Coney Island
Category: Amusement Parks [Edit]
Brooklyn, NY 11224
- Good for Kids: Yes
43 Reviews for Coney Island
Nice beach. It's great for people watching; or for my new favorite pastime, watching professional AVP Beach Volleyball while munching on bbq, and slingin' back a nice cold brew. I knew Coney Island was good for something.
The sand is nice, not the best in the entire world, but it's do-able. "How's the water?" I hear you asking. I don't know. Here's my question, where are the lockers? I couldn't for the life of me find a place to store my watch, phone, etc..., while I swim.
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Coney Island is Brooklyn. Without it Brooklyn would just be, well, Queens.
Coney is Brooklyns back yard where all the freaks and geeks come out and play. It is home of all that is unusual. It is home to a ratty unsafe wooden rollercoaster that people are crazy enough to ride. Its filled with the Brooklyn spirit.
You can go to sun tan or swim in the beach, or hang out with friends eating an ice cream on the boardwalk; you can visit the very cheesy but amazing Side Show where the audience is freakier than the freaks themselves or you can get away from the sun by walking to the Aquarium where you can try and find Nemo. The rides are fun, many of them are kid friendly and if you get the package deal they come out fairly cheap.
Yo, tourists and people from Williamsburg who just moved in from Ohio. CONEY IS NOT A MINI DISNEY. So dont expect it to be clean, friendly and filled with people in character suits. Go into Coney expecting an adventure. Go in ready to see something different and come out feeling like a Warrior.
Can you dig it?
(The Warriors is a movie of a gang from Coney Island. Watch it.)
CONEY ISLAND BEACH
My girlfriend and me spent some time chillin' on the beach at Coney Island. Brought a giant beach towel, cooler, beach umbrella, sunscreen, etc, so we were prepared for an afternoon of fun in the sun. It's not the greatest or cleanest beach around, but it's an easy subway ride for a quick afternoon getaway.
Some friendly tips:
1. Try not to walk barefoot on the sand. The beach sand is relatively littered, since most people have no common sense and do not dispose of their trash properly, and the Park's department doesn't seem to have a vested interest in keeping the beach clean. Lots of broken glass, for which I can attest to since I almost cut my right foot.
2. Don't buy beer from anyone walking around on the beach selling it. You may get tempted when you hear someone shouting, "cold sodas and beers...Coronas," but apparently drinking beer on the beach is illegal and can get you a ticket. Not a fine, mind you, but a summons to appear in court. We almost learned the hard way, but got lucky.
3. And don't feed the seagulls. They're annoying as it is scavaging the beach. Feeding them only attracks their nuissance even more.
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I had several people tell me Coney Island was 'horrible' or a 'shit hole' or other terrible verses. By the time I got home I was telling my girlfriend 'those people have no imagination.'
Coney Island is probably one of the most surreal yet fun places I have ever been. Skee ball, bumper cars, the CYCLONE!, beer, hot dogs, funnel cakes, lemonade, ice cream, i mean CMON! We also went during Siren festival and were able to catch some sets in between all the dare develling and ride wrangling.
I think it is very unfortunate that they are going to be tearing parts of this place down, as I can see how it is one of the most memorable carnivals in the world, and right there on the beach.
If you don't like coney island or cant find something fun to do there, I feel sorry for you.
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No matter what as a native Brooklynite Coney Island will always been a special spot to me. I'm sad to see that they are taking certain things away but there are certain things that no matter what they can't take away thank god. I can't imagine Coney Island without the Wonder Wheel, the Cyclone, Nathan's and the beach. I'm crossing my fingers they can't turn astroland into a condo nightmare. It's kinda sad because there are so many vacant lots there they can choose to build on anyway.
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From the beach to the rides i love this place will go back every year ,I dream of that CYCLONE ride wow i mean its old but it will make you SCREAMMMM,great old school music and rides and the food to which you have many choices is incredible cant go wrong with NATHANS HOT DOGS great beach food and the boardwalk is very entertaining some of my family live in Brooklyn been going for years you have to try it out for yourself.....
