Roller Coasters in California

This is a big one! There are TONS of roller coasters in California. Not only is it a big state, but it also has all the big names like Disney, Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Fair, and so much more. Plus, it has a long coast with all those oceanside boardwalk piers. I look forward to running down the list.

Generally, I rank the parks these roller coasters are found in. So far in this series, that’s been easy. It’s definitely not in California! And I’ve only been to Disneyland, so I can’t speak from (much) personal experience (yet.) Make sure to read all the way to the bottom for a suggested California theme park road trip!

A note on the below – any link on a coaster’s name is a video of the ride! You can take a virtual tour of all the roller coasters in California from your sofa.

Disneyland & California Adventure

I’ve been a big Disney fan and only recently went to Disneyland! Now, Disney parks aren’t great roller coaster parks. There are only six proper roller coasters between Disneyland and California Adventure, which sit right across from each other. In Disneyland, you have indoor Space Mountain, mine train Big Thunder Mountain, and the OG Matterhorn Bobsleds – the first steel coaster ever, and this one zooming in and around a swiss mountain. All the rides at Disney are family-friendly, but Gadget’s Go Coaster is even more kid-oriented. Then there’s the Incredicoaster in Pixar Pier and Goofy’s Sky School (ironically, a wild mouse) in California Adventure.

So much more than roller coasters

But what Disney lacks in thrills, it more than makes up with theming. Cars Land is a delightful take on route 66. There’s a whole Star Wars land where you can be a rebel spy! You can run from the curse with Indiana Jones! There are whole books and websites dedicated to Disney; I can’t sum it up in a paragraph. But what Disney does best can best be described as “dark rides.” Slower rides past animated figures that tell a story. That’s super overly simplistic, but holy cow, I love it so much. Even one of these rides would blow any other theme park out of the water, and Disney has them wall to wall, tied up with a railroad that circles it all. And that doesn’t even begin to cover the live entertainment, excellent food, resort hotels, and nightly fireworks. You’ll end up giving Mickey all your money, but you may not mind while doing it. (Note that the Disneyland Resort isn’t as self-contained as its Florida counterpart. Many non-Disney hotels are closer than Disney’s own resorts, not to mention cheaper.)

Tickets

To visit Disneyland for a day can cost as much as $179 for everyone age 10+, which only gets you into one park. To visit both, you’d have to buy at least a 2-day ticket for $285, or $345 if you want to walk between the two on the same day. But the longer you stay, the less it is per day. Right now, they’re selling up to 5-day tickets. With park hopper added, it costs $475, or $95 per day. But the Disney ticket system is complicated, changes/increases frequently, and is date dependent – always check the website before you go and investigate discounted ticket sellers. (And sign up for this newsletter for even deeper discounts on tickets.) Parking is $30 per car.

Also note that not only do you have to buy a ticket, you have to make a separate reservation for each park, for each day, well in advance. So, now, having a ticket alone doesn’t guarantee you can get in the gate. This was instituted when they reopened after Covid to keep guest attendance in check. And even though the parks are back at capacity, it doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. (I used to love Disney more than I do now – I admit the shine has dimmed a great deal in the last few years.)

Universal Studios Hollywood

With only two actual roller coasters, I’m ranking Universal Studios Hollywood above Six Flags Magic Mountain only because of theming and REALLY only because of Harry Potter. While Disney tends to use animatronics in their innovative dark rides, Universal tends to use screens. Which is only appropriate for a movie-based park. (And honestly, most of these simulator rides tend to give me a headache.) BUT Universal Studios Hollywood is an actual working studio with a real studio tour, lending a Hollywood reality to the whole facade experience that is any theme park. And the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is just so cool! While there aren’t many roller coasters, there are some amazing, thrilling dark rides that just can’t be beaten by the Six Flags or Cedar Fair crew.

Besides the tour, which includes two “ride” segments in it already, there are 9 dark rides/theater presentations, 1 show, 2 roller coasters, and 2 kiddie-exclusive areas. Those two roller coasters are the Flight of the Hippogriff family coaster in Wizarding World and the more exciting indoor Revenge of the Mummy.

(Pro tips: the park is on two different levels. You enter on the upper lot and take a long escalator down to the more thrilling rides on the lower lot. I’ve read you should do the lower lot in the morning before it gets too crowded. And on the tram tour, pick your seat depending on what you want to see most.)

Tickets

A ticket for Universal Studios Hollywood is between $109-149 per day – depending on the season and day of the week. Make sure to check out the discounted ticket sellers. Parking is $30 and up. Though you can park after 5 pm for only $10 to go to the Universal City Walk dining and shopping district. The park is in downtown Hollywood, so make sure to consider LA traffic and/or city Metro transit options.

