Luna Park
1000 Surf Ave., 718-373-5862
Luna Park, back for a third year, boasts such rides as The Tickler, a spinning "wild mouse"–style roller coaster featuring maddeningly tight turns; the speedy Air Race, which subjects riders to forces of four Gs—up to 25% more than a space shuttle launch; and the Wild River log flume, with its 40-foot splash landing. It's classic Coney Island fun at a place that takes its name and aesthetic from one of the "Nickel Empire" parks of yore—the old Luna Park, which operated from 1903 until it was destroyed by fire in 1944. The crescent moon and pinwheel motif will look familiar to anyone who remembers the original. And while the rides cost money, it's free to enter and look around.

The Scream Zone, meanwhile, has rides tailored to more extreme thrill seekers. In addition to returning attractions like the Sling Shot (in which participants are shot into the air at 90 miles per hour), this year the site features such additions as the Boardwalk Flight Sky-Coaster. —JZ