Who the F*CK shuts down fireworks on the 4th of July because a 1/4 inch of rain has fallen over the course of 90 minutes? Whoever gets paid in advance, I guess. What a disappointment.
The place was a pigsty, and yes I will count that against them. Food was littered EVERYWHERE. We're talking complete funnel cakes, orders of fries, you name it. They did take the time to clean up the detritus and 'reversal of fortunes' from the hot dog eating contest. Maybe if they hired as many sanit workers to this detail and less cops, whose 'presence' included standing under any sheltered spot and chatting with each other or on their cell phones. Yeah I'm sure that prevented many thefts. The skee-ball machines were all broken and/or missing balls. Nathan's hot dog prices went up again.
And this coming on the heels of the lamest mermaid parade I have seen. My digital camera actually shut down twice because of inactivity. 90% of the people were the same as every year, though the amount of 3rd rate Suicide Girls was thankfully less this year.
At this point Coney Island is clinging on through ridiculous whimsical romantic second hand memories by hipsters who weren't even there 'back in the day'. It's gone, ok? No more "This is the last year!"; it comes off like those cheesy discount stores that are always "Lost Our lease! Shutting Down Forever!" My motto for them is "Do Not Resuscitate." Bury this corpse and put some condos on it's grave, I could give a rats ass; I can sell my place in 5 years claiming it's 'just minutes away'.
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I knew what I was getting in to and I didn't expect much.
Because of that Coney Island actually exceeded my expectations. I had a really great time!
My top 6 reasons to go to Coney Island:
6) Astroland - old, crickety rides are the scariest
5) Nathan's Hot Dog - disappointing, but if you are going to travel that far, you have to try it
4) $1 dollar hot dogs across from Nathans that taste just as good if not better
3) Hanging out at the pier sipping $1dollar beer sold by hawkers
2) Seeing the Atlantic Ocean
1) Funnel Cake - my first time, and let me tell you, this stuff is good.
It is also a nice, cheap way to "travel" somewhere with a group of friends, make a day out of it, and go home feeling really spent and having to take a shower cuz it was such an adventure and there is no place like home.
I wish they wouldn't shut down Coney Island, err, I mean, they say they are going to reduce it to 1/3 of what it is right now, and it's already small enough. Why take this tradition and place of so much history away for some lame high rise buildings? Home of the franks and eating contest...Nathan's I really like them fries and corn dogs.
Darn it. Please tell me I didn't miss mermaid day. I'm so there! Crap, I think I did. Varmit.
Ok, I just googled it, and yes, I missed the mermaid parade on June 21. Have to check that out next year. Too bad I was away in California that day.
You can't help but love Coney Island for all its character. The people, the painted garbage cans, the closed down rides, the shops, the crowd, the beach, the plank...don't dive...but what if someone pushed you in? Nah, you don't want that to happen...
Oh, and as many cops as there are, I've seen people rolling those leaves like it's nothing, as if it were legal, so if you want to get your smoke on, go for it, I guess.
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Freaks, carnies, urban decay, cheap beer, crap food, parties on the boardwalk, the beach. I love this place and hope they can fight against the contractors that want to turn it into Disney/Condo land.
Idiots from California give Coney a bad review because they do not understand the history behind anything.
As a true new yorker and a Polar Bear, Coney Island is my favorite place on earth. It has real NY charm and real NY people.
If you have never been don't hesitate and go before it's gone. Money grubbing developers are making their way in and the Coney Island I and many NY'ers know and love will be gone.
Go ride the cyclone, eat a dog at nathans or get some funnel cake and just take it all in. Go to a Cyclones game for $8. You cant beat that and ive got some great memories of games there.
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This place gets a bad rap simply because people do not know how to visit. First of all, go with a group. Second, hold onto your stuff. Third, don't act like an idiot. Got it? Good.
Moving on, this place is amazing and I've gone at least once every summer since I was a baby. Go to Nathan's, eat on the boardwalk, check out the freak show, just walk around if you don't like rides. And you MUST go on the Cyclone unless...well, unless you suck.
