The Ride That Made the Enthusiast
My first roller coaster was called the Jet Star, an Anton Schwarzkopf-designed, portable model coaster at the Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, NJ. I was 8 years old and I was terrified when my father and coaster enthusiast cousin, Louis Conforte, decided this was the day I would ride the coaster on the famous boardwalk. I was not a part of the conversation and “No” wasn’t on the table that day. It was simply “the day. “
I nervously sat down and shook while the clickity-clack of the lift hill slowly brought me closer and closer to the place where I would certainly die. The top! This coaster was well known for the quiet transition from the lift hill to the first drop. A short section of track traveled right next to the lights of the logo, on the edge of the pier, and over the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean. The ride itself was only about 50 ft tall but that 50 ft hanging over a pier that was another 30-40 ft or so above the waves. It made for an 8 yr old’s nightmare of epic proportions!
I couldn’t move. I couldn’t believe I was up there, either! I had stared at others on that exact part of the track thinking they were crazy many times. But there I was- way up by the flapping flags next to the sign which read, “Jet Star.”
Then my cousin said these words: “Here comes the best part!” WHAT? The best part? I just couldn’t squeeze that idea through the wall of terror that I was hiding behind in my mind. This was an endurance test for me. Fun was not on the list of items I was processing at the moment. It was survival.
We crept up to that drop and whooooosh!
Down we went. And fast!
The Jet Star model, most Schwarzkopf’s really, are known for what is called “Positive G’s”. The feeling of being pressed into your seat by an incredibly fast turn. Anton Schwarzkopf designed that into every coaster he ever built. The Jet Star had quite a bit of that woven into the first turn after that drop!
That initial drop of the Jet Star was followed by a sharply banked turn that gives you zero time to think about anything except “Positive G’s”. Weird sounds creep out of our body during “Positive G’s” and you are not in control of them. That’s where I was just before the coaster car rose to the second level and gave me a moment to settle into the realization of what I just went through. Schwarzkopf-designed roller coasters are good like that. Hit ya hard then give a moment to breathe before the next element knocks your socks off. It was during that breath when everything changed for me. Sure it ended up being fun. Really fun. But it was more that I DID IT! I had walked by that coaster countless times over the years without a single consideration that I would one day conquer the boardwalk behemoth. But there I was.
My father and my cousin patted me on the back, (I was also in the front of the single file seats because I was the smallest. Did I not mention that? 😬) telling me how proud they were, how happy for me they were, how much fun they were having with me! And the ride wasn’t even over yet! The memory of the moment was secure and the theme of my life had changed forever.
The Jet Star coaster occupied the far left corner of a wooden pier which jettied out about 100 ft past the sandy beach and over the ocean. In 2000, the classic coaster was replaced by a much less enjoyable coaster sneakily named “The Star Jet”. This led to a lot of confusion over the years with people wondering why they now disliked riding the same coaster from their childhood so much. It was in the same spot. It had the words “Jet” and “Star” in the name. The layout looked the same. Of course, it was the same coaster. But it wasn’t. This version of the boardwalk coaster was significantly less appreciated until the day that Hurricane Sandy smashed into the pier in 2012. The Star Jet is the now-famous coaster you’ve most likely seen standing in the ocean in hundreds of pictures over the years. The corner of the pier fell into the ocean with the coaster right on top of it. It made for an oddly beautiful photo op but the town elected to widen the pier over the sand instead of building it over the ocean again as a result. Never again would a little child have that first coaster experience over the waves as I and so many others did. That special place where turning back was not an option- where the peaceful tranquility of that section of track did its best to work on the nerves of all who second-guessed their decision to challenge the Jet Star roller coaster.
I rode that Coaster no less than 50x over the years and never once forgot how I felt that first ride. That little 8 yr old boy came with me to experience the first drop every single time. Whether I was with my younger sisters, a group of rowdy teenage friends, or allowing the quiet transition at the top to encourage a new girlfriend to huddle closer for protection, it was always my first time. The lucky boy relived the joy over and over again.
The Coaster Enthusiast in me is grateful the Jet Star in Seaside Heights NJ was my first. It was the perfect mix of elements to capture whatever potential there was inside of me to fall in love with this genre of thrill-seeking. A coaster enthusiast was born that day and I now have the distinct privilege of helping instill the same love for thrills in two younger versions of myself.
My son’s first coaster was the Barnstormer at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and my daughter cut her teeth on Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster in Universal Studios Orlando. They have been on dozens by now and are two amazing little partners to have on this Full-Time Coaster Tour we have going on around the country.
There are only three Jet Star Model Coasters left in the world and only one in the USA. That coaster resides at Indiana Beach Amusement Park in Monticello, Indiana and carries the name Tigrr. We had plans to get on that one in 2020 but the park suddenly closed down. I was as upset as could be when I realized my dream to give my family the last chance to experience my first coaster was all but gone. Though in my moment of despair, I discovered the park was saved by a wonderful man named Gene Staples. It seems I will get to relive it after all. And for that I am grateful!
Is this fate? Will my 8-year-old self get that moment to spend with my two children on one of the most impactful coasters of his life? We shall see. I will be sure to let you know if/when it happens. And I’ll also see if that little boy would like to say hello.
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