Ride the new Coney Island Thunderbolt

Take a virtual ride on the new Coney Island Thunderbolt roller coaster before it opens on Memorial Day weekend (video below).

Construction is now underway at Luna Park for those willing to brave a two-minute ride that starts with 90-degree vertical drop, followed by a 100-foot-tall loop, and 80-foot zero-g roll. The new steel roller coaster reaches maximum speeds of 55 miles per hour and stands 115 feet tall at its highest point.

It is named for its predecessor, the wooden roller coaster named Thunderbolt that operated on the site in Luna Park from the 1920s to the 1980s, and was finally torn down in 2000.  The new Thunderbolt joins the iconic Coney Island Cyclone, one of the world’s most famous wooden roller coaster, still thrills riders, and the Wonder Wheel, one of the world’s most inventive ferris wheels.

Here’s an animated video of the new Thunderbolt.  There’s no word yet on the cost of a ride, but the return of the Thunderbolt also a signals the return of Coney Island after all the damage caused by Superstorm Sandy.

The original wooden Thunderbolt was featured in  Woody Allen’s 1977 classic “Annie Hall.”