America’s First Amusement Park: Coney Island

Welcome to Coney Island

When I told my thirteen year old son this summer that we were headed to Brooklyn to take in some history, I received his expected moan as he said “Mom, enough with the history trips already”.    I just laughed and told him to call a friend to join him, because this history lesson revolved around roller coasters and thrilling rides.

Coney Island is just a stone throw from Manhattan.   Okay, not really, it is the last stop on both the D and F subway lines, but well worth the trip.  If you haven’t been there in the last two years you might have a different opinion, but since the renovations in 2010 it is a really fun place to spend the day.  The best thing about Coney Island is the atmosphere that places like Disney World, Six Flags and Busch Gardens can’t replicate.  Coney Island has many attractions like the New York Aquarium, the Brooklyn Cyclones (Met’s Farm team), the Coney Island Circus Side Show, and the Coney Island Museum.  Our mission however, was to spend the day at Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park and then end the day chowing down at Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs.

Luna Park

The original Luna Park was open from 1903 to 1944.  It recently reopened in 2010 and many of the rides pay homage to the original parks, Steeplechase Park and the first Luna Park.  As soon as we arrived we loaded up our Luna Cards with  Luna Credits (40 credits- $35, 60 credits – $60 & 125 credits – $100).  The Luna Credits were valid at Luna Park, Scream Zone, and the Cyclone Roller Coaster.  We were able to use the cards for rides, games, and food.  The boys loved the Scream Zone and did a lot of screaming themselves on the Soarin’ Eagle and the Steeplechase. The Steeplechase was ridiculously fast and it was cool to know that this ride was based upon the original mechanical horse ride over a hundred years ago.  The only thing that was missing was the attendants were not dressed in jockey uniforms like years past.

Soarin Eagle

Steeplechase

The Coney Island Raceway which is also in the Scream Park just opened this year.   It was a great track and my son gave it a ten when comparing it to the many other go-kart tracks that he has dragged me to over the years.

Coney Island Raceway

The Luna Park Rides were divided into high, moderate and mild thrill rides.  We focused on the high thrill rides and the Brooklyn Flyer (swings), The Tickler and Wild River were our favorites.

Electro Spin

Of course the grand daddy of the rides was the historic Cyclone Roller Coaster which was declared a NYC landmark in 1988.  2012 marked the 85th Anniversary of the cyclone, so of course we had to celebrate by riding the landmark.  All I have to say is that I thought The El Torro was scary at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey, but the first drop on the Cyclone brought back the same frightening feeling 10-fold. In addition to the rides, there were plenty of games in Luna Park, and both boys came home with many angry bird prizes.

The Grandfather of the American Roller Coaster

Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park

This amusement park is sandwiched in between the Scream Zone and Luna Park. The Luna Card is not accepted here since it is under different ownership and you can buy tickets at one of the booths in the park.  Deno’s has a great kiddie park with 17 rides and four adult rides including the famous Wonder Wheel.  The Wonder Wheel was built in 1920 and is 150 feet high.  No matter if we were looking at the Atlantic Ocean or the skyline of Manhattan, the views were amazing.  The boys also had a great time on the bumper cars and I loved the Thunderbolt mainly because it brought me back in time to the days I visited Pontchatrain Beach in New Orleans when I was young.

Deno’s Wonder Wheel

Nathan’s Famous Hotdogs

You can’t go to Coney Island without eating a hotdog from Nathan’s Famous. Charles Feltman actually invented the hotdog in Coney Island in 1867, but it was a Polish immigrant named Nathan Handwerker that opened up a small hot dog stand in 1916 that now is the home of the “World’s Best Hotdog”.  Ninety-five years later my son, his friend and I ended our exciting day of thrill rides and games with an original dog and a cheese dog just like the many generations before us that flocked to Coney Island for some family fun.

It’s time for the original

The original and a cheese dog

Have you been to Coney Island?  What was your favorite thrill?

Both amusement parks are open on the weekends through the end of October.

If you want to get the full educational lesson, click this PBS website before visiting America’s First Amusement Park.

The fun never stops at Coney Island!

Read Full Post »

Quacking Through Boston

 Often times when I travel with my son, we spend part of a day on some kind of tour through the city we are visiting to get the lay of the land and sometimes as a way to get around town. Many people roll their eyes and groan at the thought of a tour because they have the perception that they are long, boring and to touristy.  I was one of those people before I had a child.  That all changed on a visit to Boston, when all my misconceptions were washed away as my son and I splashed down in the Charles River in a W.W.II amphibious landing vehicle.

We boarded the “DUCK” at the Museum of Science and was greeted by a ConDUCKtor.  Once we were off, we quaked through the streets, while taking in the many sites that make Boston the birthplace of freedom.  Of course there were a few sites that were not revolutionary, like Cheers from the 1980’s TV show.  We didn’t see Sam and Norm, but we did get to check out some pretty nice views of the Boston and Cambridge skyline when we splashed into the Charles River. This was my son’s favorite part of the tour and was thrilled when he had an opportunity to drive the DUCK.

