Luna Park announces more details of coaster, flume ride to open this summer

The designs will pay homage to historic Coney Island rides

A big summer is scheduled at Luna Park in Coney Island, as the amusement complex revealed more details on its new rides that are slated to open later this year.

Last October, a groundbreaking ceremony was held to celebrate the park’s expansion and its planned new rides.

Now they finally have names.

The new rollercoaster for the park will be called Tony’s Express, and the new log flume ride will be known as Leti’s Treasure. The titles pay homage to the Zamperla family and its legacy in the amusement industry.

The family owns Central Amusement International Inc., the parent company of Luna Park; and the rides pay tribute to President and CEO, Alessandro Zamperla’s grandparents, the late Antonio and Letizia Zamperla.

Alessandro said they are thrilled to officially announce the names of their new rollercoaster and log flume ride coming this summer.

“My family has been blessed to work in the amusement industry for over five generations, and it is truly a humbling moment to be able to honor my late grandparents with Tony’s Express and Leti’s Treasure,” he told the Eagle. “The intertwining attractions celebrate Coney Island’s history as well as my grandparents’ relationship that inspired our family’s spirit of continuous innovation.”

Tony’s Express is described as a family-friendly coaster. It will bend and curve around Leti’s Treasure at more than 40 miles per hour with more than 1,200 feet of track. Its two trains will be equipped with ADA access.

Leti’s Treasure will operate with 12 flume boats seating up to six guests at a time, lifting riders up to 40 feet in the air and providing a panoramic view of Coney’s shoreline. It then will plunge down to over 35 miles per hour before the splash.

Antonio Zamperla became the first Italian to be inducted into the IAAPA, The Global Association for the Attractions Industry Hall of Fame, in 2005. 

According to Luna Park management, Letizia Zamperla was the matriarch of the family, and used to drive tractor-trailers loaded with rides across Europe.  When she was a child, she played by the Piave River in Italy, one reason the water-borne flume ride is named after her.

The two rides are set to be intertwined and to pay tribute to the rich history of Coney Island’s rides. Tony’s Express will evoke Switchback Railway, which was the first rollercoaster at Coney Island. It opened in 1884.

Leti’s Treasure will pay homage to Shoot the Chutes, a partially aquatic ride that operated in Coney Island in the first half of the 20^th century.

In addition to the new rides, Luna Park will also unveil the 50-foot custom-designed Sky Chaser Ropes Course and pedestrian plazas.

The park is developing five acres along the Coney Island Boardwalk and Surf Avenue, which will increase the theme park’s size by 50 percent and utilize long-vacant land. They add that expansion will create 100 jobs.

“We are excited to bring the finest in amusement park innovations to New York City as we continue to restore the legacy of Coney Island by bringing new and exhilarating attractions and entertainment to our guests,” Alessandro Zamperla said.