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i had one of the best days ever here at coney island not too long ago. you put together awesome roller coaster rides, good junk food, some cool sea creatures to admire at the aquarium... all in a surreal and nostalgic setting that seems on the verge of disappearance and with my dear B by my side... and well, it makes for almost a perfect day.
we started the day with some nathan's hot dogs... yep, they do taste better here than other nathan's. maybe it's psychological, i don't really care... but it was a damn good hot dog. with fries and a beer... we were off to a good start.
probably not the wisest move, but decided to ride the cyclone pretty much right after nathan's. the cyclone was awesome... it's the classic old-school rickety wood track roller coaster that makes all those sounds to make you feel on edge and get you all anxious. it's got the drops, twists, turns, and everything else to make you scream like a little girl and make you want to do it all over again when it comes to an end. thus, why not!? slightly cheaper on the 2nd go-round... so we rode it again back to back... this time in the very front seat. yeah... i got a bit of a headache and whiplash from the 2 rides but man, it was exhilarating!
the unexpected surprise here was the aquarium. i assumed it wouldn't be great of an aquarium but it was really cool! saw all sorts of cool sea creatures, incl some neat jellyfish, super huge walruses, sharks, etc. after the day i was having thus far, not to mention being surrounded by a bunch of little kids that were in awe and wonder at the sight of these creatures, i totally felt like a kid all over again. as B phrased it perfectly, it was a "coney island high".
i highly recommend you check out coney island before the developers get in there and most likely ruin the magic of the place. go enjoy one of the truly unique aspects / attractions of new york, and go enjoy being a kid again. i definitely did.
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Freaks and Geeks and gum on my shoe
Beer-cans and bad tans and the smell of poo
Eat some fried-gak and think something black as you enter the inferno..."who just touched my ass?!"
Carnies live here always, with small hands and teeth like their ethics - "Crook Kid just stole my watch!"
Hot dogs and rolling fog and a Freak in a speedo
Cop barriers and baby-carriers there's no quick walk here
but..
The stories you have to tell will be qeer, never fear
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Better fresh raw clams than the ones I had at a fine seafood place.
Watch out for the gum on the hot sticky pavement. Cool train ride out to the pier with all the graff in Brooklyn.
Fucker at the "dunk the punk" game told me to "open my eyes" after I missed the target. - I'm asian. Haha
I made up for it by shooting the freaks down the block at the "Shoot the freak" booth.
Coney Island is a landmark and should be taken care of better.
i love coney island. this was what i pictured heaven to be like when i was 7 years old and i'd come with my grandparents.
nowadays, i only like it in the winter. the deserted park is sad in a dreamy romantic sort of way.
Coney Island is wonderful if you know HOW to visit there. Here are some ideas/advice or instructions for a healthy, happy visit to Coney Island.
1. Keep children and babies close by -- both daytime and nightime. Do not let them run off.
2. Travel with buddies or in groups rather than traveling alone after dark.
3. When on line in the supermarkets in Coney Island, never jump the line (people have been stabbed there for doing that).
4. Never approach the homeless there to give them money. Have all the sympathy you like but save your money for donating through the mail or directly to organizations.
5. Visit Coney Island in the daytime. And weekends is the busyiest time ever, so if you have and can afford to visit during the week , do that.
6. If you must visit on weekends, stick together, and do not be concerned about the police presence in Coney Island on weekends. That is normal for the area. They put more police on duty in Coney Island during the "tourist season"
Now, that you have safety issues covered, go there and visit the most wonderful place in NyC.
Coney Island is GREAT!!!
pretty sure the only thing coney island has going for it is the fact that there are more trash cans on the beach than there are people.
more trash cans than trash cans in manhattan too.
people are probably tired of the shoot the freak guy and the bad hot dogs.
Listen here people. You have one more summer to enjoy this beautiful unique landmark. It may be very shady at times, but thats what makes it Coney Island. Go to the boardwalk and the beach and enjoy yourself on a nice sunny day. Life doesnt get better than a day down in Coney. enjoy the vast aray of food in the neighborhood, and soak in the scenery. If you have thought about visiting, now would be the perfect and only time!
