Ridership on Giant Dipper Soars

A week after its grand reopening, the Giant Dipper roller coaster has had about 15,000 riders, and coaster officials said those numbers are meeting their ridership expectations.

“We were hoping to have a real busy summer, and that’s what we’ve had,” said Steve Rodondi, general manager of the San Diego Seaside Co., the company responsible for the $1.2-million restoration of the coaster. “If these numbers continue into the fall, we’d be ecstatic.”

The historic, 65-year-old wooden roller coaster at Belmont Park was opened last Saturday, after initial plans for the reopening were derailed earlier in the week because of a faulty sprocket.

Since its opening, the coaster, at West Mission Bay Drive and Mission Boulevard, has operated Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays until 11 p.m. Rides cost $2.

The coaster was closed Thursday for routine maintenance and was scheduled to be opened again early Friday afternoon in time for weekend crowds, Rodondi said.

Officials have been checking the coaster’s track and wooden rails, as well as doing some oiling and greasing.

“We’re just doing routine stuff we figured we’d end up doing,” Rodondi said.

The bulk of the riders on the coaster have been at night and on the weekend, with waits in line averaging about 20 minutes.

The coaster was designated a national historic landmark by the National Park Service last month.