Former Wonderland Pier site to reopen in scaled-down version

The sprawling facade of the former Wonderland Pier amusement park recently was repainted to spruce it up for the summer tourism season.

Next, a new arcade and pizzeria will open on the now-vacant Wonderland property to avoid having a “black hole” on the northern part of the Ocean City Boardwalk, the owner says.

However, the iconic amusement rides that remain on the site – including the 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel and the vintage carousel – will remain closed for the summer.

Owner Eustace Mita will open the arcade and pizzeria on Memorial Day weekend to have some attractions available to the public while he continues to develop longer-term plans for a 252-room luxury resort hotel in place of Wonderland Pier.

Mita, who lives in Ocean City, emphasized in an interview Friday that he didn’t want the high-profile property to look deserted or run-down during the bustling summer season.

“I’m a lifelong resident and the last thing I wanted to see as a citizen was a black hole on the northern end of the Boardwalk,” he said. “We wanted to have a new identity.”

Mita called plans for the arcade and pizzeria “a nice stopgap until we decide what we will do with the hotel.”

    Wonderland Pier's facade overlooking the Boardwalk at Sixth Street has been repainted to dress up its appearance for the summer season.
  

To prepare for the opening of the arcade and pizzeria, the former Wonderland Pier’s facade was repainted to give it a fresh appearance overlooking the Boardwalk at Sixth Street. The interior was also repainted.

“For myself and for the neighbors, I didn’t want to see it look like that,” Mita said of his decision not to leave the property empty.

The arcade will have all new games, he pointed out. The new pizzeria will replace the former Sixth Street Pizzeria that was part of the Wonderland complex. Mita said the new eatery will be called Ocean City Pizza.

“Believe it or not, I’ve never seen a place in Ocean City called Ocean City Pizza,” he said of his choice for the name.

Mita explained that he bought the rights to the names Ocean City Pizza and Ocean City Pizza Company.

More than a pizzeria, the eatery will also sell Boardwalk favorites such as cheesesteaks, chicken wings and tenders, French fries and funnel cake.

In the long term, Mita has far more extravagant plans for the former Wonderland property than arcade games and pizza.

Mita is the owner of the ICONA brand of upscale resorts at the Jersey Shore. Late last year, he unveiled plans in Ocean City for “ICONA at Wonderland,” a luxury resort hotel costing an estimated $150 million to develop.

The hotel complex would include 375 parking spaces tucked underneath the building. Amenities would include 10 to 12 retail shops clustered within a stylish promenade overlooking the Boardwalk.

    Eustace Mita makes a presentation in December 2024 on his hotel project while standing in front of a rendering.
  

Mita plans to ask City Council to rezone the Wonderland site to allow for hotel construction. Currently, that section of the Boardwalk is restricted to amusements, restaurants and retail shops.

Although he originally planned to appear before City Council in May, he now says he will likely present his hotel proposal to the governing body in July. He said he simply needs more time to put together crucial documents, including engineering studies and the hotel’s layout.

In pitching the project to the public, Mita has said it would help Ocean City to recover a large chunk of the nearly 2,000 hotel and motel rooms it has lost in the last 30 years because of the city’s evolution into more of a vacation market of condos and second homes.

Mita believes the hotel will be a tourist attraction all by itself.

“It actually seems to be the talk of South Jersey because of the size and scope of it,” he said. “It will become a tourist site, because people will come to see the hotel if they stay there or not.”

Local preservationists, though, want the site revived as a modern version of Wonderland Pier, complete with amusement rides and other family-friendly attractions.

In a nod to Wonderland, Mita plans to incorporate the former amusement park’s most iconic rides in the hotel project, including the Ferris wheel that towers over the Boardwalk, the historic carousel and the Wet Boats kiddie ride.

    An architectural rendering depicts the proposed "ICONA in Wonderland" resort hotel on the Ocean City Boardwalk.
  

Mita bought the Wonderland property in 2021 to save the financially troubled amusement park from a sheriff’s auction after Mayor Jay Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage.

The Gillian family had operated Wonderland for nearly 60 years. Despite Wonderland’s rich history and traditions, Jay Gillian closed the park last October amid its financial struggles.

Gillian will not be involved in the operations of the arcade and pizzeria when they open on Memorial Day weekend, Mita said. Gillian, though, offered advice for reopening the site for the summer in its scaled-down version. He was not paid, Mita said.

“Jay has been a total gentleman. He has been a great help to us as a courtesy,” Mita said.