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Coney Island Celebrates 125th Anniversary!


CoastersRZ
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Coney Island is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. (It is the sixth oldest amusement park in the country). The official birthday is June 21, however, that is a Tuesday, so where would the fun be in celebrating on a Tuesday?

So on Saturday, June 18th Coney will hold a special 125th anniversary celebration. The party starts at 4pm, and includes special food deals for $1.25 throughout the park. Q102`s Jon Jon will host games from 6-9 pm with birthday prizes given away. Archival films will be on display, as well as the unveiling of what surprises are located within the Moonlite Gardens time capsule (seen below).100_1870-%28Medium%29.jpg

To cap off the official anniversary celebration, there will be a Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks display over Lake Como at 10pm with a lucky contest winner lighting the fuse.

So come on down to Coney for a day of fun and some nice celebrations! At this point in time, the rides close at 9pm that day, but I would not be surprised if the rides end up staying open that day until 10pm. I will let you know if we keep the rides open until 10pm that day, as soon as I find out.

For a complete list of special events happening at Coney this season, check out the events press release on Coney`s website here: 2011 Coney Island Events

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For at least a bit longer, I shall be a bit scarcer than I'd like. There are, of course, reasons for that.

Oh heck, I shall follow the advice of one of my favorite deans. "Always tell the truth, people will think you are joking."

So, Terpy is being required suddenly and unexpectedly to decide what he wants to be when he grows up, and where even. Things went and are fine... It's just that other paths may be taken...perhaps.

And if you don't know Mr. Terpy well, don't even try interpreting that. It will just make your head hurt perhaps as bad as Terpy's right about now.

Decisions, decisions... Some by me, some by others... All life-changing for years to come...for me and others.

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Terpy - Good luck on whatever path ends up being taken, even if it is one less traveled by!

On topic: I was afraid of that! I figured it wouldn't be likely that they'd have the celebration on a Tuesday. I have a previous engagement June 18th so I won't be able to make it to Coney. I was hoping if it was on a Saturday it would be the following weekend since I don't have anything going on then. Oh well, I'll still be there on June 21st anyway! And here's hoping I can make it to the 150th! :)

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Since it is on a Saturday, I likely will end up having to work that day... At least I`ll be working at Coney, but may not be able to partake in all of the festivities... It just depends what my schedule will allow for that week. It will definitely be a fun filled day.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just as a heads up, Coney`s rides WILL be open to 10pm that evening. And there will be complimentary birthday cake (while supplies last). Additionally, historical memorabilia will be on display in Moonlite Pavilion, the Centennial time capsule will be unveiled, and there will be live music. And the big cap off to the evening, is the firework`s display from Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks at 10pm over the shores of Lake Como.

All festivities are free to attend. Normal parking, rides and Sunlite Pool rates apply. Also, note that if you enter through gate 1 to park that day (the parking entrance closest to I-275), that it will close to traffic at 9:45 until the conclusion of the fireworks. No vehicles will be able to leave that lot in that time frame.

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  • 3 weeks later...

News article posted on the 125th celebrations: http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110616/NEWS01/106170316/Coney-hosts-125th-birthday-party?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

Additionally, Sunlite Pool will remain open until 9pm this Saturday! Additionally, admission after 4pm is just $5.95 per person for rides or Sunlite Pool. A combo ticket will be $9.95 after 4pm. Not a bad deal, considering the longer hours the park is open, and the festivities. In addition to free birthday cake (while supplies last) there will be free hot dogs from John Morrell from 4-7pm near Lakeside Pavilion, and free chicken sandwichs from Chik Fil A from 4:30 to 6:30 near Lakeside Pavilion. So what better way to spend a Saturday?

And in case you were wondering what the oldest amusement parks in the country are, here they are:

Lake Compounce, Bristol, Conn., 1846

Dorney Park, Allentown, Pa., 1860

Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio, 1870

Idlewild Park, Ligonier, Pa., 1878

Seabreeze Amusement Park, Rochester, N.Y., 1879

Coney Island, Cincinnati, 1886

I`ll be working the middle shift as rides manager on Saturday, but plan to see the memoribilia display and catch the fireworks on Saturday. Hope to see some of you there.

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I swung by Coney after work yesterday (I had to work from 9-4, so I missed the opening of the time capsule), and really enjoyed the festivities. I got a free hot dog and two pieces of free cake (I got some around 5, then came back a few hours later and they were still setting out pieces, so I helped myself again).

There were longer lines for the rides (at times, the line for the bumper cars was back to the soda machines), but I still got to ride everything, even doing three straight rides on Tempest (I love that ride). The $1.25 deals were especially fun - during a rain shower, I ducked into Larosas and picked up two slices of pizza and a 16oz Mountain Dew for $3.99 with tax.

The nostalgic photos and other memorabilia in Lakeside Pavilion really made me wish I could have visited Coney in its heyday - the Dip the Dips coaster/log flume looked like a lot of fun. I was also surprised to see that there were plans to build a 3rd Island Queen.

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It was a fun time yesterday. Things got a little busy in the afternoon and evening. I didn't ever figure out exactly what was in the time capsule. The memorabilia display was really cool, although I didn't check it out that much. I will say they had security positioned at it all day.

The fireworks were short, buy awesome, as Rozzis always are. I got a nice view of them from the Bumper boat dock (which is still closed btw), just another perk of being a manager. The weather today forces

Coney to close at 5 instead of 9!

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Oh okay, but even 8 bucks is pretty good. Doesn't KI charge like 5 bucks for one slice? Or is it for two? If it's for two, KI has a better deal than Coney!

Except, except at KI two slices are generally smaller than one slice anywhere else. And two KI slices are in the neighborhood of $5.59, give or take some nickels.

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It was a fun time yesterday. Things got a little busy in the afternoon and evening. I didn't ever figure out exactly what was in the time capsule. The memorabilia display was really cool, although I didn't check it out that much. I will say they had security positioned at it all day.

The fireworks were short, buy awesome, as Rozzis always are. I got a nice view of them from the Bumper boat dock (which is still closed btw), just another perk of being a manager. The weather today forces

Coney to close at 5 instead of 9!

I wasn't too far from you. I was along the fence above the Lake Como boat dock, in between Scrambler and the mining town play area. I had to laugh at the poor ducks that scrambled across the lake as the fireworks were going off.

On the way out, I heard a Coney employee (a security person I think) saying that the Coney Island sign used at the end was made by Arthur Rozzi in the 1950s and was dug out of a garage somewhere for the show.

I had a great time yesterday, and am looking forward to my next visit to Coney in a couple of weeks (if all goes as planned, I'll be there for the Balloon Glow on the 3rd).

On a related note, any ETA on when the bumper boats will be open again?

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  • 1 month later...

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