Six Flags Magic Mountain

Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia (near L.A.) has the MOST coasters of any amusement park in the world, with 20 roller coasters! TWENTY! Here we gooo: Apocalypse is an extreme wooden coaster. Batman The Ride is an inverted steel B&M. Full Throttle has the world’s tallest loop, 3 separate launches, and a “sci-fi tunnel.” Goliath is a steel hyper coaster with a 225-foot drop. New Revolution is a classic Schwartzkopf looper that hugs the terrain. Riddler’s Revenge is a standing coaster with a huge loop. Scream! is a floorless coaster with 7 inversions. Superman: Escape from Krypton is a launched ride toward the sky. Tatsu is a flying coaster, meaning you lie on your stomach during the ride. Twisted Colossus is a dueling hybrid coaster with steel tracks on a wooden frame. Viper is a twisting, looping monster. West Coast Racers is a dueling coaster with a single track – in one ride, you can ride both sides! X2 is a crazy wing coaster with independently revolving seats! The newest, Wonder Woman Flight of Courage, is an innovative single-rail coaster with a single-file train configuration.

And we’re not even done! There’s a mine train called the Gold Rusher, a fabulous old-style suspended coaster called Ninja, and four kid’s coasters: the Canyon Blaster, Roadrunner Express, Speedy Gonzales Hot Rod Racers, and the Magic Flyer. Other rides include a drop tower, a spinning pendulum ride, a log flume, and a couple more flat-ride spinners.

Tickets

Tickets for Six Flags Magic Mountain cost $70-75, depending on the day. Parking costs $40. OR, you can currently buy a season pass for $90 that includes parking. If you are visiting another Six Flags park or have one closer, you might buy a “diamond” pass at a cheaper park and gain entry to this one for less. For instance, if I bought a diamond pass at Six Flags over Georgia, it costs $125 instead of Magic Mountain’s $160.

All Six Flags parks also have a skip-the-line system called Flash Pass. It costs extra and comes in three levels – the ability to wait in a virtual line (so, same wait time, but you don’t have to stand there), cutting your wait time by 50%, or cutting your wait time by 90%. Obviously, the more expensive option reduces your wait time the most. Flash Pass prices vary by day, so it’s more expensive on weekends and holidays. If you go in the middle of the week when it’s not so busy, you might not even need it. But if you only have that one chance and it’s a holiday weekend, it might be a good investment. Flash Pass prices at Magic Mountain cost anywhere from $80-$260 per person. You get a wristband that allows you to reserve rides and then tap in when you arrive. If you have a season pass, you can even buy Flash Pass for the whole season.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

While I might prefer the charm and history of Knott’s Berry Farm below, Six Flags definitely raises the stakes in the thrills department in both of their California parks. Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo (about an hour north of San Francisco) has 10 roller coasters. Superman Ultimate Flight is a crazy huge loop with one super-high inversion (and only a lap bar!) Batman The Ride is even crazier, with trains that put you on either side of the track and seats that flip you upside down at least 6 times (like X2 above.) Boomerang Coast to Coaster is a looping shuttle coaster. Flash Vertical Velocity is another boomerang, this time with twists towards the sky. The Joker is an old wooden coaster upgraded with a steel track. Kong is an inverted/hanging coaster with 5 inversions. And Medusa might be my favorite – a huge looping coaster with 7 inversions that extends all the way into the parking lot. Family coasters include the Cobra and the Roadrunner Express. Sidewinder Safari, a spinning wild mouse, is the park’s newest family coaster.

Other thrill rides include the Sky Screamer high swings and the Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth spinning pendulum ride. There’s also a round raft ride, a flume raft soaker, plenty of kid’s rides, and a focus on animal encounters.

Tickets

Tickets for Discovery Kingdom usually cost $40-50, depending on the day, plus $40 for parking. Or buy a season pass for $60 for an annual pass that includes parking. The diamond pass that includes all Six Flags parks costs $150 here. Flash Pass prices (see Magic Mountain above) cost in the $50-$140 range.

