Trip Reports
Coney Island 28/08/14
After my Master’s Scholarship trip I flew back to Philadelphia, meeting up with my family who had spent the week in Washington DC, and we took the train together to New York. I didn’t want to take over the trip with theme parks, and by then I was pretty tired of them, but Coney Island is a landmark even outside of the theme park community. I also contacted the park, which is currently called Luna Park (Coney Island is the area as a whole, not the park) with the vague hope that they might be able to accommodate me for part of the day. Unusually, Luna Park is owned by a ride manufacturer, Zamperla, and so in essence they build all of their own rides. The company has only taken over the park in the last four years, a tiny fraction of the park’s century old history, but they’ve already achieved a phenomenal amount it that time. The park is something of a showcase for Zamperla’s models for prospective buyers, and so they have the vast majority of their range on offer. The only old ride is Coney Island’s most iconic, and possibly the most famous roller coaster in the world; the legendary Cyclone. The Coney Island amusement area is split up into four sections: the Cyclone plot, which is across the road from the main body of land, the Luna Park plot, the Deno’s WonderWheel plot, which is leased by Zamperla to external ride vendors, and the Scream Zone plot, which is also part of Luna Park, but geared more specifically to teens and adults. As confusing as that sounds, all in all the total distance from one end to the other is probably only a five minute walk.
A Guided Tour
Very generously the park’s head of engineering offered to give me a tour before opening, and it was thoroughly interesting. Jay Crisler started his career with Premier Rides in the USA before moving to Italy to work for Zamperla (that’s where they’re based). He is currently the head of project development at the park, and for Zamperla USA in general, which is a very broad role, but in the past he was more involved with the design of specific rides. The first thing he showed me was the flywheel launch on Steeplechase; a Motocoaster (the trains on these rides are shaped like motorbikes; the riders are seated individually, crouched forward with a restraint securing you at the middle of your back). The launch design is partially his own; the main criteria were to be compact, simple, cheap and to release large amounts of energy very quickly. It was quite awesome to hear him talk about rides around the world which I have only heard of, which he was personally involved with.
Very generously the park’s head of engineering offered to give me a tour before opening, and it was thoroughly interesting. Jay Crisler started his career with Premier Rides in the USA before moving to Italy to work for Zamperla (that’s where they’re based). He is currently the head of project development at the park, and for Zamperla USA in general, which is a very broad role, but in the past he was more involved with the design of specific rides. The first thing he showed me was the flywheel launch on Steeplechase; a Motocoaster (the trains on these rides are shaped like motorbikes; the riders are seated individually, crouched forward with a restraint securing you at the middle of your back). The launch design is partially his own; the main criteria were to be compact, simple, cheap and to release large amounts of energy very quickly. It was quite awesome to hear him talk about rides around the world which I have only heard of, which he was personally involved with.
Thunderbolt
The latest development from Zamperla has been the construction of by far their largest roller coaster to date, Thunderbolt. Historically Zamperla have only really built small-to-medium sized roller coasters, but they have clearly decided that they now have the experience and know-how to take on the established market leaders. Thunderbolt has opened to the public in the last few months and is very similar to Gerstlauer’s Eurofighter model (albeit with a vertical rather than more-than-vertical drop). The linear layout has a number of inversions after the initial descent; a loop, a zero-g roll and a dive loop along with a nearly-inverting ‘Stengel Dive’ (named after legendary ride designer Werner Stengel) before a finale of three bunny hops. I was lucky enough to get a couple of rides in before the start of daily operations, and I have to say it is very enjoyable. The drop is excellent, the first few inversions are taken quite slowly, so expose the riders to some prolonged hang time, and the airtime on the bunny hops is simply outstanding. As some people have said, it does have some issues with track profiling; there are a few weird kinks here and there that provide less-than-comfortable transitions. Without being blunt, it doesn't compare to the big Intamins or B&Ms, but this is of course a prototype. With practice these rides will get better and better; and the inclusion of the airtime hills at the end already shows that they’re willing to innovate with their layouts. I also really like the restraints; a clam-like lap bar that protrudes from the side of the seats. There is, however, an unnecessary and annoying flimsy ‘seat belt’, which provides less safety than it does neck abrasion; the thing is completely slack when the train is the right way up, but when you invert you sag into it, and it has no give at all. I'm sure there are better fail safes than that, and it’s a shame since the bulk of the harness is high quality.
