Carnival by the Sea would be the name for an array of family-style amusements and attractions proposed on the northern end of the Ocean City Boardwalk. (Image courtesy of Friends of OCNJ History & Culture)
Arcades, rotating carnivals, light shows, giant board games, themed dance parties, concerts, movie nights, a dog park, a farmers market and even a “Council Person Dunk Tank” – essentially, something for everybody.
While the shuttered Wonderland Pier property remains a veritable ghost town on the Boardwalk, there is no shortage of ideas for other attractions to draw families and tourists to Ocean City starting next summer.
The latest plan to revive the north end of the Boardwalk in place of Wonderland is collectively being called the “Carnival by the Sea.” It is described by its proponents as “a dazzling and changing mix of attractions that come alive day and night.”
The community group Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, one of the primary supporters of maintaining the Boardwalk with Wonderland-style family amusements, solicited ideas from the public for new types of tourist attractions.
Bill Merritt, president of Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, presented City Council with plans for the Carnival by the Sea in hopes of gaining support from the governing body for the overall concept.
“It’s a way to kind of give people more reasons to continue to visit Ocean City. The closure of Wonderland is going to be an issue for a lot of folks. We know it’s closed, we know it’s gone, and now were just talking about what goes up there instead,” Merritt told the Council members at their Dec. 19 meeting.
The Carnival by the Sea would be nestled around the Wonderland Pier property as an “ever-changing venue (that) has been reimagined as a vibrant hub of family-friendly fun and entertainment,” according to the concept.
Bill Merritt, president of the community group Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, has been addressing City Council for months about the future of the Wonderland Pier property.Ocean City residents, visitors and others proposed the ideas to Friends of OCNJ History & Culture on Facebook. Friends of OCNJ compiled the ideas and even ranked them on a scale of 1 to 10 to indicate the ones that would be the easiest and hardest to implement.
“I think it’s a really good list of stuff. Some of it’s going to be things that you may have heard of before. There’s a bunch of things that are brand new,” Merritt told Council.
Merritt joked that he was “a particular fan of the Councilman dunk tank, but that’s just me.”
Indeed, one idea is to have a “Council Person Dunk Tank” as an amusement. Movies, concerts, arcades, car shows, dance parties, giant board games, a dog park, a farmers market and rotating carnivals were among the suggestions.
Some other ideas include kiddie rides, street performers, a climbing wall, a portable skating rink, food trucks, chili cook-offs, art shows, kite-flying contests, sandcastle sculpting, scavenger hunts and stargazing nights.
“Most of us have never seen the Boardwalk without Wonderland. So, we have no data of how that is going to function without Wonderland,” Merritt said of the amusement park’s nearly 60-year history.
“So, as Council thinks about what to do with that parcel, this will give you data because it’s going to tell you what type of things draw people up to the Boardwalk. Is it food, is it shopping, is it entertainment, is it some combination thereof?” he told Council.
The gates are pulled down on Wonderland Pier's now-closed front entrance overlooking the Boardwalk at Sixth Street.The iconic Wonderland Pier had been operated by Mayor Jay Gillian’s family since 1965 at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk. Gillian closed it down for good on Oct. 13 after years of financial struggles.
Hotel developer Eustace Mita invested in Wonderland in 2021 to save it from a sheriff’s auction after Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage. Mita, who owns the property, has unveiled plans to develop a 252-room luxury hotel resort costing $135 million to $155 million.
City officials are mulling Mita’s request to declare the Wonderland site “in need of redevelopment” to permit hotel construction in an area of the Boardwalk that currently only allows amusements, retail shops and restaurants.
In the meantime, recognizing the potential loss of foot traffic on the northern end of the Boardwalk caused by Wonderland’s closing, city officials are also kicking around ideas for turning the beach at Sixth Street into some type of family attraction.
At the Dec. 5 Council meeting, Councilman Keith Hartzell proposed creating a massive children’s playground on the Sixth Street beach. He wants the city to build the playground in time for the 2025 summer season.
City Business Administrator George Savastano told Council at the Dec. 19 meeting that Mayor Gillian’s administration is considering its options for the beach area between Fifth and Sixth streets for next summer.
“The city has been working on this for months on what we’re going to do there. So, this has not been something that has been ignored. We have been working on it. That’s our job,” Savastano said.
Savastano noted that the city’s Department of Community Services will be prepared sometime after the first of the year to unveil those plans to Council and the public.
Architectural rendering of Eustace Mita's proposed luxury resort hotel on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
