Coney Island: Thrillography's New Home Park! Trip Report

Hello :}

As some of you may already know, Thrillography HQ made a big move last month from Nashville, TN to Queens, NYC.

Big change, yeah? :}

This of course means it's time to introduce a new Thrillography home park!

And Thrillography's new home is also the birthplace of the great American amusement park!

That's right! It's Brooklyn's Coney Island! Home to Luna Park, Scream Zone, Deno's Wonder Wheel Pier, and much more!

The "more" includes several independent ride venders of all kinds. :}

Say hello to Thrillography's new mascot, the Coney Island Cyclone!

After a wonderful first visit to Coney Island last June, nothing pleases me more than saying this is now Thrillography's home base!

As you can see, My buddy Jim and I can barely contain our excitement.

The Zamperla-owned Luna park is a very prosperous place.

Jim, who works as the park's photographer, has nothing but great things to say about Luna Park management. 

As we walked around the park, I was introduced to several of Jim's friends who work rides, concessions, shows, and so on. 

Everyone we talked to had one thing in common. They too are proud to call Coney Island home!

We got the most ridiculous ride on the Tickler. I've never spun so furiously in my life. 

Just like last summer, the Coney Island Cyclone ran like a dream for my first rides as a NYC resident. 

It is truly one of the loveliest wooden coasters I've ridden.

Great drops, great forces, and great trains.

Ahh! But we can't forget about the Cyclone's partner in crime! 

It's Wonder Wheel time. :}

But first! Grandma's fortune time. 

My fortune and my Wonder Wheel card.

Jim is such a great host. He really gave Thrillography the star treatment!

Such a lively little park Luna is. :}

Can't forget about Scream Zone!

Actually I'd love to forget Soarin' Eagle. Steeplechase is still cool though. 

Deno's amazing old Haunted Pretzel ride does not disappoint!

Between my frequent visits to here and Disneyland, I get to see a lot of this rare type of wheel. :}

25¢ to fall in love with the woman of your dreams!

or to see Coney Island come to life in miniature!

You know how many of these monstrosities I've ridden now? Five.

And I've still got that one waiting for me at Canada's Wonderland. 

Jim and I had a GREAT ride on this guy here. Love a good SlingShot. 

No Steeplechase ride this time, but soon for sure!

With such beautiful weather, it was hard to not just take pictures of Cyclone all day.

Nevertheless, the evening turned into just that: periodic Cyclone photo shoots with other stuff in between. :}

I just love all the signage out here. 

Here's something I missed on my first visit: The famous Astroland Park rocket! On display at Deno's in all its glory. 

Despite the glorious evening weather, Coney Island was pretty quiet on this visit. 

Who wants more Cyclone?

You do?? Well great! Here it is! :}

And also this horrid-lookin thing.

Everyone here is getting some Cyclone ERT today. :}

You knew a tilt-shift shot was coming eventually. 

For the guy with his hands up in the back, Thrillography salutes you!

So this is a thing and it's amazing.

Here's a peek at some new hotness that will hopefully be ready for us next time!

Thunderbolt is sleeping. :}

And the rest of Coney Island isn't far behind. 

Goodnight everyone!

That was a short report, I know. :}

More are coming soon, though! :D

We'll revisit Coney Island later this summer (probably), but next up is some more quality SoCal time!

(also Thrillography has a NEW CAMERA!)

*excitement*

See you at Disneyland. ;}

New + Twisted Six Flags Magic Mountain Trip Report!

Good morning Thrillographers. :}

How was Disneyland?

Now we're switching gears from the Magic Kingdom to the Magic Mountain! It's Six Flags time! This biggest items of interest on this visit are the New Revolution and Twisted Colossus, which are both fresh-out-the-box since my last visit in 2014.

Let's roll! 

Every day at Magic Mountain starts with a greeting from this mess.

My partner in crime is ready to take this park down!

This view just makes me so excited!

TWISTED COLOSSUS I SEE YOU!

