Coney Island (Luna Park / Deno's) Development Discussion Thread

[Masquerade]

Ay Dios malo when did this happen?

https://lunaparknyc.com/plan/know-before-you-go/

[coneyislandchris]

^ When they finally reopened this year after being shuttered for so long due to the pandemic.

[kidmanboy]

FYI, it appears that within the last couple of weeks, Luna Park has very quietly dropped the gated admission policy and has returned to their traditional pay-per-ride policy (along with a 4-hour wristband option which, at least online, is cheaper than it was this summer). 
Also, the Cyclone is running excellently! It was running faster than I ever remember it. I was in the front seat of the middle car and still got plentiful airtime. 

[larrygator]

After being delayed for two years, Luna Park is following through on some previously announced plans.

https://abc7ny.com/luna-park-coney-island-amusement-sky-chaser/11084826/

Coney Island's Luna Park breaks ground on new rides, roller coaster, pedestrian plaza

Tuesday, October 5, 2021 

CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Coney Island's famed Luna Park broke ground Tuesday on expansion plans for new attractions and pedestrian plazas set to open for the 2022 season.

The expansion includes a new ropes course, appropriately named the Sky Chaser, along with the Super Flume and the J2SK Coaster, a log flume intertwined with an exhilarating roller coaster creating a brand new unique experience for guests.

In addition to the three new attractions, Luna Park is transforming three streets in landscaped pedestrian plazas between Wonder Wheel Way and the Coney Island Boardwalk.

The new rides will be located in a long abandoned lot nestled between the minor League stadium and Luna Park, and the foundation is already in with the tracks on site.

The city owns the land and leased it to Central Amusement International, which runs Luna park.

"Luna Park will unveil two custom made Zamperla rides," Central Amusement International President Alessandro Zamperla said. "A roller coaster, the J2SK Coaster, and the Super Flume ride."

The plans had been in place but were delayed by the pandemic.

"For the entire year, there was no Luna Park, and there really was no Coney Island," NYC Parks Assistant Commissioner David Cerron said. "And I think that that makes this moment so much more meaningful and exciting."

And while the Luna Park reopened this past summer, crowds weren't what they usually are, and businesses struggled. The new attractions could help.

"It's probably going to bring a lot of people to Luna Park, for things to do for the kids and stuff like that, but it should be interesting," Ruby's Bar manager David McBarnett said. "I don't do roller coasters, but it should be cool."

In addition to the attractions, there will be three newly upgraded pedestrian areas with kiosks and carnival booths. But the plans for those also changed because of the pandemic.

"Instead of having all the containers, all the kiosks, one attached to the other, we actually created some space between them," Zamperla said. "COVID informed us a lot when it comes to construction, safety, and we did change some of the plans."

The plazas will be an open-air entertainment destination with food, games and retail locations, adorned with shaded seating and greenery.

Named after an iconic piece of Coney Island's history, Luna Park is the largest amusement park in New York City and the Big Apple's most famous playground -- with a heritage that stretches back more than 130 years.

Luna Park lights up the famous Coney Island skyline with its timeless charm, historic landmarks, and exciting novelties.

Adjacent to the nearly three miles of sandy beaches, two and a half miles of boardwalk, and other top attractions, Luna Park -- which employs more than 1,200 people -- offers more than 50 games, rides and roller coasters.

[coasterbill]

Zamperla has posted an update on Facebook of the log flume construction site where there will apparently also be a coaster or whatever…

(They posted it as a collage, so this is as big as the photos get. Sorry)

[Zack44]

Hey everyone! I went to Six Flags Great Adventure yesterday, and on the way home I went to Coney Island on whim to check out the progress on the new rides. Also, I snagged credits for Phoenix & SkyFlyer at Deno's.

 

The roller coaster (Tony's Express) is mostly done and the log flume (Leti's Treasure) still needs plenty of work. The pieces that still need to be installed are sitting right next to it, next to a bunch of construction equipment. 

Here are some photos I took:

[BobloLives]

Got to experience Luna Park at Coney Island on opening day with the family (on our way to Sweeney Todd -- Broadway perfection). Two of us had been before and the other three hate NYC, so I had low expectations. I'm very glad to say we had a great day and the "other three" in the family really enjoyed the whole Coney Island area. [Quick note: from Connecticut/northeast, there is no good way to get there. We ended up driving in and I'm happy to say there is a lot of parking around Coney Island. The subway from the Times Square area to Coney is about an hour each way.]

I did not get many pictures because I'm not a "trip reporter," though I avidly read them all. The new entrance plazas towards Tony's Express/Leti's Treasure are still under construction. Clockworkz and Zenobio were dismantled for maintenance (I would assume). Crowds were non-existent probably due to weather. We paid $65 for our 4-hour wristbands a couple days ahead online. At the gate they were selling for $75. I didn't look at individual rides/tickets.

Cyclone is nearly 100 years old!

 

On our way to the new area, we passed the mermaid painting ...

