Gillian’s Wonderland Pier UPDATE

[@WildwoodVideoArchive]

What do you think should happen to this space?

[@kathrynkathryn5493]

Hopefully Amusement places like Knoebels & Morey's People have their ears to the ground for something good to preserve. As far as a future project.....Big question, "How is zoned" ???

[@Lt_Vester]

@@kathrynkathryn5493 I think it'd be awesome for Morey's to maybe expand over to Ocean City and make a little something.

[@kathrynkathryn5493]

@@Lt_VesterHello Lt. I agree, at least something for the little ones.....A Kiddie Park.

[@jerseyharlot]

Playland leases/buys it

[@kathrynkathryn5493]

@@jerseyharlot You know years ago it was a Dream of mine to do something like that. At least own a Roller Coaster or something Grand. You see, in Coney Island years ago, many rides were individually owned by a family. A whole Playland + the resistance from the local village.......and insurance.......it's tough. It's still a Dream!

[@beatdownwornout4122]

I remember in the late 70s trying to grab the brass ring from the merry go round!! Times have changed.

[@TheIcetemp]

I went there just about every Saturday night for years, starting in 1958. Hanging way out on the merry go round, grabbing rings. I remember the wooden ring holder you grabbed the rings from, was rubbed smooth from all the hands.

[@hiresrootbeer1876]

You must be thinking about "Gillian's Fun Deck" (1930-1987) at Plymouth Pl. & Bdwlk. "Gillian's Wonderland" didn't open until 1965.

[@princevultan6589]

I hope they do some work like adding new rides and revamping current rides. And if they update the outside the main entry that would be nice to get ready to reopen the legendary Wonderland.

[@bubbygirl132]

I liked going there as a kid and seeing the animatronics and the amusement rides

[@chrisjones4423]

My kids Grew up being there Every year, it was the best! we are really sad this is going away!! Hoping it stays, We're waiting on a grandchild so praying she will build memories There!!

[@dkrohnert2694]

The Caterpillar was my all time favorite ride at Wonderland!!! Late 60s early 70s. 4 generations of my family enjoyed WONDERLAND!

[@AdventureandDonuts]

Worked there for many years in the early 2000s, as did several of my friends and family. Loved your video, my hope is that they at least keep the front building as an amusement destination, a couple small rides and the carousel, it would be great for rainy days, the back part will most likely be a condo high rise due to the current owners.

[@lancewoods9428]

I just hope the Gillian’s attractions don’t get trashed and left behind OC’s equivalent of the Ocean Theatre, where the remains of Hunt’s Pier rested for a few years. (Then again, that was a treasure trove for enterprising Dumpster divers to acquire pieces of their beloved rides. Not that I’d know anything about that … oh, no … I was too busy plotting [unsuccessfully] to break into the Ocean lobby to steal the marquee sign.)

[@bobwigg761]

You are absolutely right about the Ferris Wheel being an advertisement for Ocean City. Thanks to the predecessor of this Wheel that I saw from the Garden State Parkway driving back north from Wildwood in 1989, that I first discovered Ocean City. Maybe it could be treated as a loss leader (profit is less than expense), but it draws visitors to the area, where they would patronize other more profitable businesses and attractions.

[@johnkaczinski468]

Sad. Relatively new to OCNJ (approximately 12 years annual weekly family vacation). Our rental house 2 houses from Wonderland. Loved sitting on the front porch at night, 0:15 watching the rides and listening to the sounds. Really sad.

[@DavidThompson-i8c]

I remember the brass ring from the 70s too. I'm so happy that during my last visit to Wonderland in April of 2016, I took photos of the ferris wheel with the seats removed, and I had them enlarged and they hang over my desk at home. I also was able to photograph the remains of the fishing pier south of 55th St. So sad, nothing stays the same.