The latest development from Zamperla has been the construction of by far their largest roller coaster to date, Thunderbolt. Historically Zamperla have only really built small-to-medium sized roller coasters, but they have clearly decided that they now have the experience and know-how to take on the established market leaders. Thunderbolt has opened to the public in the last few months and is very similar to Gerstlauer’s Eurofighter model (albeit with a vertical rather than more-than-vertical drop). The linear layout has a number of inversions after the initial descent; a loop, a zero-g roll and a dive loop along with a nearly-inverting ‘Stengel Dive’ (named after legendary ride designer Werner Stengel) before a finale of three bunny hops. I was lucky enough to get a couple of rides in before the start of daily operations, and I have to say it is very enjoyable. The drop is excellent, the first few inversions are taken quite slowly, so expose the riders to some prolonged hang time, and the airtime on the bunny hops is simply outstanding. As some people have said, it does have some issues with track profiling; there are a few weird kinks here and there that provide less-than-comfortable transitions. Without being blunt, it doesn't compare to the big Intamins or B&Ms, but this is of course a prototype. With practice these rides will get better and better; and the inclusion of the airtime hills at the end already shows that they’re willing to innovate with their layouts. I also really like the restraints; a clam-like lap bar that protrudes from the side of the seats. There is, however, an unnecessary and annoying flimsy ‘seat belt’, which provides less safety than it does neck abrasion; the thing is completely slack when the train is the right way up, but when you invert you sag into it, and it has no give at all. I'm sure there are better fail safes than that, and it’s a shame since the bulk of the harness is high quality.
Coaster 101
From what I remember, Jay was involved with the overall planning of Thunderbolt rather than specific design engineering, but still he gave me an excellent ‘Coaster 101’ around the ride: Kicker motors, track cross sections, foundations, friction brakes, wheel arrangements and magnetic brakes were all in the lecture. The final item of that list provided one interesting point that I’ll mention. A magnetic brake is simply a ferrous metal fin (it’s magnetic, but it’s not a magnet) that runs through a magnet with a slot in it; the magnetic field induced is in the opposite direction to the motion of the train, and so the train slows down. The simple engineering question is: do you put the fin on the train and the magnets on the track, or the other way round? My initial response was for fins on the train and magnets on the track, since the magnets are considerably larger and heavier, but I knew from looking at rides like Stealth that this isn't always the case. In fact, although weight is an issue (I felt like a Nerdy school kid on the front row of the class in answering that question correctly), it mainly comes down to cost. Would you rather have one magnet on the train, with many fins on the track running through it, or one fin running through many magnets? Well, unsurprisingly large earth magnets are more expensive than metal fins, and in fact apparently they can cost around €10000 per metre. So if you look at a ride like Stealth, which has a whole line of fins down the launch track to slow the train down in reverse if it doesn't make it over the hill, you’d have close to €1 million just for the magnets for the safety system.
Jay made some great recommendations for what to ride, what to look out for and generally how to approach the industry. He couldn't have been more accommodating and I really owe him a lot for taking time out of his busy schedule for me. He also gave me a run down of the illustrious history of Coney Island. He told me that before Zamperla took the reins Coney Island was not a particularly safe place to go, but they've have worked furiously since they won the contract to renovate it; bringing it up to scratch and restoring the golden-age vibe about it. They've used a lot of the original mascots and logos, but with added touches of modernity. Cyclone aside, the major signature of the park is a huge red truss structure, which it turns out was originally a parachute-drop practice rig for the military. It was then moved to Coney Island and converted to a ride, but has lain dormant for many years. Nowadays it is simply a sculpture, and is illuminated heavily at night.
From what I remember, Jay was involved with the overall planning of Thunderbolt rather than specific design engineering, but still he gave me an excellent ‘Coaster 101’ around the ride: Kicker motors, track cross sections, foundations, friction brakes, wheel arrangements and magnetic brakes were all in the lecture. The final item of that list provided one interesting point that I’ll mention. A magnetic brake is simply a ferrous metal fin (it’s magnetic, but it’s not a magnet) that runs through a magnet with a slot in it; the magnetic field induced is in the opposite direction to the motion of the train, and so the train slows down. The simple engineering question is: do you put the fin on the train and the magnets on the track, or the other way round? My initial response was for fins on the train and magnets on the track, since the magnets are considerably larger and heavier, but I knew from looking at rides like Stealth that this isn't always the case. In fact, although weight is an issue (I felt like a Nerdy school kid on the front row of the class in answering that question correctly), it mainly comes down to cost. Would you rather have one magnet on the train, with many fins on the track running through it, or one fin running through many magnets? Well, unsurprisingly large earth magnets are more expensive than metal fins, and in fact apparently they can cost around €10000 per metre. So if you look at a ride like Stealth, which has a whole line of fins down the launch track to slow the train down in reverse if it doesn't make it over the hill, you’d have close to €1 million just for the magnets for the safety system.
