Playland prepares for first season as only amusement park on Ocean City Boardwalk

No one at Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk is sure what the summer of 2025 will look like, especially with the closing of the other major amusement park in town. Staff say they’re trying to make room for the expected crowds.

Brian Hartley, the vice president at Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk, talks about new rides, a nearly completed arcade and plans to return the iconic pirate ship to the top of the new building years after a fire.

Brian Hartley, the vice president at Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk, talks about new rides, a nearly completed arcade and plans to return the iconic pirate ship to the top of the new building years after a fire.

New rides are planned for Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk this summer. This week, crews were readying for the summer of 2025, set to include the reopening of the arcade and the return of the huge pirate ship on the roof.

Brian Hartley, the vice president at Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk, talks about new rides, a nearly completed arcade and plans to return the iconic pirate ship to the top of the new building years after a fire.

Brian Hartley, the vice president at Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk, talks about new rides, a nearly completed arcade and plans to return the iconic pirate ship to the top of the new building years after a fire.

Brian Hartley, the vice president at Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk, sits on a steel beam in place for the planned return of a pirate ship for the roof of the rebuilt arcade.

New rides are planned for Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk this summer. This week, crews were readying for the summer of 2025, set to include the reopening of the arcade and the return of the huge pirate ship on the roof.

New rides are planned for Playland/Castaway Cove on the Ocean City Boardwalk this summer. This week, crews were readying for the summer of 2025, set to include the reopening of the arcade and the return of the huge pirate ship on the roof.

OCEAN CITY — Workers swarmed Playland's Castaway Cove on the Boardwalk on Tuesday morning, taking delivery of a new ride and prepping the rest for the start of the summer of 2025.

March is always a busy time for the amusement park, but this year is busier than usual.

In addition to the new rides, the park plans to reopen an arcade destroyed in a winter fire four years ago, to include the return of a beloved pirate ship on the Boardwalk and, eventually, a rooftop roller coaster.

Then there is the still-unknown impact of becoming the only amusement park in the city with the closing of Gillian's Wonderland a few blocks away.

Playland’s sales team has already heard concerns that the park will be overwhelmed with business this summer.

Brian Hartley, Playland’s vice president, is not sure what’s going to happen, but he said the crews are getting ready.

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“We’re moving rides,” he said. “We’re trying to create some more walking area in here to try to make it a little more comfortable for people, but we really don’t know what to expect.”

The Simpson family started Playland in 1959 and expanded into the area between The Flanders Hotel and the Boardwalk in the 1990s. That had been the site of a large salt water pool.

Crews were unloading what Hartley described as a breakdance ride this week, and another, a helicopter ride known as Wind Star, was delivered earlier in the season.

Gillian downplays Wonderland impact at Ocean City town hall

While Mayor Jay Gillian touted drainage projects and infrastructure improvements at a town hall meeting this week, residents still wanted to talk about the future of Wonderland.

The greatest interest has been whether the pirate ship would return, Hartley said. That was a big question after the fire in January 2021.

That fire, attributed to an electrical problem, destroyed a building that included the Playland offices and an arcade. It has taken years of planning to get it ready to reopen this year, with additional storage and offices upstairs and games at the Boardwalk level. Plans are to lift the new pirate ship into place with a crane in April, a process Hartley expects will draw a great deal of attention.

On the Boardwalk side, there will be a Dairy Queen and an additional retail area on either side of the arcade.

All of the former games were destroyed in the fire. A line of new games are in place, including Skee-Ball and other physical games, along with some video games from Jilly’s, another Boardwalk arcade.

A number of rides remain wrapped in blue plastic for the winter. Hartley said they spend millions of dollars on maintenance and upgrades each winter, with some rides stripped apart to be refinished to counter the corrosive effect of salt air on steel.

“It’s a constant, constant grind. Everybody kind of thinks we roll the doors down on Columbus Day weekend and we all take a long vacation until spring,” Hartley said.

Plans for the former Wonderland call for a new hotel, preserving some of the iconic rides. The proposal has been controversial. The Boardwalk Merchants Association recently voted in support of the still-unofficial proposal by a wide margin, but Hartley said Playland was not taking a public position.

“We don’t want to overstep,” he said, adding the Boardwalk needs entertainment.

Extensive work remains on the arcade, on the rides and inside the offices upstairs in the new building. Hartley has no doubt everything will be ready for the season, even if it looks chaotic now.