Day 1: Coney Island
Day 1: Coney Island
Richard Davis
What a great start to the trip, only a few hours after landing and we are riding the classic Cyclone. The back seat is simply brutal! Its 2am in the UK and everyone is now desperate for some sleep! Roll on the first hotel! Miss you already honey!
Chris Hull
Well were here and what a good start to the trip. Coney Island lived up to expectations with the Cyclone providing a great way to get going after the flight across. Great atmosphere with fantastic weather to match. A long day but well worth it. Nice to find the hotel and cool down with a beer!
Andycoasterboy
Day one and Coney Island first ride on the great running Cyclone, dedicated to the late, great Jack Holmes on bus now heading to the Ride of Steel
Paul Worts
Is this the Japan Trip?
Jeff Holmes
Cyclone was the perfect coaster to wake us up after long haul flight. Very rough esp in back seat but still very good. I thought Paul Worts was still in Germany
Paul Orsmond
Coney Island is a park I never thought I would get to in my life, but finally Ive made it with the Club at last, and it's been worth the wait too. The Coney Island Cyclone was superb, and a fantastic ride, and while a little rough around the edges, it's still provides a great ride. The Wonder Wheel was also very nice and the icing on the cake. Overall a good start to the trip
Mick FK
Hi Liz, Crystal and Karl! Well Coney Island, what a historical place to start our trip. Cyclone is totally crazy. It turns in every direction but for its age it can hold its own against the best of them. I thought it was great and hospitality as usual was very good.
Dave Scott
Totally shocked Coney Island is fab! 90 degrees and as warm a welcome could be asked for from the US of A. Cyclone is hard work but what better way to stretch your legs after an 8 hour flight?
Lars Sorensen
When we arrived at Astroland, we were a bit tired. But Cyclone quickly fixed that. The coaster really surprised me, and the hospitality was great, thumbs up.
Steve Fagin
Totally ace start to the trip. Sea air, candyfloss and a world first for me: a wooden coaster that combined extreme roughness with real style. Nice!
Mark Riley
First ride of the trip: Coney Island Cyclone in the back seat. Does it get any better than that? I cant wait to find out! My thoughts were also with my old friend Jack Holmes, who I am sure was watching us all during our stay. He was "Mr Cyclone." All I need now is a shower (and maybe a beer!)
Andrew Lamb
What a start to the trip, could not have asked more. Cyclone although extremely rough was very enjoyable. Well done Coney Island for the great hospitality.
David Elvy
Well, a long day, what with the journey and all, but everything ran smoothly. After our arrival in New York, we made our way to Coney Island, home of the famous Cyclone. Well, it may be almost 80 years old, but what a ride, great drops, airtime, and one hell of a punch - amazing ride. Coney Island itself is very interesting, lots of game and food stalls, and some insane flat rides. A very unique place indeed.
Malcolm Marr
First coaster of the trip was a really nice little ride that had everyone smiling and laughing. I dont mean the Coney Island Cyclone. I refer to the little apple coaster with the turntable station. The woody was just too brutal for my liking, and Im glad I have got it out of the way.. Tim got scared in the spook-a-rama, big girl. In New York its illegal to throw a rabbit from a moving trolley. I didnt put this to the test, couldnt find a rabbit anywhere.
Tim Herre
Second time to Coney STOP Excellent STOP Gangsta Rappers on the Cyclones station STOP Go, go, go motherf****r STOP Jumped three times on the Spookarama Ghost Train STOP Did the kiddie coasters first STOP Im hanging around too much time with those geeks from German newsgroup onride.de STOP Will try to do better STOP See you at the bar STOP Sleep is for wimps STOP
Martin Valt
The Cyclone remains a contemporary treasure from a bygone age. Regards to Jack Holmes.
Yvonne Janik
I loved going straight from the airport to the Cyclone, and the coaster was awesome. I live for airtime, and the second to the back seat had superb airtime. Too fun!
John Coffield
Well here we go again. Cyclone was smoother than the last time I rode it. It is still an excellent ride. Andy says Hi, Bonnie. Wish you were here, you would love this trip.
Justin Garvanovic
What a great day. The last time I rode the Cyclone was in 1989, and I was only slightly impressed back then. Now I'm a full member of the Cyclone appreciation society. Truly wonderful. Back but one seat was incredible. All hail the daddy! :> Today had to be dedicated to the memory of Jack Holmes. Today was great, but it would have been just perfect if he was there. We miss you Jack.
Bart van Goethem
OMG Cyclone blew me away. It was total madness, but I really loved it. loads of ejection seat airtime. We have seen a lot of weird people at this nostalgic park. Their Wonderwheel was really funny! And the weather is lovely.
Paul Freeman
A good first day. Coney Island was smarter and tidier that I expected. The Cyclone was great to ride, running very well for it's age.
Midas van de Graaf
Cyclone was a lot better than I expected and so in fact was the rest of Coney Island. The boardwalk is nice and the Wonder Wheel pretty scary. An excellent start of this mad trip.
Mark Sebley
A nice start to the trip. Cyclone a great ride. The shooting gallery along the board walk was interesting, Advertised as shoot the freak, a real live target(he really was). I hope he was getting paid well!
David & Susan Ellis
A great start to the trip. Arrived mid-afternoon to a sunny and warm Coney Island to ride the Cyclone. After riding it 5 years ago and finding it somewhat brutal, today it seemed much better than previously, with both front and near-back seats offering a great ride. Hopefully the weather will stay nice. Hello to all back home in cold, rainy England!
