An Orange County icon has changed hands! Balboa Fun Zone, the beloved entertainment complex located at 600 E. Bay Ave. on Newport Beach’s Balboa Peninsula, has been a local landmark – not to mention frequent film star – ever since it was first established over eight decades ago. But, like so many places across the world, the Covid-19 pandemic hit the site hard, forcing a nearly year-long shuttering of many of its attractions that resulted in beleaguered owner, Discovery Cube, listing it for sale last December at an undisclosed price. The property was picked up just six months later by the OC-based Chartwell Real Estate Development company and escrow closed September 1. While the sales price is also undisclosed, a quick check of property records reveals it to be a cool $21 million. Lars Platt and Joseph Lising of Cushman & Wakefield represented Discovery Cube, while Bob Thagard and Matthew Godman, also of Cushman & Wakefield, backed Chartwell.
Perched along 212 feet of idyllic Newport Bay waterfront, the historic mixed-use development was the brainchild of Al Anderson, who, in 1936, built a small fun park on leased land that originally housed a boatyard. The Fun Zone has since become part of the framework of the city, touching the lives of generation after generation of both OC locals and tourists alike.
Gary Sherwin, president and CEO of Visit Newport Beach, told Spectrum News 1, “Of all the places in Orange County, this place is the embodiment, the essence of the Orange County experience. You’re strolling along the boardwalk, enjoying the weather on a summer night, grabbing a dessert, and hopping on the Ferris wheel or one of the other rides. This is our own mini Coney Island. There is a Southern California feel to it. People from all around the world come here.”
And now, thanks to Chartwell, the Fun Zone is entering a new phase!
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Image Credit: Cushman & Wakefield Encompassing 0.79 acres of land, Balboa Fun Zone is rather diminutive when compared to Southern California’s other amusement parks (Disneyland measures in at a whopping 500 acres), but is chock full of family fun nonetheless. The bustling boardwalk complex boasts a multitude of attractions including a Ferris wheel, several rides, an arcade/game room, 16,660 square feet of mixed-use space, a parking garage and a 25-slip marina with 775 linear feet for docking.
Though the site has undergone numerous renovations over the years, most notably in 1986 when it was torn down and completely rebuilt by then-owner Jordan Wank, it has managed to retain its nostalgic charm. As a 1988 Los Angeles Times article stated, “The Balboa Fun Zone, even with its recent facelift, is one of the country’s delightful anachronisms. Still small, still fairly garish yet unpretentious, it has over the decades resisted growth (if not change) to remain a traditional pocket of innocent fun where, if your hand is steady and your aim is good, you can still win a fuzzy green worm or a teddy bear.”
That sentiment largely holds true today, even after the Newport Harbor Nautical Museum drastically revamped the complex upon purchasing it in 2005, first removing the bumper cars and Scary Dark Ride, and then eventually the carousel in order to transform most of the interior space into a maritime-inspired gallery, much to the chagrin of longtime fans.
When Discovery Cube acquired the property in 2017, the museum was replaced with Ocean Quest, an educational facility for kids and adults alike. The attraction barely had time to get off the ground, though, when the pandemic hit. In December, Discovery Cube CEO Joe Adams told The Orange County Register, “With COVID, we’ve been closed since March 16. We’re a place for children to learn hands-on and a place for people to hear lectures; without the revenue we would generate, it’s clamped down on our abilities to keep going.”
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Image Credit: Cushman & Wakefield Though the sale had OC residents worried the complex might be demolished to make way for a more profitable development, Chartwell’s Operating Partner and longtime Newport Beach denizen Henry Pyle has promised his company will be “good stewards of the Balboa Fun Zone legacy,” telling the Los Angeles Times that the site is “one of the most iconic landmarks in Newport Beach and, for sure, on Newport Harbor. My dad grew up in the 1960s on Balboa Island, going to the Fun Zone. Then, I grew up on Balboa Island . . . in the ‘90s. It has an incredibly special place in our hearts and incredible historic relevance for the city of Newport Beach.”
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Image Credit: Cushman & Wakefield The Fun Zone also has quite a significant historic relevance on both the big and small screen, popping up in countless productions over the years, most famously on the 21st season of “The Bachelor.”
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Image Credit: Facebook In the second episode of the season, serial Bachelor Nick Viall took suitor Danielle Maltby to Newport Beach for his first one-on-one date, which culminated with a ride on the Fun Zone’s famed Ferris wheel. Per the attraction’s official Facebook page, the shoot required a “four-hour prep for 45 seconds of airtime” and “there was more security than if the President himself were there.”
Fun fact – there are actually two Ferris wheels that spin at the Balboa Fun Zone. The structures, both Big Eli #5s – one built in 1977, the other in 1985 – get swapped out every four years and refurbished during their “off time.” The exchange takes about three days to complete and allows the attraction to remain in constant tip-top shape, always ready for its close-up.
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Image Credit: Atlantic Records Other productions to feature Balboa Fun Zone include INXS’ 1988 “Devil Inside” music video, which was directed by Joel Schumacher of “The Lost Boys,” “Falling Down” and “Phone Booth” fame. Filming took place at the arcade, on the carousel and at Balboa Saloon, though due to dark, tight shots not much of the complex can be seen onscreen.
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Image Credit: Disney-ABC The Fun Zone masks as the Mahone Bay ferry landing in the 1999 Disney family comedy “The Thirteenth Year.”
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Image Credit: Warner Bros. Television While the complex’s Ferris wheel is not where Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) and Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) famously kissed for the first time on “The O.C.” (that location was just a set), the Fun Zone did appear occasionally in establishing shots on the popular Fox series, including in the season two episode titled “The Brothers Grim.”
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Image Credit: Glassnote Island Childish Gambino’s “3005” music video, on the other hand, did make use of the Fun Zone Ferris wheel. In fact, the video takes place in its entirety on the ride.
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Image Credit: HGTV Claire and Nick take a spin on the wheel while discussing buying a residence in the area in the 2018 episode of “House Hunters” titled “Orange County Blues.”
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Image Credit: Bravo Debra Newell (Connie Britton) and John Meehan (Eric Bana) visit the Balboa Fun Zone during an early date in the season one episode of “Dirty John” titled “Approachable Dreams.”
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Image Credit: Bravo And Rick Leventhal took then-fiance Kelly Dodd and her daughter, Jolie, to the site in the season 15 episode of “The Real Housewives of Orange County” titled “An Unexpected Secret.” While there, the trio rode the Ferris wheel, discussed their first kisses and stopped by Kelly’s psychic, where Rick got an impromptu reading.