Coney Island Cyclone Review | Historic 1927 Wooden Coaster that STILL Kicks!! Brooklyn New York

[@rct3isepic]

Fun fact, this ride opened before Sliced Bread. Making sliced Bread the greatest thing since The Cyclone

[@jordanwolfson8378]

Underrated comment

[@CoasterStudios]

this is incredible

[@EpicLemonMusic]

Kumail Nanjiani - 2012 standup. Good stuff

[@rct3isepic]

@@EpicLemonMusic I actually had no idea he joked about that until you mentioned it. I just knew that fact

[@randompog8493]

I read about this in a giant coaster book YEARS ago and got to ride it TWICE in my teen years, BOTH on family vacations

[@icutiecatdraws]

Ever since I saw the musical Ride the Cyclone, I've wanted to ride this coaster

[@TearsInMyAgatharioEyes]

Real

[@jordanwolfson8378]

Fun fact: Charles Lindbergh rode the Cyclone back in the day, and afterwards said the experience was "Greater than flying an aircraft, full speed." Let that sink in.

[@jordanwolfson8378]

The guy at 2:50 made me so happy, holding up the #900 sign! I love that he made his 900th coaster credit such an iconic, amazing ride. This is why we ride coasters! Excellent review as always, Taylor! Love the Cyclone forever!

[@coasteremocoasters9635]

As a New Yorker, I love how well you talk about this coaster that’s right in our backyard. It’s a VERY fun ride. I can literally drive to Brooklyn and ride it as well as just chill in the area. Glad you give it a 10/10 for what it is. Also, if it’s the same day recently, I’m very glad to have met you guys that day. ‘Twas an honor.

[@Aerolandaircraft]

It's funny how they tell you to stay in your seat as if you still get a choice on this coaster...

[@josephg3153]

This was my first wooden coaster ever; rode it on June 4, 2022. Rode it to help get over my fear of coasters. I have since gone from being afraid of roller coasters to really enjoying them.

[@brycefourn2001]

Congratulations, you've rode it on my 21st birthday! :)

[@CoasterCrest]

I saw myself riding in 4 different shots throughout the video! That was my first time ever riding Cyclone, and first time in New York City! I love it so much. It's such a fantastic, dynamic, well paced, comfortable, and forceful ride. It's amazing a coaster like that was built in 1927, meanwhile, wood coasters that were built 50 years later were by and large much more simplistic, and lacked much of the fantastic design features found on Cyclone. Cyclone is the greatest success story ever in the fight to preserve old roller coasters, and it is the prime example of a coaster that needs to stick around, as-is. I don't know how, in New York City of all places, one of the rides with some of the most outdated safety systems in the country (not that there's anything wrong with that) endures, but somehow it does, and that's amazing.

[@Cat3465]

As this coaster being a historic landmark, it should be preserved at all costs

[@craigsherwood3824]

I always enjoy hearing your takes on roller coasters and parks. I most often find something I disagree with you about, that's human nature and pay of individual interpretation of each ride and experience. But honestly, when it comes to the one and only cyclone, I think you nailed it 100% Great job as always, Taylor 👍🏻👍🏻

[@DanCrowleyNYC]

That was an excellent review! You are so right about the seating and lack of divider making this ride so unique. I can't imagine how terrified and excited people must have been riding this in 1927! I first rode when I moved from the NY suburbs to NYC proper for college in August 1999, and my friend and I went on this 7 times that day. I try to get out there every few years, and I absolutely adore a thigh-crushing back row ride (especially the second-to-last turn before the bunny hills before the final turn into the brake run - that second to last turn in the back is something otherworldly! The lateral into the ejector). Sadly, not getting to choose your rows in the past decade or so means I haven't had a back row ride on this in probably a decade. It def makes a difference. But what a classic!

[@kevingreen5793]

I'm a native New Yorker so I live not too far away from Coney Island (about an hour and a half away) and the Cyclone is one of my all time favorite coasters! Sure it's old and rough but it still has it's charm! I hope they have a special celebration for it in 2027 when it tuns 100!