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Conney Island pulled me towards her and I had to see for myself. As a child out in the desert I had heard of Conney Island, about the booths, about the carney's, about the Coaster...the great Cyclone. When I moved here I went to Conney Island to find out for myself if it was as romantic as I had always thought. It sort of is and sort of isn't. We have been returning for years for the beach, the people watching, the Cyclone, but nor for the food, we love the shops full of endless amounts of what-not.....Now I hear they are contemplating tearing some of it down.........and replacing it with what.....what could replace that priceless bit of the city ?
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I went by myself on a cold, bleak day in December.
I felt like I was walking through a ghost town. Only the town used to be the fun capital of everywhere. It was magic.
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3 words..shoot. the. freak.
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So finally Michelle G. and I decided to go out on our Auction Date, and since neither of us had ever been on Coney Island before, and we were too lazy to hop on the LIRR, we came to check it out and do the whole CI ritual; the boardwalk, Astroland, the cyclone and of course, beer drinking on the beach per Michelle's TOS (white bikini super-included) We took the N from Atlantic to the last stop, and it took about 20 minutes to reach Coney Island; so it's not as far as you might think, it would take 45 minutes to get there from midtown Manhattan.
Upon stepping out, we were amused at first at the "colorful" rusticity of the street stands, banners, stores and crowds. It seemed like the colors from the various rides at Astroland (yellow, red, green and purple) had oozed and crept into every building, person and store in the vicinity. We entered one such store trying to buy some towels that I had untimely forgotten, and found the most colorful towels I have ever seen in my life (and that is not a compliment) Michelle found this charming pink towel with a life sized Cinderella emblazoned with the letters "Coney Island" which we quickly purchased for the benefit of future generations. I settled for a stripped blue and green towel which one day will make a bum happy on a cold November night.
We were hungry, so we stopped by some of the food vendors on the boardwalk; now you know what kind of food you are bound to get on Coney Island; it's all amusement park fare, so yeah; hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. However, we found this one that had a nice assortment of shish kebabs, grilled corn, and even oysters *gulp*, but I had a corn dog and my date had a potato knish. Italian Ices and fresh squeezed lemonade were also at hand as well as... BEER!! On a glass dammit, but still...
It was 90 degrees, so obviously we weren't the only ones that had come to seize this hot summall (summer + fall) day, and after walking carefully in the crickety boardwalk (I thought I was in the House of Usher right before it's fall) we made our way to a nice spot on the beach, not too crowded, and perfect to catch some rays and drink up. I must mention that aside from the seagulls that you'll obviously see, there are many other types of strange birds around so be forewarned! Nice addition to the beach crowds, the random man walking by, whispering "corona, corona", and since it's obviously illegal to sell alcohol without a permit, I did my best impersonation of an Australian accent, and told the dude "Just in case you are a cop looking for entrapment; we are in fact, Australian tourists". So you can do just that, and you'll be okay getting alcohol refills from shady vendors.
After the beach we stumbled our way into Astroland, and although the experience was a bit curtailed since this place obviously it's everything it intends to be at night, we still mounted the Ferris Wheel and got a good bird's eye view of Manhattan, the GW bridge, and a lot more. Prior to getting into the Ferris Wheel, Michelle and I read that it had been there for 86 years and with ZERO record of accidents/fatalities, so don't worry; those rivets may be old, but they are mighty.
So yeah, Coney Island is something that must be done at least once (then you'll run for the subway, hesitant to return); I don't know if I can call it an effective throwback to 50's nostalgia, since we didn't see it at night, but it's definitely great to experience with a group of friends, or a gorgeous date such as mine.
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What I Did This Summer
A Back-to-School essay by Michelle G
This summer, I was in a date auction run by a really cool girl named Julie. We raised lots of money for Leukemia and Lymphoma. A boy named Javier M. won a date with me. This is the story of our date.
