Guide to San Diego’s Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a small amusement park right on the ocean at Mission Beach. There are quite a few attractions and it can easily be combined with a day at the beach. This is our guide to San Diego’s Belmont Park.
Jump Ahead To
Parking
Mission Beach is an extremely popular area of San Diego. Belmont Park is right in the center of Mission Beach where W. Mission Bay Dr meets Mission Blvd. There is a great deal of free parking nearby but on busy summer days it can fill up fast. The main parking lot is right by the park, with overflow lots across the street. On busy days there is a free shuttle service running from the East Bonita and Ventura parking lots. There is also a service called FastPark where they will park your car ala a valet service. You can go here for more details.
Belmont Park Tickets
Belmont Park is free to enter, but of course, it costs money for the attractions. Tickets at Belmont Park are either by the ride or a combo pass that gets you into most all of the attractions. The sticker price for the combo pass is $56 a day ($46 for anyone under 48 inches). This sounds expensive but there are many discounts. First if you buy online you save $3 off the ticket price.
In 2019, Belmont Park started selling both ride only passes. and annual passes The ride-only pass was $34 a day ($24 for anyone under 48 inches). Once again you save $3 buying online. The ride only pass does not include the major attractions. However, these attractions can still be bought individually.
The annual pass costs $109 a year or $99 for anyone under 48 inches. We bought this pass in mid-2019. Because Belmont Park was closed during COVID our pass was extended through all of 2021! Luckily Belmont Park was open most of 2021 so we definitely got a great deal.
Belmont Park is one of the premium attractions on the Go San Diego Pas. The Go San Diego Passallows visitors access to up to 40 attractions for either 1,2,3,5 or 7 days. A 7-day pass is a very good value at $299/$269. The 3-day or more passes also includes admission to the very big attractions like the San Diego Zoo, Safari Park, SeaWorld, and Legoland.
The Go San Diego Pass option we recommend to visitors just in town for a day or two is the build your own pass. With the build your own pass you add 2 or more attractions to the pass and save 20% off the gate price for each attraction.
Go San Diego: Your Personalized Pass to San Diego
More details on the pass can be found here.
If you are just in town for a day or two and want to visit Belmont Park, you can save $10 by buying tickets online. Also check Groupon which sometimes runs amazing deal on the unlimited attractions pass. We have seen deals as low as $15 (yes $39 off the full price). If you are a Costco member, they usually have Belmont Park tickets for about half price ($28).
Of course, you can pay by the ride or attraction, but this will add up fast. Most rides are from $3 to 6 each for a single ride. Many of the attractions are even more. The beauty of the unlimited pass is you get access to everything except the Escape Room.
For more attractions in San Diego check out our top 10 list of both paid attractions and free attractions.
Annual Pass
For San Diego residents the annual pass is a great deal. The pass is $99 ($89 for under 48 inches). It includes unlimited admission to all the rides and attractions. They also gave us a $25 card for use in the arcade (it wasn’t advertised). You get a 10% discount on food and items in the shops. There is also a 20% discount on the Escapology escape rooms. You can also buy daily admission to the newly renovated Plunge swimming pool for $8 a day (normally $15). This is a great deal for residents because you can spend a day at the beach and visit Belmont Park right next door.
Belmont Park Rides
Giant Dipper Roller Coaster (single rides $6, minimum height is 50 inches)
The roller coaster is the main attraction at Belmont Park. These is even a museum by the main ticket booth devoted to the history of the coaster. The Giant Dipper opened in 1925 and operated for 50 years until it was closed in the 1970s. However, it was restored and reopened in 1990. The Giant Dipper looks tame, but it is actually surprisingly intense. There is a cool dark section at the park that takes many first-time riders by surprise.
Beach Blaster
(single rides $5)
The Beach Blaster is one of those intense rides that hurls you upside down high into the air. Along with Control Freak this is the most intense ride in the park. This ride was closed for much of 2018 because of safety concerns after an accident in Ohio. However, it is fully open in 2019.