My son taking the wheel of the Duck on the Charles River.

Our ConDUCKtor was great and I regret that I can’t remember his name.  I do remember his sense of humor and some interesting tidbits that he shared.  For instance while we were cruising along the Charles River, he pointed out what was once the Charles Street Jail and shared a story of James Curley, who was the Mayor of Boston and served not one, but two prison terms.  He also pointed out a segment of the Berlin Wall which was located outside the main entrance of the EF Education building in Cambridge.  I sure didn’t expect to see a piece of world history in front of an office building.  I can’t leave you scratching your head, so in case you’re wondering EF Education is a world leader in international education and they offer study abroad programs.  Ah, now it makes more sense.

Quacking through Boston while learning little known facts made our tour fun and educational.  Where else can you learn about our revolutionary leaders on a World War II vehicle that is half a boat and half a truck!  The Boston Duck Tours was one of the highlights of our visit to Beantown.

Boarding the Duck at the Museum of Science in Boston.

So my first question is …has your family taken a DUCK tour in Boston or another city?  The second is did you throw away those noisy duck lips when your kids were not looking?

Quack, Quack!

If you enjoyed this post, you also might like America’s Oldest Restaurant and Following the Red Brick Road – Boston’s Freedom Trail.

Read Full Post »

Toronto’s Must See Family Attractions

Our road trip through Western New York state and Canada included many exciting pit stops. We were very excited for our two days in Toronto because we planned on cheering on our beloved New York Yankees that were scheduled to play the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.  We were also excited because we had planned to check off three more places from Frommer’s 500 places to take your kids before they grow up – The CN Tower, the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Toronto Zoo.  Here are some highlights from Toronto’s must see family attractions.

Taking in Toronto

The CN Tower

1.  MLB at Rogers Centre – Our visit  to Toronto was actually planned around the fact that the New York Yankees would be in town for an away game.  My son and nephew are HUGE Yankee fans and if asked, they will tell you that going to the game was their favorite part of the road-trip. They were so excited that we arrived at Gate 11 of Rogers Centre at 5:30 p.m for a 7 p.m. game.  Since we were so early, we watched some of the warm ups and stocked up on your typical ball park food.  Rain earlier that day had kept the retractable roof closed, but the boys cheered loudly next to the Blue Jay fans throughout an exciting game that included a crazy fan running out on the field.  Unfortunately, the Yankees were not able to end up with the win, but the whole experience made the boys proud that they were “loyal fans” that followed their team on the road.  Needless to say, I’ll be checking the Yankee schedule this year for our planned road trip down the east coast.

2.  CN Tower – Standing at a height of 1,815 ft, 5 inches, the CN Tower defines Toronto’s skyline and is the most recognized icon in Canada.  It is actually the world’s tallest free-standing structure and serves as a hub for telecommunications across the city.  The only way to the top of the world’s tallest tower is by riding glass-faced high-speed elevator.  I am not kidding when I say high-speed because it is only took 58 seconds to reach 1,136 ft .  No wonder why it has earned the world’s title as the #1 elevator ride by National Geographic Journeys of a Lifetime.  Of course the boys loved the elevator ride, but they had an even better time giving me a heart palpitations as they walked across the glass floor 113 stories above the ground.  I personally enjoyed the four lookout levels that offered spectacular views of Toronto and Lake Ontario that just got better the higher we went up.

3.  The Hockey Hall of Fame – I know that Canadian’s would find this hard to believe, but our family really is not huge hockey fans.  This however didn’t keep the boys from having a great time and we were excited to add it to the list of our other Hall of Fame visits (the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame).  The Hockey Hall of fame was more than a sports museum.  The boys really enjoyed the interactive exhibits, the NHLPA Be A Player Zone, the broadcast pods and the replica of the Montreal Canadians dressing room. Of course getting up close and personal with hockey’s Holy Grail, the Stanley Cup was one of the more memorable moments as you can see from the picture below!

4.  Toronto Zoo –  The Toronto Zoo was listed as one of the 7 Great Zoos in the world by Frommer’s 500 places to take your kids before they grow up.  I have been to a lot of zoos (including the Bronx Zoo and the San Diego Zoo which also made Frommer’s list), but I have to say the Toronto Zoo really is one of my favorites.  Yes it is big, but I found it really easy to navigate.  The “Follow the Footprints” offered three trails that were approximately an hour and included opportunities to meet the zoo keepers.  There is also a kid’s zone that is divided into biomes – the prairie and the wetlands.  In addition, there is also a Waterside Theater where you can catch a bird show and splash island where the kids can cool off.

Toronto is a great city to explore with kids.  There were so many other places we would have liked to check out if we had more time like the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario Science Center.

Are you planning to go to Toronto?  What will you see?

Read Full Post »