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May their pirate ship come back bigger and better!

Glad to hear that it was contained to one building and that they have a contingency plan for this year. I know those boardwalk fires can get out of control, especially in the winter so nice job firefighters.

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Also, in more bad amusement related news coming out of Ocean City this week (posting here as I don't believe we have a Gillians thread):

Gillian's Wonderland Pier in Ocean City ordered to be put up for auctionimage.thumb.png.14552be4424c962abc00570cf73bb28b.png
https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/gillians-wonderland-pier-in-ocean-city-ordered-to-be-put-up-for-auction

OCEAN CITY — The Cape May County sheriff last Thursday ordered Gillian’s Wonderland Pier to be put up for auction, though its owner says that is not happening.

Court documents confirm the Boardwalk amusement pier, owned by Mayor Jay Gillian, defaulted on $8 million in loans.

In the report, Gillian said he has secured financing for the property, and it will not be put up for auction.

“We want to reassure our loyal guests that Wonderland Pier will be open for business, as usual, for the upcoming 2021 season,” Gillian said in a Facebook post Monday. “We look forward to another WONDERful summer in America’s Greatest Family Resort.”

Gillian did not respond to a request from The Press for comment.

The park has been owned and operated by the Gillian family since 1929.

Much of the pier’s debt was accrued before the COVID-19 pandemic. A Sept. 17 court filing in the state Superior Court’s Office of Foreclosure shows GILMACO Inc., the company owned by the Gillians, owes First Priority Bank about $8 million in mortgage debt, and has owed at least $7.3 million of it since 2019. Over the following two years, GILMACO took out additional loans, bringing the amount owed over $8 million.

The $7.3 million, mentioned in the first count of the civil complaint, was due Aug. 25, 2019, after GILMACO had failed to pay the most recent principal payment of $100,000. With the lack of payment, First Priority Bank claims it is entitled to possession of the property.


 

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57 minutes ago, coasterbill said:

I feel like the guy Gillian’s hired to set the park on fire and make it look like an accident for the insurance money put the wrong place into the GPS.

"Damn it, I told you to go to the park with the bigger and rustier Ferris wheel!"

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7 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I feel like the guy Gillian’s hired to set the park on fire and make it look like an accident for the insurance money put the wrong place into the GPS.

Took the words out of my mouth.

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  • 1 year later...

Stopped in Ocean City on my way into Wildwood tonight. Since I still hadn't been to Gillians, we headed there first. I knew there were no new coasters for me to ride (I'm not enough of a whore to pay $7 to ride a Wacky Worm or a powered Dragon Coaster) but figured I could check out the Ferris Wheel and Log Flume and walk around a bit.

Upon arrival, the first thing I see is a giant sign on the ticket booth saying "Log Flume closed." Well...balls. We ended up getting $20 worth of tickets so we could both ride the Ferris Wheel and then I could ride something else. When we walked out back the first thing my wife said was "it looks like a permanent carnival." We got on the Ferris Wheel which might be the slowest moving one I've ever ridden. It only goes around 3 times since it takes about a minute to go around. The prison bars make it very difficult to get pictures, and the slowness of the thing just made me way more nervous than I usually be on one of these. 

Used the rest of my credits on the Frisbee which didn't swing much and took a while to get going. Just felt real janky and also had Jesus quotes written all over it for added effect. This whole place was so f*cking weird.

Headed down the boardwalk to Castaway Cove which felt like Islands of Adventure in comparison. Been here a few times and there was nothing new, so just got a Gale Force pass as there's no way I can drive past it on the way to Wildwood without stopping to ride it. Unlike last year when the queue house was totally full and I waited 45 minutes, there was only a 2 cycle wait this time. Ended up with the front row, and as usual this wacky thing totally delivered. Although I have a soft spot for Nitro (especially in January), this very well may be the best steel coaster in New Jersey. The insane ejector, fun positives, whippy twists, wacky transitions, and glass smooth experience make for an A+ ride and I still can't believe a tiny seaside park has a ride like this. 

Grabbed a slice from Manco & Manco on the way out (make sure you get a slice there when in Ocean City) and completed the trip down the Parkway. I know Wildwood is the big star on the shore for adrenaline junkies, but don't ever drive through without stopping to ride Gale Force.