Control Freak
(single rides $5, minimum height is 52 inches to ride along, 48 inches with a person 52+)
Control Freak, along with Octotron, is cool because you can make it super intense or as calm as you want. Each rider has control over their seat. You can go crazy and cause the car to flip upside down multiple times, or you can not push the button. One caveat is that there are two riders in each vehicle and the controls switch between each rider. In other words, if you want a mild ride you should make sure your partner is on board.
Octotron
(single rides $5, minimum height is 48 inches)
Octoron consists of vehicles that spin around in a circle. Like Control Freak, each 2-person vehicle is equipped with a control stick. The control stick allows you to flip the vehicle up or down. This allows for the ride to be as intense or mild as you like.
Tilt-A-Whirl
(single rides $4, minimum height is 48 inches to ride along, under 48 inches can ride with a person 48+)
The Tilt-A-Whirl is a classic ride invented in the 1920s. This ride will spin you around and make you dizzy. Personally, I do not ride these anymore. When my kids were around 5 or 6 I went on it with both of them. They slammed into me so hard, it threw my back out of alignment. My son will not ride these, because he suffered a similar fate when going on one with a bigger friend.
Overdrive Bumper Cars
(single rides $4, minimum height is 48 inches to drive, 42-48 inches can ride with a person 48+)
Bumper Cars are a classic, but the ones at Belmont Park are better than most. Instead of being attached to the ceiling these cars are controlled through the floor. You can go in any direction, unlike many bumper cars which require you to go around a one-way circuit.
Krazy Kars
(single rides $4, minimum height is 42 inches)
Krazy Kars are a newer version of bumper cars. Instead of a steering wheel, the vehicles are controlled by two levers on each side. Unlike bumper cars there is no room for a passenger. Minimum height is 42 inches.
Vertical Plunge
The Vertical Plunge rides to a height of 3 stories and drops you. This does not sound like much, but the ride goes on for 2 minutes. That means you get to drop over and over again.
Zero Gravity
(single rides $4, minimum height is 42 inches to go alone, 36-42 inches can ride with a person 42+)
New for 2019 is Zero Gravity. This is a drop tower that is significantly higher than Vertical Plunge.
Liberty Carousel
(single rides $3, under 2 must be accompanied by Chaperone age 8 plus, Chaperones 14 and over can ride for free)
This is a reproduction of a classic, early 20th century carousel. Hand-painted scenes depict the history of San Diego.
Crazy Submarine
(single rides $3, minimum height is 42 inches to go alone, under 42 inches can ride with a Chaperone age 8 plus, Chaperones 14 and over can ride for free)
The Crazy Submarine rotates forward and backward. It reaches a height of 20-feet. This is a ride that will seem mild for adults but is thrilling for younger children.
Speedway
(single rides $3, minimum height is 36 inches to go alone, under 36 inches can ride with a Chaperone age 8 plus, Chaperones 14 and over can ride for free)
This ride for younger children features 2-seat NASCAR replicas. They go around a small oval track.
Belmont Express
(single rides $3, minimum height is 36 inches to go alone, under 36 inches can ride with a Chaperone age 8 plus, Chaperones 14 and over can ride for free)
This is a small replica train that drives around the park. It is not an actual train and there are no tracks. This means it is free to go throughout the park.
Belmont Park Attractions
The attractions are a big part of what make an all-day pass at Belmont Park so enticing. The pass includes unlimited laser tag, mini golf, wall climbing and other attractions. The only exception is the zipline which is limited to two rides.
ZipLine
($15 for 2 consecutive zips, minimum 46 inches and between 50 and 250 pounds)
The zipline takes you across Belmont Park at speeds up to 15 MPH. Of course, this will not be like the huge jungle ziplines you find in places in Costa Rica. However, being 30 feet above the ground hanging from a rope is still pretty intense. The overall length is about 100 yards. This is much shorter than the Safari Park zipline which is 2/3 of a mile. However, that zipline starting cost is $79.
Sky Ropes
($12 per climb, must be 48 inches to climb alone, 36-48 inches can climb with a person 48+ and 18 or over)
In the Sky Ropes climbers are harnessed in and attached to a rope system. They can then climb up to 2 stories and cross over a wide variety of obstacles. There is even a mini zipline. Once again, the Safari Park has a more expansive version but that starts at $54.
