Morey S Piers

They've been used in weddings and the Mummers Parade, raced by local crooners and driven by movie stars halfway across the county. But the Sightseer Tram Cars, dolled-up in deep coats of "happy blue" and "sunburst yellow," are more famous at home in the Wildwoods, where they've taken tourists and locals down a memory lane of concrete and rickety planks for more than 60 years. The tram cars' ubiquitous warning, "Watch the tram car, please," has been seared into the minds of anyone who's ever spent a night strolling the boards there.

"JERSEY SHORE" made a blockbuster trade earlier this year, dumping a group of boorish, bronzed clowns on Europe in exchange for hundreds of studious young men and women, eager to make money and soak up the American experience. We gave the world "Snooki" and "The Situation. " The world gave us Aytac and Olesia. The cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore," according to published reports, didn't have a personal renaissance in Florence. They spent their time racking up fines, beating each other up, and butchering the native tongue while the country collectively referred to the crew as "tamarri," Italian for uncultured or vulgar.

The Wildwood boardwalk amusement park that closed after an 11-year-old girl plummeted to her death Friday from a Ferris wheel was reopened Saturday as state and local investigators continued to probe what caused the fall. Morey's Mariner's Landing Pier, where the 156-foot-high Great Wheel is located, and Surfside Pier both opened at noon Saturday, said Morey's Piers spokeswoman Lindsey Young. The Raging Waters water park reopened at 10 a.m., and Adventure Pier opened at 2 p.m. Young said those were the normal opening hours.

"This story has been corrected. The number of fatalities at amusement parks nationally in 2008 and 2009 was reported incorrectly. " The death of Abiah Jones is the first fatality at Morey's Piers since 1995, when Dallas White, a 33-year-old maintenance worker, was hit in the head by the foot of a passenger on the park's Great Nor'Easter roller coaster. There were 1,181 ride-related injuries reported in 2009 and 1,523 in 2008. The report was prepared by the National Safety Council.

NORTH WILDWOOD - When a new, $1.5 million, pendulum-style ride known simply as "It" officially opens on Memorial Day weekend at Morey's Surfside Pier, it will be the culmination of more than two years of designing, manufacturing, and installation. Probably no one understands the gestational process of a Shore amusement attraction better than brothers Will and Jack Morey, whose company, Morey's Piers, operates three locations - Surfside Pier and two water-amusement parks - on the North Wildwood and Wildwood boardwalks with more than 100 rides, games, and attractions.Their father, Will, and uncle, Bill, started the business in 1969 with a giant slide called Wipeout in Wildwood, and added rides annually through the 1970s and 1980s.

An icon of the Wildwood boardwalk that's churned out smiles for more than 25 years, brought tears and shock to onlookers' faces in just a few short seconds yesterday afternoon. Police say an 11-year-old girl on a class trip fell to her death from the Giant Wheel, a 156-foot Ferris wheel covered in neon that lights up the sky from its oceanfront perch at the back of Mariner's Landing Pier. Abiah Jones, a fifth-grade student at PleasanTech Academy in Pleasantville, fell nearly 100 feet from one of wheel's gondolas, in front of students and visitors.

  ATLANTIC CITY - Jacob Zimlichman had heard the entire Jersey Shore was underwater, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He knew that wasn't true. That's why the New Yorker was on Atlantic City's Steel Pier on Sunday as part of the seaside entertainment park's summer-season debut. "I didn't have any second thoughts about coming here," Zimlichman said as he watched his child enjoy a ride on the Mighty Stampede. State tourism officials wish everyone were as confident of the many miles of New Jersey beaches in good condition.

You could once jump to your death in Wildwood. Hundreds did. Stood and waited to do it all summer long. From a platform more than 100 feet high, like a conga line of public executions, they pitched themselves into the void, one after another, plummeted to earth, heads down, eyeballs widening to two feet each as impact approached - only to be saved at the last instant by the god of elastic. It was the bungee jump, and a half-dozen years ago Wildwood had several. But in 1993, New Jersey adopted stringent regulations for the jumps, and now there's not a single one in the state, officials said.

The blazing heat came late this year, and the Labor Day holiday will too, but there are still two more weekends of summer at the Jersey Shore to enjoy. Most all of the beach towns have some events to attract and tantalize, and all the usual amusements and entertainment venues are still open. From the casino showrooms in Atlantic City to Cape May's big quadricentennial to a down-home sailing race on Long Beach Island, there is still time to catch up on Shore fun. Stone Harbor: Wetlands Institute Each year, the Wetlands Institute seems to have more and more special educational programs, and they last right into September.

