The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
1920s-style lateralsthe turns that get riders giggling Frederick Church designbuilt as a twister

Belmont Park, San Diego, California

Giant Dipper

1900192519501975200020251925older than 439 of theother 445 coasters we cover
POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
still going strong over 100 years later!
What riders love
  • The seats were very comfortable, the first drop threw me out of my seat, and the location is great.
  • Really appreciate the underrated airtime and location, however.
  • this would be really boring if it didn't run like this, the roughness makes it really fun to me.
  • Roughest ride I've ever ridden, but still fun!
  • Don't let its age fool you, this almost 100 year old coaster has plenty of thrills to give; if you're a fan of ejectors or just classic wooden coasters in general, then I would highly recommend you give this thing a ride or two.
  • I like the enclosed section.
Giant Dipper Watch Performance Should I ride it? Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

Giant Dipper Front Row POV [5K] | Belmont Park 2023

youtube.com › Coliwood Studios

Giant Dipper Back Row POV [5K] | Belmont Park 2023

youtube.com › Coliwood Studios

2019 Giant Dipper Roller Coaster On Ride HD POV Belmont Park San Diego CA

youtube.com › Theme Park POV

Giant Dipper Review (Updated), Belmont Park Wood Coaster | Nearly 100 Years Old and it Feels It!

youtube.com › Canobie Coaster

Belmont Park Review + History, Seaside San Diego Amusement Park | Home of the Giant Dipper

youtube.com › Canobie Coaster

Giant Dipper Review (Original), Belmont Park Wooden Coaster | Worst Wood Coaster in California?

youtube.com › Canobie Coaster

Bored on a Roller Coaster | The Giant Dipper🎢 Belmont Amusement Park

youtube.com › Curtis Goes Places

The Giant Dipper’s wicked first drop! Belmont Park. San Diego, CA 071423

youtube.com › Michael Wade Moss

belmont park giant dipper part 4

youtube.com › Pixar Fan327

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Belmont Park

The seats were very comfortable, the first drop threw me out of my seat, and the location is great.

Jonah Segal

...for how old it is it tracks pretty well, not to smooth but not to rough there is 3 spots of decent airtime and a couple of the turns have good laterals, it does have some dead spots but there...

RThirtyEight Coasters

Then you go through a bunny hop with some airtime, but due to the wierd curves in the ride, the ride gives you some nice laterals, which on most coasters are fine, but if the coaster has Morgan...

Incredible Coasters

Really appreciate the underrated airtime and location, however.

Ethan

It is a cool historical landmark, but there was almost no airtime, so the layout felt a bit pointless.

Gabe S

I have a full review going into more detail, but the coaster crawls through the layout, has barely any airtime, And it’s quite rough.

Canobie Coaster

Either I don’t care about roughness or I got a really smooth ride, didn’t notice much in terms of shakiness.

Ethan

The only thing it has on the Santa Cruz version is that it’s definitely smoother

Eli Lassiter Michael

Not to mention Morgan Trains automatically staple you in as the ride goes on.

Incredible Coasters

this would be really boring if it didn’t run like this, the roughness makes it really fun to me.

Jamie Ă“chi

Since this was built a year after the Santa Cruz version, you would expect it to be better, but unlike the Santa Cruz version this one completely lacks any forces.

Eli Lassiter Michael

The trains were full and were flying through the course.

@thisguy_w0n

However, there are some dead spots on this ride, basically the majority of the turns.

Ethan

...for how old it is it tracks pretty well, not to smooth but not to rough there is 3 spots of decent airtime and a couple of the turns have good laterals, it does have some dead spots but there not bad.

RThirtyEight Coasters

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Specifications

73 ftHeight
60 ftFirst drop
55 mphTop speed
40°Drop angle
0Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

FunGreat views

Criticised for

Rough or rattlyPainful or bruisingLittle airtime

Ride this in the front, it’s running really smooth this year.

Kittyhat, Captain Coaster review

Since this was built a year after the Santa Cruz version, you would expect it to be better, but unlike the Santa Cruz version this one completely lacks any forces.

Eli Lassiter Michael, Captain Coaster review

i was very impressed with this ride, i loved the fact that it had the phoenix gimmick with the buzz bars - no seatbelt thing, but it took a different route going for the feeling of laterals instead of airtime

smacd, Captain Coaster review

this would be really boring if it didn’t run like this, the roughness makes it really fun to me.

Jamie Ă“chi, Captain Coaster review

I im a new enthusiast and i rode 60 coaster but i can proudly say this is my least favourite one.

nikodem letynski, Captain Coaster review

Giant Dipper is a gem and I love its unique and historic design.

David, Captain Coaster review

Photos

A night view of the Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
A night view of the Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
The Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
A night view of the Giant Dipper roller coaster in Belmont Park, San Diego
Visitor7, CC BY-SA 3.0
Racing down one of the curves on the Giant Dipper roller coaster at Belmont Park in Mission Beach, San Diego, California
Everyguy, CC BY-SA 3.0

11 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History and awards

July 4, 1925Opened

A twister, designed by Frederick Church.

Golden Ticket Awards, top wood coaster: ranked in 2 polls, 2009 to 2010

49th2009, its first poll
49th2010, most recent

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, incrediblecoasters.com, youtube.com, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Visitor7 (CC BY-SA 3.0), Everyguy (CC BY-SA 3.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Evangelion Martini, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Very fun, historic coaster right on the beach at…”; Jonah Segal, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The seats were very comfortable, the first drop threw…”; Ethan, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Really appreciate the underrated airtime and location, however.”; Kittyhat, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Very unique and fun layout, those strange 1920s style…”; Jamie Ă“chi, rider review on Captain Coaster: “this would be really boring if it didn't run…”; Jonah Segal, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Roughest ride I've ever ridden, but still fun!”; Evangelion Martini, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Don't let its age fool you, this almost 100…”; Gabe S, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I did like the unexpected pre-lift turn through the…”; Blake Stoudt, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I like the enclosed section.”; Richard Buman, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Awesome that is still going strong over 100 years…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Coliwood Studios's back row POV, Giant Dipper Back Row POV [5K] | Belmont Park 2023 (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.