Lighting plan for Ferris wheel seems dim, but not dead

Let there be light. Maybe.

A community group will try again to light up the mothballed Ferris wheel at the former Wonderland Pier amusement park on the Ocean City Boardwalk after the first attempt was less than, well, illuminating.

“From our perspective, it’s not dead because we think we can fix it,” said Bill Merritt, one of the founders of the group Ocean City 2050.

Merritt explained that the first attempt to brighten up the now-dark and idle Ferris wheel with 20 rotating laser lights fell short of expectations.

“On a scale of one to 10, it was a five or six. You couldn’t really see them because of the ambient light in town. The way they were set wasn’t that good,” he said of the lights.

Now, the plan is to increase the number of laser lights to 30 in the hope that the Ferris wheel will shine more brightly.

Ocean City 2050 has spent about $1,000 for the lights, cords and other equipment needed for the plan, Merritt said.

The group’s lighting plan has received the go-ahead from Eustace Mita, the hotel developer who bought the Wonderland Pier property in 2021 to save it from a sheriff’s sale after former owner Mayor Jay Gillian defaulted on an $8 million mortgage.

Gillian continued to operate Wonderland under Mita’s ownership, but closed the amusement park in October 2024 after years of financial difficulties.

Ocean City 2050 is one of the most prominent critics of Mita’s plan to build a $150 million luxury resort hotel in place of the former Wonderland site on the Boardwalk at Sixth Street. Mita has plans to incorporate the Ferris wheel within the hotel complex.

    An architectural rendering depicts the proposed hotel and the former Wonderland Pier Ferris wheel as part of the project.
  

Mita, owner of the ICONA brand of resort hotels at the Jersey Shore, is expected to appear at the Aug. 21 City Council meeting to ask the governing body to declare the former Wonderland site “in need of redevelopment” to fast-track the zoning approvals for his proposed 252-room project.

Ocean City 2050, part of a coalition of community groups opposing the hotel, believes that the project would be too big and simply would not fit in with the family-friendly atmosphere of the Boardwalk.

Instead, Ocean City 2050 has proposed a competing plan, called “Wonderland Commons,” that would feature a smaller, more compact amusement park, a digital entertainment center, public attractions such as a band shell for live music, and a low-rise boutique hotel.

But despite their differences, Mita is allowing Ocean City 2050 to try to liven up the Ferris wheel with decorative lighting for the rest of the summer season.

For years, the 140-foot-tall Ferris wheel served as the signature attraction at Wonderland Pier and was one of the dominant landmarks along the Ocean City skyline.

Ocean City 2050 believes that its lighting plan would be a relatively simple and inexpensive way to revive an iconic symbol of the Boardwalk’s family-friendly charm and vitality.

“This small effort could make a big difference – restoring a beloved symbol of Ocean City and bringing joy to countless families who look to the Ferris wheel as part of their Boardwalk experience,” Merritt said.

So far, the lighting plan has been disappointing.

“We tried to light the giant wheel up, but it just didn’t work,” Gillian said during the Aug. 7 City Council meeting.

“Can we give it one more shot? Because we have a way to fix it,” Merritt said to Gillian at the meeting.

“You’ll have to talk to Eustace about that,” Gillian replied, referring to Mita.

    Bill Merritt, a founder of the community group Ocean City 2050, has been addressing City Council for months about the future of the Wonderland Pier property.
  

In an interview this week, Merritt said Ocean City 2050 plans to reach out to Mita again about the lighting plan. He expressed confidence that the plan will ultimately work.

“I think we can get into a good spot,” he said.

Merritt recalled the impact that the Ferris wheel had on a little girl who was on the Boardwalk with her mother when the laser lights were first being installed for a test run.

“That kid’s eyes lit up. She said, ‘Is it open? Can I go for a ride?’” Merritt said of how excited the little girl was about the Ferris wheel.