Knott’s Berry Farm

What used to be an actual berry farm with an old west town has grown into the theme park behemoth of Knott’s Berry Farm, recently celebrating its 100th anniversary. Knott’s boasts 10 roller coasters and excels in high thrills, plus plenty of unique experiences. Ghostrider is a modern wooden coaster, the “longest, tallest, fastest on the West Coast!” Hangtime is a dive coaster with 5 inversions. Montezooma’s Revenge is a Schwarzkopf shuttle loop with one loop you traverse forwards and backward. (And Schwarzkopf loops are so smooth – they’re a favorite of mine.) The Silver Bullet is an inverted/hanging coaster with 6 inversions. Xcelerator is a 202-foot “top hat,” which means you are launched straight up really fast, then straight back down. Coast Rider is a wild mouse (i.e., flat with hairpin curves.) The Pony Express is a short steel coaster where you ride in a saddle! The Sierra Sidewinder has cars that spin on the track. Jaguar! is a family coaster around a Mayan temple, and the Timberline Twister is a kiddie coaster.

Other thrill rides include some flat rides and a drop tower. But the real joy of Knott’s is the unique experiences like the Calico Mine Ride, stagecoach, food festivals, and unique shows. It’s like Dollywood west – with quieter “attractions” like a blacksmith and an old schoolhouse. There’s also a railroad, a round raft ride, swings, and a Peanuts-themed kids area and observation tower like all Cedar Fair parks. Knott’s even has their own hotel!

Tickets

Located near Anaheim, about 17 minutes from Disneyland (though they swear they were first), Knott’s will cost you $100 at the gate or in the $70-90 range online ahead of time, plus $25 for parking. (Always check for deals first – right now, they have a “boysenberry festival” bundle for admission, parking, and 3 food items for $95-$115.) If you think you’ll visit both Knott’s Berry Farm and California’s Great Adventure below, it might be worth looking into the $280 Cedar Fair platinum pass for included parking and access to all Cedar Fair parks, especially if you’ll want more than one day to take it all in.

California’s Great America

California’s Great America in Santa Clara (near San Francisco) is a Cedar Fair park with 9 roller coasters. 5 steel coasters offer high thrills: The Patriot is a floorless B&M. (You’re seated, but there’s no floor.) Flight Deck is another B&M (B&M=quality, y’all), this one inverted (aka, also no floor.) The Demon is a 70’s looper with tunnels, including one through a skull’s mouth! Railblazer is an innovative single rail coaster with riders in a single-file train. The Psycho Mouse is a quick-turn wild mouse coaster. Classic wooden coasters include the Grizzly and the award-winning Gold Striker. Two Peanuts-Themed kiddie coasters – Lucy’s Crabbie Cabbies and the Woodstock Express – finish off the coaster options.

Other rides in the park include several spinning rides, a drop tower, swings, a round raft ride, a splash-down raft ride, antique cars, all the usual stuff you’d find at any large amusement park, plus a unique double-decker carousel. (There’s another like it at the other Great America park in Illinois.) Also unique to California’s Great America is a 4D theater based on the video game Mass Effect. I like that they have a sky bucket and a 200′ observation tower – this one inside the first curve of the Gold Striker. A newly renovated water park, South Bay Shores, takes up one side of the park.

Tickets

Gate prices for California’s Great America are $70, but you can buy a ticket online for $35-$55, depending on the date. Parking costs $30. There’s a 2-day admission option for $70 (good anytime, you don’t have to select a date first), and an after-4 option for $35. For longer visits, the cheapest annual pass costs $85 and includes parking. A $104 pass includes the Halloween and Christmas offerings, plus access to Gilroy Gardens below. And it’s included in the $280 platinum pass for all Cedar Fair parks.

SeaWorld San Diego

SeaWorld San Diego has 5 roller coasters, with one more on the way this year. The newest is Emperor, California’s tallest and longest dive coaster. Electric Eel has multiple launches, with a double-loop design. Tidal Twister is a steel dueling coaster. Manta zooms around the park with multiple launches. Journey to Atlantis is a hybrid roller coaster and water flume. Coming this year is Arctic Rescue, a family coaster that makes you feel like you’re riding jet skis. There’s also a round raft ride, a Skyride (I love those), an observation tower, and many marine animal encounters and shows, from Eels to Orcas.

Tickets

There are a LOT of ticket options. A regular day ticket for SeaWorld San Diego costs $110, though they sell date-specific tickets online for $70-$110, though the most common price seems to be $85. Parking is $30 per car. A 2-day ticket costs $110, as well as a Fun Card, which is good all season, excluding six blackout days. For $190, you can get a ticket bundled with the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Safari Park and 7 days to visit each. Sea World San Diego is included in a city pass with access to over 50 attractions, though you have a limited amount of time to pack them in, 1-7 days, depending on which pass you buy.

Legoland California

Legoland in Carlsbad (about 35 minutes north of San Diego) is mainly a kid’s park, but one on steroids! Nothing like the little podunk parks at the end of this list. There are more than 60 attractions, most of which engage kids with action and imagination – building things, moving parts, digging, climbing, and learning. Included in the offerings are three roller coasters, the Coastersaurus, the half dark-ride Dragon, and the Technic Coaster. All are family-friendly, but the wild mouse Technic has a bit more oomph.

