A new Ocean City Boardwalk attraction filled with bounce houses, slides and a small rock-climbing wall will open on Saturday (May 10).
Boardwalk Bounce staged a test run Thursday for a group of local children who had the run of the 5,000-square-foot facility at Ninth Street and the Boardwalk.
Construction crews worked through the winter and spring to convert part of the Strand theater into the new indoor attraction. The renovated space features a viewing area for parents with free WiFi access and service for food and drink concessions.
The attraction caters to children ages 2 to 12 and includes a special Candy Playland for toddlers.
Carter Madden, 2, enjoys the fun during a soft opening of Boardwalk Bounce on Thursday, May 8.
Weekend hours starting May 10 are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Boardwalk Bounce will open seven days a week after Memorial Day Weekend. Off-season pricing (until June 21) is $8 per hour.
The project marks a milestone in the transformation of a property that first opened as a theater in the 1930s. In the age of the cinema multiplex, the small-town theater had been in decline even before Superstorm Sandy flooded the building in October 2012.
A local investment group had recently purchased the property, and they gutted it to remediate for mold, ultimately restoring two of the cinema’s five screens. Boardwalk Bounce fills the remaining space at the Strand. The Strand's two remaining movie theaters will open for the 2014 season on Memorial Day Weekend.
A seating area for parents includes free WiFi access and coffee and food concessions with wait service.
The Strand’s sister property, the Moorlyn Family Theatre, a block away on Moorlyn Terrace, was renovated by the Ocean City Tabernacle as a venue for movies, live shows and community events. The two properties now provide a hub of family entertainment at the heart of Ocean City’s Boardwalk.
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