44 new york | august 5–18, 2019
Coney Island
An ideal day (or night), according to Jonathan Anderson and Alex Delare, a.k.a.
the History Couple, who give regular tours through the amusement park.the one-page guide to:➽Get a coffee at the Dunkin’ Donuts in the Stillwell Terminal. There aren’t many places in the park to caffeinate.
A Starbucks is opening near the aquarium in the near future, but, as of now, that Dunkin’ is the best option. (^) ➽Take the
last car on the Cyclone. Coney is split up into Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The bulk of the
rides—which, by the way, rarely have lines longer than a half-hour, even in the middle of the day—are in Luna, so buy a
day pass there and head straight to the Cyclone at the park’s entrance. It goes 60 miles per hour, really fast for an old
coaster. If you like being very terrified, sit in the back row: Friends of ours have felt it literally jump off the rails. ➽Hold
hands in the Tickler. We love the Tickler. It’s based on a ride that was put into Luna before WWII, when it wasn’t socially
acceptable to touch your partner in public. The idea was to stick men and women into this little cart and jumble them
around. It’s the perfect dating ride still. Right next to the Tickler are Luna’s two new rides, both of which opened in June
and both of which are very high thrill: Clockworkz, where you sit in a gondola at the end of a mechanical arm that swings
around, and Atlantic Aviator, which is similar except you’re in a little swooping plane. ➽Don’t sleep on the Soarin’
Eagle. If you walk west, you’ll find two really reliably fun coasters: the Soarin’ Eagle, which you ride on your stomach,
and the Steeplechase, where you’re on a horse; a bell starts it, and then you lurch forward as you might on a living horse.
➽Head over to the Wonder Wheel. This is when you’ll have to exit Luna and go into Deno’s, which is a two-minute walk
east. Deno’s has only five rides, including bumper cars and the Spook-a-Rama, where you’re pulled through a kind of
dark, haunted house. We buy single-ride passes so we can just do the Wonder Wheel. It’s a classic—it opened in 1920—
and it’s just fun. There’s an outer circle and an inner circle; the outer-circle carriages stay put, but the inner-circle carriages
are rickety and slide up and down, and it feels like you’re going to fall off backward. ➽Win a stuffed SpongeBob on
Jones Walk. The 270-foot strip between the Wonder Wheel and Surf Avenue is the last place in Coney where they have
the classic carnival-barker-type guys standing outside their games screaming at you. They will practically come up to
you, put the ball into your hand, and say, “Throw this.” ➽Walk north to Surf Avenue. The last ride you should do is
operated separately from either of the parks: the Eldorado bumper cars, which are only a half-block from Jones Walk.
You’ll often find Coney Island locals and celebrities there, like Dick Zigun, Coney’s “unofficial mayor,” and Lola Star, a
Rollerblading queen who has a shop in the area. ➽Get to the Sideshow early. It’s two doors down from Eldorado. Go
when it opens, at 1 p.m., so the performers still have lots of energy. It’s a classic sideshow style called a ten-in-one, which
means you get ten acts for one $12 ticket. They tend to have a snake charmer, a contortionist, and a sword swallower.
Once we saw a performer called Dr. Claw, who put fish hooks in his eyelids and then picked up a clock with them. ➽Then
go to the Freak Bar. It’s where all the performers hang out when they’re not performing. Strike up a conversation,
because trust us: Every single one of them (this season, the cast includes Jelly Boy the Clown, Insectavora, and KooKoo
the Birdgirl) is good for a chat. (^) ➽Get a disguised Paloma by the beach. Paul’s Daughter, a boardwalk bar that has seat-
ing out on the beach, has been around forever; a lot of the wait staff are family members of the original owners. Get fried
calamari or a knish and then a Boardwalk Paloma to go: They open a San Pellegrino, pour a little out, pour some tequila
into the can, put salt around the rim, and ram a lime in there. It looks like a regular soda, so you can walk around the park
with it. ➽Use the bathroom at the Nathan’s on the boardwalk. The old bathhouse on the boardwalk has the most stalls,
but it’s always mobbed. The public bathroom at Nathan’s on the boardwalk is just as clean and easy to get to, but fewer
people know about it. If you want to eat at Nathan’s, though, go to the original location, which is on Surf Avenue. It has
the old menu with fried frogs’ legs. ➽Or do the whole thing at night instead: We sometimes like spending the day
swimming at Brighton Beach, then walking over to Coney in the evening; the rides at Luna run till midnight on summer
weekends. There are movies on the beach on some Fridays plus, of course, the famous fireworks at the Cyclones games.
If you go to one of those, sit facing the Parachute Jump, which is a giant defunct ride; the fireworks go off at its base. (^) ➽Then
take a walk to the end of the pier. The sounds are a little dim, so it feels like you’re watching a movie about Coney Island.