Otherwise for adults, there are lots of fun LEGO displays – recreations of Washington DC, Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York, San Fransisco, and Southern California, two boat rides, a submarine ride, and a few other dark rides. A new land themed to the popular LEGO movies has a flying ride using the same ride system as Soarin’ in the Disney parks. The attached SEA LIFE Aquarium has lots of touch tanks and learning opportunities for young visitors.

Tickets

Tickets for Legoland California start at $89, but the price varies by date – Saturdays are typically more expensive, up to $119 per person. Add on the SEA LIFE Aquarium for $10 and a water park for $10 more. You can opt for 1 or 2 days in 1-to-3 parks, with the most expensive being the 3-park, 2 day ticket at $169. After that, you get into season pass prices starting at $180. Parking costs $27 per car. I will say, prices seem to be cheaper if you buy a month or two in advance. And there may be deals bundled with the two on-site hotels.

Gilroy Gardens

Gilroy Gardens, about 40 minutes below San Jose, is just as much a garden as an amusement park, and it looks quite pretty. The park is situated around a lake with food-themed rides (mostly aimed at smaller kids) like a garlic twirl and a swings ride from a mushroom. A train, raft ride, and monorail glide through the six different gardens.

Gilroy is home to two roller coasters, the bigger Quicksilver Express Mine Coaster and the smaller Timber Express snake coaster. Both are family-friendly.

Tickets cost $50 and are not date-based like most places. Parking costs an extra $20. Memberships start at $65 right now. Gilroy Gardens used to be operated by Cedar Fair, and you could visit with their platinum pass, but that ended in 2021.

Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

The historic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has been open since 1907! Its oldest roller coaster, the Giant Dipper, has been operating since 1924! Two other coasters, the spinning Undertow and the kiddie Sea Serpent, are much newer. There are also seven spinning thrill rides, seven more flat rides, an antique carousel, a log flume, a Skyride, a haunted house, and a cave train dark ride! That doesn’t even include the mini-golf, arcade, bowling alley, and concerts on two stages.

It would cost $22 to ride only the three roller coasters or $40-70 for an unlimited ride wristband. Make sure to buy online for the best discounts – up to $20. The Boardwalk operates two parking lots that cost up to $25 ($20 on weekdays.) On busier days, there is a $10 shuttle service. There is a limited amount of metered street parking, and there’s a trolley from downtown Santa Cruz. (Or at least there used to be – it doesn’t seem to be operating lately.)

Belmont Park

The historic beachside Belmont Park in San Diego has been open since 1925! And along with it, another Giant Dipper wooden coaster. The rest of the park contains flat rides, most of which are for kids, but there are a few bigger thrills in there, plus lazer tag and mazes, mini golf, ropes courses, a 7D theater, zipline, and more.

Admission and parking are totally free! But to ride anything, you’ll need tickets or a wristband. Just to ride the Giant Dipper is $8. For $60, you get unlimited rides on everything, including the theater, mini golf, and 2 zips on the zipline. It only excludes games, an escape room, and go-karts.

Pacific Park

Pacific Park on the Santa Monica Pier has one roller coaster, the West Coaster. Other rides include a big Ferris wheel and lots of kid’s rides and games. Tickets are sold for each ride separately; the coaster and the Pacific Wheel are $10 each for one ride. Or you can spend $40 on a wristband for unlimited rides.

There is a large beach-level parking lot, or downtown lots Santa Monica lots and street parking within walking distance. You might consider taking the metro from nearby Los Angeles. Pacific Park is only one section of the larger Santa Monica Pier. There are restaurants, shops, and an aquarium as well.

Heavenly Mountain Resort

This next coaster is a mountain coaster in South Lake Tahoe called the Ridge Rider Mountain Coaster at the Heavenly Mountain Resort. This one looks amazing and has fantastic views, better than the Mineshaft below. You have to take a gondola up to where the coaster is, which makes it pretty expensive. A gondola + adult coaster ticket seems to be around $93. There is also an observation deck, snack bar, and shop at the top of the gondola, as well as some hiking trails if you want to get your money’s worth.

Due to the unprecedented snowfall in California this year, Ridge Rider doesn’t have an opening date for 2023 yet. As with all these roller coasters, make sure to double-check hours and prices before you visit.

Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain

There’s another mountain coaster near Big Bear Lake, a ski area outside San Bernardino. The Mineshaft Coaster can be found at the Alpine Slide at Magic Mountain along with an old-school, fiberglass-burns, ain’t-nothing-holding-you-in Alpine Slide, a seated zipline ride, a water slide, go-karts, mini-golf, and a snow tubing hill. (This place reminds me a little of Ober Gatlinburg!) The Mineshaft doesn’t look quite as good as my favorite in Pigeon Forge.

Each attraction has a separate price; a single ride on the coaster is $20. Hypothetically, riding each attraction once, plus a round of golf and a day of snow tubing, rings up at $100, though I’m not sure if they do snow tubing and water slides at the same time.

Castle Park

Charming Castle Park in Riverside (between Anaheim & San Bernardino) features two roller coasters. Screaming Demon is a wild mouse with spinning cars, while Merlin’s Revenge is a gentler family coaster. The rest of the park is cute, with a train, a log flume, and lots of flat rides, not all of which are for kids! A large arcade inside the castle (with a dark ride inside!), four golf courses, and a splash tower fill the park’s far side.

Tickets are regularly $40, but you can save $10 by buying online. (Though prices might go up after the current Mardi Gras celebration ends and the waterpark opens.) It only costs $15 to play all four mini-golf courses ($2 off online) and is $15 for parking. Annual passes start at only $40 and go all the way up to $230. That top tier includes admission to all 24 Palace Entertainment parks worldwide, including the nearby Raging Waters water park, Kennywood, Adventureland in Iowa, and even properties in Hawaii and Australia.

Adventure City

Adventure City is a small roadside amusement park in Anaheim, populated mostly with kiddie rides. One family coaster called Rewind Racers goes (you guessed it) backward and forwards, like a boomerang. The other is a kiddie coaster called Freeway Coaster. And both are pretty decently themed! I guess being 15 minutes away from Disneyland makes you up your game at least a little. Admission is $28.95 and under and parking is free.

Sesame Place

The new Sesame Place theme park in San Diego is themed to every pre-schooler’s favorite PBS show, Sesame Street. Aimed pretty squarely at kids, it seems to be mostly a water park with also some kiddie rides. Included in the “dry” rides is Super Grover’s Box Car Derby, a kid-sized steel coaster. Naturally, there are also plenty of shows and meet & greets with your favorite characters.

Tickets are as low as $45 or as high as $70, depending on the date. You can also get a 2-day, 2-park combo ticket with Sea World San Diego for $129. Parking is $30.

Scandia

The hilariously Scandinavian-themed Scandia park in Sacramento features the Crazy Dane Coaster, a wild mouse-type ride. Other attractions in the park include a “Swedish” scrambler, “Baltic Sea” bumper boats, a “Lapland” slide, and the “Stockholm” raceway. Or try your mettle on the terrifying Sky Screamer.

To ride just the roller coaster is $6.50 plus a $1 card activation fee. (Though you might have to buy more points than that, I think they come in set increments. It’s possible that $11 plus registering your card at the kiosk for an extra 10 points will get you enough for two rides on the coaster.) The more points you buy, the more bonus points are added, and there are package deals with unlimited mini-golf, arcade, and batting cage time. To ride all the rides would cost about $35.

Happy Hollow Park & Zoo

In San Jose, you’ll find Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, a 16-acre park with a zoo, some rides for kids, a puppet theater, and a few other play structures, like a maze, a fossil dig, and a funny crooked house. The rides include the Pacific Fruit Express, a family coaster that does a fun little hop over a walkway. Tickets cost $18, includes all rides, and parking is an extra $10 per car.

Sonoma Traintown Railroad

Traintown in Sonoma is a train-themed kiddie park. The big attraction here is a quarter-scale railroad with four miles of track, a 20-minute ride through tunnels and over bridges. There are also some kiddie rides, including the Mine Train Coaster. The track looks similar to the Pacific Fruit Express above – more than just a flat oval, but still a kid’s coaster. Parking and admission are free, and amusement rides, including the coaster, are $3.95 each per ride, and the train costs $8.75.

Playland Fresno

Playland in Fresno feels like a 1950’s kiddie park stuck in time – in the best way possible! Rides include a train, a kid’s Roller Coaster, and a kid-sized Ferris wheel. Tickets are $1 each; most rides take 3. Playland may not have made it through Covid – it’s currently listed as closed on their website and “standing but not operating” on RCDB.com.

Immediately adjacent is Storyland, a nursery rhyme walk-through attraction. A train connects the two parks, which both sit on the shores of Lake Washington. Storyland does still seem to have events, as listed on their Facebook page.