[@indypitstop83]

I flew from Nebraska to New York in '92 for the main purpose of taking on Cyclone. It was a religious experience to say the least. i plan on visiting Coney Island (from Arizona this time) in 2026 and 2027 to celebrate my 60th birthday and 50 years of being being free of my severe coaster phobia.

[@terrenceetheridge8743]

I’m 51 and when I was in my early twenties the cyclone made me the roller coaster junkie I am today. So in those days early to mid 90s you’d pay $10 at the booth and get your ride the greatest thing was those guys in the station would make fantastic deals on re rides. I’m talking as little as $1.50 a ride if you commit 20 rides for $30 or like $2 a ride. The first coaster I marathoned. And yes it was cool to see my car parked right alongside the coaster. People,well lots of New Yorkers say I’m crazy for riding that old thing. It such a good ride though and I also experienced the first 2 years of action park which makes the cyclone the safest ride in the world by comparison to that place.

[@zacharyelder349]

I've been on the Coney Island Cyclone so many times. This ride is truly my hometown roller coaster since i live in the New York City area. So on a clear day you can see the Atlantic ocean from up there.

[@StamfordBridge]

Does my heart good to hear you give this classic its due.

[@pdkev]

Love this! My beloved Cyclone. Row 11 is where it's at.

[@georgeoliver4704]

I last rode it a few years before the retracking and boy was it rough. Still incredibly fun and worth the cost, but at the time, I decided not to reride it, because I was bit shaken up by it (I'm an old guy). I hope I can get there to see what it's like in its improved state.

[@lyudmila2882]

Before the retracking I attended a program at Coney Island about roller coasters. The presenter had grave doubts about smoothing out the ride. I too was old when I rode it before the retracking, and it was rough but I kind of favor that as part of the thrill. The cars shook the track as they barreled along, and they swayed from side to side. I don't think you get that with those very smooth-looking coasters I'm terrified of. I really should ride the Cyclone one more time at least, and this time do as they advise and remove my glasses first! They flew off on the first plunge, I was able to grab them and secure them behind me with one hand while hanging on for dear life with the other. The girls in the car ahead of me kept looking back to see how the old lady was doing, but it was great!

[@lulashepard3253]

I’m a total wuss when it comes to roller coasters, but still managed to ride this a few times. At the top of the lift hill just before the first drop you get to see what is in my opinion one of the greatest layouts of any coaster, beautifully designed for such a relatively compact space. Years ago I read in Sports Illustrated about a man who came back from WWII having lost the ability to speak. One day a friend convinced him to join him on the Cyclone. The man screamed on the second drop, and after the train pulled into the station said his first words in nearly a decade: “I feel sick.” I can relate, the first time I rode it I almost fainted on the second drop. 😂

[@CLXWNZIY]

I honestly LOVED THE RIDE. i can’t wait to go back on it with my choir!

[@TearsInMyAgatharioEyes]

Don’t loose your heads

[@jacobsmith2193]

I've never been on the Cyclone, but I loved the padded seats on the Big Dipper at Geauga Lake. They made the ride so much more comfortable.

[@coltonwiggs1594]

A back row ride on this thing is awesome! Loved it when I rode it in 2017 and was shocked at how good it really was.

[@davidmcaninch4714]

I haven’t rode it, but even I know of its awesome legacy. One of the grandfathers of great roller coasters. The one that inspired the whole thing!!! Let’s pause for a moment of respect, shall we?

[@DanielGomez-hl6xx]

Really appreciated the updated review for such a historic landmark coaster. Keep up the good work. As for the part regarding possible plans for demolition or renovation back in the 1970s, it was actually the city that took over ownership; Astroland (later Luna Park) was the one operating.

[@COASTER_CHASER_1]

Definitely a bucket list coaster

[@nickinick9329]

You HAVE to go ride Wooden Coaster at Playland PNE in Vancouver. Yes it's a bit yoinger than Cyclon, but is still the oldest coaster in Canada, it as a national day in British Colombia for it an as been nominated as an ACE Landmark and was place, in 2019, as the 15th best wooden roller coaster. It is insane.