Javier M. and I had barrels of fun on our beach date to Coney Island. We participated in many fun activities such as:
-Getting our last tan of the summer
-Drinking beer purchased out of some sketchy dude's backpack
-Fried food consumption (disclaimer: said food may have been and probably was fried at some point, but was actually taken from a refrigerator and microwaved for us)
-Buying Disney Princess towels
-Riding the Cyclone and emerging seriously bruised. Seriously.
-Riding the ferris wheel--not the sliding cars because I am a wimp
-Pretending we were Australian tourists
-Trying to get mean people to take pictures of us (eventually we resorted to doing it ourselves, as you can see in local photos)
-Getting lost on the subway....oh wait, no, Javier did that one on his own.
And for the curious, the answer to the inevitable questions...Javier is Spanish for "Stud", and no, he did not disappear. Until I made him go home.
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It's dingy.
It's scary.
It's carney.
I loved it.
I thought it would be kind of sad and days gone by, end of an era feeling and yes, there was that. But it's still alive and everyone there knew it. Don't through dirt on old Coney Island yet. It's still happening.
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fabulous, fabulous, fabulous. Mid-week= no freaks, darn it! Best ferris wheel in the land. The carnie said it will stay along with the Cyclone. They are historical landmarks. They are taking kiddie land down
( astroland) to make way for condos and the like. The pier can definately use an overhaul with so many nails sticking out. But it was still fab old school. The weather perfect. Took black and white photo booth pics with my best friend since junior high. Priceless!
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I quite like freaks myself actually. But the "freaks" here are the least creepy people you'd find around Coney Island. I've come across chatty bums, spoon-wielding psychos and camera-carrying pedophiles. The bathrooms are also quite dirty, if you're thinking about changing in there or whatever. It's a good thing I can accurately pee into a toilet bowl from 15 feet away. That's not the world record BTW.
Still... it is Coney Island.
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Coney Island is a paradise for freaks like myself. What more could you want? There's "Shoot the Freak" a live target paintball, Nathan's delicious hotdogs, rides, dirty carnies, a beach, and enough sugar to kill a Shetland pony. The only sucky thing about Coney Island is that it took longer to get there and back from Manhattan than I got to spend there, but it was well worth it.
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Even though it is dirty and basically in the ghetto, I still love Coney. I was raised there! When I was 20 years old, [I kept track since I was 10 of how many times I had been there] I counted I had been there 42 times, yes, I have emerged myself into geek status. Thanks.
I had some of the best times there with some friends and ex boyfriends, but the odd thing is that no matter how scummy some of us might think it is - you will have a blast!! You MUST ride the cyclone no matter what time of day or night it is and be sure to have some food at Nathan's, their cheesesteaks are to-die-for. :]
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Fried clams and getting heckled by the "shoot the freak" guy? How can you put a price on that?
The freak show actually begins right when you get off of the train.
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Let me preface this review by saying that I was born in Brooklyn and remember it quite differently than how I saw it today. I remember Coney Island being the greatest place in the world. Today it was just a bit depressing.
Of course, I love me some Nathans Hot Dogs and cheese fries. I also love over-priced rides that feel rickedy and rocky. I guess I was just expecting it to be the same as it was when I was little. I really wish it wasn't going to be ripped down to build condos. I wish it was like the Coney Island of days past...
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It was a steaming hot day way back a few weeks ago and I decided to hit the shore! I'd never been to Coney Island before and wanted to catch it before it's gone. It's so fabulous that I can just jump on the subway a block from my home and be out there at the beach in less than an hour! In San Francisco it would have taken me at least two hours by bus to get to the other side of the city to the beach! Man, I love this town!!! But I digress-
Coney Island- it was after labor day and mid-week, so the place was deserted, just how I wanted to experience it. Wandered the boardwalk and took a ton of photos. Then I had a Nathan's hot dog (I made the mistake of getting cheese - or hot cheeze food product- on it, I have no idea what possessed me! Yucko!) and then sat in the sun at a picnic table and drank Red Stripes for an hour or two. Chatted with some locals and enjoyed myself immensely! I met this lovely Russian woman who had just lost her mother- we talked while she waited for a friend to join her. She made me feel all nostalgic and I felt compelled to call my grandmother. So glad I went out there !
