All The Small Things

[Coney Islander]

So Coney Island is a great little park with some exciting classic rides, the largest recirculating pool in the world, and some refreshing slides, but what else attracts you to Coney? Coney Island is a park of class... It has some of the most colorful gardens in Cincinnati, some fun shows, a beautiful dance hall, and many small things that make Coney Island a great place.

This is a place to share all the small things you notice (or have noticed) about Coney Island.

__________________

I have a lot.

1. Last season I noticed that some zoo styled information boards were placed around Lake Como, near the ferris wheel, describing 20 or so different species of fresh water fish in the state of Ohio. After a bit of 'fish watching' along the shores of Lake Como, I found five of these species, among others.

2. Last season, quite a few benches were placed on the far end of Lake Como, around the 'Coney Island Mining Company' and The Paddle Boats. A wonderful place for a mid afternoon legs rest. (And the best lake view in the park.)

3. Looking at the park website, it appears there is a new shelter in the vacant land between the Pepsi Python entrance and exit. I must say, this is a superb location.

Python Pavilion Rental

The Python Pavilion is a private shelter with four picnic tables located next to the Python Coaster.

• $120 for entire day Monday through Friday (11am-8pm)
• $130 for entire day Saturday or Sunday (11am-8pm)

The Python Pavilion is available only with the purchase of a minimum of 15 paid admissions at the group rate.

http://www.coneyisla...ter_rentals.php

This is arguably the most well shaded area of the park, and is much closer to the rest of the park.

To Coney Island, "The 'Coolest' Place in Cincinnati!" (This is an old 1910 park slogan... The river breezes kept Coney Island at a more pleasurable temperature than the rest of the city.)

Maybe Coney Island will try to spread out their land, and place their picnic shelters between the rides, instead of in the back of the park? We can wait... (I know this probably won't happen... I just enjoy speculation. )

[CoastersRZ]

What new shelter are you talking about by the Python? Are you referring to the park map on Coney`s website, because that is not highly accurate.

EDIT: It looks like you edited your post when I was posting. I wonder where this will be located at exactly. I haven`t actually been down to Coney yet this year.

[Coney Islander]

I edited my post with a quote, a link, and a few additional parcels of information.

[CoastersRZ]

And see my edited post! I wonder if this will not be the pavilion on the east side of the Python by where the old tennis and volleyball courts used to be at.

[Coney Islander]

^

I think you're probably right. I thought the place had been leveled for the Riverbend construction... Now, it seems that would have been a completely useless gesture.

Edit= I had misplaced Riverbend with River Down. Now its fixed.

[CoastersRZ]

You mean for construction of PNC Pavilion? Nope. That shelter area was not touched. In fact, before Fall O Ween last year, that area was keeping many of the corn stalks dry as preparations were made for Fall O Ween Festival. I know, because I loaded several of those stalks onto a cart on a very rainy and damp day, and they were most definitely under a shelter.

EDIT: Quite editing your posts! It causing me to have to keep editing my posts, lol!

[Coney Islander]

Wait a second... Are you talking about the shelter used for Camp Coney?

Edit= Yeah, I'm either poor at posting, or great at editing.

[CoastersRZ]

I think I might be. I don`t know what shelter exactly was used for Camp Coney as that is part of the recreation department, which is separate from the rides department. And besides, I rarely work the Python (although I did work it during Fall O Ween one day last year as we were short employees).

[CoastersRZ]

UPDATE: I swung by Coney today. The Python Pavilion is in fact the Pavilion on the east side of the Python, near where the old tennis courts used to be and adjacent to PNC Pavilion.

Coney is gearing up for the season, as they are in the process of putting the rides back together, getting Sunlite Pool ready for the season, and painting various sections of the park. Not much longer before amusement park season is in full swing in the Cincinnati area! I can`t wait.

[CoastersRZ]

Sorry, for the triple post. But I have yet another minor update. It seems that one of Coney`s major rides is getting a little TLC in the form of a paint job. The paint job still won`t allow this snake to even compare in anyway with the much larger snake named coaster up at Kings Island.

[Coney Islander]

^This is great news. Pepsi Python was really needing paint renewal.