Jay made some great recommendations for what to ride, what to look out for and generally how to approach the industry. He couldn't have been more accommodating and I really owe him a lot for taking time out of his busy schedule for me. He also gave me a run down of the illustrious history of Coney Island. He told me that before Zamperla took the reins Coney Island was not a particularly safe place to go, but they've have worked furiously since they won the contract to renovate it; bringing it up to scratch and restoring the golden-age vibe about it. They've used a lot of the original mascots and logos, but with added touches of modernity. Cyclone aside, the major signature of the park is a huge red truss structure, which it turns out was originally a parachute-drop practice rig for the military. It was then moved to Coney Island and converted to a ride, but has lain dormant for many years. Nowadays it is simply a sculpture, and is illuminated heavily at night.
Scream Zone
I then met up with my family and we proceeded to explore the park and the promenade. The beach is impeccably clean; I had no idea how accessible it was, but you really could've just spent the day lying out in the glorious sunshine. There’s a large pier that stretches into the horizon that was dotted with fishermen. The array of beachfront restaurants and bars was also fantastic; they’re well priced, smartly decorated and the one we tried served some great food. The first ride we tried was Soarin’ Eagle, which is Volare coaster; a very common flying roller coaster with an unusual spiral lift hill. These are the most common and the smallest of the world’s flying coasters, and this was my first. They’re often spurned for being dull and uncomfortable, but aside from a few grouchy banked turns I didn't find it particularly painful. There’s no doubt that it’s not that thrilling, but that’s not really the aim considering the ride’s size.
I then met up with my family and we proceeded to explore the park and the promenade. The beach is impeccably clean; I had no idea how accessible it was, but you really could've just spent the day lying out in the glorious sunshine. There’s a large pier that stretches into the horizon that was dotted with fishermen. The array of beachfront restaurants and bars was also fantastic; they’re well priced, smartly decorated and the one we tried served some great food. The first ride we tried was Soarin’ Eagle, which is Volare coaster; a very common flying roller coaster with an unusual spiral lift hill. These are the most common and the smallest of the world’s flying coasters, and this was my first. They’re often spurned for being dull and uncomfortable, but aside from a few grouchy banked turns I didn't find it particularly painful. There’s no doubt that it’s not that thrilling, but that’s not really the aim considering the ride’s size.
Steeplechase, the aforementioned ride that Jay had worked on, was next. Despite the impressive spec Jay had told me about the launch, I wasn’t expecting much considering the fairly diminutive size of the ride, but it is really snappy! The launch track is so short that it has to reach its top speed of 40mph is such a small length of time, and it provides some real force. It’s honestly quite a good deal better than most magnetic launches. The ride then banks up to the right, taking a moment to catch the ocean view, before gradually descending through a series of curves and s-bends. It’s great fun, and I can see why they’ve been so popular across the globe.
A very common staple of large seaside funfairs is the Ejection Seat. It’s often described as ‘bungee in reverse’; two tall pylons each have a bungee cord attached to them, with each other end tied to a two-man pod. You sit in the pod and are catapulted from the ground into the sky, and by putting trust in friction the pod eventually comes to a rest just above the ground. I’d never done one before, partially because I haven’t seen a lot of them, but also partially because they’re very intimidating and I honestly don’t quite trust the safety standards of funfairs. But I felt the time had come, and since my timid sister was also willing, we duly queued up to be lobbed hundreds of feet into the air. The ride is fantastic. It’s a blissful rush, not as intense as I expected, but rather just wholesome exhilaration. It’s scary for the first five seconds, until you realise the bungee cords have caught you, and from then on you can just soak up the wind and the sun and the freedom.
Luna Park
A quick and competitive round on the Go-Karts rounded up the action in Scream Zone, and we headed over to the more family oriented Luna Park section. There were a couple of small rides that we tried, including Zamperla’s version of the classic Spinning Mouse. It was unremarkable, with no noticeable difference to Reverchon’s model, although it has to be said it was a little more aggressive, and not in a positive sense. The major ride in the area is the Sky Race. It looks like your typical kiddie carousel, with cars themed to planes, but in fact it’s much more advanced. Each car hangs from a beam, attached to the central hub, fixed with a pivot. So the arm to which each car is attached is a pendulum. As the central hub rotates faster and faster, centripetal force reaches equilibrium higher and higher up the arc and so the cars effectively bank. Eventually the ride hits top speed, and motors kick in, driving the cars upside down over and over, before reversing to cancel out the dizziness. Make no mistake, you’ll still be light-headed by the end; it’s a very intense ride. These have taken off like mad in the last couple of years; one has just opened in Drayton Manor, one in France and next year one will appear in Ireland.
