Save your quarters, it’s only 7 weeks till Miss Coney Island’s first dance of the 2016 season. The Coney Island amusement area’s traditional Palm Sunday opener is early this year — March 20 — and it’s still costs only 25 cents a a dance. Miss Coney’s twin mottoes are “25¢ to Fall in Love” and “Don’t Postpone Joy.” The doll and her dancing cats are located on West 12th Street below the Wonder Wheel and next door to the Coney Island History Project.
Merry Christmas from Amusing the Zillion! Here’s our holiday compilation of videos showing seasonal celebrations at parks and attractions around the world. Among the wonderful and sometimes wacky gems are the Christmas Parade at Seoul’s Lotte World, the world’s largest indoor theme park; a choral group singing while riding a roller coaster at Sweden’s Liseberg; and the mermaids at Florida’s Weeki Wachee Springs trimming their underwater tree.
The Mermaid show at Weeki Wachee Springs State Park in Spring Hills, Florida, is presented daily, including Christmas. This year’s “Elf on a Shelf” music video was created by Merstar and Andrew Brusso.
The underwater entertainment at South Korea’s COEX Aquarium currently features Scuba Santa delivering presents to the fish.
Last week, Christmas came early to the San Diego Zoo. Polar bears Kalluk, Chinook, and Tatqiq got a gift of snow – 26 tons of it! The surprise snow was made possible by donors who contributed to the animal care wish list on the San Diego Zoo website, sandiegozoo.org. The bears, who came to the zoo as orphans, rolled around in the fresh powder and wrestled with each other all morning long. “This was a special day for the polar bears, and I could tell they really loved it,” said Susan Purtell, senior keeper, San Diego Zoo. “It was great seeing them roll around in the snow, showcasing their natural behaviors.”
In Pennsylvania, Kennywood’s annual Holiday Lights celebration, which concludes this weekend, includes a spin on the park’s 1926 Dentzel carousel. YouTube user 20th century Wurlitzer recorded the ride’s band organ, a 1916 Wurltizer #153, which is considered the oldest of its kind, playing Christmas music. Here’s “If It Doesn’t Snow On Christmas,” which is appropriate considering the warm temps in the Northeast.
One of the most popular feast days in Sweden leading up to Christmas is St. Lucia’s Day, when celebrants wear white garments and a wreath of candles and there are processions galore. This year, Hellmans Drengar, known as Sweden’s bravest men’s choir, probably broke the record for the world’s fastest St. Lucia procession. Their approach was a novel one: singing Lucia songs at 56 miles per hour, on the Balder roller coaster at Gothenberg’s Liseberg Park.
In Scandinavia, it is said that celebrating St. Lucia’s Day will help one thrive during the long winter days with enough light. Christmas at Liseberg runs through December 30.
At Germany’s Europa Park, the Winter Wonderland celebration continues through January 10th. The park is elaborately themed for the winter season, with Yule logs ablaze on ice floes, sleigh rides, parades, and a Christmas Market. The park’s Giant Wheel is dressed in candy cane colors and the Eurosat roller coaster is beribboned in red.
Last but not least, from Walt Disney World in Orlando, here’s a magical time lapse video of the resort’s famed Christmas parade and fireworks.
The 2015 edition of photographer and film editor Jim McDonnell’s annual “Coney Island Dancing” video was released over the weekend. Miss Coney Island and her dancing cats, who are still open for business at 25 cents a dance, start the show! Its the fifth year in a row that Jim has compiled his fabulous footage of Boardwalk dancers extraordinaire. “Dancing and music is an integral part of Coney Island,” he says. “This year’s soundtrack is ‘I Know You Got Soul’ by Bobby Byrd (James Brown’s legendary sideman) Enjoy!”
Amusing the Zillion 