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AMUSEMENT PARKS PAGE

BELMONT PARK, SAN DIEGO

Photo courtesy of Joyrides.com

Getting here is a challenge. The best way is to take Sea World Drive from Interstate 5. Go past Sea World and take West Mission Bay Drive towards the beach. Belmont will be at the end when you hit the sand.

Belmont Park isn't really an amusement park. It's supposed to be a shopping center, but we only found two stores in business (usual tacky beach tourist stuff) and a smattering of restaurants. There is more across the street, but much of it had a really run-down air about it and the interesting looking places were for the over 21 crowd where TWO ID's were required to prove you were of legal age. I didn't think to ask the DMV for an extra drivers license. Also, we were with my 12 year old son, so we skipped the eating here.

What amusements are here are a large public swimming pool, a nice sandy beach...one of very few in this state where alcohol consumption is allowed, an arcade, a smattering of carnival type rides, and the reason for being...the Giant Dipper.

Built in 1925, this wooden landmark coaster has been thrilling guests continuously except for a decade spent rotting while preservationists put together a plan to save it. In 1986, they were successful and the coaster anchors the much less successful shopping center that sprung up in the old beachfront park's ashes.

I am one of the fortunate few because I got a chance to ride it in the old days...once...before it closed. Why I say this is because although restored, the old trains were replaced with modern ones that lack the hair-raising qualities of the older cars.

In the old cars, you simply hung on. There were no seat belts, lap bars, or restraints of any kind. One example has been restored and now resides in the small museum in the ticket booth. The new cars have a lap bar that, if it isn't tight enough already, the ride operator will push down on until your legs turn blue for lack of circulation.

The ride has a good first drop, a good thrill at the top of the second hill, and then is functional till the end. I remember it being much more thrilling than it was on this past New Year's weekend. Perhaps that is because I'm jaded after riding the superb Ghostrider up at Knott's. The ride really seemed to struggle to get up the last couple of hills before the station.

It is accessible to wheelchair riders via a steep, wooden ramp up to the station with a very tight little gate next to the turnstile. Ride operators do not help you board but give you all the time you need to get on.

Tickets are $3 per ride. Parking is free with plenty of handicapped spaces. Accessible restrooms are here but have no privacy doors. Entrance to Belmont Park is also free.

Not the place it used to be but if you're in San Diego, it's worth a trip to add this 75 year old woodie to your list of coasters.

CASTLE PARK, RIVERSIDE a medium-sized park with many rides, mini golf, and an arcade. The updated information that follows is courtesy of Bill Nehring of Castle Park.

Someone told us when we were there that this park was owned by the Knott family and there is a great similarity to Knott's Berry Farm in the ride park. This turns out not to be the case but the owner, Bud Hurlbut used to be associated with Knott's. He built & operated the Log Ride (first in the world), Mine Train, Fiesta Village, & Independence Hall. The similartities between the two parks are striking. Alhough Mr. Hurlbut sold his rides to the Knott family back in 1986, he still has some involvement with them.

There are a couple of great train rides, a log ride (separate ticket than the rest) a couple a small but fast coasters, and the kind of rides you would usually find at a carnival. The park is very well landscaped and well maintained.

There is no admission to the park itself, though there is a small parking fee. 22-ticket books are available for $9.00 and as of this update (Feb. 1997) an $8.00 unlimited ride ticket is available until the end of March. The ride park opens at 12:00pm on Sat & Sun. Unused tickets are good forever (just like the old Disneyland tickets). This park is a great bargain alternative to the bigger & much more expensive parks to the west in Orange County. For comparison, current admission to Disneyland is over $30 per person. This place is just a fraction of that.

Castle Park is currently developing a web site. We'll provide a link as soon as we have the URL.

Castle Park is located off of the 91 Freeway at Tyler in Riverside. It is about 50 miles east of Los Angeles.

DISABLED ACCESS: I am currently waiting on some up-to-date access information. It will be posted as soon as I have it.

DISNEYLAND, still a clasic, first rate theme park. Click on the wheelchair for our own personal access experiences.

