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The Balboa Auto Ferry carries passengers and cars 900 feet (270 m) from nearby Balboa Island to the Balboa Fun Zone. It operates 20 hours a day during the summer months and transports an estimated 1.6 million passengers per year. The small ferry which transports three automobiles and up to about
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The 130-foot (40 m) long
Catalina Flyer passenger ferry ship also operates out of the Pavilion located in the Balboa Fun Zone. With room for 500 passengers and having a top speed of 32 knots, the Flyer arrives in the City of Avalon on Catalina Island in only 75 minutes from departure. This is
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The Fun Zone was built in 1936 by Al
Anderson featuring a small beach and a 45’ Ferris Wheel as the main attractions. In 1986, Jordan Wank rebuilt the entire area and re-opened it. In 1988, Doo & Sons owned the Balboa Fun Zone, but they walked away after not receiving zoning permits to develop
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In 1994, the Balboa Fun Zone was purchased by former employee Joe
Tunstall. The Fun Zone consisted of a newly restored Carousel purchased in 1985, a #5 Eli Ferris Wheel, bumper cars, Drummer Boy, and the Scary Dark Ride. There were also a few souvenir shops, restaurants, and tour boat companies
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Ocean Motion is an 18’ tall bungee ride that allows people to jump and flip through the air in complete safety, the ride Happy Swing is an automatic swing which can hold up to six people, and
Coconut Climb, multiple fake coconut trees with holds for Balboa Fun Zone guests to race on.
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In
September 2021, Chartwell Real Estate Development purchased the area from OceanQuest after the company ran into financial struggle during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chartwell real estate under the Pyle family, the company seeks to further the revitalization of the Balboa Fun Zone.
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In 2013, the Balboa Fun Zone underwent a major renaissance with the addition of three rides owned and operated by Fun Zone
Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of ExplorOcean. They include Ocean Motion, Fish Pipe, and Burt the Bull Shark.
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The greater Balboa Fun Zone area also includes the Balboa
Village which consists of more retail shops, restaurants, several saloons, a boutique hotel, the Balboa Pier, the beach, and the boardwalks along both the beach and the harbor fronts.
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is a frequently photographed night landmark on the Balboa
Peninsula. The Balboa Fun Zone was purchased in December, 2005 by NHNM Property Holdings, LLC with plans to renovate the existing building, boardwalk, and waterfront.
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built in 1905, several souvenir stores, and a boardwalk. The nearby Balboa
Theater on Balboa Boulevard is set to be renovated by the Balboa Theater Foundation in 2014.
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The Balboa Fun Zone also features a raised patio open to the public offering views of
Newport Harbor. The patio is handicap accessible from East Bay Avenue.
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in the Fun Zone. "On my right.... was a small sandy beach, a few feet beyond it the color and movement of the Balboa Fun Zone." In 1998, Japanese musician
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In 2016, ExplorOcean merged with Discovery Cube Orange County forming OceanQuest adding new attractions and updating the property.
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the property into a mixed use of retail and housing. The property languished for several years and the area went into decline.
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offers both an ocean and harbor experience for an estimated seven million annual visitors to Newport Beach.
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Maritime Reporter, August 1988 "Outstanding shallow-draft passenger vessels", accessed 13 October 2016
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Tourists and residents can still enjoy harbor cruises and old-fashioned arcades on the boardwalk. The
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recorded the music video for his song 3005 entirely on the Ferris wheel here.
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The Fun Zone has restaurants such as the iconic Cape Cod style
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Buildings and structures in Newport Beach, California
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the largest passenger ferry boat on the west coast.
956:Tourist attractions in Orange County, California
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310:In 1959, Richard Prather set parts of his book
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326:. In 2013, American hip hop recording artist
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272:offering boat rides and narrated cruises.
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
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239:is a family destination located on the
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52:Please improve this article by adding
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318:filmed the music video for his song "
621:Newport-Mesa Unified School District
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699:Newport Beach Wooden Boat Festival
689:Millennial Choirs & Orchestras
350:100 people per three-minute trip.
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904:Murder of Thomas and Jackie Hawks
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16:Family destination in California
720:Newport Beach California Temple
19:For the Adolescents album, see
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751:State Marine Conservation Area
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961:Amusement parks in California
614:Primary and secondary schools
368:"The Balboa Fun Zone History"
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322:" at the Fun Zone and at the
54:secondary or tertiary sources
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868:Sherman Library and Gardens
838:Kerckhoff Marine Laboratory
694:Newport Beach Film Festival
654:Coastline Community College
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181:33.60278°N 117.89889°W
41:relies excessively on
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186:33.60278; -117.89889
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909:Rancho San Joaquin
848:Lovell Beach House
393:"Fun Zone History"
312:Over Her Dear Body
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793:Balboa Bay Resort
770:Upper Newport Bay
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437:. Archived from
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441:on 2016-05-29
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435:"ExplorOcean"
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61:Find sources:
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39:This article
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853:Newport Pier
843:Lido Theater
797:
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443:. Retrieved
439:the original
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376:. Retrieved
372:the original
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813:Balboa Pier
758:Newport Bay
683:Daily Pilot
324:Balboa Pier
184: /
172:117°53′56″W
159:Coordinates
106:August 2007
940:Categories
803:Balboa Inn
445:2019-06-02
378:2007-08-06
354:References
253:California
169:33°36′10″N
76:newspapers
43:references
704:The Wedge
521:Geography
899:Moyongna
763:Back Bay
713:Religion
143:Location
884:Outline
877:History
668:Culture
586:Collins
569:Islands
263:History
255:. The
212:Website
202: (
90:scholar
918:People
591:Harbor
576:Balboa
197:Opened
92:
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889:Genga
734:Parks
601:Linda
291:Today
97:JSTOR
83:books
596:Lido
316:hide
235:The
204:1936
200:1936
69:news
581:Bay
45:to
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.