People enjoying the last rides at Gillian’s Wonderland, the popular amusement park on the boardwalk in Ocean City, N.J., during its final day of operation before shutting down for good. October 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry).
For decades, families visiting Ocean City, the striking “Giant Wheel” has long been a welcoming sight, visible from miles away. Standing at 140 feet tall, this iconic ride signaled their approach to the Jersey Shore town, which proudly calls itself “America's Greatest Family Resort.” With its family-friendly beaches, lively boardwalk filled with pizza, ice cream, and cotton candy, the town has been a go-to destination for generations.
At the heart of this attraction was Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, an amusement park operated by the family of the town's mayor for nearly a century. However, the rides went quiet on Sunday night as the park closed its doors, a casualty of ongoing financial struggles exacerbated by the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and Superstorm Sandy.
For 94 years, Gillian and his family have run amusement rides along the Ocean City Boardwalk. The current version of the park, Wonderland, opened in 1965. Mayor Jay Gillian expressed his deep regret about the closure in August, stating, “I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible through increasingly difficult challenges each year. It’s been my life, my legacy, and my family. But it's no longer a viable business.” Despite multiple attempts to reach him for further comments, Gillian did not respond.
On the park’s last day, Sheryl Gross visited with her two children and five grandchildren, cherishing their final moments there. “I've been coming here forever,” she reminisced. “My daughter is 43, and I’ve been coming here since she was 2 years old in a stroller. Now I'm here with my grandchildren.” She recalled the joy on her family’s faces as they enjoyed the rides, lamenting the loss of this family-friendly haven.
Sunday saw long lines for the Giant Wheel, log flume, and other popular attractions, as visitors used their remaining ride tickets, unaware that this was the end of an era. A local non-profit, Friends of OCNJ History and Culture, is actively fundraising to potentially save the amusement park. Bill Merritt, a leader within the group, shared that they have raised over $1 million toward a possible $20 million acquisition of the property.
“Ocean City will be fundamentally different without this attraction,” Merritt remarked. “This town relies on being family-friendly. The park has rides targeted at kids; it’s called ‘Wonderland’ for a reason.”
The property’s current owner, Icona Resorts, had previously proposed a $150 million luxury hotel elsewhere on the boardwalk, but those plans were rejected by the city. Eustace Mita, the company's CEO, indicated earlier this year that he would take at least until the end of the year to propose a new use for the amusement park site. Mita acquired the property in 2021 after Gillian’s family faced the risk of defaulting on loans.
During a community meeting last month, Gillian explained that Wonderland struggled to recover from Superstorm Sandy in 2012, the pandemic in 2020, and rising minimum wage costs that nearly doubled his payroll expenses, leaving him $4 million in debt. To prevent a sheriff’s sale of the property, Mita provided funds and granted the mayor three years to turn the business around, a deadline that has now passed.
Mita has not responded to requests for comments. Merritt expressed disbelief at the thought of Ocean City without Wonderland. “You look at it with your heart and say, ‘You’re losing all the cherished memories and all the history; how can you let that go?’ Then you look at it with your head and say, ‘They are the reason this town is profitable; how can you let that go?’”
