{"id":33854,"date":"2026-08-09T03:58:52","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T22:58:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33854"},"modified":"2026-08-09T03:58:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T22:58:52","slug":"girls-say-wipe-out-ride-left-them-stuck-upside-down-in-ocean-city-nj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=33854","title":{"rendered":"Girls say Wipe Out ride left them stuck upside down in Ocean City, NJ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\"><strong>FIRST ON FOX:<\/strong> Early last month, on the day after the Fourth of July, more than a dozen people found themselves trapped upside down on a malfunctioning ride along the boardwalk in Ocean City, <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_177181\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/us-regions\/northeast\/new-jersey\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">New Jersey<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Charlotte Hacker and Emilia Gordon, both 13, were among the passengers on the Wipe Out ride at Playland&#8217;s Castaway Cove <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_177182\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/ride-malfunctions-popular-jersey-shore-boardwalk-leaving-riders-hanging-upside-down\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">when it got stuck that evening<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The two friends were interviewed with their parents&#8217; permission, recounting to Fox News Digital the terrifying experience of dangling midair with no idea of when they would come down.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;We were stuck upside down for five to seven minutes, and it doesn&#8217;t seem like that much to the people that were down watching us, but we were up there, and it felt like an hour,&#8221; Hacker said on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_177184\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/us\/eight-riders-left-dangling-atop-100-foot-roller-coaster-three-hours-texas-amusement-park\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>EIGHT RIDERS LEFT DANGLING ATOP 100-FOOT ROLLER COASTER FOR OVER THREE HOURS AT TEXAS AMUSEMENT PARK<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The girls went to the boardwalk to celebrate Gordon\u2019s 13th birthday, which was the following day. They said they often ride the attractions there and decided to try the Wipe Out because it was new.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">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.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I seriously thought I was going to pass out,&#8221; Gordon said. &#8220;You try to put your head up, but you literally can&#8217;t. You can barely get it up at all.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The girls, seated next to each other, tried to carry on mundane conversations to distract themselves while blood rushed to their heads.<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/343\/192\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/686\/384\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/672\/378\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1344\/756\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/931\/523\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1862\/1046\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/720\/405\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1440\/810\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1200\/675\/ocean-city-new-jersey-boardwalk-evening-view.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"People walk along the Ocean City, New Jersey, boardwalk as the Ferris wheel rises in the background\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Visitors enjoy an evening on the Ocean City Boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey.<\/span> <span>(Photo by Al Drago\/Getty Image)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_177185\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\/six-flags-guests-stranded-245-feet-air-power-outage-forces-coaster-evacuation\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>SIX FLAGS GUESTS STRANDED 245 FEET IN AIR AFTER POWER OUTAGE FORCES COASTER EVACUATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I remember thinking that the lap bars were going to open and that we were just going to fall,&#8221; Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Family members on the ground waiting for their kids to get off the ride were terrified as well, the girls said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;My uncle was there too, because we were all with my cousins, so he was also freaking out,&#8221; Hacker said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Eventually, the ride&#8217;s operators managed to get it moving again, but to the girls&#8217; dismay, it kept on going. Once the ride finished, they said they weren&#8217;t let off for another few minutes.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">It is unclear what caused the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_177186\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/travel\/general\/travel-safety\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">apparent malfunction<\/a>, and if any injuries were reported.<\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif, https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif, https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif, https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif, https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif\" alt=\"Charlotte Hacker (left) and Emilia Gordon (right) pose for a photo.\" width=\"2026\" height=\"08\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Charlotte Hacker (left) and Emilia Gordon (right) pose for a photo. The pair got stuck on an amusement ride in New Jersey in July.<\/span> <span>(Courtesy of Erica Hacker)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Hacker said the ride did not close, adding that there were some people who stayed in line and rode it after they got off.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;When we came off, people were literally clapping,&#8221; Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The amusement park offered ticket refunds to the girls, which they didn&#8217;t think was sufficient after what they went through.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;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,&#8221; Gordon said.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Fox News Digital has reached out to the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_us_article_main-content_article-body_6_177188\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/travel\/new-jersey-coastal-city-clashes-proposal-transform-amusement-park-luxury-hotel\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ocean City Fire Department<\/a>, Ocean City Police Department, the ride&#8217;s operator and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for comment.<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/p>\n<div class=\"article-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-bio\">\n<p>James Cirrone is a writer on the Breaking\/Trending News team at Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to james.cirrone@fox.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! FIRST ON FOX: Early last month, on the day after the Fourth of July, more than a dozen people found themselves trapped upside down on a malfunctioning ride along the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey. Charlotte Hacker and Emilia Gordon, both 13, were among the passengers&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33855,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/girls-and-NJ-ride.gif","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33854","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33854","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33854"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33854\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/33855"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33854"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33854"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33854"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}