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Last Chance to Ride But Coney Island Is Open Year Round

Posted in amusement park, Events, tagged Boardwalk, Coney Island, Halloween, last weekend, winter, year round on October 25, 2012| 2 Comments »

Sunset over Coney Carnival, Luna Park. October 12, 2012. Photo © Luna Park Coney Island via flickr

October sunsets in Coney Island have been intense, a last burst of light and color before the Boardwalk amusement parks shutter for the season. This weekend is your last chance to go for a spin on Coney’s rides until next year’s Palm Sunday opener on March 24, 2013! On Saturday ~~and Sunday~~, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Luna Park and Scream Zone open at 12 noon. For kids, there’s Saturday’s Halloween Parade, the New York Aquarium’s Ascarium, Spook-A-Rama at Deno’s and Game World’s Haunted Arcade.

Coney’s Halloween haunts start at 6pm with Nights of Horror featuring two mazes and unlimited rides at Luna Park (October 26 thru 28 27). Dick Zigun’s play “Dirty Work at the Wax Works” runs hourly at CreepShow at the Freak Show (October 25 thru 31 27, October 31 TBD). Beginning at 9pm on Friday night, it’ll be “Bump Bump Bump Your Ass Off” for the last time in 2012 and possibly forever– though we hope not– at Coney Island’s Eldorado Disco Palace of Bumper Cars. The last ride weekend party continues on Saturday night and into Sunday morning with go go dancers, a Skeeball Contest, unlimited Bumper car rides and a raffle of Eldorado tricks and treats.

Eldorado Auto Skooter, Coney Island. September 3, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Does this mean Coney Island’s beach and boardwalk close after Halloween? Not at all. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club goes for their first Sunday swim of the season beginning in November. The high point of the Polar Bear season is the New Year’s Day Plunge, which attracted a record 3,000 swimmers this year and an even bigger crowd of onlookers.

Owners of a few of the new and the newly renovated Boardwalk businesses including Tom’s Coney Island, Ruby’s Bar, Brooklyn Beach Shop and Lola Star Boutique tell ATZ they hope to stay open year-round. “Already our shelves are filling up with tons of new holiday gift items and there’s lots more on the way. We are in it for the long haul,” says Lola Star’s Dianna Carlin. “We are installing a glass storefront and we’ll be open, weather permitting, all winter long!” Michael and Melody Sarrel of Ruby’s Bar have also ordered a glass front – it’s removable in the summertime — to keep out the wintry wind while preserving the famous view of the boardwalk.

October View from Ruby’s Bar, Coney Island Boardwalk. October 13, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Louis at the Eldorado Bumper Cars Yells “We’re Still Open!”

Posted in Amusement ride, Events, tagged Coney Island, Coney Island Performance Festival, Eldorado Bumper Cars, Parachute, poetry, Scott Fitlin on October 13, 2012| 5 Comments »

Louis Beard, Ticketseller at Eldorado Bumper Cars, Surf Avenue, Coney Island. July 22, 2012. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Actually we can’t remember precisely what Louis was saying when we snapped this humorous photo, but the Eldorado Auto Skooters and most of Coney Island’s other rides are still open weekends through the end of October. This week marks the second anniversary of the death of Scotty Fitlin, the DJ extraordinaire of Surf Avenue’s legendary disco palace of bumper cars, which is now run by arcade operator Gordon Lee.

On Saturday, in addition to selling tickets to the famed “Bump Your Ass Off” ride, Louis will be reading Coney Island poetry into the mic at 4pm. The site-specific poetry event is part of Parachute: The Coney Island Performance Festival happening this weekend in front of the jellyfish tank at the New York Aquarium and amid the amusement park artifacts at the Coney Island History Project. The Eldorado’s last rides of 2012 — and possibly forever, though we hope not!–will be on October 26 and 27.

Eldorado Bumper Cars and Arcade, 1216 Surf Avenue, Coney Island. Phone 718- 946-6642

Video: Coney Island Dancing 2012 by Jim McDonnell

Posted in Events, Music Video, video, tagged Boardwalk, Coney Island Dancers, Coney Island Dancing, dance party, dancing, free event, Jim McDonnell on September 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

For the past two seasons, photographer and film editor Jim McDonnell has released a video titled “Coney Island Dancing” after the boardwalk dancers pack it in for the season. We’re happy to report that the 2012 edition has arrived just in time for, well more dancing on the Boardwalk! The Coney Island Dancers have announced that they are extending their season of free outdoor dance parties with an October Fest from September 29 through Halloween.

Posted on Labor Day, “Coney Island Dancing 2012” opens with the legendary Tony Disco before segueing to the legendary dancing doll known as “Miss Coney Island.” Both are charismatic old-timers who are famous in Coney Island and deserve wider acclaim. Nice to see them start this show, which distills a season’s worth of dance moves on the Boardwalk and the Polar Express and at Luna Park, Wonder Wheel Park and the Mermaid Parade and Ball into a joyous four minute forty-five second video. Here are links to Jim’s dance vids from 2010 and 2011 in case you missed ’em. Party on!