Sunday marked the final day of rides and the end of an era at Gillian's Wonderland Pier, the amusement park that has operated for nearly a century on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
Beloved by generations of families who flock to the Jersey Shore town, the park shut down after years of financial turmoil. Ocean City Mayor Jay Gillian, whose family ran Wonderland since 1929, announced in August that the amusement park was "no longer a viable business." The park had been at its current site on Sixth Street since 1957 and grew to about 25 indoor and outdoor rides.
The closure has left many unanswered questions about the future of the Wonderland Pier property. Months of speculation and rumors have swirled about what might replace it. One online petition, signed by nearly 3,000 people, warned against a "mega development" that would bring a hotel — possibly one with a liquor license — to the Ocean City Boardwalk despite the town being dry since its founding. The petition even expressed hope that Wonderland could be protected by historic designation, a wish that hasn't gained traction.
The lack of a clear direction for the property has prompted city leaders to dispel unfounded myths while also leaving the door open to changes in Ocean City.
"I would love to see it stay an amusement park the way it is, but I don't know if that's a viable solution based on the fact that one is closing," Council President Pete Madden said. "At the end of the day, my philosophy is always to keep an open mind and look at what's presented."
Icona Resorts has tried to expand in Ocean City before
Ocean City has long-established zoning laws that ban hotels on its boardwalk, and Wonderland Pier is zoned for amusement park use only. The city's ordinance prohibiting the sale and manufacturing of alcohol has been on the books since 1909, formalizing the ban put in place by the Methodist ministers who founded the shore town in 1876.
Any changes or exceptions to these laws would require action by Ocean City's city council, which unanimously voted last month to reaffirm the city's alcohol prohibition. The vote came in response to public meetings where community members voiced concerns about a hotel being built and receiving a liquor license at the Wonderland site.
There are reasons why some in Ocean City believe a hotel is the endgame.
In 2021, when Wonderland Pier defaulted on $8 million in mortgage loans, the property was on the brink of being put up for auction by the Cape May County sheriff. Gillian instead entered a partnership with Icona Resorts, the luxury hotel chain led by Philadelphia-based developer Eustace Mita, who took ownership of the real estate in order to keep Wonderland afloat for the last few years.
Mita's growing hotel business at the Jersey Shore now includes six resorts in Cape May, Diamond Beach and Avalon.
Two years after Icona Resorts took ownership of Wonderland Pier, Mita proposed building a 325-room hotel just off the boardwalk on a municipal lot next to Ocean City High School's Carey Stadium, across the street from Wonderland – a property also within the restricted area where the city's zoning prohibits hotels.
At the time the hotel was pitched, Gillian said he wouldn’t support the project despite his business partnership with Mita. Council member Keith Hartzell, Gillian’s opponent during the 2022 mayoral election, had been in favor of a hotel and had advocated opening alcohol sales at the property. Gillian defeated Hartzell and city council rejected the hotel in early 2023.
"There were no legs to that," Madden said.
'It's a business matter'
The future of the Wonderland Pier site is murky because the land is privately owned.
"The only reason we would get involved as a government body is if they're trying to do something they're not allowed to do," Madden said. "A hotel is not allowed. It would require us to weigh in. Otherwise, it's a business matter."
Icona Resorts has been aggressive about exploring expansion in recent years. The company unsuccessfully pitched building hotels at Cape May's historic Beach Theatre site and at the former Holiday Motor Inn in Wildwood Crest. Mita also proposed converting Ocean City's Crown Bank building into a hotel, but lost his bid to another developer who renovated the property's existing offices.
Mita and Icona Resorts did not respond to multiple interview requests about plans at the amusement park property in Ocean City. Wonderland Pier also could not be reached for comment about what will happen with its rides, like the 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel that can be seen from much of the barrier island. Preservationists have urged local leaders to protect Wonderland Pier's Giant Wheel, which is one of the largest of its kind on the East Coast.
Madden said city council has not received any proposals from Mita about immediate or long-term plans for the property.
"He said he's going to take a couple months to mull it over and figure out what to do, so my guess is he's probably putting something together," Madden said. "We have nothing that's been presented to us."
When the council voted last month to uphold its ban on alcohol sales, the intent of the resolution was to quell rumors based on a misunderstanding of New Jersey liquor laws.
In towns that do allow liquor sales, the state's Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control determines the number of licenses allowed in each municipality based on its population. One exception to this rule is that municipalities can obtain additional liquor licenses for hotels and motels that contain at least 100 rooms. This requires a resolution at the municipal level for a hotel exception, an ABC official said.
But for any hotel to get this type of liquor license in Ocean City, the council would first need to amend its ban on alcohol sales.
"The only way for that to happen would be for city council to repeal the local ordinance that has always prohibited serving or selling alcohol, and nobody on city council has or would support that," Doug Bergen, Ocean City's public information officer, said in an email.
Some residents have pushed for alcohol reforms in years past, including a 2012 ballot measure that would have allowed BYOB service at restaurants to attract more year-round business. The measure was defeated by a margin of 2-1, revealing strong community support for maintaining Ocean City's reputation as a family-friendly resort. Since then, some businesses have skirted the city's laws by forming private dinner clubs and paid memberships that allow alcohol to be served.
Uncertainty about the future of Wonderland Pier comes at an uneasy time for residents in Ocean City, where recent summers have been disrupted by large crowds of young people.
The city was the first of several Jersey Shore communities to tighten its laws around large gatherings and give police more authority to detain lawbreakers. After a 15-year-old boy was stabbed on the boardwalk during a fight over Memorial Day Weekend, Ocean City leaders held a news conference lamenting how unruly behavior threatens the values that have made the community one of New Jersey's most popular shore destinations. With the closure of Wonderland, the only remaining amusement park on Ocean City's boardwalk will be Playland's Castaway Cove.
Madden said the future of the Wonderland Pier property will be another test of Ocean City's priorities and identity.
"You have a lot of people who do not want to see a hotel on the boardwalk and then you have some people that think there should be a new hotel in Ocean City because there hasn't been one in quite some time," Madden said. "It'll be interesting to see how it all plays out."