... who is wearing a Fremeni stillsuit? (nerd joke)

So Tony's Express and Leti's Treasure share a large station structure. We saw maybe two people ride the flume -- we did not, because it was barely 50 degrees.

The boats were coming back very wet ...

We did ride Tony's Express twice, and I'd say it's a great kiddie/family coaster with a really nice helix finale over the flume:

I got permission to walk to the front of the station (and I have to say, overall the employees at Luna Park, at least today, were really friendly!)

The Leti's boats are also nicely done:

As you exit Tony's you walk right by the double down drop on Leti's

Oh, and we rode Thunderbolt once, it was having periodic maintenance issues during the day. No pictures, but 1) it doesn't suck as bad as I'd heard, and 2) the splash from the final drop on Leti's actually reaches into the station for the Thunderbolt. And one more thing: Soarin' Eagle was enjoyable! Rode it once before, hated it. Twice on this trip and actually thought it was fun. No idea why.

Final picture is my wife enjoying the launch on Steeplechase (posted because I love the coaster cars and to show the launch is actually a bit more than expected!)

[coneyislandchris]

Was out at Coney Island this weekend for my second visit of the year; first visit got unceremoniously rained out on a day when the forecast straight up lied to us, c'est la vie. This past Saturday was the opposite; called for rain, but we managed to sidestep it the entire day. It was hot, humid, and sunny the entire time we were there.

Stopped in at the B&B Carrousel to give it some love as our first ride of the day. Although it runs on the slow side, the love and detail put into this treasure of a merry-go-round is worth a ride every time we swing by.

My wife made the Cyclone her 150th credit, and it was running absolutely perfect this year!. Best ride I've ever had on that old thing. For someone who famously doesn't like coasters, she actually enjoyed herself! I razzed her mercilessly for growing up like 10 miles from it and never riding it until now, but honestly, I'm super proud of her. Additionally, the Cyclone was  also my daughter's first 54" coaster! She gettin' BEEEG. Shout out to the Cyclone ride ops for talking them both through it before dispatching and putting them at ease, you guys rule.

We also checked out the pair of new rides that finally opened further down the boardwalk, Tony's Express and Leti's Adventure. Tony's Express is a cool little family coaster, but it's unfortunate that they're charging 10 credits per ride. That's the same price as the Cyclone and the Thunderbolt, and honestly, it's closer in length, thrill, and intensity to their kiddie Circus Coaster. I'd ride it again with a wristband, but definitely not at $10 a pop.

On the other hand, Leti's Adventure is a straight upgrade over their old flume ride, and on a sweltering summer Saturday like it was, I'd have paid $20. It gives a long ride, about five minutes from boarding to returning, has some nice under-the-structure moments, and the two drops get you absolutely soaked. This one was definitely worth the 10 credits and it's totally a must-do on any visit where it's a hot day.

The heat was getting to us pretty quickly, so after stopping by Deno's and doing a quick round of Stop The Zombies, we decided to bounce for the cooler pastures of an air-conditioned Dave & Buster's a little further up the Belt Parkway. Hopefully we'll be back again in the near future. I miss being a train ride away from Coney Island, but am thankful that we live close enough to still make regular visits.

[DannySixFlags]

I went here in April 2022. Cyclone slapped. I only did Tickler and Circus Coaster other than that, but I hope that I can return this year and ride the rest.

[abovethesink]

Road Trip Day 6, Part 1 - Luna Park/Deno's - 7/18/24

If you want to catch up, Day 1 was King's Dominion, Day 2 Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Day 3 was Six Flags America, and Day 4 was Morey's Piers. Day 5 was a quick stop at Sesame Place followed by the rest of the day at Dorney Park. Reports are in their respective threads. The trip was myself and my oldest son, soon to be 14.

I have to admit, my approach to Coney Island in general was pretty dumb to start. I had Google Maps route me to the park, naturally, and it did that well enough, though traffic was predictably slow. I then drove along the outside of the park looking for any parking and ended up blocks away, nearly out of gas, with the search entirely fruitless. Eventually I re-directed it to find me gas, which it did, and there while pumping it finally occurred to me to specifically search for Luna Park Parking. That brought us to a big, mostly empty, and surprisingly reasonably priced lot literally right next to the rides. Not my best moments on the trip, that is for sure!

Also, this place is well known for being expensive and it was, so I won't bother complaining any more about that going forward. 

Soarin' Eagle -- After buying our wristbands for the day, we decided to get this one out of the way immediately. To my relief, it was either better than Time Warp or I was much more prepared to hold myself in place this time around. I think it was more the latter, but maybe this one just tracks better too. I am not about to ride either again to find out. "Better" does not equal good. What an uncomfortable monstrosity Zamperla cooked up with this design. I am thankful these never spread further. As easily placed and cheap clones, we could have had a whole bunch more of these than we did. 

