Plan your early fall family vacation now!
Early autumn is a wonderful time to be in greater southern California. The weather is generally dreamy ranging from mid 70s at the beach to mid 90s inland. The dining options are tasty and varied, from vegetable driven cuisine in Santa Monica to Michelin-starred to minimalist in Pasadena. And the entertainment options are virtually endless. Shopping, film, theater and of course theme parks.
The world’s very first was Disneyland in Anaheim, California. It opened its doors in 1955 and revolutionized how people spend time and money. Today, greater southern California boasts Magic Mountain, Knotts Berry Farm, Legoland, Seaworld, Raging Waters, Universal Studios etc. etc. Each is very popular but, if we stretch the regional definition of greater southern California to include the lower San Joaquin Valley, they are joined by a new, better* option.
Kelly Slater’s Surf Ranch!
Ticket prices were recently released for the upcoming World Surf League Championship Tour event in fall and let’s examine!
$499 nets you one VIP full event ticket that includes:
VIP seating for the duration of the Surf Ranch Pro (Friday, Saturday and Sunday, September 7-9) with: access to VIP lounge areas and bathrooms, free open bar (including alcoholic beverages for those of legal drinking age), free snacks, and access to premium VIP-only food options for purchase. In addition, you’ll get access to the Longboard Expression Session and evening concert on Friday, and the Air Show Expression Session on Saturday. Note: onsite parking pass not included. Includes parking in the offsite parking lots with shuttles to the Ranch.
$199 gets you one full day of the above.
$99 is the cost for general admission, per day, no fancy tent or all-you-can-drink Michelob Ultra and includes parking unless you prefer to drive through the magical gate and that will cost an extra $50. In addition, though, “you’ll get access to the evening concert and Longboard Expression Session” (if you go Friday), the airshow expression session (Saturday) or simply CT level professional surfing (Sunday).
The “Surf Ranch Experience” costs $9500 with a nifty $280 fee.
How does this stack up to the region’s other theme parks? Oh, it is generally much more expensive! Magic Mountain costs $84 at the gate, Knotts costs $50 if you buy online, Universal Studios costs $90. Disneyland costs $90 if you purchase mid-week and do you know what this means? Surf Ranch is better* than all of them!
I always knew professional surfing would be more popular than the NFL someday.
*better, as used in this post, only means more expensive.
If I ever did buy $200 tickets I would want a complementary basket of that organic michelob because I would need to be wasted if I were to handle three days at Lemoore.
Once your in at Theme parks all the rides are free, at Slater’s park all you can do is watch others ride, sounds like torture.
“JOIN MEAT THE SURF RANCH”
I’ve just noticed what a curious sign that is.
I wonder what this odd ‘meat joining’ practice is that Kelly refers to?
Sid knows. https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
It’s time to… Kroon Along With Kreslly!
I’m want to go to
Surf ranch
Take me, take me, take me
Take me now
Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!
Surf ranch take me
There right now!
https://www.youtube.com/wat…
Only 8 times more than a ticket to the Visalia Rawhide! And equally exciting!
Visalia Rawhide is one of the great names of all of baseball, second only to the Modesto Nuts and Inland Empire 66(6)ers.
I have nothing to add here, other than the acknowledgement that this story has the best comments to ever grace Beach Grit. I bow to you all.
The Longboard Expression Session is worth the price of admission alone. Edit – Sorry Karl, typed this up so fast didn’t have time to read yours haha
Dystopia is here and I can’t even fuckin afford it.
Comment of the year.
Comment of the year. Nice work wincy.
I wonder how many people that paid for attending the Founder’s Cup will be opening their wallets again to attend the September event. There’s no measure of success unless there’s people willing to pay to come back.
Build the fuckin’ bleachers and give me a $15 ticket option and I’m there.
I give no fucks about baseball, but I go to a few games a year to get drunk and hang out. The Giants and the As make their money off of my consumption, I get loaded and go home happy, having spent practically nothing to get in the door. I want the wavepool that gives me that experience. Lookin’ at you, Waco!
I believe it’s $20 per person to hang on the private beach at Waco and it is BYOB @ $20 per cooler. Money well spent if you ask me!
$15 tickets or I’m out!
Surf Ranch wants people who are willing to wait for the train, not BART. Trains are novelty these days. Much like the high-water mark of Surf Ranch.
I bet that CalTrans, Sacramento politicians, and nutso Central Valley landowners are confident that the Surf Ranch will finally get the voters and backers to get SF-LA high-speed rail online by the 2019 Founders Cup. Next stop, Lemoore Line on the Kelly Central California Korridor!
Mariano, I have a great way for you to rationalize your $499 lets call it an “All you can drink” VIP Package.
Kid yourself that you only spent $25 on the ticket on StubHub and here is your breakdown of alcohol per hour consumption needed to give you that “Go Home Happy Feeling”
Analysis: Ballpark beers run, lets say $15 each. Discount the value of an Official Beer of the WSL (Michelob Ultra) by 25% and we will use $11/beer for our analysis. Drink 1 beer every 30 minutes from 9-5 and this brings your beer value consumed to $528. ($11*3 (days)*8 (drinking hours per day*2 (beers per hour).
Boom!!! , you just paid for your ticket
You might have to drink half of them while standing in line for the bathroom, but with the VIP ticket you have your own special pisser area.
Signed, PR for KS WaveCo
That sounds too complicated.
That’s it, I’m just gonna go find an unoccupied lecture hall at the local university, pop the feed up on the projector screen, and grind through a fifth of goodish rum under the pretexts of professional development.
I can’t watch surfing. If the waves are good enough to run a competition then I’m surfing til my arms fall off. Then I’m going home to tell my missus how hard I was ripping. She’s never very impressed but still usually get a root anyway.
I don’t actually mean I’d go for $15. I’ve lived near or been traveling through the vicinity of a number of CT stops when it was free to get in to watch. I never went to one, not a one. Why? Cuz like my boy Wiggy PS, I went surfing. No roots though.
I heard Keanu Asing and Conner Coffin are going to be doing one of those pyschadelic Oompa Loompa boat rides for Kelly’s VIP guests
“In addition, you’ll get access to the Longboard Expression Session…”
OMG, can’t miss that! Couldn’t even finish reading the sentence I got too excited…. take my money! Yay for Sustainable Stunted Shit Surfing™ (longboarding)! I hope Joel Jitsu makes it!!!!!!!!!
Just spit my coffee on my computer..hah hah
Joel jitsu…. fukn gold
Why would I want to pay to watch someone else ‘go on the rollercoasters’, as it were? I’d want to blow my own take-off, thanks.
yes or miss the section or go over the falls twin!!!
And fuck just saw your ankle incident as well!!! No good. So you will be the guy whispering ( as assume cant shout with ribs) abuse from cliffs on crutches now?
I hope Lowers is absolutely cranking during this contest.
Off the chains, pros are losing in Lemoore and on the I5 in minutes heading south.
Real surfers…. 500. is a flight to central America…. way better than a drive to Fresno and YOU get to surf too!
Yeah, that’s my take. If I have to spend a plane ticket to get in the door, I’d rather buy a plane ticket.
The pros will lose their minds twice when they roll up to Lowers to wash Lemoore off their dusty feet. Imagine their surprise when they run headlong into the first day of the longboard comp that somehow landed the September 8-18 Lowers permit.