Midtown will be replacing its blades with wheels this weekend as the Rockefeller Center ice rink temporarily becomes a disco roller for the first time in 80 years.
The last time you could skate on the iconic Lower Plaza in front of 30 Rock was back in 1940. But this time the atmosphere is solid disco.
Starting today and continuing through October, skaters of all skill levels are invited to descend to The Rink at Rockefeller Plaza seven days a week, and until midnight on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturday nights. Free lockers are available per day (bags are not allowed in the skating rink) and tickets for one-hour skating sessions cost $ 20 for adults who bring their own skates and $ 30 to rent. (Tickets for children under $ 15 with roller skates cost $ 12 or $ 22 for those who do not.)
The seasonal skate spot, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace, will offer not only a place to surf but also a variety of live music performances and DJs line up to perform in the open space, designed in the spirit of his beloved if short-lived name.
Skate rentals are available for $ 10, though customers are welcome to bring their own.
Inside the skate house at Flipper’s new iteration in Manhattan.
The trained seal that Arky makes an amulet for in 1940, in the last year the Rockefeller Center has turned his square into a skating rink.
The original flipper had a golden dome, operated from 1979 to 1981 in Los Angeles and “was studio 54 on wheels” according to “Charlie’s Angels” actress Jacqueline Smith.
“Our original pitch was the legendary Los Angeles material. For three glittering years an entire generation of eccentrics, outsiders, punk rockers and disco queens gathered to experience a unique kind of freedom on skates,” the Flippers website said. “Cut to 2022 – The legendary skating rink has reopened our doors in the Rockefeller Center.”
Liberty Ross, the model daughter of Flipper founder Ian “Flipper” Ross, relied heavily on 70s nostalgia in designing her new homage to her father’s place.
“Nothing is like stepping on the skating rink in such an iconic and special place as the Rockefeller Center, letting the wind blow through your hair and feeling truly free. It’s a relief to put down your phone these days and be present, and so we invented our mantra, ‘less scrolling, more rolling’.” , Liberty told The Post.
“A year ago this place was a ghost town,” she added to Vogue, speaking of the landmark square during the plague. “It feels amazing to bring that joy to the city.”
The Rink is located in Rockefeller Plaza between 50th and 49th streets. In Manhattan. It is open Monday to Wednesday 10:00 to 22:00, Thursday-Friday 10:00 to midnight, Saturday 8:00 to midnight and Sundays 8:00 to 22:00