Grand Opening of Thunderbolt Roller Coaster, Luna Park Coney Island, June 14, 2014. Photo via Luna Park NYC
Summer officially begins on Saturday, June 21st, with the solstice and Coney Island’s Mermaid Parade. This past Saturday offered a taste of summer: the long-awaited debut of Luna Park’s Thunderbolt roller coaster, Wonder Wheel Park’s Pet Costume Contest on the Boardwalk, and the Brooklyn Cyclones season opener followed by the first fireworks of the season. The Cyclones stadium is spectacularly situated with the landmark Parachute Jump on one side and the new Thunderbolt on the other.
Brooklyn Cyclones Season Opener at MCU Park, Coney Island. June 14, 2014. Photo via Brooklyn Cyclones Facebook
ATZ wrote about the Thunderbolt when it broke ground (“High Hopes for Coney Island’s New Thunderbolt Coaster,” March 10, 2014) and as it took shape (“New Thunderbolt Loops the Loop Again in Coney Island,” May 19, 2014). Yet it’s still an astonishment to come upon its steel loops and dips from Surf Avenue. The coaster has the allure of an abstract sculpture and occupies part of a long vacant block where the Drop the Dip, Thunderbolt, and Wild Mouse coasters once thrilled and the Magic Carpet Fun House and Donkey Ball Game amused the millions.
On Friday, a New York Times reporter’s 9-year-old daughter starred in the best-ever vid of a coaster’s test run. Chai Latte, a 3-year-old chihuahua from Queens won 1st prize in Saturday’s Pet Costume Contest at Deno’s. And the Cyclones opened their season with an 8-2 victory over the Staten Island Yankees in front of an above-capacity crowd of 8,175.
Chai Latte, 1st Prize Winner of Pet Costume Contest at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park. June 14, 2014. Photo via Deno’s Wonder Wheel Facebook
Related posts on ATZ…
May 30, 2014: Coney Island Fireworks 2014: Fridays, Six Saturdays, and More
May 26, 2014: Photo Album: Opening Day for 5 New Businesses & Exhibits in Coney Island
May 19, 2014: New Thunderbolt Loops the Loop Again in Coney Island
December 31, 2013: Amusing the Zillion’s Coney Island 2013 Year in Review
Amusing the Zillion 
This is wonderful — I feel united with eras of New York past that looked to Coney Island to start their summer.