The Balboa Fun Zone of your Childhood is Changing.

A $115 million facelift is coming to the waterfront icon, promising fresh restaurants, boutique shops, and new public spaces while keeping its vintage soul intact.

Think polished promenades, more places to sit and relax with a Balboa Bar, and reimagined gathering spots that blend nostalgia with modern energy.

@thesceneoc

The Balboa fun zone is getting a $115 million makeover. So if you want to see the fun zone of your childhood come now! The new owners prom... See more

The project, backed by Newport Beach’s Pyle family, is designed to benefit both locals who grew up on the Ferris wheel and visitors discovering the boardwalk for the first time.

How it all began
Long before the arcades and cotton candy, this stretch was Abbott’s Landing. In the 1890s, Edward Abbott ran harbor cruises on his paddle-wheeler The Last Chance and planted the first trees on the spit.

By 1906, the Red Car railway connected L.A. to “East Newport,” sparking a tourism boom and renaming the area Balboa.

The Fun Zone arrives

In 1936, Al Anderson turned an old boatyard into the original Fun Zone, complete with a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, and arcade, an affordable escape during the Depression.

The wheel became its neon-lit signature, and the boardwalk grew into one of Southern California’s last great coastal amusement strips.

Cruising through time

One thing that hasn’t changed? The Fun Zone Boat Company. They’ve been running tours from the exact same dock since the 1940s, and every time we have friends come to town, this is where we take them.

It’s honestly the best deal in Newport—you can even bring your own food and drinks. The cruise winds past sea lions and yachts, and right by John Wayne’s old waterfront estate.

Ups, downs, and do-overs
The Fun Zone has been bulldozed, rebuilt, and reinvented more than once—from the 1980s redo to a stint as a nautical museum but it never lost its scrappy charm. My mom went to the fun zone in the 50s, I went as a teenager in the 80s. It is a very nostalgic place for many!

What’s next
With construction expected to begin soon, the promise is simple: keep the magic, add the modern. So if you haven’t ridden the wheel in years, now’s the time—before the next chapter of Balboa’s history spins into view.