Seaside Heights, NJ – One of the worst kept secrets coming into next season has been Casino Pier’s 2017 roller coaster addition. I say this because for the past month there’s been pieces of what looks to be a pretty substantial coaster sitting in the parking lot next to Breakwater Beach waterpark. Today, Casino Pier released a video about their new Gerstlauer Euro Fighter coaster as well as some renderings of the expanded pier area.
Rather than showing a rendering, the video shows similar coasters to the one being constructed as well as some features of the coaster including a 97 degree drop, vertical loop, Immelmann turn, and heartline roll. According to a user on Reddit, the stats seem to line up with Gerstlauer’s Euro-Fighter 320+ model, which would mean it would be like Untamed at Canobie Lake Park and Rage at Adventure Island, but that’s just speculation at this point. Also unknown is the name of the coaster. The video refers to it as “Eurofighter,” but I don’t think that’ll be the final name. A photo render on Casino Pier’s Facebook page places the new coaster on the newly constructed pier expansion on the north side of Casino Pier. The render also features Casino Pier’s second new attraction, a large ferris wheel.
I’m really glad to see Casino Pier rebuilding and then some after being decimated four years ago by Sandy. It’s an impressive looking coaster as well, unlike the more portable looking coasters that have grazed Seaside parks in the past. It’s also nice to see a Ferris Wheel coming back to Seaside. Casino Pier used to have a Chance Century Wheel back in the late 90s or so, but Funtown Pier to the south always had the more prominent wheel before Sandy destroyed the park. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Funtown Pier will ever come back.
Here’s some phone pics I’ve taken of the coaster and pier construction (need to turn HDR mode off next time!) Also included are a few pics of Pirate’s Hideaway in its new location. It was moved to the back of the pier from the north/front side which is right where the pier expansion is being built.
