Coney Island

Your Guide to Coney Island Entertainment Through the New Year

As 2015 draws to a close, Coney Island only gets wilder. The beachside amusement park may seem like an odd spot to visit in the off season, but Coney’s just as crazy in the winter as it is in warmer months. While the Freak Show won’t be starting up again until March, all the other classic…

by Hannah Frishberg

12/24/2015 3 minute 0

Coney Island Fireworks Brooklyn — Photo by Luna Park NYC via Flickr

As 2015 draws to a close, Coney Island only gets wilder.

The beachside amusement park may seem like an odd spot to visit in the off season, but Coney’s just as crazy in the winter as it is in warmer months.

While the Freak Show won’t be starting up again until March, all the other classic experiences are still up and running.

In addition to daily one-and-a-half-hour walking tours of the “People’s Playground,” the Coney Island Museum will be open on weekends. Current exhibits include Africasso’s The Darkside of Dreamland and the Great Fredini’s 3D-printed Luna Park, as well as historic highlights from the museum’s permanent collection.

The off-season Sunday matinee edition of the Magic at Coney!!! magic show will hold its final 2015 performance on Sunday, December 27, and a special Coney Island History Project walking tour — based on Charles Denson’s book, Coney Island: Lost and Found, and held continuously on Saturdays and Sundays — won’t even skip a weekend transitioning into 2016.

As for non-perennial goings-on, the Sodom By the Sea Salon exhibition of more than 75 Coney-inspired art pieces will be closed December 26 and 27, but otherwise open from 1-4:30 p.m. every weekend through February 7.

On New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Coney is truly pulling out all the stops. Among the celebrations are a throwback disco party, Brew Year’s Eve, free Wonder Wheel rides from 9-11 p.m., and various eclectic performances. Those lead up to the climactic midnight Parachute Jump Ball Drop and performance by the Coney Island Circus Sideshow. Coney Island may be far from Times Square location-wise, but it rivals the Manhattan’s New Year’s Eve madness.

The following day, the Polar Bear Plunge will attempt to cure all hangovers, and then the ever-energized Sideshow cast will give a 2-6 p.m. performance of their freaky act, while the Coney Island History Project records New Year’s greetings at the Wonder Wheel.

For a bit of Coney Island–themed fun without making the trek, see the Brooklyn Museum’s extensive Coney Island exhibit currently on display.