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Photo of the Day: Whale Vibrations in Coney Island’s Wonder Wheel Park

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged amusement park, Bruce Handy, Coney Island, Deno's Wonder Wheel Park, kiddie ride, photograph, reflection, Willie the Whale on May 15, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Whale Vibrations. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

The title of Coney Island photographer Bruce Handy/pablo 57‘s knockout photo of this popular kiddie ride at Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park is “Whale Vibrations.” Commenters on his flickr photostream liked the composition and the splash of color against a clear blue sky. It’s one of our favorites, too!

The ride’s official name is Willie the Whale and its manufacturer is Zamperla, whose Luna Park with 19 rides is set to open next door to Deno’s on Memorial Day Weekend. Willie the Whale is one of three Zamperla rides currently operating in Coney Island’s amusement area. Can anyone guess the names and locations of the other two? We’ll post photos of those rides as soon as we receive the correct answers.

Coney Island’s 40 rides including the Wonder Wheel and the Cyclone roller coaster opened for the 2010 season on Palm Sunday. This weekend is sunny with temps in the mid-70s. Willie the Whale says come out and ride!

Photo of the Day: Let It Snow! in Coney Island

Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged A little snow for the holidays, Bruce Handy, Coney Island Boardwalk, photograph, real snow, virtual snow on December 4, 2009| Leave a Comment »

The first snow of the season has yet to arrive in Coney Island, but the weather forecast says 70% chance of snow on Saturday night. Coney Island resident and ATZ contributing photographer Bruce Handy/pablo57 sent us this exquisite image of a snowy day on the Boardwalk in January: “One of my favorite photos from last season. Ranked number 4 in my top 100.” It’s one of our faves, too.

Coney Island, January 18, 2009: Blissful Light on Dusted Lamp Post. Photo © Bruce Handy/Pablo 57 via flickr

Have you noticed it’s already snowing on our blog? One of the “extras” for the holiday season on WordPress.com is animated snow. Our blog host has been doing this for the past two years. Amusing the Zillion debuted in April, so this is our first virtual snow. We’re enjoying it! Apologies in advance if anyone is inconvenienced. According to the instructions for “allowing” the snow, it can slow down the load time and eat up a lot of CPU on slower computers. There’s also a link for “preventing” the snow, if you choose. The snow is expected to end on January 4.

Photo Album: Coney Islanders and Carnies at San Gennaro

Posted in festival, Photo Album, tagged carnival, festival, game, Italian feast, Little Italy, New York City, photograph, ride, San Gennaro, street fair on September 24, 2009| 1 Comment »

Floss & Apples at San Gennaro. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Last Friday marked ATZ’s first weekend away from Coney Island and first weekend off since Memorial Day! After winding up the season at the People’s Playground on September 13, we soon began to miss the noise and the crowds. We headed over to the closest carnival—the 82nd Annual Feast of San Gennaro.

Strolling along Mulberry Street from Houston to Canal, we met quite a few Coney Islanders who’d brought their games, sideshows and food stands to Little Italy. In fact, the stand where we finally stopped for calamari because it looked the most appetizing turned out to be owned by the proprietors of Gyro Corner on Coney Island’s Boardwalk. Different menu in Little Italy, thanks to Mama’s sauce.

Carnival Rides on Grand Street. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Hit the Hammer, Ring the Bell. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Monica from Dreamland. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Lucys Fabulous Marquee. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Lucy’s Palace is famous for their sausage sandwiches, but I was struck by the fabulous hand-painted marquee on their vintage trailer. A lot on Mulberry was filled with game concessionaires from Surf Ave and Dreamland and a trio of single-o’s direct from Coney Island. Kima “The Elephant Woman” made her sideshow debut this summer in Coney at John Strong’s Strangest Show on Earth. A ten-in-one sideshow with some former Coney freaks including Eak the Geek was there early in the week. You just never know who or what will turn up at this 10 day extravaganza in the narrow streets of Little Italy. This is the place where Coney Island’s world famous Shoot the Freak got its start!

Direct from Coney Island! Stephen was the talker at the Elephant Woman's single-o. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Toy Store Amusements Festival Wheel at San Gennaro. Photo © Tricia Vita/me-myself-i via flickr

Toy Store Amusements’ Festival Wheel and three kiddie rides nudged up against the apartment buildings on Grand Street. In the increasingly gentrified streets of New York City, amusement rides at street fairs are becoming a rare sight. As far as carnival games, water race fun and one ball in wins were it.. The iPod Touch was the most hyped prize. The complete Photo Album: Coney Islanders and Carnies at San Gennaro can be viewed on flickr.