More than a dozen people were left hanging upside down on a malfunctioning ride along the Ocean City, New Jersey boardwalk on the evening of July 5, 2026, the day after the Fourth of July. Two of the passengers were 13-year-old friends who described the experience to Fox News Digital.
Charlotte Hacker and Emilia Gordon were riding the Wipe Out attraction at Playland's Castaway Cove when it stopped without warning. The ride swings like a pendulum, repeatedly turning riders upside down while its passenger compartment spins. This time, it stopped with everyone suspended in the air, inverted.
"We were stuck upside down for five to seven minutes, and it doesn't seem like that much to the people that were down watching us, but we were up there, and it felt like an hour," Hacker said.
The girls had gone to the boardwalk to celebrate Gordon's 13th birthday, which fell the following day. They chose the Wipe Out because it was new to them.
Gordon described the physical toll of hanging inverted while uncertain when or whether the ride would restart. "I seriously thought I was going to pass out," she said. "You try to put your head up, but you literally can't. You can barely get it up at all."
Seated next to each other, the two tried to carry on ordinary conversations to distract themselves while blood rushed to their heads. Gordon said the thought of the safety restraints opening crossed her mind. "I remember thinking that the lap bars were going to open and that we were just going to fall," she said.
Family members watching from the ground were frightened as well. "My uncle was there too, because we were all with my cousins, so he was also freaking out," Hacker said.
The ride's operators eventually got it moving again. When it finished its cycle, the girls said they were not let off for an additional few minutes. When they finally stepped off, other riders and onlookers reacted. "When we came off, people were literally clapping," Gordon said.
The amusement park offered ticket refunds to both girls. They did not find that sufficient. "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.
What caused the malfunction remains unclear. It is also unclear whether any injuries were reported. Hacker said the ride did not close after the incident and that other people got in line and rode it after she and Gordon got off.
Fox News Digital reached out to the Ocean City Fire Department, the Ocean City Police Department, the ride's operator, and the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs for comment. No responses were reported.
