originally posted on 7/14/2025
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Tim Cole takes a spin on Giant Dipper during Belmont’s milestone anniversary.
Photo: Tim Cole Collection. View full-sized image.
Belmont Park (San Diego, California) opened for business 100 years ago. Over the past century, the park has — quite coaster-like — had its highs and lows, ups and downs. Honorary ACE Member Tim Cole might know the park’s history more intimately than any other soul alive. His life has been intertwined with the park since his childhood.
In the 1980s, Cole was a driving force within the Save the Coaster Committee. It is arguable that without his efforts and passion, Giant Dipper may not be running today. But he wasn’t alone, and the entire history of the park, particularly its resurrection in 1989, has been documented intricately in the pages of a new book, Saving Belmont: An Up and Down Journey.
Cole has not only authored the details of the park’s survival, but has also done so in an atypical way — as an autobiography!
Granted, Cole hasn’t turned 100 himself, so Part One is dedicated to the first 35 years of Belmont Park’s existence. In fact, the specifics are told in impressive detail. Some Californians — or even enthusiasts — might believe the amusement center was successful for decades before its eventual closure in the 1970s. While there is some truth to that, the beloved San Diego fun spot was always wrestling with uncertainty, changing ownerships and exhausting city regulations. Cole’s is possibly the most thoroughly researched book on the subject.
It's in Part Two where Cole enters the story. With a childhood involving frequent relocation, school cruelty and arguably abusive parents, Cole found solace in building things in miniature and becoming preoccupied with certain fascinations — Mary Poppins, Lost in Space, Susan Dey and roller coasters. He loved building models, and this would serve him later in life.
As the book progresses, Cole’s life and the wild ride of Belmont Park’s own existence eventually converge, making the autobiographical aspect an ingeniously creative take on a park’s history.
Tim Cole is seen during Save The Coaster Committee’s efforts to preserve the ride.
Photo: Tim Cole Collection. View full-sized image.
By Part Three, Cole’s and Belmont Park’s journeys became more involved, with the formation of the Save the Coaster Committee. Now officially associated with the coaster restoration process, Cole found Giant Dipper almost to be a source of therapy for him. The author freely admits he suffered from “crippled self-esteem.” His home life, employment and college situation were far from ideal. Being a master storyteller, he makes the reader not only hope for the salvation of Giant Dipper (knowing it is still running today), but also long for the troubled young lad to persevere and overcome. It’s this link between the two that sets the book apart.
Part Four champions the Dipper’s return in 1990 as well as the deep satisfaction Cole felt for almost a decade of effort, frustration and determination. It makes the separation between Cole and Belmont all the more heartbreaking before the book’s conclusion.
At the 2014 Golden Ticket Awards, Cole was able to meet with key individuals in Giant Dipper’s rebirth. Left to right: Paula and Paul Morgan, Charles Canfield, Cole, Julie and Bob Mazurek.
Photo: Dan Feicht. View full-sized image.
When asked what he hopes enthusiasts will take away from reading the book, Cole tells ACE News: “To realize and remember that the passion towards the retention and preservation of the old classic coaster was the abiogenesis of ACE. ACE was just forming in 1978, the same year that, coincidentally, the fight to save the Belmont coaster began. The Giant Dipper is a stellar example of what the public can do to save a ride if all the right elements can be found.”
This review wouldn’t be thorough without noting that the reader might notice a random misspelling or a punctuation error. Cole could have benefited from an editor. But having said that, it is the emotional journey, staggering research and compelling narrative that stands above. Saving Belmont is a historical book on the amusement industry like no other.
In issue No. 134 of RollerCoaster! (Summer 2015), Cole authored a spectacular piece summarizing Giant Dipper’s triumphant return following the 25th anniversary of its rebirth. Now, taking that collection of knowledge and told through a personal lens, a bigger picture of both the park and the enthusiast comes to light.
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Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
After all this time, Cole’s thoughts today?
“In the 1980s, Belmont Park and its roller coaster were a blight on the coastline,” he said. “When the area around the Dipper was redeveloped in 1988, I thought the park was forever going to be just a shopping center with a roller coaster. Slowly over the years, because of Giant Dipper, the park has morphed back to its roots of becoming a family amusement center. That’s something I didn’t see ever happening. I’m pleased as punch and glad that I had something to do with it.”
Orders can be placed through savingbelmont@gmail.com (ask Tim to autograph it!) for $25 including shipping, or through regular sites such as Amazon.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News
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