| Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Coney Island, New York, United States |
| Website | http://www.wonderwheel.com/ |
| Owner | Dennis Vourderis and Steve Vourderis |
| Opened | Wonder Wheel 1920 - Park 1950 |
| Previous names | Ward's Kiddie Park |
| Rides | 22 total
|
Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is a small amusement pier located at Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City featuring mostly family and children's rides with a few adult rides. Their main attraction is the Wonder Wheel, a hundred and fifty foot eccentric Ferris wheel. This wheel was built in 1920.[1] On the Wonder Wheel, 16 out of 24 of its gondolas run down a short track inside of the wheel swinging in and out of it as they reach the top. Its one of only two rides of this type in the world, the other one being at Disney California Adventure Park located in Anaheim, California called Mickey's Fun Wheel. This pier overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and Coney Island beaches. Wonder Wheel was declared a historic landmark in 1989.
Wonder Wheel predates the history of Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. It was built by Charles Herman and opened May 30, 1920. Until the Parachute Jump, it was the tallest attraction on Coney island. It was a stand-alone attraction operated by Herman Garms. In 1955, Garms built Spook-A-Rama, 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 pier called Ward's Kiddie Park owned by John Curran. That area was built in 1950. That pier lacked food concessions so 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. Today the park still has predominantly children's rides along with several family attractions. Since Denos' death in 1994, the park has been operated by his two sons, Dennis and Steve.[2]