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Long-Delayed Coney Island Zipline Is Officially Open!

Posted in Amusement ride, tagged Coney Island, zipline on September 14, 2012| 24 Comments »

Open from 2pm : Coney Island Zipline at BK Festival. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

After umpteen updates to our original post “Zip Line Coming to Coney Island’s Stillwell Avenue in July” (June 28, 2012), ATZ tweeted on Wednesday…

Wow, will the long delayed Coney Island Zipline open this weekend?!?! Right now people are zipping across in test runs #BetterLateThanNever
— Amusing the Zillion (@AmusingZillion) September 12, 2012

Happily it’s true, the Coney Island Zipline is officially open for business. After a soft opening last night, ten customers had tried it out when we talked to manager James Wilcox a little while ago. “Hell, yeah, I’m ecstatic,” said Wilcox, who has been on site, but not open for business since July due to paperwork issues with City agencies. “I’m ecstatic that we got our green card,” he said, explaining that the all-important permit saying they’re allowed to open is a green piece of paper.

“It’s $15 to ride on weekends,” said Wilcox, who noted that groups can get a discount. In addition, members of New York City’s Police and Fire Departments and EMS may ride for $10 with ID. Wilcox says they planned to offer this discount on September 11th, but will instead offer it for the duration of the season. “We hope to stay till October 31,” he added. (Saturday Update: After seeing on Cat5’s Facebook page that the cover price is $25, we phoned Wilcox for clarification. He said The $15 price is available this weekend, as well as to people who come in with CAT5 Zipline’s flier or mention reading about the zipline on this blog.)

The posted hours for the Coney Island Zipline are 2pm till ~~midnight~~ 10pm, though hours of operation may vary. The Zipline is located on Stillwell Avenue behind Nathan’s.

FINAL UPDATE: The ride was open for a day and a half before being closed by the City for permit issues and will not reopen. On October 8th, ATZ received an email from the BK Festival operators which said: “After a very long and difficult process the city still didn’t issue the permit needed to operate the zip line.”

Let’s Have an Eldorado Bump-A-Thon In Lieu of a Debate

Posted in Amusement ride, News, Photography, tagged Bumper Cars, campaign, Eldorado, Joe Biden, photo op, Presidential Campaign on September 10, 2012| 3 Comments »

Eldorado Auto Skooters sign by Steve Powers, Surf Avenue in Coney Island. September 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

In lieu of one of the presidential debates, let the candidates come to Coney Island and ride the world-renowned Eldorado Bumper Cars! There’d be no equivocating, no need for fact-checking. The slogan here is “Bump Your Ass Off.” We have to thank conservative columnist Derek Hunter for inspiring this wacky idea with his snarky tweet:

Mitt Romney will be on Meet the Press this Sunday, Joe Biden will be on the bumper cars at Coney Island trying to figure out how they work.
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) September 7, 2012

Of course, Joe Biden did not come to Coney Island on Sunday. As everyone knows by now, he was photographed at Cruisers Diner in Ohio, winning the biker chick vote while two dudes looked on disapprovingly. The photo cracked us up. Perhaps Coney Island USA should invite Biden and the biker gang to the upcoming Tattoo and Motorcycle Festival? Obama also had an amazing photo op in a Florida pizza parlor on Sunday, where the owner lifted him off his feet in a bear hug. We prefer the pic of him riding the bumper cars with Sasha at the Iowa State Fair in 2007.

Coney Island could use this kind of publicity, especially after Labor Day. When we took these photos last Wednesday, Surf Avenue was a ghost town thanks to rain earlier in the day. Only the Eldorado, Game World and Nathan’s were open. (See comments below for clarification.) As far as we know, the last time a presidential candidate campaigned in Coney Island was on Labor Day 1960, when the GOP candidate for Vice President Henry Cabot Lodge was filmed chomping on hot dogs at Nathan’s. Fifty years is too long between campaign stops.

Eldorado Auto Skooters Sign by Steve Powers, Surf Avenue in Coney Island. September 5, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

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BK Festival Vendors Back in Business, Coney Zipline Isn’t

Posted in amusement park, Amusement ride, tagged BK Festival, Coney Island, Stillwell Avenue, vendors, zipline on August 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

BK Festival Vendors and Zipline, Stillwell Avenue West, Coney Island. August 18, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

On Saturday, the BK Festival vendors were happy to be back in business selling sunglasses, hats, dresses and what have you after a two-week hiatus caused by the construction of the Coney Island Zipline. The Stillwell Avenue lot where their tents are pitched was no longer a construction site because the zipline is built, though it did not open for the weekend.

Why not? A zipline crew member told ATZ one of the required permits had not been applied for and blamed the festival management. One of the vendors said the zipline would never open because Mayor Bloomberg had his own and didn’t want any competition! Was he referring to the free zipline at the City’s Summer Streets, which ended on August 18th? Does that mean another vendor’s prediction that Coney’s zipline would open next weekend is true? We probably should have asked Ana, the BK Festival’s resident psychic.

If you’re rarin’ to go ziplining in Coney Island, watch magicalthemepark’s video below of the ride being tested several days ago and wish you were there.

UPDATE September 12, 2012

Wow, will the long delayed Coney Island Zipline open this weekend?!?! Right now people are zipping across in test runs #BetterLateThanNever
— Amusing the Zillion (@AmusingZillion) September 12, 2012