Oakland Zoo

At the Oakland Zoo is a small kid’s coaster called Tiger Trek. There are a few other rides, like a train, carousel, and some spinning flat rides, and they don’t even seem to require zoo admission to access. The only reason I think that is because there is a sky ride that specifies that it does require admission to the zoo, so I assume the rest don’t. Best I can tell, tickets cost $2.50 and each ride is 1-2 tickets.

For admission to the zoo and a very cool-looking gondola, it’s $24 and under. Parking is $10 per car if paid in advance. ($15 if not.)

Live Oak Canyon Farm

Live Oak Canyon Pumpkin Farm in Redlands is only open in the fall and winter, starting in September. But when they are open, the feature two (or three?) small roller coasters, RCDB lists a “spinning coaster” and a “dragon ride.” The farm’s list of attractions includes a “Caterpiller Coaster,” a “Tractor Coaster,” and a “Spinning Cow Coaster” so you’ll have to go and let me know! I can’t seem to find any video evidence.

Prices vary between $10-25 for adults, depending on the day (and what time you arrive.) Kids 3-10 are between $5-20. Parking is free.

Redlands is in southern California, nearish Los Angeles. There’s another fall-only farm in northern California, the Historic Hawes Farm in Anderson, that seems to have a kiddie coaster called the Silver Spur, but it’s hard to tell from their website.

John’s Incredible Pizza Company

John’s Incredible Pizza Company has several locations in California. The one in Carson (between Los Angeles & Long Beach) has the Crazy 8’s family coaster. It’s small, for sure, but the cars spin! The card game name is appropriate – the whole place looks like a casino for kids.

To ride any ride first requires admission, which includes 2 hours access to a pizza & salad buffet and unlimited drinks. Admission costs $17 and under, and $12.49 during a weekday lunch. Rides and attractions are extra, and take between 1-20 credits, credits costing 25 cents each. I can’t get the pricing chart to pull up, but I imagine the coaster is on the upper end, so around $5.

Kiwanis Kiddieland

Kiwanis Kiddieland in Merced (about 40 minutes southeast of Modesto) features kiddie rides, including the small Go-Gater kiddie coaster. All rides are 50 cents each (thought the train is $1), or you can purchase a wristband for $10 for unlimited rides.

Pixieland Amusement Park

In Pixieland, “where little kids have big kid fun!” you can find the Dragon Roller Coaster, along with an adorable train, a carousel, teacups, and other kid’s rides. The coaster costs three tickets, or $8.85 to ride, though the more tickets you buy, the less it is per ticket. The park is located in Concord, near San Francisco.

Funderland Amusement Park

Funderland is a kids-only amusement park next to the Sacramento Zoo with one small Dragon Flyer kiddie coaster (that adults can ride if they wish.) Even the prices for adults are less than for kids – $22 per kid over 34″ (under 34″ are free), $17 for adults, and $10 for seniors age 60+. Parking is free.

Blackbeard’s Family Entertainment Center

The pirate-themed playland of Blackbeard’s in Fresno contains an arcade, mini-golf, go-karts, batting cages, bumper boats, a ropes course, laser tag, and even some water slides. In with all that is Cap’n Kid’s Rideland featuring a kiddie roller coaster that looks like a dragon. It’s strictly for kids, though – no one over 58″ is allowed. The baby dragon coaster costs $6 on its own, or $15 for a 2-hour wristband.

Water Parks in California

There are also a LOT of water parks in California. I’ve tried to break them up a bit below; it’s a long list. This is definitely the pro league of water parks, with several Raging Waters and Six Flags locations.

Water parks connected to the amusement parks above

• Knott’s Berry Farm has Soak City, a separately gated water park adjacent to the theme park. Soak City features 20 slides, a wave pool, lazy river, and two kid’s play areas. Cost is $50 and not included in the theme park admission.
• Sesame Place is mostly a water park, which makes sense since it was built on the site of Sea World’s Aquatica water park. It features 15 slides, plus two kids’ areas, a gentle wave pool with a sandy beach, and a lazy river. $45-70 and can be combined with a Sea World ticket.
• California’s Great Adventure includes the newly re-imagined South Bay Shores in the ticket price. 11 amazing slides plus a lazy river, wave pool, and three kid’s splash areas. $35-70.

• Legoland has a water park component, available as an add-on to your regular ticket. Most of the attractions are aimed at kids, but there are 4 proper slides. And one raft ride that looks like it belongs on the theme park side! Must buy theme park admission, too; combo tickets cost ~$140.
• Blackbeard’s in Fresno has some water slides – the sort that looks like a hillside with cement troughs dug into it. $15.50 for an all-day pass.
• Castle Park includes a splash tower called Buccaneer Cove. Price is included in your Castle Park ticket, $30-40.
• There is/was a splash pad at Playland in Fresno that costs $3.

