LBI's Fantasy Island Reopening Creates Challenges, Optimism

BEACH HAVEN, NJ — Fantasy Island Amusement Park, and other outdoor attractions in New Jersey, finally received Governor Phil Murphy's approval to reopen. Matt Freed, Fantasy Island's general manager, had mixed emotions about the timeline.

Freed felt relieved to find out Tuesday that Fantasy Island could reopen this summer and when that would happen. But Murphy's decision to let them reopen next Thursday — nine days after the governor's initial announcement — gave the amusement park a lot of work to do in little time, Freed says.

Outdoor boardwalk games open Friday from 4-11 p.m., while outdoor amusements and rides open daily starting Thursday with the same hours. The arcade will also open Thursday and operate daily from noon to midnight.

"It’s a relief to know that we’re going to open for sure," Freed told Patch on Wednesday. "It was always frustrating when we were playing the waiting game and the guessing game. I guess no matter when they announced the opening, we were hoping we would have more notice or more time to prepare."

Fantasy Island Amusement Park's full opening signals summer's approach as much as anything on Long Beach Island. But the park's year has been atypical even for non-coronavirus reasons.

The Ice Cream Parlor caught fire the night of March 29. Firefighters responded quickly, and no one was hurt. The ice cream parlor won't function this summer.

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"We have a brand new deck we built, ramp access to bathrooms and everything before that," Freed said. "We were able to finish that part of the original plan. The inside wasn’t able to be renovated in time."

Then there's the aspect of hiring. Fantasy Island employs close to 200 people per year, Freed says. They enjoy employing about 40 J1 international students each summer, according to Freed. But that can't happen this year because of travel restrictions.

And the longer the state delayed its opening, the more difficult it was to keep people interested in working there.

"To even guarantee that they would have a job this summer without us being able to confirm that we would open (made things difficult)," Freed said. "You’re looking at maybe six, seven hours of training per person that we employ at the park, and there’s all that time to make up for."

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But Freed feels positive about the future. The park has a new kiddie ride that will be ready for state inspection soon. They also replaced their old scrambler with a new one. Its addition has been delayed, but they hope it can get installed this summer.

Perhaps the Ice Cream Parlor best represents the mindset at Fantasy Island. They can't fully predict its end result, but they have every reason to feel optimistic.

"We didn’t put any definite plans together because of all the unknowns this year," Freed said. "But I think anyone that’s been to the park the past few years knows that something great will come of it."

Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know

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