Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park located at Coney Island,

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. It features six adult rides and 16 kiddie rides, including a dozen family rides that parents and children can ride together. The park is named for its main attraction, the

Wonder Wheel The Wonder Wheel is a eccentric Ferris wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park at Coney Island in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The wheel is located on a plot bounded by West 12th Street to the west, Bowery Street to the north, ...

, a eccentric wheel built in 1920. The park overlooks the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

and

Riegelmann Boardwalk The Riegelmann Boardwalk (also known as the Coney Island Boardwalk) is a boardwalk along the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1923, the boardwalk runs bet ...

along the Coney Island beach. The Wonder Wheel was made a

New York City designated landmark The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

by the

New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) is the New York City agency charged with administering the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. The LPC is responsible for protecting New York City's architecturally, historically, and cu ...

in 1989.

History

The

predates the park, having opened in 1920. It was designed by Charles Hermann, and created and built by Herman Garms in 1918-1920 by the Eccentric Ferris Wheel Company. Until the construction of the

Parachute Jump The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride and a landmark in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, along the Riegelmann Boardwalk at Coney Island. Situated in Steeplechase Plaza near the B&B Carousell, the structure consists of a , open- ...

, it was the tallest attraction in Coney Island. It was a stand-alone attraction operated by Herman Garms. In 1955, Garms built

Spook-a-Rama Spook-a-Rama is a dark ride from the Pretzel Amusement Ride Company located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park on Coney Island and run by Million Amusement Corp. It opened in 1955. The rider is pulled around in a car resembling an old wooden ...

, an indoor dark ride. Near these two attractions, Denos Vourderis opened a restaurant called the Anchor Bar & Grill. Also, next door to the Wonder Wheel, stood a small kiddie amusement park called Ward's Kiddie Park owned by John Curran. That area was built in 1950. Denos opened up a concession stand there in 1970. In 1976, Denos bought the kiddie amusement park from Curran. In 1983, Denos acquired the Wonder Wheel and Spook-a-Rama from Fred Garms and Walter Kerner Sr. Today the park still has predominantly children's rides along with several family attractions. Since Denos's death in 1994, the park has been operated by his two sons, Dennis and Steve. In January 2020, Deno's Amusement Park announced a major expansion to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Wonder Wheel. The expanded park would take over part of the abandoned West 12th Street amusement area, shuttered since 2017. The Vourderis family paid $6 million for the land and another $5.5 million for an unnamed ride. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City, the park did not open for the 2020 season, and the expansion was delayed. A Vekoma

Suspended Family Coaster A Suspended Family Coaster is a steel inverted roller coaster built by Vekoma designed for families with no inversions. Just like all inverted roller coasters the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage ...

called

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

soft-opened on June 26, 2021, with a full opening on July 1. Also open in 2021 is Sky Flyer, a micro coaster from

SBF Visa Group SBF Visa Group is an Italian company known for its amusement ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived ...

, which Deno's had purchased at the 2019

IAAPA The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...

Expo.

Attractions

In popular culture

Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park appeared in The Silver Boulders "Crazy Car" music video from The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie as three attractions at the amusement park appeared in the music video: Bumper Cars, Big Trucks, and Fire Engines.

References

External links

*
Oral histories about Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park collected by the Coney Island History Project
{{Coney Island Amusement parks in New York (state) 1920 establishments in New York City Amusement parks opened in 1920 Coney Island Family-owned companies of the United States