I always thought Coney Island was an Aussie thing. Then I heard Van Morrison sing about it and I suspected that I might have been a little too parochial. Finally I got the chance to visit the original Coney Island amusement park in New York. I was amused at how run down it was but then heard that it’s been purchased by developers and so our day was the last day of opening for much of the park.
Highlights included the Cyclone roller coaster which saved me from the need to visit the chiropractor but scared the wits out of me. The other great attraction that was fun as a bystander was the gently-named “Shoot the Freak”. For only US$20 you could purchase 35 paintballs and empty them all at a very fit, young fellow dressed in body armour who would try (not very hard) to dodge them. Something for the whole family.