FAMILY FUN CENTER, UPLAND a small park with about 6 rides, go karts, mini golf, and an arcade. This is more for the under 8 set with a ferris wheel, a small roller coaster, a scrambler, and a few other kiddie rides. The go kart track is very good with one or 2 person karts available.

This park is located 30 miles east of Los Angeles. It is along side of the 10 Freeway. Exit at Mountain and turn left 2 times.

KNOTT'S BERRY FARM, BUENA PARK, the world's oldest theme park. Great ghost town to wander through and usually less than half the crowd of nearby Disneyland. Admission is less here too. Some of the best rides are Montezooma's Revenge, the world's first Log Ride, and the Parachute Drop. Younger kids will like Jaguar, a big but rather tame roller coaster that zooms through the middle of Montezooma's loop. The whole family will like the stagecoach ride, the steam train, and the mine train.

The older employees here take great pride in their work while some of the younger ones could take a lesson from their elders here.

Don't miss out on Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner, some of the best amusement park food you'll ever find! The park was built around this restaurant.

Click on the wheelchair for our own personal access experiences. Take Interstate 5 south to Beach Bl. and turn right. About 20 miles south of Los Angeles.

MALIBU SPEEDZONE, CITY OF INDUSTRY

The park is very colorful, clean & bright. During construction, it stood out so much that it caused massive traffic jams on the adjacent Pomona Freeway as people stopped to look.

There is no admission charge. Racing costs start at $2.50 per lap on the formula course to $15 for 2 runs in the dragsters. Be forewarned that this is very addictive and the costs can run up real fast! Located near Puente Hills Mall. Take the 60 (Pomona) Freeway east from Los Angeles to Fullerton Road. Turn left to Gale Ave. Turn left again to Castleton. Turn left on Castleton and the park will be on your right.

PACIFIC PARK, SANTA MONICA

PHAROAH'S LOST KINGODOM, REDLANDS is the region's newest amusement park. I guess you could also call it a theme park because it is built around the theme of ancient Egypt. About the size of Castle Park in Riverside, this park has rides, a water park, mini golf, arcades, midway games, and 3 separate racetracks. We have not yet had a chance to check this park out yet (but we will as soon as we can!) so we cannot give you a review or rate the park's handicapped accessibility yet.

There is no admission fee to the park but there is a parking fee (your parking ticket also allows you to enter prize drawings). You can purchase admission to each attraction separately, buy multiple ticket packages, or buy unlimited passes. Unlimited passes run $14.95 (kids $9.95) to either the ride park or water park or buy a combo pass for $24.95 (kids $19.95)for both.

Take Interstate 10 east to California Street in Redlands, about 50 miles east of downtown L.A. The park is on the north side of the freeway at 1100 California Street.

SCANDIA, ONTARIO another small park with about a dozen rides, batting cages, mini golf, and an arcade. This park has rides for everybody. From really good kiddie rides, to the Scandia Screamer roller coaster and Thor's Hammer for the older set. The staff here is really good and are very helpful.

Scandia is a very fun, low key place for the entire family.

There is a $1.00 admission and tickets run 50 cents each. Rides take from 1 - 6 tickets each. There is an unlimited ride wrist band available for $12.95.

Afterwards, the adults can have fun at the nearby San Antonio and J. Fillipi Wineries with their free wine tasting. (see the Wineries page for more info)

Take the 10 Freeway east to Interstate 15. Go south to the Jurupa exit. Scandia is right next to the freeway. About 30 miles east of Los Angeles.

SIX FLAGS MAGIC MOUNTAIN, VALENCIA, the area's other BIG theme park. This park bills itself (and rightly so) as the home of the "White Knucklers". Although there are some rides for the really young, the star attractions are for those who are 48" or more (some rides have a 54" limit).

Our favorites are:

Ninja, a real thrilling suspended coaster.

Free Fall, just as the name implies.

Colossus, a huge, fast and thrilling wooden coaster.

Take Interstate 5 north to Magic Mountain Parkway. About 20 miles north of Los Angeles.

Take a look at the report of our recent trip to Magic Mountain here.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, in North Hollywood is a combination studio tour and theme park located in the world's largest movie studio. It's also the area's most completely accessible theme park. Check out our Universal Studios Review for more details.