Modifications are within the works on the final remaining family-friendly amusement park alongside one of many Jersey Shore’s busiest boardwalks because it gears as much as accommodate extra individuals this summer time, after its competitors closed store.
Crews had been exhausting at work Tuesday at Playland’s Castaway Cove in Ocean Metropolis, New Jersey.
“This is as busy as it gets,” Castaway Cove Upkeep Supervisor Mike Clearkin advised NBC10 as staff drilled, hammered, lower and lifted.
Crews had been racing to get the rides prepared for opening day on Saturday, April 12, 2025, launching a season that comes with some uncertainty.
“It’s going to be an interesting summer this year,” Castaway Cove Vice President Brian Hartley stated.
Playland’s Castaway Cove now holds the excellence of being the one amusement park on Ocean Metropolis’s boardwalk, after Gillian’s Wonderland Pier closed this fall.
“I’ve actually worked at both amusement parks in town over the years, and this will definitely be a unique experience for us just being the only game in town,” Clearkin stated.
With exclusivity may come bigger crowds.
“One of the biggest things we’ve heard from customers is they’re concerned that we’re going to be overcrowded this summer,” Hartley stated.
So, the park has reconfiguring some rides. A pair others had been eliminated and are being changed with two new rides, every with a smaller footprint.
“We’re just kind of hoping for the best,” Clearkin stated.
The parents at Castaway Cove stated the modifications are designed to created extra room for individuals to face and stroll round whereas working inside the present confines of the amusement park between east tenth and eleventh streets on the OC boardwalk.
“It’s really trying to find that balance of having a good assortment of rides, having the amount of rides, but also having the space for people,” Hartley stated.
Castaway Cove hopes a brand new arcade can be able to open later within the month. It replaces the arcade constructing destroyed by an enormous fireplace in 2021.
“We’re excited to finally have this done,” Hartley stated. “It’s going to be a whole new entryway to enter into the rest of the park with the rides.”
Spring weekends – and the week of spring break in mid-April — would be the first checks of the brand new design. Faucet right here for the park’s full calendar of operations.
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