Flo’s birthday at Coney Island!
On Tuesday, Melanie, Justin, Corey, Flo and I went to Coney Island to celebrate Flo’s 21st birthday! While most people in the US go drink and get wasted on their 21st, we all decided that spending a day at Coney Island’s theme parks was a much better and more fun way to take the day in. We were so right! :)
I’ve never had so much fun at a birthday in such a long time! Read and see more pictures from that day inside…
We headed into Coney Island, Brooklyn around late 4-ish and immediately ate lunch at the original Nathan’s near the boardwalk.
Corn dogs!!!
After “lunch”, we went to Deno’s Amusement Park where the famous Wonder Wheel resides.
The Wonder Wheel had swinging cars that were SOO scary to be on.
Before we rode any rides though, we decided to take a walk along the boardwalk. We had to wait for Justin to get to Coney Island since he was unlucky enough to have to report in to work that day.
We got these unlimited ride bracelets for $24 that let you go on any ride in Astroland as many times as you wanted (with the exception of the Cyclone where you got 4 rides and the bumper cars where you were allowed 2 rides).
Before Justin got there, we decided to go on the Astroland Tower. The tower brings up way up above Coney Island and gives you a great view of the amusement parks nearby as well as a great view of the beach. Too bad the windows inside the Astroland Tower were dirty because it would have made for some great aerial shots.
Corey, Melanie, Flo and I also rode the Water Flume. I got real wet because I am an idiot and decided to sit in the front seat.
Justin finally got to Coney Island and we took our first ride on the rocking pirate ship and thoroughly scared ourselves to near-death because we sat in the last seat in the back where the sensation of free-fall was the greatest. SCARY!!!!
Since Justin had no idea that the Water Flume ride would get him really soaked, we all decided to trick him and tell him to sit in the first seat on the ride.
Hahaha!
Anyway, I don’t have pictures of the bumper cars, but DUDE, the bumper cars at Astroland were THE BEST bumper cars I’ve ever been in. They actually drove well and handled nicely. It was almost like driving a real car into another real car. Plus, the cars went pretty quick so if you drove head-on into somebody else, they were literally jolted right out of their seat. SOOOO fun. If I could nominate a ride to be preserved at Coney Island, it would definitely be the bumper cars.
Right before dusk, we decided to all ride the Wonder Wheel. It hadn’t occured to me up until this point that there were two different types of cars on this ferris wheel — swinging and non-swinging. Since I had never heard of a swinging car on a ferris wheel, I thought it’d be fun to give it a try so we chose the swinging car…
The car was on this track that swayed as the ferris wheel rotated. It was kinda scary because the car would suddenly dip and you sorta felt like the whole car was just falling (I’m slightly scared of heights). Corey and I were scared. We’ll leave it at that.
Here’s the view from in side the Wonder Wheel. Nice!
Stupid swinging car… LOLLERCOASTER.
Here’s the birthday girl acting her age and posing next to her hero Spiderman.
And finally, we can’t possibly go to Astroland without riding the world-famous Cyclone rollercoaster.
Man, what can I say about the Cyclone except that it is now MY FAVORITE ROLLERCOASTER!!! That thing is sooooo scary and sooooo exciting t be on all at the same time. For some other rollercoasters, the initial excitement is lost once you ride the ride more than twice. But not for the Cyclone. Dang, the Cyclone is so intense it actually gives you bruises (I have them on my arms and hands to prove it)!
The Cyclone really jolts you around and at some points in the ride it really does feel like you may just right out of your seat. People who told me that the Cyclone was one of the craziest rollercoasters still in operation were not kidding — this ride is for real and it’s soooo fun. Totally worth the trip to Astroland alone if you don’t ride any other ride but the Cyclone!!!
I highly recommend that you take just one weekend or one free day and just head on over to Coney Island and experience the Cyclone if you haven’t (most New Yorkers I know haven’t). I really want to go and ride it again at least once more before I leave. Man, I hope it’s still there next summer (it should be).
With Coney Island so close to the city, I can’t really understand why anybody would rather go to Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey. Great Adventure is farther away and more expensive. Sure, maybe the rides there are newer, but the food, the atmosphere, and the excitement would now make me choose Coney Island over Six Flags any day. That’s how awesome it was!
Spending your 21st birthday as a 5 year-old at an amusement park has got to be the best way to celebrate! What a great feeling! Cheers!
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