Photo via kittenclaw's flickr
That 87-year-old creaky, wooden roller coaster in Coney Island has added feet and speed just in time for the summer. What could possibly go wrong! Apropos of nothing, a man died in 2007 after the coaster malfunctioned and caused it to go faster, but that's neither here nor there. Read on!
According to the Daily News, around 950-feet of new wooden tracks has been added to the Cyclone, with speed boosted on two major drops (over 60 MPH). Why new wood? The old wood was rotting. But that doesn't mean purists don't prefer it! The paper notes that "the renovations have saddened some traditionalists, who believe that the old wood gives it a shaky, intense energy that delights thrillseekers. Because of turbulence, personal items — wigs or dentures, for example — often fly out of cars as it reaches its highest peak at 85 feet." One man told them, “It sounds like things are loose and it’s going to come apart. That’s part of the excitement.” The neck-jerking experience will just never be the same! Thanks de Blasio.
This was part of a $5.5 million makeover for the coaster, one of the oldest in the country, and "the operator expects to repave all 2,640 feet of tracks over the next 15 years."
Coney Island's amusements open for the season starting this Sunday.