Tony's Express -- Steeplechase was closed and would remain so for the length of our visit. This was a little disappointing as I like the launch on the one at Darien Lake, but it was not some huge loss. We decided to end to the closest far end of the boardwalk, which brought us to this Zamperla junior coaster. It was a predictably uneventful ride. That isn't to say it was bad though or anything. I bet younger riders will like this one a lot. It just isn't for enthusiasts. One note that I thought was funny: There are bins and out of habit I started to throw in the items from my pocket into them before boarding. The older woman running the ride objected and discouraged me from wasting my time with that. She is right, of course, in that a ride like this poses no threat of having stuff fly out of your pockets. At the same time, I have never experienced a ride op insisting I have my pockets full on a ride before!

Thunderbolt -- I had heard terrible things about this good looking Zamperla thrill coaster, so my expectations were really low. Sometimes those are the best kind of expectations to have. It isn't that this is a good ride, mind you. It is janky and uncomfortable as hell with a weird and ridiculous restraint system. It is just that I thought it was going to be so terrible that I was pretty pleasantly surprised to find it was only kind of bad! If they could rework those stupid seatbelt sort of vest restraints, this would be a tolerable ride for me. They really dug into my shoulders in a painful way though and it wasn't like the thigh clamps were exactly comfortable either. Bad combo for sure. 

Circus Coaster -- This is listed as a family coaster, but it is more a kiddie coaster. We did our laps and got our credits. 

Cyclone -- Ah, the main event. The world famous Coney Island Cyclone. For some reason, this one took us a minute to find the entrance to and we ended up doing a lap basically the wrong way around the big structure before finding it. Oh well. Then, we boarded only to be stuck strapped in for about ten minutes as a maintenance man ran onto the track and did something before we got the all clear. Finally, we rode. I wish I could say I loved it like many do. It was a pretty mid ride for me, but I am on the bigger side for what can fit in this trains and I was pinned down by the restraints to the point that airtime was impossible to feel. Mostly I could just feel the laterals, which I rarely love, and the few really bad rough spots on the coaster. My son, who next to me had all the room in the world beneath the restraint, really loved all the airtime he got. I think this is probably a good ride for most. For me, I got a fun and out of control, but kind of uncomfortable and entirely airtimeless ride personally.

Deno's Wonder Wheel -- The only non-coaster I am giving its own section to on the entire trip, I loved this classic ferris wheel. We rode one of the cars that does the drop and it was a wonderfully unnerving experience. I have been riding rollercoasters my entire life and have not found much nervousness and/or fear with any of them in decades at this point. When I find something that brings any amount of that back, I am glad for it. Deno's Wonder Wheel was very much that. It repeatedly felt like we were about to fall clean off that thing in the best way possible. Highly recommended. 

Phoenix -- This modern Vekoma family suspended coaster was one of the sneaky highlights of the trip. It was a glass smooth and forceful ride within the context of the family coaster category. As a plus, the ride operator sent us again when there was no one else in line upon our return to the station. When individual rides are as expensive as they are at Coney Island, that was a very pleasant surprise. Also, it is worth reminding anyone reading this in anticipation of a future trip, Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is a separate business pretty much right in the middle of Luna Park. The tickets/wristbands that you buy at Luna Park will not work here. There were also two kiddie coasters here that we decided not to even go see if we could steal credits on. We had bigger plans for the day and didn't want to waste the time.

Tickler -- As I like to do, I left the spinning coaster for last just in case it were to make me sick. It didn't. In fact, it didn't really spin much at all. Instead, the rotation sort of took the edge off the normally hard wild mouse turns and didn't do much else at all until we were on the very bottom level. As someone who doesn't like the hairpin wild mouse turns anymore and has never really liked spinning, I was very happy about all of this. I am left with a strange review of the Tickler to give then. As a spinning wild mouse, this thing faired pretty terrible. As I ride I would personally enjoy, it was better for those failures. The last thing worth noting was that there was a good little pop of air time dropping down to the last level that I didn't expect and enjoyed. 

From here, our plan was adventurous. We wanted to get to Nickelodeon Universe and maybe even Playland Park before it closed. Traffic didn't cooperate, unfortunately, and Playland Park ended up being cut from our trip entirely, so Nickelodeon Universe later in the day would be our last stop in the trip. 

 

[JT325]

On 9/19/2021 at 7:21 AM, kidmanboy said:

Also, the Cyclone is running excellently! It was running faster than I ever remember it. I was in the front seat of the middle car and still got plentiful airtime. 

Cyclone runs faster these days because they took out all the snaps that throw the train off the track.  They took out the best parts; every single hill has been parabolized (not a word, but you probably get it.).  We don't have many classics with flat seat left, I'll love it while I can.  But yeah, GCI got ahold of it a few years ago and did what they do. 

They even took out the minuscule airtime from CP Blue Streaks' first drop.  They don't want the train leaving the track, where they can prevent it.  Cyclone is still an awesome ride, but lost it's terrifying drops/fear points.

[coasterbill]

You can let people enjoy things without going on a rant about why they’re wrong.

I agree with them. I’ve had much more enjoyable rides on the Cyclone since GCI came in than I used to. It ran like crap for a long time.

PS: That post is from 2021

[ricklap77]

I rode it between xmas and new year during their Winterfest 2023 and wow it ran perfectly!