Dreamland (Coney Island, 2009)

Dreamland was an amusement park in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City that operated at the site of the defunct Astroland park for the 2009 season. It was replaced with a new Luna Park the following year.

The park was operated by Anthony Raffaele for Thor Equities.[1] The park contained two large freak shows as well as independent attractions to see a giant snake,[2] a giant rat (really a baby capybara),[3][4] and a tiny woman.[5][6] It also included a carousel, a scrambler, and other rides.

Thor Equities shut the park down before the end of the 2009 season because the operators had accumulated $600,000 in unpaid back rent. Thor locked the operators out in the middle of the night without a formal eviction.[7][8]

  1. ^ Sederstrom, Jotham (April 8, 2009). "Dreamland amusement park to take place of Astroland at Coney Island". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  2. ^ "Giant Snake". shutterfreaks.com.
  3. ^ "Coney Island Giant Rat « Capybara Madness". gianthamster.com. Archived from the original on December 28, 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Limited, Alamy. "Stock Photo - Giant rat stall (not!) Brighton Beach, Coney Island, new york city, USA". Alamy. Retrieved July 22, 2019. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ "Art of the Day: World's Smallest Woman Arrives in Coney Island". Amusing the Zillion. September 2, 2012. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  6. ^ jriddlesmast (October 6, 2009), Meet the Freaks at Dreamland Coney Island Part 1, retrieved July 22, 2019
  7. ^ Durkin, Erin (August 24, 2009). "Nightmare at Dreamland: Rent woes shut Coney Island park as owner vows court battle". nydailynews.com. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  8. ^ McLaughlin, Mike (August 28, 2009). "IT'S OVER! Coney's Dreamland will be closed for the rest of the summer". Brooklyn Paper. Retrieved July 22, 2019.