This is certainly a different view than before, but I like the change. 

SO PUMPED for my first RMC!

And we'll probably ride Goliath too I guess.

I love this sign. :}

Valencia Falls looks glorious today.

First up is the surprise hit of my 2014 visit to Magic Mountain, Full Throttle!

YOLOCOASTER is still serving a great launch and some great hangtime/airtime!

Continuing on through High Sierra.

An employee was out taking the Caped Crusader out for a walk.

:D :D :D GEESE!

And who says Magic Mountain isn't a great park for families? ;}

Time to check out the great-looking new Screampunk District! 

I love this. 

YESSSSSS. So yeah, Twisted Colossus is on point. I love everything about it. Even got a few good races!

Magic Mountain FINALLY has the airtime machine they deserve. 

No more second station. Womp Womp.

Twisted Colossus is incredible. Next up is another amazing transformation! 

Or a trains-formation, rather. :}

Carousel got a nice facelift. 

YESSSSS FINALLY

I feel like I've waited my entire life to ride Revolution without shoulder harnesses. 

Still love the old mission-themed stuff from Revolution's auxiliary entrance.

So yes, now that Revolution's trains have been restored to body-friendly specifications, it's now easily the best ride in the park. Hallelujah!

The ride looks great with its new blue supports and fresh white track!

The mission entrance now serves as handicap access for the New Revolution. :}

I SEE YOU TAT.

You know what's kinda great about New Revolution? The virtual reality doesn't work in the lead car. Since just about everyone wants to do the VR, the front seat is almost always open for those who want a traditional Revolution ride!

<3 Viper <3

How many roller coasters do you see in this picture? :}

I enjoyed a traditional front seat ride on Revolution first, followed by a great "New Revolution" VR experience.

New Revolution is also the VR experience for Six Flags Over Georgia's DareDevil Dive. The theme and atmosphere are the same, but the flight pattern of your jet is of course unique to each coaster.

I felt like the stunt-plane-esque nature of DareDevil Dive's layout lent itself more to the  VR than the mild and graceful Revolution, but both are cool experiences.

When Six Flags eventually gets fed up with the concept and ends the promotion, I'll be able to say I rode two of the VR coasters. ;}

Everyone say hi to Philip! He met up with Derek and me as we were riding.

I have a bunch of Revolution pictures now with full trains EXCEPT for the front seat. It's hilarious to me. >.<

What time is it?

It's time for that 200ft twisted metal seizure we all know and love! It's X2

This park really is lovely. Up close there's some work that needs to be done, but when you take a step back it really is gorgeous. 

#VIPE

I love this ride. I hate that I missed Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure, but the good news is that Viper is going to be around for the long haul.

You know how I know? As of this season, the park is still selling new Viper merchandise at the gift shops. It's iconic! :}

Yep, things are A-ok over here in Arrow corner. 

X2 is only running one train today, but the park is so quiet that our wait was still only about 20 minutes. 

Superman and Lex are up to their usual tricks.

Viper runs great. Still too rough for a lot of people, but I love it just the way it is. 

Viper takes the boomerang pretty fast these days. I often recall it crawling through there after coming to a complete stop on the brake run, but now it actually rolls through it. 

So this was my first ride on X2 on the right side. It was also my first ride in the daytime.

This ride is so horrifying. It is not often that I get genuinely scared on coasters, but this one really gets me! 

#Vipe#Hype

*overheard statement by a mother to her apprehensive-looking daughter*

"Tower of Terror at Disney is WAY scarier than this. You'll be fine."

DC Universe still looking' fly.

Contempo Metro station is still lookin' dead.

Riddler needs some paint.

Now that the Axis Arena is gone and getting replaced by a certain dark ride, maybe Riddler will get a new coat of paint to complement.

This is one of my favorite parts of Magic Mountain. It's such a time warp here. 

<3

Classic Arrow time! 

We love the Goldrusher so much. 

The old Dragon rotunda is still chillin'. 