Stand-alone water parks

• Raging Waters Los Angeles claims 50 attractions. There are 18 body, tube, and mat slides, plus a volcano that kids and adults alike can climb through! Included is one water coaster, the Aqua Rocket. Plus, a wave pool, a tucked-aside lazy river, a water obstacle, and three areas just for kids. $40-70, and included in that Premier Parks Pass mentioned at Castle Park above.
• Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles has 21 slides! Plus the usual wave pool, lazy river, and two kids’ areas. 2022 prices were $55-65, plus $40 in parking.
• Wild Rivers in Irvine has reopened as a brand new park in a new location. Featuring 15 (I think?) slides, including a new water coaster called Pelican Plunge. The other offerings include two kids’ areas, a lazy river, and a wave pool. General admission is $65-75 (save by buying online), and parking is $20-25 (same.)
• Golfland Sunsplash in Roseville, just above Sacramento, has a mini-golf side and a water park side. In the waterpark, you’ll find 14 slides, including TWO water coasters. The Master Blaster might be the first water coaster in California, while the Zoomerang is the newest ride in the park – pinning riders to the walls with huge curves. There’s also a kids’ area, a wave pool, and a lazy river. The mini-golf side has two, 18-hole courses, bumper cars, go-karts, and a big castle with an arcade, laser tag, and pizza. Admission to the water park costs $50 on weekdays and $53 on weekends. The rest is priced separately, or $30 for a bundle.
• Wild Water Adventure Park in Clovis (near Fresno) claims to be the largest water park in California! (By land area, I assume. Because it’s not by ride count.) 12 slides and a HUGE wave pool take up part of the park, but there are also ball fields, volleyball, a river, and a lake. But no lazy river! Tickets at the gate cost $50, though it looks like you might be able to get a lower price by date – if only their website calendar worked. Parking costs are also ambiguous – my research says $5-10.

• Hurricane Harbor Concord (outside San Francisco), a Six Flags park, has 13 slides, plus a central lazy river, wave pool, and two kids’ play areas, plus a large picnic complex. $35 and up plus parking (which I assume to be $40 like other Six Flag properties – the website doesn’t say.)
• Raging Waters San Jose has 11.5 slides – the .5 is a short slide into a slow-moving river (but not the regular lazy river.) There are four kids’ play areas and a wave pool. $40-55.
• WaterWorks in Redding, 2.5 hours north of Sacramento (I think officially the most northern park on this entire list!), has 7 slides, plus a wave pool, lazy lagoon, and kid’s areas. They look like they have lots of fun events. $26-30 and it looks like parking is free.
• Island Water Park in Fresno features 11 slides, a lazy river, a wave pool, and a kid’s splash tower. Daily admission is $40 and under, parking is $5, and it looks like you need to rent your tubes. $10 for singles, $12 for doubles.

• The Wave waterpark operated by the city of Dublin in the bay area has a 6-slide tower, a splash zone, and an indoor sports pool. Admission for non-residents is $19 and under.
• The Wave Waterpark in Vista (above San Diego) is a small city waterpark built around a large FlowRider surf simulator. There is also a competition lap pool, a “crazy” river, a splash pad, and 5 slides. Admission is $24 and under and parking is free.
• Drytown Waterpark has 4 slides, a lazy river, and a kids’ splash tower. Located an hour north of Los Angeles in Palmdale. Tickets are around $25 for non-residents. Right now, all they are selling is season passes for $60-90.
• Fiesta Village in Colton has a water park section with 3 slides. There’s no info on the cost since it’s not open yet – I imagine it’s in the $15-20ish range.

• There are loads of Great Wolf Lodge locations around the country, each with indoor water parks. There are two in California. The GWL in Anaheim has 6 slides, 3 kids’ areas, an activity pool, a wave pool, a lazy river, even a flow rider, and an outdoor pool. You can play as a guest in the lodge or buy day or half-day passes. In Anaheim, day passes cost $60-100, depending on the day and how far out you buy. Half-day passes are $48-80. The Manteca location near San Francisco has about the same offerings, less one slide and one flow rider, though one of the slides looks extra impressive. Cost there is $50-125 for day passes, $40-100 for half-days.
• The Cove in Riverside has 3 slides, a kids’ splash tower, a lazy river, and flow rider surfing trainer. Daily admission is $25 and under and a nearby competition pool is $8 extra.
• Mustang Water Park is located in a campground 10 miles from Arroyo Grande on Lopez Lake. 2 hillside slides and one big boomerang slide, plus a generous kiddie pool make up the complete offerings. Admission is $29 and under.
• Visalia Adventure Park (nearish Fresno) has a Sequoia Springs splash area for kids, as well as an arcade, laser maze, batting cages, go-karts, mini-golf, and laser tag. Admission for just the water play area is $22 and under.

