Adventureland celebrates 1 millionth rider on Turbulence
"It was really surprising," Anna Pagan says. "Nothing like that has ever happened to me before." Credit: Adventureland
Anna Pagan, 10, of Long Beach, had just gone through the turnstile for the Turbulence Coaster at Adventureland in Farmingdale when a canon sprayed confetti into the air and the amusement park’s mascot, Alfie, approached her.
She was the 1 millionth rider on the roller coaster that the park debuted in the summer of 2015 — and Alfie brought her to the front of the line and let her ride in the front seat of the coaster.
“It was really surprising,” Anna says. “Nothing like that has ever happened to me before.” When she got off the ride on Aug. 2, the park had gifts waiting for her, including a 2017 and 2018 season pass, Turbulence T-shirts and paraphernalia, and the news that her name would be carved into a commemorative brick that would be laid into the park’s grounds.
“It has been crazy, the amount of attention,” says Anna’s mom, Claudine. “It was really fun crazy.”
Beth Whitehouse writes about families, parenting and great things to do with the kids on Long Island. She’s been a Newsday editor and shared a 1997 Newsday staff Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
