A longtime haven for summer family fun at the Jersey Shore only has a few weekends left for children of all ages to make lasting memories.
Over the summer, we learned that Gillian’s Wonderland Pier on the Ocean City Boardwalk would close for good -- something that has been hard to take for people from multiple generations.
Pier owner and Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian announced on. Aug. 9 that Wonderland -- between East 6th Street and Plaza Place -- would close for good this fall. He said the park that’s been in his family for 94 years was no longer good business.
"I tried my best to sustain Wonderland for as long as possible - through increasingly difficult challenges each year," Gillian said. "But it's no longer a viable business."
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When is the last day to ride at Gillian's Wonderland Pier?
A recording that played during a Sept. 26, 2024, call to the boardwalk amusement park says "our last day of operation is October 13th."
That's right, you only have three more weekends to use up all those tickets you've accumulated over the year by riding through the haunted house, riding a sack down the Fun Slide, taking a spin on the Ferris wheel or watching your younger ones turn with joy on the kiddie rides.
What hours will Wonderland Pier be open?
On upcoming Fridays (Sept. 27, Oct. 4 and Oct. 11) Wonderland will be open form 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to the calendar posted to the pier's website.
On Saturdays (Sept. 28, Oct. 5 and Oct. 12) Wonderland will be open form 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. While on Sundays (Sept. 29, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13) the park will be open from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
What's next once Gillian's closes?
Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, will mark the end of an era – Wonderland is where countless parents have had that picture-perfect moment where their child waves to them from a ride for the first time.
What may come next? Last month, NBC10's Ted Greenberg spoke to people about that exact thing.
“Whatever it is, I hope it's family friendly, and that there's activities that the kids could still, maybe possibly, ride on,” Reading, Pennsylvania’s Lisha Yochimowitz said.
“When I first heard about this, I said to one of my friends, you know what they're going to do? They're going to build either condos or a hotel, which is very sad,” National Park’s Jacki Bollendorf said.
“The property is no longer mine, so I can’t speak to its future,” Gillian wrote on Aug. 9. “But I’ll always have a have a lifetime of priceless memories, and I hope you will too.”
Earlier this month, Gillian spoke out publicly about the hard decision to close the park. He said hikes in New Jersey's minimum wage, Superstorm Sandy and the COVID pandemic caused costs to soar.
"I couldn't pay the bills," Gillian told a crowd. "Before I even wake up in the morning I'm about $4 million in debt, between payroll, insurance, and just the upkeep.
The property is owned by Eustace Mita, who partnered with Gillian a few years ago after Wonderland defaulted on millions of dollars of loans. Mita’s company, ICONA Resorts, has upscale hotels in Avalon, Cape May and Diamond Beach.
In an earlier statement, Mita said his company would take until the end of the year to evaluate what’s best for the Jersey Shore city and the landmark site which he said deserves first-class treatment.
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