Ultimate California Roller Coaster Road Trip

Supposing I had unlimited funds, time, and energy – I might take a road trip through the roller coasters of California that looks something like the following list. This also organizes the above parks by region (which could help plan shorter trips.) I only list the parks I’m genuinely interested in, so most of the smallest parks aren’t included.

Sacramento

• Drive into California at Lake Tahoe, spend a day or two checking it out and ride the Ridge Rider Mountain Coaster and gondola. Or fly into Sacramento and skip it altogether. (I figure flying into Sacramento is cheaper than almost all of the other destinations on this list, but I haven’t verified that. This *is* a road trip, so either a personal car or a long-term rental is required.)
• Drive 2+ hours to Sacramento, spend a day at Raging Waters, then spend two nights in Sacramento.
• The next day, visit Golfland Sunsplash during the day and Scandia in the evening.

San Francisco

• Drive an hour to Napa Valley (maybe stop for a wine tasting or two) and visit the Sonoma Traintown Railroad.
• Find a place to stay around Vallejo for two nights, and spend the next day at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Probably pick up a season pass here because there are several more Six Flags parks to come.
• Spend the next day at Hurricane Harbor Concord.
• Leave from there and drive down to the Oakland Zoo for a gondola ride and dinner, or stay an extra day in Vallejo/San Francisco and visit the zoo the next day, then drive the 1.5 hours to San Jose.

San Jose

• Find a place to stay in San Jose for at least four nights. Visit California’s Great America on day one. You might get a platinum pass here for the other Cedar Fair Parks.
• Take a break and visit Happy Hollow Park & Zoo on day two. (And you better believe I’m going to visit the Winchester Mystery House.)
• On the third day, visit Raging Waters San Jose.
• The next day, drive 40 minutes south to spend the morning at Gilroy Gardens.

Fresno

• Drive 2-ish hours over to Fresno and drop in on Playland/Storyland if they’re still open. Find a place to stay for two nights.
• Visit Wild Water Adventure Park for a day.
• Visit Playland/Storyland the next morning if you didn’t manage it before. Drive 3.5 hours south to Palmdale.

Los Angeles

• Visit Dry Town Water Park in the afternoon. Find a place in the northern Los Angeles area to stay for 6 or more nights.
• Take 2-3 days to visit Six Flags Magic Mountain and Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles.
• Visit Universal Studios Hollywood.
• Visit Raging Waters Los Angeles.

Anaheim

• Take a day to relocate to Anaheim for the next 6-7 nights. Maybe visit Adventure City or Castle Park (40 min east) or both this day.
• Visit Disneyland for at least three days – two days for Disneyland and one for California Adventure.
• Then two more days for Knott’s Berry Farm and its water park.
• If you’re really feeling like getting out of town at this point, take a day to drive to Big Bear Lake and do the attractions there. Or visit Wild Rivers in Irvine.

San Diego

• In the morning, drive an hour south to Legoland and its water park for the day. Then drive another half hour to San Diego for 3+ nights.
• Spend one day at Seaworld and one day at and the San Diego Zoo.
• Maybe extend this part of the trip for a well-earned rest or try a city attraction pass.

Route 1 Return

• Finally, as a reward, drive back up the California coast on Route 1, hitting Belmont Park, Pacific Park, Hearst Castle, and the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk on the way.
• Return to Sacramento to fly out or continue up the coast through Oregon and Washington and into Canada! This is a very hypothetical trip, after all.

Time & Cost

Assuming everything is open, some very quick and improbable math puts the cost of such a dream trip at $1500-2000 per person. That includes getting multi-park passes for Six Flags (at Discovery Kingdom’s discounted price), a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, and a Raging Waters/Castle Parks pass. It saves money to buy your passes and tickets in the pre-season (i.e. spring), no matter when that season you visit. Plus, that can spread out the cost a bit. (And note: that cost is just for attraction tickets. It does not include accommodations, food, or car/gas/flights.)

The time it would take for this epic trip? Somewhere around a month, between 28-40 days. Less if you skip the water parks. In real life, I would probably take more time at Disney and more time in general for my sanity and time to blog about each stop.

Pfew! That was a lot! Did I miss anything? Have you been to any of these parks? What are you looking forward to doing this summer? Let me know in the comments below!