[@JJZPROBLOX]

I loved that place

[@karenvick9339]

I remember going with my big brother at Jillian's wonderland when we were little going to miss it 😭

[@DavesClassicCars]

It's definitely so sad to see this happen to such an iconic part of the boardwalk. I've been going there since the 1960s and have a lot of memories being there and it's just very sad.

[@ManAndDogFan]

Can't believe how deserted it already looks, definitely sad!

[@strek7966]

​​I enjoy your videos and look forward to more live ones and recorded...

[@hiresrootbeer1876]

Hi, I enjoyed your video. Actually, "Wonderland" is "only" 59 or 60 years old (depending how you count the seasons), opening in 1965. "Gillian's Fun Deck" at Plymouth Pl. & Bdwlk. (where "OC Water Park" is now located) was started by Jay's grandfather, opened in 1930. (4 rides that were originally at "The Fun Deck and moved to "Wonderland" after "The Fun Deck" closed in 1987 were the "Tilt-A-Whirl" and "little kid" rides "The Boats", "The Fire Engines" and "The Dune Buggies" (later some of the dune buggies were replaced with Jeeps.) The sign you said "should be in the museum", is from when Gillian's owned the water park. My all-time favorite "Wonderland" ride was from the early-mid 1970's called "Indy 500." The "track" was made of wood with strips of metal running the full oval of the track spaced about 16" apart, to give the race cars "electrification" to run. I always got (when available) Car #5, the silver metallic car, which I thought was the fastest!

[@Edub1281]

Such a shame to see it go spent my childhood there also brought my kids to make their own memories

[@spikebythesea]

If it wasn’t for beach replenishment, much of the boardwalk would probably be gone, including in front of the former Gillian’s Pier…In 1983 or so, the ocean water was squirting up through the spaces in between the boards on the boardwalk. You could jump into the ocean from the boardwalk!

[@jukingeo]

It is sad to see another amusement park closing down. I never been here and only found out about the place late on. From the looks of it, the owners are certainly preparing to shut things down permanently. However, most of the rides look to be still in tact. It might be that the park could be changing hands and they might be preparing for name and sign changes as that seems to be the biggest difference, so far. I guess we will see what happens next spring, or sooner, especially if the rides start disappearing.

[@dkrohnert2694]

The boardwalk will definitely NOT be the same without WONDERLAND 😭

[@Hierarchangel]

If I owned that property, I would shrink and rotate the front building 90 degrees so that kids on the boardwalk can see and walk right up to the rides. The problem to me is that it's just a building on the boardwalk, not a pier. Make it feel like a pier.

[@kathrynkathryn5493]

I'm sorry to say but the city/town of OC never really wanted amusements of any size, in my opinion. All I hope is that most of those Lovely "Whimsical" attributes you spoke of find good homes, along with all of those Wonderful Rides. A sad sight to see for sure. I'm actually very sad for the community. They will not realize what they have lost until the up-coming summers.😥😥😥

[@brianmiko3251]

What’s the name of the song/tune playing during the drone’s flight? My first memory of that place was in the early 80s. Possibly 83 or 84. I remember the block letters out front spinning and being up on the train when it first started moving and then everything opening up giving you that beautiful view of the ocean. I was with my parents. Sadly my dad is dying of cancer and seeing this being torn apart puts things into perspective of how I feel on the inside and to my dad’s declining health. That time in my life leaves a vivid picture that exists only in my memory.

[@triciat6143]

I am so sorry to hear. & the coincidence is so sad. My apologies

[@susan7204]

I think maybe they should make a museum there of the Merry-Go-Round, etc. Where could I buy the Wildwood ornaments for Christmas? You just have the t- shirts @ your store. 😘

[@WildwoodVideoArchive]

Hey! Here is the link thewildwoodboardwalk.etsy.com

[@mgmeo]

If I’m Moreys I have my engineers there inspecting every ride and seeing how they were maintained. If they’re in great shape, I buy every one of them and set them up as closely as possible on Hunts Pier and recreate as much as I can

[@catfromcatoonsart]

That carousel is my very first carousel. It should NOT be anywhere near the ocean at this point due to salt water corrosion. A park nearby should buy it, restore it and put it in a pavilion and then find a band organ for it. It is the fate for most antique carousels.

