Memorial Day Weekend Mania: What Rides Are Open in Coney Island?

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Memorial Day Weekend Mania: What Rides Are Open in Coney Island?

May 24, 2009 by Tricia

“What rides are open in Coney Island?” This question is one of the search terms being used to arrive at ATZ. Since Astroland closed last year, people continue to be uncertain about what rides have remained here and are open. Last weekend’s postponement of Thor Equities much advertised “Festival by the Sea” due to “threat of bad weather”on a sunny day and no show rides was a slap in the face to the “Coney Island is Really Fun. Really Open” campaign. Here’s the Memorial Day Weekend ride count…

Kiddie helicopter ride at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park in Coney Island. Deno’s has 22 rides including the world famous Wonder Wheel. Photo by me-myself-i/Tricia Vita via flickr

photo via me-myself-i, flickr

~~More than 35~~ 40 rides owned and operated by Coney Island’s veteran ride operators have been open since April 5th. Come out and enjoy the Cyclone Roller Coaster, Wonder Wheel, Eldorado Skooters, the Polar Express, Saturn 6 and kiddie rides such as the Bumblebeez and the Sea Serpent Coaster.

Coney Island Cyclone, Second Ride of the Season. Photo by Pablo57 via flickr

photo via pablo57, flickr

At Thor Equities “Dreamland Amusement Park” (on the former Astroland site aka Sittland East) the Georgia-based Geren carnival’s Ring of Fire, Himalaya and Scrambler were set up and open for business for the first time on Saturday. You may remember these rides from Thor’s “Summer of Hope” carnival on Stillwell last season. Geren’s rides left in mid July to play the carnival’s Southern fair route. Will they stay till Labor Day this year or be switched out with other rides? Geren’s Spin-Out was also open for biz on Saturday.

Georgia-based Geren Rides Spin-Out at Thor Equities "Dreamland Park" in Coney Island. Photo by me-myself-i

photo via me-myself-i, flickr

Five additional carnival rides–one thrill ride, a merry-go-round, three other kiddie rides– were being set up at Joe Sitt’s park-in-progress on Saturday but were not yet ready to open. ATZ will be posting updates and analysis of the Memorial Day Weekend and will have more to say about Joey Coney Island’s shortcomings as an amusement park tycoon. I mean what kind of a 21st century amusement park developer fails to have his “upwards of 25 rides” in place and ready for action on the first big weekend of summer?

The title of my post “Memorial Day Weekend Mania” is dedicated to Bob Guskind of Gowanus Lounge, whose coverage of all things Coney inspired me to launch ATZ. If Bob were still here, he would undoubtedly be covering this story and I would be at the beach.

MEMORIAL DAY UPDATE…On Monday, eight of the nine rides at Sitt’s Dreamland were operational and open for business. The carousel was under construction.

JUNE 4, 2009 UPDATE> ..“What rides are open at Coney Island?”
Coney Island Ride Count

AUGUST 5, 2009 UPDATE…“Coney Island Has 56 Rides and 33 More Days of Summer!”