[@maxhagenauer24]

Viper at Hreat America is one of my favorite wooden coasters. That Cyclone layout is definition of classic.

[@ReonSkyridge]

Coney Island is absolutely at the top of my US bucket list right now for its place in theme park history. I really want to make a big NY-NJ area trip with Cyclone as my 400th, but I'm still about 50 credits away....

[@coasterbreakdown]

Ah yes, the roller coaster that somehow always makes it into any New York movie.

[@kurtbrigandi]

My father has the largest collection of Coney Island memorabilia and was really good friends with Gerry Menditto, the manager of the Cyclone for years when Astroland ran the ride. He would let me ride it countless laps, I'm talking in the tens of thousands of times. My first "job" when I was 14 was helping the crew lock and check the bars, even let me release the brake lever to start the ride a few times (This was in the 90s). He gave me the front of the train with the 80th anniversary artwork on it and its in my fathers collection. Gerry used to say its the trains that made the ride. The Cyclone's vintage rolling stock is incredibly heavy when compared to modern wooden cars. It causes more violent dives, intense valley changes and great pops of air due to momentum. They do have the downside of tearing up the track bed though, which was recently resolved with the retracking. When Luna took over they originally proposed to replace the manual brakes and update the trains, I am very glad they chose not to do so. Oh and also a piece of history about the property the Cyclone sits on. It's very hallowed grounds when it comes to the amusement business as that is the same location where the roller coaster was born. L.A. Thompson built the first scenic railway there in 1884. My father has the original blueprints and patent for that ride. After that it was home to nothing but other coasters with the Loop the Loop, Giant Racing Coaster and then the Cyclone.

[@yourexperienceguide]

It’ll be 5 years in June since we last did it, need to get to Coney Island again 🤞🏼

[@andyp.4564]

Humongous agree. I go multiple times a week😅They should have a loyalty club! I’ve been analyzing which seat is the best and I have to go with you on the airtime. Though the back is the roughest and initially I thought that was the best, I’ve come to love the fourth or fifth seat. You just fly. I rode by myself for the first time recently and did not think I was gonna survive that. It was the greatest!!! I’m going back tonight 🎢

[@IAmMiami]

Rode Cyclone for the first time in October. Expectations exceeded.

[@GetOffMyyLawn]

I am a tall guy, and what i remember most about the Cyclone is how beat up my knees were from banging around in the tight car. The other ride I love there is "the Tickler"... it literally made me laugh the whole ride.

[@evan9902]

I really hope to make it out to Luna Park soon. My dad grew up in Brooklyn and my grandpa especially always talks about Coney Island and the Cyclone, saying it’s the best coaster (which it’s probably not but I can see why he would think that). I haven’t been to Coney Island in over a decade and I never got to go on the big rides there so I hope to get back sometime soon

[@CarinaEdelman]

*"Join the choir"* 💀

[@auramint]

Build yourself a funeral pyre

[@jbw53191]

My first trip to Coney Island as a kid was in 1975 and the Cyclone wasn't running. But! The Tornado was running and I got to ride it soon before it closed. Lucky me!!

[@MIKEYPOOHBEARJACKSON]

That air time was no joke. I still remember my first time in August 2017 or 18. I tell you I was flying. I still have my ticket and paid 3 to 4 times to ride

[@margomargo2]

i love it!! 😀 Haven't ridden it in a couple of decades, but it was always fun!

[@thrillingcoasters]

i’ve been anticipating the discussing the season with my past self video since the last one came out a year ago i hope there’s gonna be another one

[@CoasterStudios]

there will be!

[@ScottyMania313]

10 out of 10 and the station I love it most at night. Being in the station and looking around, breathing everything in man, that's all part of the great experience. A station like Maverick or Steel Vengeance, I feel like, please get me outta here for my ride. Cyclone, you see history and waiting is no problem cause there's a lot of sights to take in.

