Jersey Shore Amusement Pier closure prompts online ticket sales

A cottage industry has sprung up online after Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City announced they are closing for good in the fall.

Ride tickets, or credits as the park refers to them on their website, are still valid for use at the pier for the next few months and are being sold on social media at deep discounts.

Jay Gillian, owner of Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, announced Friday that he is closing the park after 94 years, citing business conditions that have made operations untenable.

Gillian, whose family owned and operated the iconic Wonderland Pier at the north end of the Ocean City Boardwalk, is also the mayor of Ocean City.

Ticket ads and deals abound on Facebook. Some offered their tickets at half price, while others offered higher discounts.

One person advertised a batch of five $50 ticket cards, a $250 value for just $100.

Another person advertised 429 half price tickets for $214. Prices online vary from person to person, but they seem to sell quickly.

Rides at Wonderland Pier run between four and six tickets per ride, with the Ferris Wheel, MonoRail and log flume requiring six tickets or credits.

The park advertises $1 per credit with increased savings for higher totals of up to 250 credits for $200.

Most people selling tickets offered to meet buyers at Guest Services to check the amount of tickets left on the cards.

A manager at Wonderland Pier did not immediately return a request for comment about the secondary ticket market Thursday. Gillian could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Since Gillian announced the closure of Wonderland Pier, questions have been raised about the ultimate fate of the property.

A Change.org petition was launched Aug. 11 to garner support for the pier’s future and has 367 signatures Thursday toward its goal of 500.

Eustace Mita, who entered into a partnership with Gillian and bought the boardwalk property for $10 million in 2021, just before it was auctioned at a sheriff’s sale, said Friday that he is evaluating his next step.

“As far as the future goes, Wonderland is a landmark in Ocean City and Cape May County,” Mita told NJ Advance Media on Friday. “We will take until the end of the year to assess what is best for the city and what is best for this iconic site. It deserves first-class treatment from us, and that’s how we intend to approach it.”

One of the most creative statements of support for saving the remnants of the amusement park involved the Pier Ferris Wheel, an Ocean City landmark.

Posts on social media wondered what would happen to the iconic ride. A pair of surfers took a picture of themselves holding a sign on the water that read “Save Ferris” with the ride in the background.