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i just returned from a week in New York City...myself, along with my youth pastor, took some kids up from our church for a missions trip to the city. the trip was a total blast!!:) on Wednesday, we took the day off, and with my buddy Josh, took the Q train down from Manhattan to lower Brooklyn to experience a piece of American History:)
getting off the train at Stillwell Ave and Surf St you walk past the famous Nathans....the BEST hot dog stands in the freakin world!!!!! my eyes though were gazed two blocks down Surf St....taking in the majestic Coney Island Cyclone. we walked into the main entrance of Astroland Park, gazing at a delicious array of classic flat rides. immediately i noticed a Power Surge!!!! woohoo!:) i remebered Intamin Fan telling me about this ride(the one at Knobels) and it sounded wild. after waiting a few minutes, we walked up and bought a ticket, and boarded:)......
Power Surge....umm, by chance does anyone know who manufactures this ride?? i have no idea...the seats are almost identical to those of a Vekoma SLC, but who knows. anyway..this ride is crazy!! you sit facing out, 2 seats, with 4 on a car. almost like the car on a Vekoma Invertigo. you rotate around on this wheel that eventually climbs vertical. your seats flip on their own acces as well, so it makes for one dizzifying ride!!:) although my heart still belongs to the Enterprise, the Power Surge is now just about tied for my new fav flat!!...now onto my next coaster conquest.....
Cyclone, Vernon Keenan, 1927.....one word....WOW!!! i took a seat on the front for my first run.....the drop is almost vertical it seems!!:) its so wild...even the drop of the first turnaround is insane. a month prior i had the chance to ride the Georgia Cyclone, which i believe is a replica of the Coney Island original....i can honestly say nothing is better than the original:) the CI Cyclone is chock full of speed...the drops are INSANE with airtime:) i also got a back seat ride....again, mad airtime. its so incredible to see that this coaster has been so well taken care of, despite being SBNO for so many years.
as i came back in after my back seat ride, the ride op stopped the train to let Josh get a pic of me in the front seat...despite the fact that about 5 people were waiting to ride:) i thought that was really cool. after heading down the ramp, i stopped to get some pics of the coaster, including an excellent one of the train cresting the first hill!!
i did walk over to the Jumbo Jet, but found out by talking to a maintaince man that it has had several problems over the last couple years, and would not be open that day....oh well:(
this experience was so awesome. i do enjoy the corporate parks, but there is just something very special about a classic amusement park....especially ones by the oceanfront. my trip to Coney Island/Astroland reminded me that you dont have to build multimillion dollar supercoasters to provide an excellent ride. the Cyclone has easily become my favourite woodie out of the 15 ive ridden so far. so with a huge grin on my face, i waved goodbye to this Vernon Keenan masterpiece, picked up a Nathans Chili Dog, and headed back to the Q train to reflect on my memorable and fun filled day at the boardwalk:)
take my advice, get out to a classic amusement park sometime:) yours truly, Tim :)
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hey...thats my story..and im stickin by it!!! :)
PKD 2003...drop rides will never be the same...Intamin rocks!! :)
I will take your advice. I am going Friday. Nice TR! Heres my top 5 wood. #1 Cyclone at SFNE #2 Great White at Morey's Piers #3 Twister at Knoebels #4 Villain #5 Lightning Racer
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-Sean Newman
88 coasters in Track Record!! Hypersonic XLC Coaster # 100 in July.
Nitro Laps:105
B+R Launches:28
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