Help save the Golden Nugget...

[FlyinGN]

good info Devil.. thanks buddy!

[momto2]

interesting.... hopefully it will be true... Just hurry up and do it for 2006 LOL! With the new rides for this year they are probably saving some $$$

[Cindy]

Wow, interesting. At work, I only have one picture on my desk and it's of the Golden Nugget..keep your fingers crossed!

[Robert]

We can't allow it to die. In order for your kids, and future kids to be able to have their first ride on the Golden Nugget like many of us older folks did a long time ago is dependent on the Morey's investing money and restoring it to operation. If the Morey's back down saying it's too costly, then it will sit and rot until it falls apart (or burns down) and like many departed Wildwood attractions before, it will be unknown by future generations because it will no longer exist. People, especially teens will wow at the latest thrill ride of 2010 while the Golden Nugget is forgotten. If it is gone, it won't even be on the minds of those future people with no prior Wildwood experience. They will simply never know about it, or realize it existed. How many first-timers to Wildwood today remember or at least know about the Whacky Shack, or Castle Dracula, etc.? We can't allow the creative work of Bill Tracy, Freddie Mahana (both South Jersey natives and dark ride artists) to die, because he is dead. You can't replace lost art.

[Al Alven]

No question, bringing back the Golden Nugget would be a tremendous nod to the past, present and future of the Wildwoods.

So many of the island's classic structures have been lost in recent years. It would be wonderful to see this great institution restored, to see a valuable link to the resort's "glory days" preserved.

It would seem to be a terrific P.R. move for the Morey's in that sense, though I can't claim to actually know much about the amusement industry, or how it works.

I have no doubt that it would serve as much more than a nostalgia trip, though. A restored Nugget would do great business, I would think, based on the fact that it is a great ride alone.

What Robert said, in reference to future generations having the opportunity to enjoy the Golden Nugget, really struck a cord with me.

As some of you know, I have a one-year-old (a 14-monther, to be exact) at home. I desperately want him to be able to experience the Nugget, to grow up with the same wonderful childhood memories I have of my favorite ride.

I have younger cousins and other relatives who playfully roll their eyes when I go into my annual rant about how great the Nugget was. They see it as nothing more than a relic, taking up space on a long-abandoned pier.

They have no idea. I wish they could experience it. I want my son to be able to experience it. The Golden Nugget, aside from being my favorite ride, it probably my all-time favorite Wildwoods institution. So, it heads up a pretty lofty list.

I guess I see the restoration of the Nugget as a crucial factor in a future renaissance of the resort. You can sort of argue that as the Nugget has gone, so have the Wildwoods. That's a bit of a stretch, yes, but there is also some sense of truth there also.

The point is, again, the restoration of this great icon would spark interest, nostalgia and a sense of what has always made the Wildwoods great and unique in the first place. If it ultimately falls, be it to neglect or fire or whatever, it will just be another lost treasure.

If it is preserved, however, it could prove to be one of (if not THE) centerpieces to the revival of the island.