A quick and competitive round on the Go-Karts rounded up the action in Scream Zone, and we headed over to the more family oriented Luna Park section. There were a couple of small rides that we tried, including Zamperla’s version of the classic Spinning Mouse. It was unremarkable, with no noticeable difference to Reverchon’s model, although it has to be said it was a little more aggressive, and not in a positive sense. The major ride in the area is the Sky Race. It looks like your typical kiddie carousel, with cars themed to planes, but in fact it’s much more advanced. Each car hangs from a beam, attached to the central hub, fixed with a pivot. So the arm to which each car is attached is a pendulum. As the central hub rotates faster and faster, centripetal force reaches equilibrium higher and higher up the arc and so the cars effectively bank. Eventually the ride hits top speed, and motors kick in, driving the cars upside down over and over, before reversing to cancel out the dizziness. Make no mistake, you’ll still be light-headed by the end; it’s a very intense ride. These have taken off like mad in the last couple of years; one has just opened in Drayton Manor, one in France and next year one will appear in Ireland.
Cyclone
The final ride of the day, and indeed the trip, was therefore to be the legendary Cyclone. The ride has survived a large percentage of America’s history; it’s come close to being torn down on numerous occasions, people have tried to relocate it, it’s been closed for lengthy periods and recently it’s been majorly retracked by Great Coasters International. There’s no doubt this is one of the happiest periods of its life; with Zamperla at the helm it looks like all is well in Brooklyn, and one ride on it showed just why it’s so famed. The first thing you notice is that it’s big. It’s considerably taller than any other historic woodie I’ve been on, and in fact for a long while it was the fastest roller coaster in the world at 60mph. The first drop is crazily steep, and riding near the back I was dragged into the trough of the dive. There is then a turn that has come to be known as ‘Whiplash Corner’, but quite honestly I thought it was taken quite slowly. A couple of smooth hills followed and I was feeling pretty content; not too wild but certainly not uncomfortable. But then it starts to grind. It’s an odd sensation; it literally feels like the trains are running on grass, and at the bottom of each hill the vibrations become quite painful. As you get lower and lower the ride also picks up substantial speed, so it becomes increasingly exciting, and after a very long series of bumps and hills you eventually crash into the brakes. It’s long, fast and intense. It’s easy to see why it’s stood the test of time; the layout rivals most wooden roller coasters built today, and in fact has been copied dozens of times.
The final ride of the day, and indeed the trip, was therefore to be the legendary Cyclone. The ride has survived a large percentage of America’s history; it’s come close to being torn down on numerous occasions, people have tried to relocate it, it’s been closed for lengthy periods and recently it’s been majorly retracked by Great Coasters International. There’s no doubt this is one of the happiest periods of its life; with Zamperla at the helm it looks like all is well in Brooklyn, and one ride on it showed just why it’s so famed. The first thing you notice is that it’s big. It’s considerably taller than any other historic woodie I’ve been on, and in fact for a long while it was the fastest roller coaster in the world at 60mph. The first drop is crazily steep, and riding near the back I was dragged into the trough of the dive. There is then a turn that has come to be known as ‘Whiplash Corner’, but quite honestly I thought it was taken quite slowly. A couple of smooth hills followed and I was feeling pretty content; not too wild but certainly not uncomfortable. But then it starts to grind. It’s an odd sensation; it literally feels like the trains are running on grass, and at the bottom of each hill the vibrations become quite painful. As you get lower and lower the ride also picks up substantial speed, so it becomes increasingly exciting, and after a very long series of bumps and hills you eventually crash into the brakes. It’s long, fast and intense. It’s easy to see why it’s stood the test of time; the layout rivals most wooden roller coasters built today, and in fact has been copied dozens of times.
Overall the park is a small but bountiful gem in the New York landscape. The beachfront is beautiful and the park loaded with top-notch rides. It was a shame to see it so empty in August, although schools had gone back, but this of course made for non-existent queues. I hope Zamperla can maintain their outstanding momentum, and hopefully they can come up with some new, even bigger, thrill machines.
Ejection Seat: 9/10
Air Race: 8/10
Thunderbolt, Steeplechase and Cyclone: 7.5/10
Soarin’ Eagle: 5/10
Overall: 7/10
Ejection Seat: 9/10
Air Race: 8/10
Thunderbolt, Steeplechase and Cyclone: 7.5/10
Soarin’ Eagle: 5/10
Overall: 7/10