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Zamperla opens new Luna Park at Coney Island (update)

marc

CF Legend
http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/bro ... d_lot.html

Coney Island will be alive with new rides this summer.

Zamperla USA, which operates Victorian Gardens, the popular kiddie park at Wollman Rink in Central Park, has won the bid to set up shop on a 7-acre chunk of land that includes the site of the now-shuttered Astroland.

The company is keeping mum on what it plans to bring in, but some of the flashiest attractions it makes include:

The Disk-O Coaster - a combination roller coaster and spinning ride that spins riders in circles while going over drops on a track.

The Vertical Swing - a high-speed swing ride 125 feet up in the air.

The Giant Discovery - which swings riders from a giant pendulum and flips them upside down.

The Flash Tower - which free-falls from 120 feet.
"Bring it all in," said freak show maestro Dick Zigun, whose Coney Island USA organization runs the annual Mermaid Parade.

"Hopefully, they will use Coney Island as an international showcase, and why not? It's New York City, after all," Zigun said.

"We're closing in on an agreement," Economic Development Corp. spokesman David Lombino said Wednesday of the final negotiations.

It will be a race against the clock to get a temporary park up and running in the coming months. The city wants at least some of the rides open by Memorial Day. The new amusements will go up on land the city bought for $95.6 million from developer Joe Sitt in November.

Zamperla could control the site for up to 10 years. After that, the city will look for a permanent developer to turn Coney into a year-round ride, entertainment and retail destination, in line with a massive development plan passed by the City Council last summer.

Zamperla beat out a consortium of American companies dubbed the Coney Island Amusement Group, which included Ripley's Entertainment and Steel Pier in Atlantic City.
 
Looks really cool. The rides look really really cool. And possibly owning it for ten years to make it a year-round thing is pretty big considering all the visitors Coney Island gets.
 
Luna Park first appeared in 1903, when a collection of rides opened under that name in Coney Island on Brooklyn’s south shore. In time, the name would grace more than 40 parks around the world, making it the world’s first amusement park chain.
Alas, the original Luna Park burned down in 1944, but now Zamperla is set to open the new Luna Park at Coney Island this Saturday, May 29th. The company is launching the park with $15 million worth of new rides & another $15 million worth scheduled to be added in the off-season.
Occupying just over three acres that once was Astroland between the boardwalk and Surf Avenue, it’ll initially feature 19 mechanical attractions, most of which pay homage to the longstanding whirl-and-hurl school of ride design.
There’ll be the Tickler, a spinning coaster; the Eclipse, a spinning pendulum ride, and the Electro-Spin, a disk-o ride. The park’s signature ride is expected to be Air Race, a first-of-its-kind attraction that simulates fighter jets in a high-speed pursuit while generating up to four gs. Hopefully Zamperla will continue using this park as a showcase for any new rides they design & manufacture.
What there won’t be is an admission charge to enter the park. Instead, visitors can buy $1 credits (each ride will take three to five credits) or purchase a wristband for unlimited rides within a four-hour period ($26–$34).

Check out this preview for more information & an interview with Alberto Zamperla:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foi90cnuvKI[/youtube]
 
ECG said:
the Tickler, a spinning coaster

Bonus CRED this summer! The whole thing sounds really good actually. Zamperla make some great flat rides.
 
Wow, I've seen a few theme park building sites before but never quite that bad, just a few days before opening...! I'd love to hear reports of how it scrubbed up for the big day?

You've gotta love the Italian optimism. There's another Italian coaster going up in Scotland at the moment and it's the same story. Due to open next month... and it started on site last week! Love it.
 
Believe it or not, the park actually opened a day early. :--D
Hope to make it over there tomorrow & will let you know how it is (along with some photos & videos).
 
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