[@toddtarble]

Willam Cobb designed the Texas Cyclone to the original Cyclone plans….From 1976-1984….#1….The best clone ever……I love the original Cyclone which is still the industry standard….

[@ACCOMPLISHEDSHEIS]

Now they have big folks on it. Ok. Then I was ask if as some of them and was denied. I guess the widen the seat.

[@carterboone2064]

Rode this thing 6 times in a row and the park was so dead but they still would only let me ride in the front row :( was still amazing but I wish I got some back row rides.

[@alexgeorge501]

Can't wait to see it's century Anniversary celebration!

[@theoreticallybelieving6499]

I think something comparable in laterals and operations, seating and maybe more would be the cyclone at lakeside amusement park CO. I wish you had the chance to ride it, I've seen the vlogs and got so sad!

[@kyokushinkuma]

Gotta ride this one day. It’s a shame the Original Coney Island Thunderbolt wasn’t saved, that’s layout looked pretty crazy, too.

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

My dad and I got last row this October

[@TonyKimtheamusementparkfan]

I’m still impressed that a coaster this old went 60 mph back then. I mean that was insane for the time. Sure now, it’s not as fast, but for 1927 standards it must of been super quick at the time.

[@Megacoasterman]

God this ride looks so epic and I am so excited to ride it. Can you request a row though?

[@diabolicalfr1ge23]

Fun fact this is my most ridden roller coaster

[@lightningboat]

Great review, seems like a great woodie!

[@knobbynah]

Best roller coaster ever man.

[@puccipower]

Have you guys been on the Roller Coaster up in Playland in Vancouver, BC Canada? It's older than this I'm pretty sure and one of the best classic coasters I've been on. The drops are unreal. I can't wait to ride the original Cyclone someday... what a legendary coaster.

[@CoasterStudios]

We have not, but we've heard great things!

[@dustmybroom288]

Coaster at PlayLand was built 31 year after the Cyclone

[@notpfgamer]

Riding it felt like the whole thing is going to break any moment. Not a coaster fan but it felt pretty intense.

[@rojjo]

It's too bad the Thunderbolt and Tornado were not saved. Loved the double dip on the Thunderbolt. I read that for the last refurb in the early 2010s, they redid the first drop by reducing the length 5 feet but apparently it is still intense from this review. I haven't been on it since the rehab.

[@pleasurebeachfan]

The Cyclone looks so fun and packed with airtime, and of course you've got to pay respect to its amazing legacy!

[@sollamander2206]

On my 13th birthday my best friend and I rode the Cyclone 13 times.

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

It’s crazy how fast this actually is

[@maxhagenauer24]

I didn't think it would be possible that they could make something so compact and tight at the time.

[@asifbalkaran2033]

Omg this was awesomely terrifying

[@dindog22]

how do the block zones work on that thing?

[@jarretstroud1842]

Coaster Studios did you know that Astroworld original wanted to buy this coaster and relocate this to Houston Texas. But because it would of been costly to relocate it and also probably because the ride wasn’t in the greatest shape in the 70s Astroworld build their own Cyclone coaster: hence the Texas cyclone was born.

[@AdamSmith-gs2dv]

Surviving the wrath of Robert Moses is even more impressive. Damn near nothing he wanted gone survived

[@johngrzeschik1769]

I likes riding with someone because I wasn’t like prepared for one of the turns and I slammed my knee into the one part that wasn’t padded and bro that ruined my whole trip there, AND IT WAS MY SECOND RIDE OF THE DAY

[@askjeevescosby2928]

Can you buy new ptc trains with buzz bars?

[@lilyththerealone]

guys I went with my choir class and I lost my head, 0/10 would not recommend

[@indypitstop83]

Psychiatrists have begun prescribing rides on the Cyclone to cure anything from depression to Schizophrenia. Not to poke fun of people with these mental health issues.

[@elwoodblues9613]

There are only three reasons I'd ever go to Nu Yawk. They're all in Brooklyn. The Cyclone is one of those three. As much as I love Santa Cruz' Giant Dipper, I'm sure the Cyclone knocks that one out of the #1 slot.

