An Amusement Park Is Coming To Astoria

ASTORIA, QUEENS — As of next week, Astorians don’t have to trek to Coney Island to visit a full blown amusement park, since one is popping up in their backyard.

Dreamland Amusements is bringing its annual carnival to Astoria Park from Wednesday, July 7 through the following Sunday, July 11.

The carnival, which will be set up under the RFK bridge for the first time since the start of the pandemic, will be open until 11 p.m. every day with gates opening at 4:00 p.m. during the week and noon on the weekend.

While it is usually free to enter the carnival area and walk around, after 5:00 p.m., Dreamland Amusements may also require visitors to buy tickets in order to enter, as a way of managing crowds, according to the website.

Also, visitors have to buy tickets in order to go on rides. Each ticket costs $1.50, though you can also buy 20 tickets for $30 or 50 tickets for $60 plus a free ride.

Some rides require multiple tickets, and you have to be over 36-inches tall to go on most, though there are some options for kids who are taller than 30-inches.

Dreamland Amusements also asks visitors to not wear open toed sandals or flip flops on the rides, in order to protect their feet.

In addition to rides for adults and kids, the carnival will include a variety of games — like balloon pop, skee ball, and basketball — as well as typical carnival fare, including funnel cake, pizza, and lemonade.

The carnival doesn’t typically reschedule if it is rained out, but as of now next week looks like it will be sunny and hot.