I came here for my bday celeb yesterday and had a blast. My friends and I pigged out on Coney food (Ofcourse an official Nathan's dog, bags of cotton candy, and fresh funnel cake), visited the B&B sideshow, went on fun carnival rides, played games to win tacky dust collecting prizes, and walked the boardwalk along with interesting characters. The charm of it was cool, I guess some may call it ghetto due to run down and unsuccessful businesses on Surf Ave but Coney Is was very much alive yesterday with the diverse population of people who came to have fun. Though I didn't get to ride the Cyclone like I wanted b/c my friends decided they didn't wanna die with me, I still had a great time.
Pros:
1) Nathan's - fast lines, multiple stations, huge portions (I also had the Philly cheese w/ fries and soda for 7 bucks with my official dog for 2.75), large menu including seafood (I thought I saw a lobster on the menu too but where did they catch the lobster is suspect), and pushy people on line who get really angry that they cause a show is hilar!
2) Rides avg 4 - 5 bucks each while Games 2 bucks each
3) B&B sideshow - 6 bucks, 1/2 hr, crowded bench seats and hot as hell (at least I sweat off all the junk food I ate and didn't gain weight!), snake dance was kinda sexual, wolfman Chui and sword swallower Melanie was cute, fire show by tattoo lady was awesome.
4) Boardwalk - you can look over to the beach and watch interesting people walk by, more boardwalk food (make sure u get fresh funnel cakes made in front of u), and dance parties
5) Parking - right on 12th street and Surf Ave. 15 bucks for any 12 hours. Also the subway stops right at Coney Island for those that don't drive
Cons - loss/empty businesses on Surf Ave, not too many storefronts on the Boardwalk, not sure if beach and water is clean, heavy traffic just to get to Coney is hell
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One tends to get amped up about going to a trashy place that is not an everyday experience for him/her. Like the mall, for me. "Hey, let's go to the mall out in the 'burbs! It's been years - it'll be fun!" If you make it past the parking lot and venture into the complex, you're lucky if the irony of this outing lasts more than 5 minutes before you want to vomit or run screaming from the premises. Although the vomiting may still occur after a trip to good 'ol Coney Island, it'll take you an entire summer day to get to that point of indulgence there! A great Ferris wheel, fried dough and freaks... what else is there? I can say nothing better than what Katie Q. and Ben W. said below. See you on the beach.
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Coney Island is my litmus test for any relationship. If you don't dig Coney Island, well I'm sorry it just isn't going to work out between us. Yes, The food is greasy, the people are noisy, the rides are dangerous, the beach is filthy, the carnies are creepy, and Nathan's while good, isn't as good as people make it out to be, but that's the charm. You want to eat a 4 foot long pixiestick and go on the tilt-a-whirl? You got it. You want to eat a casing filled with nondescript meat substances, then lie on a beach with a family of Russians wearing thongs? That can also be arranged. You want Italian opera and sushi? Houston we have a problem.
The power of Coney Island is that it's totally unlike any other place on earth. It's the quintessential seedy beach-front, where vendors plea for you to shoot a freak with a paint-ball gun. It's Americana at it's finest, where you get to revel in tasteless entertainment without judgment. You have to throw away your judgments, or you will have a lousy time. As Caesar once said to his salad "When in Rome, do as the Roman's do"
Life lesson #342: A beach it isn't a place to get a nice glass of Beaujolais or a vegetable, unless you consider ketchup a vegetable.
So, when people say they don't like Coney Island, it becomes quickly apparent, that they don't want to like it. They stand there judging it with their Nalgene water bottles, complaining it's too hot and reapplying their PH balanced SPF 45 sun-block. They want to hate it, because it's safe to hate something as low class and tasteless as Coney Island.
You want respectable? Visit Maine, otherwise let the freaks be... unless you intend to shoot them for $5.
