Questions about Coney Island

Hey all,

Sometime around Mid August my family, my girlfriend and I are going to the Scranton, PA area to visit relatives, and we are possibly gonna head for NYC for a day. I have been twice before, but both times were in the winter. This is the first time during the summer and I wanna stop by Coney Island for the historical significance. I know the Cyclone and Wonder Wheel are must ride, but is there anything else worth riding (would it be better to just pay for one or a couple rides on each or to get POP? If POP is the better option, then would it be hard to do both parks within a couple hours? thanks for any answers!

Do NOT miss the El Dorado Bumper Cars...

A couple hours should be more than sufficient...POPs are weird there, I'll let someone local (or at least more knowledgeable) answer that part...

FYI, the El Dorado bumper cars are not inside Astroland or Deno's Wonder Wheel Park. They along Surf Avenue where you will also find Nathan's Hot Dog [mustard only!] and the B&B Brass Ring Carousel.

At Astroland don't miss the manually-operated in insane-mode Breakdancer, the log flume [one of the first ever made] and Dante's Inferno dark ride.

Over at Deno's make sure you get a swinging car on the Wonder Wheel and ride the historically-significant Spook-o-Rama dark ride.

Jimvid...did I miss anything?

I'm not Jim, but we BOTH forgot the Zipper that allows single riders... :)

Good catch on the dark rides Mooshie...

Dante's Inferno "coasts" about as much as Devil's Den...can I *count* it? ;)

Okay....

It really depends on how much you want to ride and what you want to ride. Astroland offers 2 POP sessions on weekdays except for on Friday when they only have one. I would first call to make sure that there are no special events planned and that Astroland will be open (as sometimes they have unannounced weekday buyouts during the days for summer camps). The POP at Astroland runs 21.99 and will get you 4 rides on the Cyclone and unlimited rides on everything else at Astroland. If you plan on riding more than 5 rides at Astroland the POP is the way to go! If you spin, do not miss the Breakdance or Topspin2. Their Arrow log flume is cute and the Dante's Inferno is (unfortunately) the best dark ride @ CI. Plus the obligatory cree-ho Big Apple coaster.

In regards to Deno's - you can buy a pass for 5 rides for $20 which is good for any of Deno's attractions. Obviously the Wonder Wheel in a swinging car is a no brainer. If you're a dark ride enthusiast, Spook-a-rama is a must - if you're not, skip it. They also have a Miler kiddie coaster.

In regards to stand alone attractions, the B&B Carousel is currently under restoration not to resurface until 2008 in a new location. If you ride Zippers, you must ride the one at Coney. The ultra-rare Saturn 6 is incredibly well run. Also, the El Dorado Auto Skooters are excellent - they are expensive ($5-6/per person), but you can reride multiple times for $1/ride and it's air-conditioned.

Other things of note, make sure to wander into Rubys Bar on the boardwalk to check out the photo collection. If you have time, the freakshow is very good. The Coney Island musuem is sparce, but for 99 cents and the money going to a good cause - it's worth 5 minutes of your time.

Obviously for food - a Nathan's hot dog is obligatory. A banana-pistachio twist ice cream from Denny's is excellent, and if you're adventurous for Oysters and Clams (and corn on the cob) go to Pete's Clam Shack.

You can spend a lot of time and money at Coney OR you can run in and out with minimal expense - it's really based on how much you actually want to do.

Hope that helps and that you have fun!

Long Live the Saturn 6!

Jim 'jimvid' McDonnell

See...I knew Jim would be the go-to man for this ;)

That's why I didn't say anything. I knew that Jim would chime in at some point and he knows more about today's Coney Island than anyone else I know.

Hey Jim... when are you free to join me over there? ;)

I have always wanted to go there but never did.Hopefully I will go soon..

What is the best way to visit Coney Island?Do you drive(coming from Pittsburgh)or do you park outside the city and take a train/subway?

Thanks..

I drove from Jersey and paid more in tolls and gas than I did to ride.

How bad is the traffic or crazy drivers?

Traffic can be bad, as in busy but I never thought the drivers were too crazy. Just make sure you have an idea where your going or it can really suck!

When I go I usually park in the Aquarium parking lot, For $15 or was it $20 you get off street parking next to the Cyclone thats good all day, and a free admission to the aquarium.

It will cost you about the same ammount of money to take a train as it will in tolls to get to Coney Island. It is worth it taking the train into downtown NYC and then taking the F line Subway from around Times Sqaure. It will end right at Coney Island. I believe the D line also ends at Coney Island. It was well worth the money for the Subway and the train ride when I went....but that was on the 4th of July. Poor planning made it so I watched the fireworks while riding the Subway. Part of it through Brooklyn is elevated.

Having grown up around NYC, I will say the drivers are very aggressive but know what they're doing. They tend to push the limits of safe driving but not exceed them. The best way to get around driving in NYC is to do as the Romans do - expect to be accelerating and braking fast.

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jimvid said:
I would first call to make sure that there are no special events planned and that Astroland will be open (as sometimes they have unannounced weekday buyouts during the days for summer camps).

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Doh! Wish we would have known that for our visit on Monday. We were planning to do the POP from noon to 4:00pm, but were denied by all the little kiddies in their green Police Athletic League shirts. :( On the plus side, Recess and I managed to return for a taste of the Coney nightlife after finishing up at Seaside early. We rode both the El Dorado scooters and the ones near the Top Spin. I thought the latter were far superior.

Thanks everyone for your travel suggestions.How far out of the city can you catch the train that takes you to the subway that goes to Coney Island?(you have to excuse me about being dumb about NYC,never been there before)

I just want to ride the Cyclone one time before I get too old. :)

You can take the PATH from New Jersey into NYC.

http://www.panynj.gov/CommutingTravel/path/html/map.html

Also here is the NYC Subway information.

http://www.mta.nyc.ny.us/nyct/maps/submap.htm

The walk from the PATH system station at the World Trade Center (by the way, you will get a view of the WTC like NO OTHER anywhere else...it litterally runs through Ground Zero!) is relatively short...only a few blocks to get to the East Broadway NYC Subway station to pick up the D line. From there just follow the signs to Coney Island. You can get off at 2 different stops for Coney Island...either Coney Island - Stillwell Ave. or W. 8th St - NYC Aquarium. The Aquarium is right by the Cyclone. However Coney Island Stillwell Ave is at the other end of the Coney Island area (closest the parachute tower).