Coney June 11 & 12 - 2010

Greetings all!
It felt weird not being at Coney for 2 weeks, but the break was good.

I was greatly anticipating seeing how much more work had been done at
Luna park; as well as, hoping that crowds would be light enough to get
some riding in.

I was in luck with the crowds on Friday night - arrived around 4pm and
bought the $30 - 6 hours wrist band. Over the course of 6 hours, I got
5 rides each on the Air Race and the Mouse, 2 on the Brooklyn Flyer
(swings), Surfs Up, and Mini drop tower, and one ride on the Mega-
disko, kiddie coaster and beach shack. The log flume is still not
operational and the Evolution (pendelum swing) went down on Friday
night not to go back up.

Overall, the Luna Park operations are good but they are definitely
still working out some of the kinks - however a lot of the issues from
opening weekend have been resolved (queue gates, management presence,
line control). The ride cycles are definitely a bit short by Coney
standards and as they are all preprogrammed I'm not sure how easy that
is to adjust.

Of all the rides the Brooklyn Flyer (Zamperla star-flyer knock off) -
scares me the most. While not as crazy tall as the real Star Flyers -
it's plenty high and plenty fast. The Air Race is the star of the show
- completely unique - I have nothing to compare it to. Extreme forces
but incredibly comfortable at the same time. I really like it! The
closest thing I can think of comparing it to sensation-wise is the
roll-o-plane, but without the cage. The Tickler is your off-the-shelf
spinning mouse - completely dependent on how weight is distributed to
determine if you get a good spinning or not (sitting left to right -
heaviest on the on the far left seat - three riders is the optimal
number leaving the far right seat empty).

My least favorite ride has to be the beach shack - just pointless and
made me a little nauseous. The mini-drop tower was also really weak -
I thought it would have a little more oopmh too it. The Mega-disko was
my first disko experience - I was expecting something much more
extreme, I'm not sure if it's the program they were running or just a
case of anticipointment.

Overall it was an incredibly pleasant Friday night - add on a couple
of Cyclone rides, a torta at Dona Zita and I was very content
gentleman. I went back on Saturday and just took pictures - crowds
were definitely in force, but most rides were 2-3 cycle waits. Next
weekend is Mermaid Parade madness!

I made a video of the Air Race ride - you can view it here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBL-6QusQMg&feature=player_embedded

Pictures are here:
http://jimvid.smugmug.com/Amusement-Park/Coney-June-11-12-13-2010/125...

Does the $30.00 6 hour ride price include Cyclone? I was also wondering about the Wonder Wheel. That looks like it might be fun, if you can get a rolling car, and not a stationary one.

Obviously there are more rides in the park than the new ones. But, I can only imagine the crowds being so close to one of the biggest cities in the world. I wonder if paying for 6 hours would even be worth it, on a busy day. I would not be happy paying $30.00 to wait in long lines. Based on Cedar Point ride lines, you would be luckiy to get 5 rides total in 6 hours.

Are there other ticket options? Just curious.

I remember watching old Coney Island footage on PBS. And, it wasn't unusual for the old Coney Island to have 1 million visitors on a single day. I can only imagine.

I also thought I would add that the Air Race ride looks like it would be a blast! I see this ride popping up at parks very soon. Take note Michigan's Adventure! Get this ride soon!

The wristband is only for Luna park. You can also pay as you go at Luna park. The Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel are separate operations with tickets only.