KickTheSky 100 - Belmont Park 8/16

ARRIVED: 4pm

LEFT: 8pm

PARK APPEARANCE/ATMOSPHERE: I was really looking forward to this park. I made the drive specifically to see my first seaside park and I wasnt disappointed. It was everything I expected and more. You just cannot beat the atmosphere of a seaside park. You get the smells of all the delicious food mixed in with the salty sea air. The sounds of the coaster and screaming were mixed with the waves lapping up on the shore. The park was more modern than I expected, except for the coaster I came to see, of course.

RIDE QUEUE TIMES: Giant Dipper was a walk on almost every time. Even though there is a sign that says you cannot wait for a certain row, I managed to do it anyways.

BEST EXPERIENCE: Sunset on the beautiful Pacific Ocean.

WORST EXPERIENCE: The drive down. This was my busiest drive of the trip. Who would have thunk that everyone in L.A. wanted to visit San Diego on a Saturday. What should have been an hour and a half drive ended up being a three and a half hour drive.

MOST PLEASANT SURPRISE: The scenery on the way down. I never thought desert mountains next to the ocean could be so beautiful.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: Getting lost trying to find the park. Took the wrong Mission Road. I needed to be on West Mission and I was on East Mission.

COASTER RANKINGS

WITHOUT FLAW:
None

REALLY QUITE GOOD:
Giant Dipper: (87) Almost cold fries bad, but the nostalgia factor of the ride, coupled with the tunnel from the station to the lift made up for the jarring ride. The view from the top of the lift is breathtaking.

COLD FRIES BAD
None

JUST PLAIN AWFUL
None

MAJOR NON-COASTER ACTIVITIES:
I spent quite a bit of time just walking on the beach and going out and walking in the Pacific Ocean. Now I know why the SEALs that train in San Diego hate sitting in that water for long periods of time. It is suprisingly cold!!!

BEST NON-COASTER RIDE:
The ride home because there was no traffic, just an immigration checkpoint.

OTHER COMMENTS:
I ended up purchasing the unlimited ride band for 13 bucks. At four bucks a pop to ride the coaster, after 4 rides it was more than paid off. I actually rode about six times, riding in the front, the back and even the middle. I found you got some great air in the back, but the ride in the front was much more comfortable.

I also moved into my new hotel this day, the Desert Palms near Disneyland. Big mistake of hotel choice there. The place is under construction so I was woken up every morning at 6am as workers started throwing lumber around outside of my room. I was very disappointed with my stay at this hotel.

Next up is a surprise park - Pacific Park!!!

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore
*** This post was edited by Kick The Sky 8/22/2003 1:19:24 PM ***

Heh, didn't see this post. Glad you enjoyed it, and yep, for the past year and a half or so, the drive from LA to San Diego on a Saturday has been horrific. I often go down to see family in SD and now try to do it either super early Saturday (like 4 or 5 am) or late the night before.

The best tip I have is, once you've gotten around Camp Pendleton, anytime traffic starts building up, get in the right lane. San Diego drivers are addicted to the left lanes, and often times you'll see the left two lanes stop while the right lane never dops below 25-30.

Glad you enjoyed your trip!

I also drove from LA to San Diego ti see the San Diego Zoo and ride this coaster.
I thought the coaster was ok, but nothing special. The park itself seemed very run down with a major carny atmosphere and not much else tp speak of. The park wasnt busy and while i thought it was good to expeirence the coaster IMHO it wouldnt be worth the effort again unless they fixed the place up and had something else to do.

I think I would probably do it again just for the drive. Nothing like having ocean on one side and mountains on the other. I will have to remember that driving tip about staying on the right on the way down there next time. For a road that doesnt have a whole lot of exits, especially around Camp Pendelton, it gets awfully congested. Gotta love that immigration checkpoint on the way back though! :)

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Bob Hansen
Resident Airtime Whore

And the warning signs about people running across the freeway there, they've always been a crowd favorite :)

One of my favorite bars in SD used to sell a shirt with the family running on the back of it, saying "Bring the Family" underneath. They got too many complaints though and ended up pulling them. Whiners...