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1 hour ago, Zand said:

Stopped in Ocean City on my way into Wildwood tonight. Since I still hadn't been to Gillians, we headed there first. I knew there were no new coasters for me to ride (I'm not enough of a whore to pay $7 to ride a Wacky Worm or a powered Dragon Coaster) but figured I could check out the Ferris Wheel and Log Flume and walk around a bit.

Upon arrival, the first thing I see is a giant sign on the ticket booth saying "Log Flume closed." Well...balls. We ended up getting $20 worth of tickets so we could both ride the Ferris Wheel and then I could ride something else. When we walked out back the first thing my wife said was "it looks like a permanent carnival." We got on the Ferris Wheel which might be the slowest moving one I've ever ridden. It only goes around 3 times since it takes about a minute to go around. The prison bars make it very difficult to get pictures, and the slowness of the thing just made me way more nervous than I usually be on one of these. 

Used the rest of my credits on the Frisbee which didn't swing much and took a while to get going. Just felt real janky and also had Jesus quotes written all over it for added effect. This whole place was so f*cking weird.

I, for one, was enough of a whore to spend $7 for the Wacky Worm haha.  And you should've checked out their so-bad-its-good-not-really dark ride, aptly called "Dark Ride."

Did you ride Squadron 33 at Castaway Cove?  That thing is nuts.

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I did ride it a couple years ago and liked it a lot, although I wish I would've visited when Tropical Storm was still there. And I guess I'll have to try "Dark Ride" when I go back to (hopefully) ride the Flume next year. I walked past it yesterday and almost did that but decided to use the rest of my credits on the shitty Frisbee instead haha. At least I can make up for it with an It marathon today. Maybe I will whore myself out to the Wacky Worm too if I'm desperate.

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  • 1 year later...

Not sure if there's a Gillian's thread somewhere way back (tried searching, no luck so figured I'd post it here).

Gillians just announced that they are closing at the end of this summer. Obviously it's the significantly worse of the two Ocean City parks, but it will be strange not seeing that large Ferris Wheel on the ride in (assuming it isn't too rusty to take down).

I will actually be down there this weekend and hope to finally get the Flume credit that I didn't get last time and maybe check out the Dark Ride.

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Made my annual Gale Force stop in Ocean City tonight, but of course most of the focus was on Gillian's. I popped over to Gale Force first and that thing just blows me away every time. I wish it wasn't such a shitshow when it first opened because they should be building these everywhere and not Sky Rockets. It just blows me away that a top 3 coaster in NJ is located in a dinky seaside park behind an arcade and candy store.

Went down to Gillians during their $25 Sunday evening wristband promotion and only had time for four rides because it was actually really damn busy! Frisbee and Music Express were the only major things I saw closed down although there were a couple kiddie rides also down. 

Started with the Flume which was closed last time I was there, and I was blown away at how much character this thing has and I'm really sad that it may not be long for the world. It's not Zoom Phloom quality, but the job they did shoehorning it into the corner of the park with a good amount of theming was really cool. This has a good 15 minute wait.

The Dark Ride was next which had an even longer wait. And all I have to say is, what in the f*ck was that? This thing is up there with the Pirate Coaster for worst ripoff on the Jersey Shore. Like...you go back and forth in a rather brightly lit room with weird pictures, make a couple turns, and all of a sudden you're popping out the exit wondering where your $5 and the past 25 minutes of your life went. Good riddance to this stupid thing lol.

Waited two trains to whore the Wacky Worm in order to fulfill my wife's mission of getting every Wacky Worm credit in existence. I love how ghetto this thing is, especially when the op has to push the train out of the station in order to start the ride.

Final ride was a nearly 20 minute wait for the monorail Thomas train whatever the f*ck that thing is ride. The line filled the switchbacks and went down the ramp and they weren't exactly quick about it, although I got to see many performances by Gillian's own version of the Country Bears. It was actually a nice little tour of the whole park on the inside and outside and cool to have something like this in a little boardwalk park.

This place is undoubtedly a dump but I was kind of sad walking out knowing how many generations of people walked through those doors and those times are coming to an end. I'm glad that they're able to finish out the year so that people can check it out one more time.

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