David Harrington
Coney Island used to be bigger, but there is still definitely a buzz to the place, something sadly missing from many amusement parks, and the sense of showmanship is something to behold. The park has some unique rides - the Cyclone being the most obvious, but also the Wonder Wheel is one of only two tracked ferris wheels in the world. The Cyclone is a surprisingly vicious ride but great fun. The rest of the park is a mixture of spin rides and stalls - as a spin ride fan the Top Spin would appear to be the most extreme of these. Overall, a good park and, judging by the holiday crowds there, still very popular.
Chris Simon
I had visited in 2001 and was left unmoved by both Coney Island and the Cyclone however both today have made me revisit my opinions. The Cyclone is running great, no roughness to speak of, just a fast, furious and fun ride with scarily steep and abrupt drops. Much preferred the back half though for the airtime as being pulled into the drops, and also the front had too many laterals for me at the entry of the turnarounds.. Coney Island itself was alive with a great carnival atmosphere.
Lutz Konerding
There are only two words to say: perfect start!!!
Carolyn Buckley & Alan Prior
Both me and Caz were pleasantly surprised by the Cyclone. A ride that was full of pace and lots of fun, sharp turns and steep drops. With loads of padding on the seats, lap bars and just in front of your knees the ride was comfortable to ride too. That was to change though as mid way through the day the comfortable train was replaced with a less than comfortable train. We were extremely impressed by the New York method of loading trains gives a new meaning to Go! Go! Go!. Tussauds parks take notice. The owners of Astroland had gone out of their way to make us all fell welcome and provided us all with wristbands, Cyclone tickets, information and a complementary beach safe. They also contacted the local and national media and it we were interviewed about our love of rollercoasters in general and our views on the Cyclone in particular. Free on-street entertainment was provided by the NYPD and one of Cazs highlights of the day was being asked for ID when trying to buy beer.
Chris Penn
Wow ,what a start to the trip straight off the plane and on cyclone its a fantastic woodie the back seat is awesome!
Tim Tipler
What an excellent ride the 79 year old cyclone is well worth the very long day hi to Jan and James speak to you soon
Leon Schuurbiers
You could tell the crew at Astroland love roller coast6ers, as they were almost as excited as we were. After a short introduction and some radio and TV recordings, we finally got to ride the one and only Coney Island Cyclone (or should that be Astroland Cyclone?). The first ride was in the back, and my co-rider and I filled the seats completely. The ride was fast paced and full of surprises, even if you know a cyclone-inspired roller coaster like the one in Movie Park Germany. The second ride was more to the front, this time my co-rider and I were able to move. This proved to be a disadvantage, since we would crash into each other in the curves (sorry Midas!), which made the whole experience a lot more painful. We decided two rides was enough and move on to do some other rides in Astroland and Wonder Wheel park, most of which are useful additions to the park. Ah well, lets get some sleep and enjoy New England tomorrow!
Peter Procter
Wow, what a good way to start a trip - Cyclone and Astroland/Denos was mad but great. Cyclones staff have to be seen to be believed! Wonder Wheel was great fun too, along with Spookarama. I already have a free souvenir - a cut to a finger courtesy of Cyclone. Had to leave its mark somehow! Great first day, I look forward to more!
Bob Clark
The Front seat on Cyclone at Coney Island - A Legend in its lifetime. What a start to a fantastic American Adventure.a big thanks to Bill G for being an excellent guide to the park. and the beer. Big hi from NY to Roger, Eve and family back home.
Steve Davies
Hi Les! An 80yr old coaster as one of my favourites? Cyclone is so wild it has to be! The first of many favourites on this trip Im sure!
Even Stangebye
The trip started as an explosion on the Cyclone - what a crazy ride! Both nice and extreme at the same time - and I got at least 2 souvenir-wounds that will haunt me for the rest of the trip! Looking forward to Superman Ride of Steel tomorrow!!!
Nina Kleppe
It was a good start of the trip with a ride on The Cyclone, which was my first coaster in the US. It was good, but a bit rough, especially in the back. Looking forward to the rest of the trip.
Eirik Erstad
Wow! What a start to a very promising trip! I must admit that Cyclone let me down the first time I rode it two years ago, but today the ride was much better. Still wild and crazy, just like a roller coaster should be. I also enjoyed the flat rides at Astroland and of course the Sea Serpent, my 150th coaster! To Cecilie and Jonas who could not go on this trip: wish you were here!
Odd Arne Roste
A good, but painful start on my first ECC trip. For the first time I had to take my hands from the over head position when the second drop of Cyclone in the back seat gave me bruises on my right thigh. I have to thank my wife Eva that she let me go on such a trip. I love you.
Kim Varde Lassen
What a strange place, what strange people... in a good way that is. The Cylone operators where as gangsta as they come. Loud and very bossy. I saw two guys in the park with snakes around their necks... 2 live snakes!!! But it all added to the special ambiance of Coney Island, I guess. The Cyclone itself was as loud an bossy as the operators... whouuu it just kept on punching... at 90 km/h.... aaa my knee. However, the 80 year old ride was just great fun and a great way to start this fantastic trip.
Jeppe Nygaard
Day one was the travel day, which started fine for me in Copenhagen but went badly in Frankfurt when the airline discovered the plane had mechanical problems, and we had to de-plane. We needed a spare 747 somewhere. I was delayed for over two hours, so I missed the JFK coaches and had to take a cab to Coney Island. The Cyclone was very fast, a bit rough, but a very neat old ride. The ride operators on the Cyclone should earn the prize for being the rudest ride ops I have ever encountered. It was a bit humorous as they treated us like cattle on the way to the butcher. I really liked the park overall, and it had a unique, special atmosphere.