Does this mean that 'Pepsi' has been removed from the ride?

[shark6495]

i always enjoyed moonlight gardens... beautiful.... my first dance was there....

[Coney Islander]

^

Yeah, I was wondering if Coney Island would be able to reopen Moonlight Gardens for daily dances, as went on from around 1925 to around 1970. I guess this would be sort of problematic, since the neighborhood around Coney Island is really bad... But they dealt with 'Riff Raff' in the 1910s/ 1920s, so maybe it isn't too far fetched an idea after all?

I myself have never been inside, so all I know about Moonlight Gardens is from books.

[CoastersRZ]

First of all, the neighborhood of California, the neighborhood to the west of Coney, is located in the city limits of Cincinnati. Like its neighbor, the East End, California is a rather poor area. I wouldn`t say it was a bad area. I have done volunteer work in the east end and have witnessed some of the poor conditions. On the east side of Coney, lies Anderson Township. Besides Riverdowns, there are a lot of boat storage areas and industrial areas. There aren`t many residences located off of Kellogg, but instead they are located off of roads like Sutton, Four Mile, and Five Mile.

I don`t believe that there were daily dances everyday of the week at Moonlite Gardens. Weekly yes. Moonlite Gardens used to be completely enclosed. As it is now, it is partially enclosed with a dance floor area that is open to the elements or stars, depending on the time of day. There are frequent wedding receptions held at Moonlite Gardens throughout the season.

As I mentioned before in another thread, there are still dances held at Coney. They are dubbed Moonlite Garden Parties and occur on several nights throughout the summer. Here is a listing of all the danced held at Coney in 2010: http://coneyislandpark.com/dances.php

[Coney Islander]

My first Coney trip of the season was last Monday! A great amount has changed.

Pros

1. The new Wallenda Family thrill show was awesome! About six performances a day, and each of them were very exciting and fun to watch. This show is done for the year, but I wouldn't be surprised about its return, sometime in the near future.

2. Sharp new Pepsi Python paint job. Orange.

3. Incredible landscaping, as always. Anyone who visits Coney Island and does not walk through 'the grove', past the rides section is truly missing out. Make sure you check out the flood chart, and the original entrance. And if you have the time, I suggest walking along the Ohio riverbanks. Beautiful...

4. The Frog Hopper is fixed! For 2 or 3 seasons, something had been wrong with the frog hopper's machinery... Extremely rough and bumpy. Now, the machinery is fixed, and the ride is just as fun as its installation year. If you visit, make sure you try it out. Wooden coaster styled air time, on a Flat Ride!

5. Patriotic streamers and flags all throughout the park, commemorating the Forth of July.

6. Temporary maximum age limit removed from the Silver Bullet- In pool slide. Last year, the ending pad got torn really bad and had to be replaced, so for most of the season adults couldn't ride. Now there's a new pad, so adults can ride, again. It sure does pack quite a punch.

7. Three different live shows. And many more show times than ever before.

Cons

1. The water spouts / bumps at the end of Pipeline Plunge are covered up. Still an OK slide, but not nearly as fun, with the 'surprise' finale covered up.

2. Some of Cyclone's sprayers aren't working... Probably just an oversight. Most adults don't have the courage to ride such a back/ heel shattering slide! (Ouch! The bumps are horrible... I never ride, unless I use my hands as brakes and keep the speed bearable)

3. The playground on the former 'Coney Mining Town' location is gone, again. The same playground had to be removed for the original 'Coney Mining Town' construction, was rebuilt for the 2009 season, and is now gone, again. I'm expecting a new pay attraction for next season.

4. The puppet shows aren't going on, but I don't believe they had been going on last year, either.

[CoastersRZ]

My first Coney trip of the season was last Monday! A great amount has changed.

Pros

7. Three different live shows. And many more show times than ever before.

Actually, the live shows offer the same amount of show times as they have had in the past years. In fact, there are the same amount of shows every week as there were when I first started working at Coney in 2002.

Also, you forgot to mention one major change on the rides side for this season. The Bumper Boats have reopened (they reopened late on July 3), with a brand new dock, replacing the old twenty year old dock.