grasshoppers rollercoasters: Park Review- Elitch Gardens- Denver, CO

today i will be talking about the park closest to my current home. Elitch gardens is an amusement park in downtown Denver, Colorado. It is one of the most historic amusement parks in the west, being opened in 1890

this is a map of Elitch Gardens during the 2010 season.

The park was originally owned by the Elitch Family until it moved to its current location . It has 5 roller coasters and a water park.

when i review amusement parks i will be using the 5 star system. the total stars for the park will be the average of several categories; which are park atmosphere, roller coasters/ rides, food, and price.

I personally went to the park the summer of 2009 with my dad, his co-worker and his son Edmond. it was 35$ a ticket so it was nothing to bad. My first impression of the park was how cramped it felt. it wasn't the people (the park was actually pretty vacant) it was the rides being so close together. The theme was average at best with little thrills. i did notice the view of the Rocky mountains and Invesco Field impressive. the staff was mostly Seniors and teenagers. they were helpful but don't expect them to come to you to make sure you have a good time. the food was o.k too just the typical park fair of hot dogs and funnel cakes.

Rides: some of the rides have seen better days; others need to go to the scrap heap, burned and hope it doesn't infect other parks.

burn it! burn it now!

the park had 4 real rollercoasters and one kiddy coaster. The mind eraser is the generic 2 seat Vekoma inverted suspend coaster. This is the same mind eraser you will find at most six-flag parks. it is a little rough but most of the rides are hear. After that i rode the sidewinder, a shuttle looping coaster. (shuttle means it goes forwards and backwards) it was fun until someone peed there pants on the ride and it was closed the entire day. the next coaster was Twister II. This is the only decent coaster at the park. It reminded me of a mix of the Hurler at Kings Dominion mixed with the shakiness of the coney island cyclone. It is a nice old woody but is doesn't crack any of my top ride list. The other coaster is Boomerang, It is the basic Backwards lift hill lopper that you order from the factory. Only Twister II left a good taste in my mouth about this park. but beggars cannot be choosers.

overall
Atmosphere: 3 stars
rides: 1.5 stars
food: 2 stars
price: 4 stars

Overall: 2.5 stars C- in my book. this park is nothing special but when there is only 1 other park in the state (lakeside amusement park which looks like a good place to get mugged) you can be the average sized fish in a cup of water.