Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park is a small amusement pier located at Coney Island

Coney Island

Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

, Brooklyn, New York City featuring mostly family and children's rides with a few adult rides. Their main attraction is the Wonder Wheel

Wonder Wheel

Wonder Wheel is a tall eccentric Ferris wheel located at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, Coney Island, in southernmost Brooklyn, New York City, USA....

, a hundred and fifty foot eccentric Ferris wheel. This wheel was built in 1920. 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 located in Anaheim, California

Anaheim, California

Anaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was about 365,463, making it the most populated city in Orange County, the 10th most-populated city in California, and ranked 54th in the United States...

 called Mickey's Fun Wheel

Mickey's Fun Wheel

Mickey's Fun Wheel is a tall Ferris wheel at Disney California Adventure, at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. The ride was inspired by Coney Island's 1927 Wonder Wheel at Deno's Wonder Wheel Amusement Park. Both attractions feature swinging and stationary gondolas while Mickey's Fun...

. This pier overlooks the Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

 and Coney Island beaches. Wonder Wheel was declared a historic landmark in 1989.

History

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

Parachute Jump

The Parachute Jump is a defunct amusement ride in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, whose iconic open-frame steel structure remains a Brooklyn landmark. tall and weighing 170 tons , it has been called the "Eiffel Tower of Brooklyn"...

, 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.