago, while visiting with friends in neighboring Cape May, NJ, and I was sad to see many of the motels we stayed at as kids had been torn down to make room for towering condos: this trip, however, I was very happy to learn the classic Americana vibe is indeed very much alive and remains authentic to the Wildwoods.

So, what’s the deal with Morey’s Piers:  a family owned and operated amusement park since 1969, focusing on a friendly boardwalk experience and keeping authentic to the Jersey shore is an important mission for our very kind hosts…the Morey Brothers….and one that I am more than happy to help amplify…YO!!!

The Wildwood boardwalk is 2 miles long, with Morey’s consisting of 3 piers stretching out in between, so be prepared to walk: or you can hop a ride on the tram car which runs up and down the boardwalk, including Mariner’s Landing Pier,  Surfside Pier, and Adventure Pier, but be sure to have cash on hand; it’ll cost you $3.00 per person, one way.  Either way, I do NOT recommend hitting up the ENTIRE boardwalk…in flip flops…just sayin’.

Carnival games are fun, boardwalk rides are way better:  you cannot avoid playing at least a couple of carnival games when at the boardwalk with kids, but “one more try” can quickly add up, right?!?  We usually put aside $20 per kid for carnival games and, at $3.00 to $5.00 a pop, even that will not last very long.  So, be prepared to say “NO!!!” or “How about a ride on the pretty carousel, instead?!?” or just have your kids start saving their birthday/holiday money, right now 🙂