Mayor Bloomberg opens new 'Scream Zone' Coney Island roller coasters
By RICH CALDER
Last Updated: 8:47 AM, April 21, 2011
Posted: 2:04 PM, April 20, 2011
More Print It’s a real scream!
Some wide-eyed kids today got the first crack at enjoying four new Coney Island thrill rides, including a human “Sling Shot” where riders are launched a stomach-churning 200 feet high at 90 mph.
“I felt like Superman, like I was flying,” who Najee Jenkins, 12, of Staten Island, who nearly screamed his lungs out while taking the first trip on the Sling Shot.
It’s all part of the new “Scream Zone” by the Stillwell Avenue boardwalk, which officially opens Friday and includes Coney Island’s first two major roller coasters since the world-famous Cyclone opened in 1927.
Najee Jenkins and Binta Li were the first people to be officially launched on "Sling shot".
“Last summer was Coney Island’s biggest in nearly a half century, and this year … it’s going to be even bigger,” said Mayor Bloomberg, minutes before pulling the trigger for the first Sling Shot launch.
Scream Zone is being run by Zamperla USA, which opened Luna Park on the boardwalk in 2010 and played a key role in attracting 450,000 people to Coney Island last summer.
Scream Zone’s other rides include:
* The 100-foot-tall “Zenobio”, which sweeps riders through the air at speeds of over 60 mph.
* The Soaring Eagle coaster -- a 66-foot-high ride that offers thrill-seekers strapped in a horizontal position the sensation of flight as they speed through a series of turns, drops and an upside-down inversion.
* The 65-foot-high Steeplechase Coaster, which launches riders seated in horse-shaped cars modeled after those of Coney Island’s original Steeplechase ride on a twisting, turning race.
At Scream Zone, visitors will pay per ride – $7 for the coasters, $8 for Zenobio and $20 for the Sling Shot – using refillable “Luna Cards” that could also be used for Luna Park.
Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/mayor_bloomberg_opens_new_scream
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