Archive for the ‘Visitor Info’ Category

Coney Island After Columbus Day: We’re Still Open!

Posted in amusement park, Visitor Info, tagged after Labor Day, Coney Island, off season, year round on October 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Boardwalk Acrobat. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

UPDATE: This is a post from October 2010! Please see report from September 13, 2013: “Coney Island Always: Visiting the Big CI Year-Round” here.

Labor Day weekend was the official close of the beach season, but we’re thrilled to inform you Coney Island is open year round. You can walk on your hands or feet along the Boardwalk from Seagate to Brighton. You can dance, run, bicycle, people-watch and snap photos any old time of the year. Don’t miss Coney Island’s much-photographed New York City landmarks. The Parachute Jump (aka Brooklyn’s Eiffel Tower), the Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone and the terra cotta palace on the Boardwalk at 21st Street that was Childs Restaurant are always ready for their close-ups.

If you’re visiting from afar and wonder if Coney Island is worth the trip during the “off season,” here’s our short list of things to do…

Spookarama, Classic Dark Ride at Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Rides & Attractions: Coney Island is not a single operator park like Six Flags; it’s an historic Brooklyn neighborhood with 59 individually-operated rides and diverse attractions. The 83-year-old Cyclone and 90-year-old Wonder Wheel recently closed for yearly maintenance, but the majority of Coney’s rides are expected to remain open weekends through mid to late October 2010. Weather permitting, of course. Schedules vary at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, Luna Park, McCullough’s Kiddie Park, 12th Street Amusements and Eldorado Bumper Cars. We recommend checking the Coney Island Fun Guide attraction listing or phoning ahead if the weather is iffy.

If you’re visiting in November, December etc., keep in mind New York City is not located in the same latitude as Orlando, Florida–Coney Island’s rides are not open year round. The traditional opening day of the season is Palm Sunday, which will be April 17, 2011.

Coney Island USA’s Creep Show at the Freak Show and Luna Park’s Nights of Horror featuring a haunted maze and 12 amusement rides will be open evenings from October 15 through Halloween 2010.

Banner for Luna Park Presents Nights of Horror...Here to Haunt You, October 2010. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i

On the Boardwalk, Cha Cha’s is open through Halloween and Ruby’s will have their annual grill out party on October 23rd and closing party on Oct 31. On Friday, Oct 15th at 7 pm, Robert “Bluesman” Ross and Blues Manian will kick off Cha Cha’s weekend tribute to J.T., the club’s late manager. The Rockinghams play at 5 pm and Bluesball at 8 pm on Saturday, October 16th and an all-day Jam session on Sunday will start at 2:30. Visit Cha Cha’s website for details.

Most of the Boardwalk businesses– Paul’s Daughter, Gyro Corner, Lola Star Boutique, Shoot the Freak and the Grill House, among others–remain open through Halloween. If you have a sentimental favorite, be sure to pay a visit. Some of the Boardwalk businesses won’t be returning in 2011, but we won’t know who’s in and who’s out until new landlord Zamperla makes the announcement on October 31.

On any day of the week, you can visit the New York Aquarium’s Alien Stingers exhibit and have lunch at Nathan’s Famous or another neighborhood eatery. ATZ recommends Gargiulo’s, Totonno’s, Footprints and Coney Island Soup Shop, all of which are open year round.

The Coney Island History Project’s free audio/video walking tour of the amusement area makes Coney Island’s past and present accessible to visitors 365 days a year. Before you leave home, download it to your iPod or listen to it live on your iPhone.

Robert Wilson Mural Detail in Stillwell Terminal, Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Snap pix of the Robert Wilson murals in Stillwell Station, the Os Gemeos mural just outside the statio and the Dreamland Artists Club signage on Bowery and Jones Walk. At the Coney Island Library, a five-minute walk from Stillwell Terminal, artist Takeshi Yamada’s Museum of World Wonders: Cabinet of Curiosities is on permanent exhibition.

Marie Roberts’ sideshow banners adorn Coney Island USA’s Building on Surf Ave and 12th Street. The Coney Island Museum is open weekends year round. Admission is 99 cents.

