Pacific Park on Santa Monica Pier

On the Pacific Wheel

Rating: You Should Go

Pacific Park is the amusement park located on Santa Monica Pier. It is free to get into, but you need "tickets" (really a card with money loaded onto it) for all the rides. We were on our way to Malibu for a friend's birthday, so we decided to stop by here for just a couple hours.

In my opinion, the best things to do are ride the West Coaster and the PacificWheel (a Ferris wheel), but if you have small children there are probably lots of other fun things for them. We only rode the Pacific Wheel that day. Larger rides like that cost $5 each, while smaller ones are $3 each. They also have unlimited ride passes available for $15-$20. The wait for the Ferris wheel wasn't bad considering it was 3pm on a sunny Saturday in September. The ride was relaxing and gave a beautiful view of the coastline. The gondolas you sit in are huge. You could easily fit 6-8 people in them, but you aren't forced to sit with anyone you don't know. Nate and I had one to ourselves that we got to relax in for an ample amount of time. When the ride was over, we got some ice cream from Dippin' Dots (which I hear is going out of business so I wanted to savor it while I still could). There were carnival games and photo booths to explore, but we mostly walked around and enjoyed the sights.

My view of the park from the Pacific Wheel

TIP: For parking, don't spend $12 to park right along the pier unless you have a crap-load of stuff to cart to the beach. Instead, park in the structures attached to the Santa Monica Place mall (we parked in the one on the corner of 2nd and Colorado). They're free for the first 90 minutes, only $1 for the hour after that, and $1.50 for each hour after that (and you don't need validation). They even have signs that tell you which floors have spots available so you can park and enjoy your day more quickly.