Freak Tip: Don't bring anything on the Cyclone (http://www.yelp.com/bi...). It will be either shaken out of your pockets, or crushed. Have a person in your group, who isn't riding, hold them for you while you get beaten up by the roller-coaster.
Movie Tip: The final scene in the epic film The Warriors takes place down on Coney Island (http://www.netflix.com...) and makes for good point of reference.
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so very sad coney island will soon be no more. at least, not the way i remember. i wish i could say i spent countless summers here. i've only been once but i did so love it.
grimy piece of true americana. sometimes run-down is beautiful when you're on an adventure. a real black and white photo booth. carnies at their finest. my biggest ferris wheel yet. my scariest merry go round yet. plus! i had my first-post-vegetarian-life hot dog here. it was nathan's and g.d. it was good. the long ass subway ride from sunnyside was perfect. an air conditioned reprieve from sticky nyc.
it's not for people who want everything to be polished and pretty, but i found myself quite happy.
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I knew it wasn't going to work out with one guy when we went to Coney Island. He complained about the rides being unsafe, the place being filthy, and then he was all bent out of shape because the cup his beer was in had someone else's dirty fingerprints on the inside of it. I paid to wait in line to use a toilet that was FILTHY and covered with chicken bones. Someone ate a whole bucket of fried chicken in there and threw the bones all over the toilet seat. Do you see me complaining? No way! I accept Coney Island and all its grossness. I love that on the little rock climbing wall, I was next to TWO guys who were climbing with Newports hanging out of their mouths. I love that the beach always stinks like rotting whale carcass. I love that you can spend 40 bucks on skee ball and only have enough tickets to buy a couple of packets of Sweet Tarts. And most of all, if you ever have a chance, go to the Miss Burlesque Beauty Pageant if you ever have a chance. Just go.
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This place is a broke Santa Cruz but after arriving from a one hour long subway ride from Manhattan we had a great day. My son is a Naked Brothers Band fan (a Nick show) and he wanted to see where they filmed parts of the movie so we decided to visit while in NYC. The place looks very tired and sad but we had to see it before it was demolished. It is a part of American history. My hubby and son rode the Wonder wheel 3 times. The carnies were standing around smoking cigars and they dodge the cars to open the doors for riders getting off.
We had lunch at the original Nathan's ( do you know they serve Chow mein on a bun..yuck) and walked around all the side shows and games. We walked on the rickety boardwalk( a lawsuit waiting to happen).
We saw the NYPD parading on motorbikes, beat up squadcar,van,helicopter and horse mmm I mean patrolling the boardwalk. There was even a full length NYPD bus parked on Surf Ave
It will be sad when it is gone even though it looks like it's time has come. I imagined the ghosts of generations of immigrant New Yorkers in there woolly bathing suits wading in the chilly waters in a by gone era when Coney was in it's heyday. We loved Coney Island.
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You know there is a time when you have to try everything just once, even if it takes an hour subway ride to get there.
My parents tell me that at one time this was a very magical place. Unfortunately I found it to be run down and not too pretty. And let's not forgot to mention, way over priced for some afternoon fun. $5 for a spin around the merry go round.
The food is typical, grease on a stick, and Nathan hot dogs are everywhere. Not a vegetable in site- I suppose that warms many hearts to be free from greens.
The one saving grace is the beach. On a hot day it is always a treat to walk barefoot on the sand and jump into the waves. Just watch out for glass.
For $2.25 walk a little bit and discover On the Run Pizza. A lovely veggie slice- really two- and a bottle of water.
haters can stay home. i friggin love every filthy inch of this place where carnies and freaks abound and the dude starting your ride might wander away for a few minutes to smoke or kick a pepsi machine (true story) until his soda comes out (8 minutes on a ride is a lot longer than it sounds). i think it is inevitable that this beach front property will eventually be taken over by walt disney and his cronies so in the meantime, eat a dog, pet a snake, ride the cyclone, and drink a beer at ruby's. god bless this place and god bless the poor woman whose job it is to collect quarters to pee in a trailer. never again will I complain about my job.
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