[@johnchambers8528]

The problem with keeping this property as an amusement park is its size. It is really small to try and make a profit on a seasonal basis. The company that owners the land most likely will want to redevelop it for either a resort hotel or some other type of commercial activity. Yes it has meaning to many people who visited but unless there is a way to convert this to a longer profitable business it can not service. Even at Wildwood the piers have changed or closed over the years. If it was not for the Morey operator of the piers there Wildwood would be going the same way as can be seen as many old motels ended up being destroyed and redeveloped.

[@j_2113]

The only ride I know that is up for sale right now is the Frisbee it is listed on ride trader and was offered to me to buy

[@WildwoodVideoArchive]

Nice catch. I didn’t see that. I was looking in new 2024 listings. Looks like it was put up early 2024 or late 2024

[@societyofamusementparkhistory]

@@WildwoodVideoArchiveit’s been for sale for awhile, personally i believe it was leased by Gillian’s and the owners are trying to sell it to get it off the property

[@j_2113]

@@societyofamusementparkhistory yeah it Is an independent that has it there he wanted to replace it with another ride but now he just wants to sell it 125,000 he told me 4 trailers to move it

[@danielmkubacki]

How sad.

[@nancpatterson5178]

Sad.

[@kevinkern4661]

👍🏼

[@jerseyharlot]

Playland should buy their monorail

[@rob5763]

Time will tell what effect this will have on tourism and summer cash for the city.

[@societyofamusementparkhistory]

The Bumper cars on the upper deck were not there closing weekend, must’ve pulled them out of storage as that ride has been closed a few years now.

[@Summerguy24]

Yeah, they're not saving that place. Thats prime ocean front real estate. Guarantee it gets subdivided for condos.

[@Cape-Dweller]

Icona will make the right deci$ion all right.

[@terrisyoutube1726]

Let's go

[@JosephGazzara]

Unfortunately just another victim of what happens when economic development happens too quickly. It’s great when values & revenues go up but when it becomes way cheaper to go to Italy or Greece for a week then what exactly are we trying to do here? These types of loved treasures can’t survive when it’s more expensive to go to the Jersey Shore for a week or two than to Disney or Europe. This is just the beginning…😢

[@Chrissygamer-zu2em]

Hi Joey cotino

[@datamack]

They need to turn it into a hotel with a big bar that serves drinks directly through a window onto the boardwalk

[@TheIcetemp]

Tough to do in a dry city

[@ginog5037]

Keep voting liberal folks that seems to be working. Bidenomics at its best. ****President Outlaw Warrior Garbage Trump 2024****

[@WildwoodVideoArchive]

That has nothing to do with what happened here.

[@gantmj]

You have to keep changing out rides for different things or you become less relevant.

[@davidharris8082]

Down size it..... if you want to add a hotel, do so BUT KEEP SOME RIDES TO KEEP THE HISTORICAL INTEGRITY OF THE AREA.... TOO MUCH HISTORY TO JUST GET RID OF AMUSEMENTS ALTOGETHER! HINT TO WILDWOOD NOT TO GO DOWN THIS ROAD PUT PLANNING IN PLACE SO A DEVELOPER CAN'T COME IN AND DESTROY HISTORY JUST FOR THE DOLLAR.... SEE YOU THIS SUMMER ⛱️

[@ralphschueler9437]

I think it's condo time De Pere the area there is dead in the summertime I've been there many times it's just dead condo time for sure

[@ctoph75]

Terrific grammar.

[@robertbeacham4314]

@@ctoph75. What’s a @ctoph75?

[@tomfrombrick]

​@@ctoph75this