Now for one of my all-time favorite flume rides! 

The Log Jammer may have gone to the great theme park in the sky in 2012, but the much-higher-capacity and cheaper-to-operate Jet Stream is still alive and well!

After Ninja went all George of the Jungle on an oak tree in 2014, Six Flags went on a major pruning spree around the back side of Magic Mountain. 

Nobody really wants to see trees get destroyed, but honestly I'm not mad about getting to see more sides of my beloved Ninja.

Lest we forget that the Ninja looked very much naked when it first opened; time now repeats itself. :}

Happiness is an Arrow Super Flume.

(and remember, boys and girls (+ gender non-conformers), hand-held cameras and fast rides don't mix. For slow-moving rides, always practice safe snaps!)

Ninja remains my #1 roller coaster at Six Flags, with Twisted Colossus not far behind.

I salute Six Flags for their commitment to Ninja. Not only did they get the ride back up and running just a few weeks after the accident, but downing potential problem trees was a huge investment.

Taking pictures of Ninja down here is a lot more fun than it used to be

Ninja loves the tilt shift!

I noticed this little porch down here while we were riding Jet Stream. It seemed like it would make a nice vantage point for Ninja viewing. :}

Ok, so, Apocalypse is running like garbage and I don't have any pictures of it, but here's this hummingbird.

This humming bird is x100 better than Apocalypse. 

#Ninj <3

While the area around Ninja's 2nd half got a buzz cut, the 1st half of the ride is still vastly tree-laden.

Five visits to Magic Mountain, zero rides on Sky Tower. 

The top of Samurai Summit is now quite breezy! Before there was only thick trees.

It's nice having an excess of sunlight up here, honestly. 

Time to ride!

Our chariot has arrived!

Doug has joined us just in time for Magic Mountain's best coaster!

Since we were the only ones on the train, the ride op let us have a little photo session. :}

Here's the general area where the tree incident occurred; just before this raised turn in the foreground. 

Looks like some more preventative pruning has taken place this month.

The top of the lift was once entirely obscured. Now it's displayed in all of its short-statured glory. 

Also, here's Tat hiding in the bamboo. 

The sky ride stations are not only still intact, but quite beautiful. This structure, the Four Winds / Laughing Dragon building, and the old Magic Pagoda building all lead new lives as haunt attractions every fall. :}

No visit to the far east would be complete without a trip to the Fortress of Solitude. 

Now here's something I haven't ridden in 15+ years.

I SEE YOU TAT.

After having just ridden Great Adventure's spirited rapids ride, I decided it was finally time to revisit it's clone here out west. While the layout is basic, the scenery is absolutely beautiful and the rapids are…well…roarin'!

I still can't believe they really fixed the trains. It feels like a dream.

The classic flats in Pirate's Cove are still kickin' 

Ahh, Green Lantern. The precursor to the now wildly-successfull S&S Free Fly coasters. It's amazing to me that this ride is technically the same as Insane at Gröna Lund, because my rides on Insane were awesome and my ride on this was just uncomfortable.

Twisted Colossus closed a little early, so we decided to give Scream! a ride.

Now that I've ridden Bizarro at Great Adventure, I can say with certainty that atmosphere makes all the difference with this ride. 

And while Bizarro gives a much better ride experience, I find it funny that both coasters are about as far out of the way (and therefor, perpetually uncrowded) at their respective parks.

The best thing about Scream! is that it helps ensure that Riddler will never get a floorless retrofit. 

There's only one non-kiddie coaster left in the park that we haven't ridden today! It's Batman! 

I'm actually not really confident that Green Lantern will last. We'll see.

This was my first ride on this particular Batman in almost 15 years! It was closed during the Coaster Con after party in 2014 for Backwards Batman prep. 

We rode all of these today! :D

The squashed penny machine at Flags is adorably dated. The stock wooden coaster image that looks nothing like Colossus is a nice touch.

And so ends a great, utterly crowd-less Magic Mountain day!

Until next time. :}