These sky ropes are more intimidating than they look. Every time we have gone some kid gets up and freaks out and has to be helped down. However, this is a great place to start these challenges before trying a more expensive version.
Laser Tag
($8 game, or $20 unlimited)
The Laser Tag is a 3-level arena inside the arcade. They will go with however many people are in line at the time. The maximum is two teams of 8. Last time we played three times in our visit. One time was just myself and my son against each other. We both agreed that was a new level of fun.
Sky Climb (Rock Wall)
($8 a climb)
The Rock Wall is an impressive 30 feet high. It is quite wide, so it can accommodate multiple skill levels and several people at the same time. It does not have the complicated features of the expert wall climbing places. However, it is much better than most walls of this type. The only restriction is climbers must weigh between 40 and 250 pounds.
Tiki Town Mini Golf
($9 per person, per round)
This is a traditional 18-hole mini golf with a South Pacific/Tiki theme. Surprisingly most of the course is indoors in a covered area.
Xanadu 7D Theater
($8 per movie, 40 inch minimum)
The Xanadu 7D Theater experience can perhaps best be described as a scaled down version of the Buzz Lightyear or Toy Story Midway Mania rides at Disney. It involves sitting in a chair and shooting at images on the movie screen. The difference here is the seats have limited movement (it is not a ride).
You can choose from three experiences: pirates, aliens or zombies. Pirates is the least intense, zombies are the most. There are 4 chairs and you are competing against the 3 other players for a high score.
Coconut Climb
($5 per climb)
The Coconut Climb consists of 4 artificial coconut trees. The goal is to race other climbers up to the top to grab the banana. This is good for small children. The only minimum is they must weigh 30 pounds.
Lazer Maze
($4 per run or $10 unlimited)
The Lazer Maze is located in a small dark room with red laser lines that shoot across the room. The maze consists of two games. In the first you try and avoid the lasers by climbing over or under. The second one involves trying to activate as many lasers as possible. You can work alone or with a partner. It is only one or two minutes per run so you can do this over and over, assuming the line is not too long,
Other Notes
Belmont Park has lockers for rent by the Lazer Maze and Zipline. In 2018 and 2019, there is a bit of construction going on around the beachfront area of Belmont Park. This includes redoing the historic Plunge swimming pool. This mainly impacts the area by the Zipline which is right in front of the pool.
There are a few other attractions at Belmont Park that are not included with the all ride and attraction pass. This includes the games in the arcade and midway. It also does not include the Escapology Escape Room. There is also a Jungle Gems attraction by the mini-golf course that costs extra. For $7 Jungle Gems allows kids to get a bag of direct and rocks and mine for gems.
The arcade is actually pretty cool, but can be expensive. Many of the games are pretty unique. Most cost $1 but some like the Virtual Rabbids VR cost as much as $3.50. We were really surprised to get a $25 arcade card with our annual pass. However, we are not sure if this was just a one-time special.
The popular FlowRider attraction has been removed and it is uncertain if it will come back. This was a major beachfront attraction which had some champion level wave riders.
There are plenty of casual food stands in Belmont Park. The most unique is Beavertails. This is a flat pastry that can be topped with all kinds of stuff. There is also Dole Whip next to the mini golf. This is a very popular treat at Disneyland. By the beach at Belmont Park there are several sports bar like restaurants that often feature life music.
The Plunge
In 2019 the historic Plunge swimming Pool was opened. The cost is $15 a day but if you bought a Belmont Park pass you can get in for $8.
An all-day pass to Belmont Park is great to combine with a day at the beach. Mission Beach is right out and front. If you have party members not interested in the rides at the park they hang out on the beach. See our guide to Mission Beach.
In my mind, with a Go San Diego card, or other discount, Belmont Park is a great value. To do each ride or attraction just once would be over $100. However, with a pass you get unlimited rides and attractions and that is a really good deal.
For San Diego residents like Fun Diego Family I have found that the annual pass is a great deal for myself and my son. My wife and daughter did not get a pass because they are not so keen on the rides. However, they like to go the beach so it can be a great family outing.
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