[@CoasterUnhingedShorts]

lol Luna park is my home park so I can say that the ride is awesome

[@chester96969]

The Cyclone is much better. One of the reasons is because it was left alone. The Dragon Coaster was a much different ride when it had the original Coaster cars. After the removal, the ride was never the same.

[@gharrison2595]

The retracking must have really improved the ride experience, bringing this ride up from an 8 if I recall correctly (didn't you rate the Cyclone as such in a previous video from 8-9 years ago?). And I think there are two Cyclone clones that still exist: Viper and that RCCA one in Germany.

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

Yes it’s great now

[@zacharyelder349]

Is it Bandit at Movie Park Germay that you're thinking of?

[@gharrison2595]

@zacharyelder349 Shhh! I didn't want to offend Taylor by saying its name.

[@A_A610]

The retrack definitely helped the ride experience, and while there are some awkward spots, it's arguably much more comfortable than most other wooden coasters that are several decades younger.

[@bullresay]

viper is the top 1 wooden coster in my home park sfgm it have a lot air time and near miss to it like to will hit the wooden latout it the a top one when the train hit the brakes it be so funnny to my friends

[@jackyboy375]

4:07

[@class56trainsrock62]

I watched the captain America movie and it was on about this ride

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

Imagine this with a buzz bar

[@Random-xe2cc]

I live in NY yet I have never actually been on the cyclone

[@michaelanderson2881]

When coaster designers had more imagination than technology.

[@davefroman4700]

I rode it in 1977. And I am not going to say how old I was.....

[@thebestdecepticonSoundwave]

woah

[@coasterknowledge1982]

I’ve heard the Texas cyclone at Astro world was probably the only clone of this ride that could beat the original

[@eyestoenvy]

To think they almost replaced the trains with newer lighter ones, like Rye Playland did with the DRAGON coaster. Doing so would have ruined the ride to no end.

[@urbex_coasters]

It's good but I actually prefer its slightly older west coast cousin in Santa Cruz.

[@tricorntom2254]

Thanks for the great presentation! I've several things to add. First of all, this ride, like its older Coney-Island sister, The Wonder Wheel, is far more magical at night. Coney really comes alive at night, with all the bright, colorful neon, which can best be taken in from the tops of both these rides on a cool summer's night. Here is the KZbin nighttime Cyclone POV for comparison: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a3SYiot4lJZ5iJY My second point is, that although this ride is comparatively small next to modern wooden monsters like Six Flags Goliath, it still packs a lot of thrills. In fact, in its long history The Cyclone has actually killed three riders that we know of! The two best seats for thrills would be the back car, for the air time and whipping laterals (it seems like all reviewers seem to miss the whip effect of rear-car laterals) and of course, the front car (which I took, and is featured in the attached video) where you experience the jaw-dropping falls and turns up close (as if you're not even on the coaster but flying). My challenge is this, sit in the front car, alone, and try and keep your arms in the air. I tried this and was whipped violently at the first turn, then held on for dear life! I experienced some bruised ribs from this (as they push the bar down low and hard to keep you from falling out, and I almost WAS pulled out!) But I'm not complaining, this was by far the greatest thrill of any coaster I've ever done, and The Cyclone will always be #1 in my book, not only for its great long history, but also for the thrills (Aviator Charles Lindberg said it was better than flying top speed in an open aero plane!). Thanks again and happy riding!

[@jessewolf7649]

“25cents. That’s about $5 per ride in today’s dollars. Now you’ll pay about $10.” ?!?

[@NorthEasternMotionProductions]

I know it feels that fast but how on earth is this 60mph?????

[@ThrillsofColdplay]

not sure could be the trains

[@Coastervisuals98]

This ride is the best wooden coaster in the northeast. Better then El Toro and Phoenix

[@0z3r0]

Have only ridden the "German Cyclone" and it sucked.

[@markrobinowitz8473]

It's not tall enough to go 60 mph (just marketing BS).