Just a day after Independence Day, an exhilarating day turned into a nightmare for over a dozen thrill-seekers along the Ocean City boardwalk in New Jersey when they found themselves hanging upside down on a broken amusement ride.
Among those caught in the thrill turned fiasco were 13-year-olds Charlotte Hacker and Emilia Gordon. The pair had innocently embarked on the new Wipe Out ride at Playland’s Castaway Cove that evening, only to end up part of an unexpected adventure.
After obtaining permission from their parents, the two shared their harrowing story with News Media, recalling the chilling moments of suspense as they swayed helplessly in the air, unclear when their ordeal would end.
“We were inverted for what felt like an eternity,” Hacker revealed on Saturday. “It might have been just five to seven minutes to those watching from below, but for us hanging there, time crawled to a standstill, stretching into what felt like an hour.”
The trip to the boardwalk was a special occasion for the friends, a prelude to Gordon’s 13th birthday celebration. They were no strangers to the attractions there but decided to try their luck on the new Wipe Out ride, seeking the thrill of something different.
The ride swings like a pendulum, repeatedly turning thrill-seekers upside down while its passenger compartment spins. Only this time, the ride inexplicably stopped with everyone suspended upside down.
“I seriously thought I was going to pass out,” Gordon said. “You try to put your head up, but you literally can’t. You can barely get it up at all.”
The girls, seated next to each other, tried to carry on mundane conversations to distract themselves while blood rushed to their heads.
Visitors enjoy an evening on the Ocean City Boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Image)
“I remember thinking that the lap bars were going to open and that we were just going to fall,” Gordon said.
Family members on the ground waiting for their kids to get off the ride were terrified as well, the girls said.
“My uncle was there too, because we were all with my cousins, so he was also freaking out,” Hacker said.
Eventually, the ride’s operators managed to get it moving again, but to the girls’ dismay, it kept on going. Once the ride finished, they said they weren’t let off for another few minutes.
It is unclear what caused the apparent malfunction, and if any injuries were reported.
Charlotte Hacker (left) and Emilia Gordon (right) pose for a photo. The pair got stuck on an amusement ride in New Jersey in July. (Courtesy of Erica Hacker)
Hacker said the ride did not close, adding that there were some people who stayed in line and rode it after they got off.
“When we came off, people were literally clapping,” Gordon said.
The amusement park offered ticket refunds to the girls, which they didn’t think was sufficient after what they went through.
“That ride is five tickets, so they just gave back our ticket but [Hacker] only got three back. I got five. But still, after all that, I feel like you expect more,” Gordon said.
News Media has reached out to the Ocean City Fire Department, Ocean City Police Department, the ride’s operator and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for comment.