ILLUSTRATION BY MARK NERYS
ADVANCED FORM
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44 newyork| august5–18, 2019
Coney Island
Anidealday(ornight),accordingtoJonathanAndersonandAlexDelare, a.k.a.
theHistoryCouple,whogiveregulartoursthroughtheamusementpark.
the one-page guide to:
➽Get a coffee at the Dunkin’ Donuts in theStillwell Terminal. There aren’t many places in the park to caffeinate.
A Starbucks is opening near the aquarium inthenearfuture, but, as of now, that Dunkin’ is the best option. (^) ➽Take the
last car on the Cyclone. Coney is split up into Luna Park and Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. The bulk of the
rides—which, by the way, rarely have lines longer than a half-hour, even in the middle of the day—are in Luna, so buy a
day pass there and head straight to the Cyclone at the park’s entrance. It goes 60 miles per hour, really fast for an old
coaster. If you like being very terrified, sit in the back row: Friends of ours have felt it literally jump off the rails. ➽Hold
hands in the Tickler. We love the Tickler. It’s based on a ride that was put into Luna before WWII, when it wasn’t socially
acceptable to touch your partner in public. The idea was to stick men and women into this little cart and jumble them
around. It’s the perfect dating ride still. Right next to the Tickler are Luna’s two new rides, both of which opened in June
and both of which are very high thrill: Clockworkz, where you sit in a gondola at the end of a mechanical arm that swings
around, and Atlantic Aviator, which is similar except you’re in a little swooping plane. ➽Don’t sleep on the Soarin’
Eagle. If you walk west, you’ll find two really reliably fun coasters: the Soarin’ Eagle, which you ride on your stomach,
and the Steeplechase, where you’re on a horse; a bell starts it, and then you lurch forward as you might on a living horse.
➽Head over to the Wonder Wheel. This is when you’ll have to exit Luna and go into Deno’s, which is a two-minute walk
east. Deno’s has only five rides, including bumper cars and the Spook-a-Rama, where you’re pulled through a kind of
dark, haunted house. We buy single-ride passes so we can just do the Wonder Wheel. It’s a classic—it opened in 1920—
and it’s just fun. There’s an outer circle and an inner circle; the outer-circle carriages stay put, but the inner-circle carriages
are rickety and slide up and down, and it feels like you’re going to fall off backward. ➽Win a stuffed SpongeBob on
Jones Walk. The 270-foot strip between the Wonder Wheel and Surf Avenue is the last place in Coney where they have
the classic carnival-barker-type guys standing outside their games screaming at you. They will practically come up to
you, put the ball into your hand, and say, “Throw this.” ➽Walk north to Surf Avenue. The last ride you should do is
operated separately from either of the parks: the Eldorado bumper cars, which are only a half-block from Jones Walk.
You’ll often find Coney Island locals and celebrities there, like Dick Zigun, Coney’s “unofficial mayor,” and Lola Star, a
Rollerblading queen who has a shop in the area. ➽Get to the Sideshow early. It’s two doors down from Eldorado. Go
when it opens, at 1 p.m., so the performers still have lots of energy. It’s a classic sideshow style called a ten-in-one, which
means you get ten acts for one $12 ticket. They tend to have a snake charmer, a contortionist, and a sword swallower.
Once we saw a performer called Dr. Claw, who put fish hooks in his eyelids and then picked up a clock with them. ➽Then
go to the Freak Bar. It’s where all the performers hang out when they’re not performing. Strike up a conversation,
because trust us: Every single one of them (this season, the cast includes Jelly Boy the Clown, Insectavora, and KooKoo
the Birdgirl) is good for a chat. (^) ➽Get a disguised Paloma by the beach. Paul’s Daughter, a boardwalk bar that has seat-
ing out on the beach, has been around forever; a lot of the wait staff are family members of the original owners. Get fried
calamari or a knish and then a Boardwalk Paloma to go: They open a San Pellegrino, pour a little out, pour some tequila
into the can, put salt around the rim, and ram a lime in there. It looks like a regular soda, so you can walk around the park
with it. ➽Use the bathroom at the Nathan’s on the boardwalk. The old bathhouse on the boardwalk has the most stalls,
but it’s always mobbed. The public bathroom at Nathan’s on the boardwalk is just as clean and easy to get to, but fewer
peopleknowaboutit.If youwanttoeatat Nathan’s,though,go totheoriginallocation,whichis onSurf Avenue.It has
theoldmenuwithfriedfrogs’legs.➽Ordothewholething at nightinstead:We sometimeslike spendingtheday
swimmingat BrightonBeach,thenwalkingovertoConey intheevening;theridesat Lunaruntillmidnightonsummer
weekends.Thereare moviesonthebeachonsomeFridaysplus,ofcourse,thefamousfireworksat theCyclonesgames.
If yougo to oneof those,sit facingtheParachuteJump,whichis a giant defunctride;thefireworksgo off at itsbase.➽Then
takea walkto the endof the pier.Thesoundsare a littledim,soit feelslike you’rewatchinga movieaboutConey Island.
ILLUSTRATION BY MARK NERYS