Coney Island and the Cyclone

What is this park like? I have read things about the history of this park and it seems like it was an amazing place. It had over 50 coasters within the past 118 years and now sadly only two are still there. There were several different parks built on this single island (or peninsula) and now most of them are gone. It seemed like Coney Island was constantly going and at the time (in the first half of the century) was like CP is now to us. My question is what is it like now? I don't here anything about it now except the Cyclone. Is it still a popular place or is it a quiet tiny park that doesn't have that many things in it? If so why did it lose so much interest and popularity? What rides and attractions do they have now?

My second question is about the Cyclone. I have heard tthat it is an engineering marvel and that its one of the finest coasters ever built. What makes it such a great ride? Is it the ride or is it popular because it's the last piece of history from the birthplace of the rollercoaster?

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-Sean Newman
84 coasters in Track Record!! Hypersonic XLC # 100 in July. Waiting for the 305 foot drop tower in 2003. Thank you PKD.

Changing times swallowed the place up. Who knows, Cedar Point may have the same fate in 20 years. Anyway, there is a great history site on Coney at:

http://naid.sppsr.ucla.edu/coneyisland

:)

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Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com

Thanks.

I hate to say it but yer probably right about Cedar Point. We'll see tho.

What exactly makes the Cyclone such a great coaster tho?

Some clarificationmay be in order here:

Coney Island is the name of the neighborhood, and is not a single "park". Besides lots of sideshows and independently owned buildings and rides, there are several small parks as well. Astroland is the park with the Cyclone and several other rides (including bumper cars and a Powersurge) while the Wonder Wheel is run by a separate park (each has separate ride ticketing and pricing since they're owned by different people).

As for the Cyclone itself, I was not very impressed with it, but I intend to give it another chance in hopes that I was there on a bad day. I suspect a lot of the reasons it is so highly thought of is the nostalgia (particularly since so few rides from that era survive) and the fact that it is still the steepest wooden coaster drop in the world. It does have *very* strong laterals that you should be aware of. It's a very good ride, don't get me wrong, but I was expecting something more after the hype.