Williams Candy in Coney Island. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

On Surf Ave next to Nathan’s outdoor dining area, you’ll find Williams Candy. The tiny shop is filled with scrumptious candy treats and is open year round. Hours are 9 am till 7 pm during the off season. Williams also has a delicious looking website where you can order marshmallow sticks and other candy treats online.

The Coney Island Beach Shop on Stillwell behind Nathan’s, offers a large selection of Coney-themed hoodies, T- shirts, blankets and other souvenirs. Open 7 days a week, 10:30 am till around 6 pm during the off season.

Psychedelic hoodie at Coney Island Beach Shop. Open year round! Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

New in 2010: Coney Island Fun Phone Addition to CI Fun Guide

Posted in News, Visitor Info, tagged Brooklyn, Coney Island Development Corporation, Coney Island Fun Guide, Coney Island Fun Phone, tourism marketing, Visitor hotline on February 3, 2010| Leave a Comment »

For the 2010 season, the CIDC’s Coney Island Fun Guide team is launching a visitor hotline called the Coney Island Fun Phone. A template version of the Fun Phone has been up and running since October to get feedback from Coney Island amusement area stakeholders.

We jotted down the phone number at the stakeholders meeting where the idea was introduced. The project strikes us as very promising. Someone asked how the Fun Phone will be marketed. Well, here you go…

Dial 1-877-71-CONEY

The hotline’s official launch date has yet to be announced, but the number is already posted on the Coney Island Fun Guide’s Facebook Fan Page. We recommend saving the number in your cellphone right now. Coney Island’s official opening day is March 28th–just 53 days away!

The Coney Island Fun Phone’s main menu includes Upcoming Events, Directions & Parking, Rides & Attractions, Eating, Shopping, Voice Mail for Fun Phone Team and return to the main and sub menus. If you hit #3 for Rides & Attractions, you’ll get the menu for 6 different attractions including the Beach and Boardwalk, The Cyclones, Cyclone Roller Coaster, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, New York Aquarium, Ringling Circus, and submenu access to 10 more attractions.

The CIDC’s Daniel Mulé, who is the voice of the Coney Island Fun Phone Team, has recorded short and engaging descriptions of the attractions along with prices, hours and phone numbers. Here’s a sample….

Beach and Boardwalk

At the Coney Island beachfront you can find the perfect spot along two miles of sandy shoreline or enjoy a stroll along the legendary Riegelmann Boardwalk. The Beach and Boardwalk are free for all visitors and accessible year round. The beach is open for swimming from 10 am to 6 pm all summer from Memorial Day Weekend till Labor Day Weekend. For more information on beach rules and regulations contact the park manager at 718-946-1353.

The Fun Phone seems to be geared to people who are unable to access the web-based Coney Island Fun Guide. Perhaps they do not use a computer. Or they don’t have web access on their cellphones.

The restaurant listings and phone numbers came in handy when we were in Coney Island with friends who suddenly changed their plan about where to eat. The Fun Phone offers a wide range of dining choices. In addition to Nathan’s Famous and places on the Boardwalk, you’ll find out about Surf Ave sit-down bars and eateries like Peggy O’Neill’s, Ragazzi’s Pizza, Footprints Café, and Surf & Turf, and neighborhood mainstays like Gargiulo’s, Totonno’s and Coney Island Soup Shop. We bet there’s a restaurant on the Fun Phone that some regular visitors have not tried yet.

ATZ gives the Coney Island Fun Guide high marks. Before the Guide was launched last summer, there was no such thing as a comprehensive calendar of Coney events. Coney Island is not a single operator amusement park like Six Flags, but an amusement district made up of many individually owned and operated businesses. During the season, the Cyclone Roller Coaster, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park, the Coney Island Sideshow and other attractions field hundreds of phone calls from potential visitors with general questions about Coney Island. This season they will be able to redirect some of the callers to the hotline.

Please note that the Fun Phone is still under development and hasn’t been updated for the 2010 season yet. “We will definitely get it live for the summer,” says Mulé. “No official launch date scheduled — pending some further comprehensive thinking about our marketing efforts for this year.”

The Coney Island Fun Guide also has an e-newsletter and a Facebook Fan Page that you can join now.