USA 24: Coney Island Creds, A Freak Bar and A Surprisingly Good Cyclone!

 

Coney Island is part beach, part boardwalk and home to eleven coasters! After looking through the cred buffet (the creds we would be riding), expectations of riding something good were low. Amazingly we did find a real gem, hidden in plain site. 

We could see Coney Island from the plane, especially this landmark: 

The tower is a no longer operating drop ride, it was a useful marker of where we had parked! 

With 11 creds to get, we wasted no time. Coney Island is split into two parks. Luna Park is a wristband park, which cost $75 and last for four hours. Deno’s is a pay per attraction park. 

Thunderbolt 561:

What an awful coaster. A real Zamperla special. Thunderbolt felt like it had square wheels and sits comfortably amongst the top ten worst coasters I’ve ridden. 

Tony’s Express 562: 

A powered plus one! 

Soarin’ Eagle 563: 

Anyone who has ridden a Volare knows that they don’t soar like an eagle. If you haven’t ridden one, imagine an emu that’s been pushed off of a big cliff. Ah flight, dream of man and flightless bird! 

564: Steeplechase: 

A launched horse thing, the launch was surprisingly forceful! It was then time for a spot of lunch. 

The original hot dog tasted better than it looked! 

Not a bad lunchtime view! Deno’s wheel really sets the scene, more on that later. Lunch completed, it was time to ride some plus 1s! 

Circus Coaster 565: 

That’s the best and only photo I got. There’s nothing to say about it. What are things to say about is: 

Cyclone 565: 

You’ll be seeing a lot of these if you keep reading the blogs.

I know that Cyclone is an iconic coaster, but I’d not heard good things and therefore assumed it was going to be awful. I was preparing for how rough and uncomfortable it was going to be. But it was nothing like that. Cyclone was smooth, fast and even had airtime! I was positively shocked! That’s not on the script, I muttered as we returned to the ride station. We even rode again. Riding coasters is thirsty work, so it was time for a beer. 

The ‘Freak Bar’ was really cool! It was heavily themed to all things circus, sideshows and Coney Island. I enjoyed two really decent beers, though I only took a photo of one. 

My finger makes a cameo

I also had a Rauchbier. Both were brewed by Kings County Brewers Collection, from Brooklyn. We must have started to get rowdy as John Wick, the manager, was sent to keep an eye on us! 

Back to creds! Mini Mouse 567: 

A plus one. As we were leaving the op said “time to ride something bigger”. You have to ride some smaller coasters to get to 700 mate.

Tickler 568: 

Generic spinning coaster, dread to think how many of these I’ve ridden now… With that, we completed all of the creds at Luna Park! Time for Deno’s!

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is nestled between the two parks of Luna Park, and was next up on the coaster buffet! 

Sea Serpent 569: 

+1!

Skyflyer 570: 

It’s plane themed and goes round in an oval, another plus 1! 

Phoenix 571: 

A Vekoma suspended family coaster. These things are great fun and pack a little punch. 

With the creds all ticked off, we headed to for a ride on the classic ghost train: 

It was brilliant! A great mix of classic ghost train and modern spooks! 

We saved the main event until last. 

The wheel that inspired Disney so much, they built a similar version for their California park! You have the option of riding in a stationary car or a dynamic car, we of course went dynamic. It was great fun, if not a little unnerving! The way those cars move gives you a weird sensation. It was a great way to end a busy and cred filled day. Next up is Six Flags Great Adventure!