I vividly remember the time - the one time - we went to the Wildwood boardwalk when I was a kid. Not because it's one of those over-the-top great memories of childhood. But because it was the first time I can remember understanding that not all boardwalks are created equally. It was a stunning revelation to a 6-year-old. After maybe 20 minutes - which of course, seemed like days to me then - I remember skidding my little red Keds to a halt right there in the middle of the big, bad Wildwood boardwalk and demanding to be taken back to Ocean City.

  ATLANTIC CITY - Jacob Zimlichman had heard the entire Jersey Shore was underwater, destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. He knew that wasn't true. That's why the New Yorker was on Atlantic City's Steel Pier on Sunday as part of the seaside entertainment park's summer-season debut. "I didn't have any second thoughts about coming here," Zimlichman said as he watched his child enjoy a ride on the Mighty Stampede. State tourism officials wish everyone were as confident of the many miles of New Jersey beaches in good condition.

Special Events Bicycling Magazine Open Casual and serious amateur riders can try out the famous Philadelphia International Championship course. Logan Square, N.18th St.; www.echelongranfondo.org/bicyclingopen . $95 advance; $100 day of event; $250-$5,000 fundraising packages. 6/3. 7-10 am. Germantown White House Exhibits Interactive exhibits featuring George Washington's family & household. Germantown White House (formerly Deshler-Morris House), 5442 Germantown Ave.; 215-965-2305.

A steel mast on a boardwalk amusement-park ride in Wildwood snapped Friday night, striking a 13-year-old girl and injuring several other passengers, police said. The girl, who was not identified, was hospitalized after the 9:15 p.m. accident on the Sea Dragon, a pirate-boat ride at Mariner's Landing, Wildwood police said in a statement. They did not elaborate on her injuries. Four other passengers were treated at the scene for minor injuries, police said. Morey's Piers, the park operator, said only that "the appropriate authorities were contacted and are investigating the incident.

A steel mast on a boardwalk amusement park ride in Wildwood snapped Friday night, striking a 13-year-old girl and injuring several other passengers, police said. The girl, who was not identified, was hospitalized after the 9:15 p.m. accident on the Sea Dragon, a makeshift pirate boat ride at Mariner's Landing, Wildwood police said in a statement. They did not elaborate on her injuries. Four other passengers were treated for minor injuries at the scene, police said. Morey's Piers, the park operator, had no comment except to say "the appropriate authorities were contacted and are investigating the incident.

"JERSEY SHORE" made a blockbuster trade earlier this year, dumping a group of boorish, bronzed clowns on Europe in exchange for hundreds of studious young men and women, eager to make money and soak up the American experience. We gave the world "Snooki" and "The Situation. " The world gave us Aytac and Olesia. The cast of MTV's "Jersey Shore," according to published reports, didn't have a personal renaissance in Florence. They spent their time racking up fines, beating each other up, and butchering the native tongue while the country collectively referred to the crew as "tamarri," Italian for uncultured or vulgar.

The parents of an 11-year-old girl who fell to her death from a Wildwood Ferris wheel June 3 have sued Morey's Piers, operators of the amusement ride. "It's a really sad story; she was a promising little girl," James Beasley Jr., a lawyer for the family of the victim, Abiah Jones, of Pleasantville, N.J., said yesterday after filing the suit. The lawsuit, which didn't specify an amount sought but asked for a jury trial, was filed by Twanda and Byron Jones in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, instead of New Jersey.

At Springer's Homemade Ice Cream in Stone Harbor - where all of Seven Mile Island seems to gather on summer evenings - ice creams infused with brand-name candy bars and cookies and named for them have been best sellers for years. Not this summer, though. One of those candy manufacturers - general manager Mary Humphreys Goldenthal would prefer not to say who - asked Springer's to stop using its name in its flavors. So, to avoid any beefs with other companies, Goldenthal just decided she would rename all eight of those brands.

The rules to ride the Giant Wheel at Morey's Piers in Wildwood will be strengthened when it resumes spinning today, but the changes aren't enough for the family of the 11-year-old girl who died in a fall from the Ferris wheel two weeks ago. Lawyers for the family of Abiah Jones said that the ride should not be used until it can be retrofitted with lap restraints in each car. "Otherwise, what happened to Abiah Jones could happen again," said attorneys...

The Ferris wheel at Morey's Piers amusement park in Wildwood is set to reopen Saturday for the first time since the fatal fall June 3 of an 11-year-old girl. This week, investigators from New Jersey's Carnival Ride Safety Unit released a report that found no mechanical defects on the more-than-25-year-old ride. The report theorized that the victim, Abiah Jones of Pleasantville, N.J., might have been kneeling or standing on the seat or leaning out of the gondola when she fell. The state recommended that high-elevation rides in which customers are not restrained require a minimum of two passengers per compartment.