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The iconic Gillian’s Wonderland Pier, a family-run amusement park on Ocean City’s boardwalk for 94 years, plans to close after this summer due to financial hardship, the owner announced Friday.
Read more from NJ.com.
I took a look at archive photos and it seemed to be in pretty good shape. Their concentration is on the figures, naturally, but to me they aren’t always the most interesting part of the machine. (I like the structure, rounding boards, etc.) The structure looks a little less elaborate than a lot of PTC’s from what I can see.
Our Ohio Expo Center is planning a permanent installation of some sort for around ‘26 and I’m on the lookout. This piece, if available, would be awesome but also ultra expensive. Plus a PTC from New Jersey says nothing about Ohio and I have a feeling their ride will be themed to Ohioana. Modern carousels are creative if not cartoonish and maybe Mansfield’s Carousel Works (are they All Around Carousels now?) would be a likely source for a small installation. They make a cardinal figure, so there’s a start.
And so I still worry about #75.
Of the parks I regularly visit, Waldameer is the one I most wish had a proper wooden carousel. They famously sold their carousel (which had some very rare figures) in the 1980s in order to build the water park. This was obviously the sensible thing to do and probably saved the park, but it's still sad. Plus, given how well they're doing now, it seems like they could afford a better carousel.
Dutchman, you're not wrong, but I actually kind of appreciate that posts about fiberglass carousels are treated kindly in the NCA group. It avoids alienating people who like carousels but don't yet have the discriminating eye that a carousel enthusiast develops. Hopefully the people who excitedly post a picture of a Chance carousel with replica figures will eventually stick around in the group long enough to learn more about historic carousels.
Add to it the latest news for the family
Roy Gillian has passed away. Such a hard time for this family.
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