After you pay close to $100, do not lose or forget your season pass at home, this stupid place will charge you $5 to look up your number. Bunch of BS, that should be done for free. read more

Water Park, rides, smoked turkey legs. Where can you get more unlimited visits for $59 season? Sure you can fly to Orlando and do universal studios and Disney but it's expensive...the lines are still long and the food lines crowded. Lower your expectations, relax and enjoy the day. Kids will have great memories regardless. read more

Elitch Gardens - 98 degrees. Where would you rather be? - Amusement Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

It's not the biggest or best amusement park I've ever visited. But there's plenty to entertain my kid now and in the future. In the summer, the blend of amusement rides and water park all on one site is great for variety. There are rides that connect to its long history as well as more modern installations. Crowds have never been too much of a problem across several visits. Teaming up with Meow Wolf was a great idea, raising their visibility before opening their Denver location. And, when you can buy a season pass for under $60 per person, it's an outstanding value. read more

I'm updating the review to discuss the blatant line cutting by teenagers for the park entrance. There was no one guarding the removable fencing at the park, making it easy for kids to cut the line. You gotta set a standard at some time. An 8 month pregnant woman with a toddler shouldn't have to make sure hoards of teens aren't jumping the line. We ended up waiting about 45 minutes on a Sunday at 11 am to get into the park. On a positive note, there were no lines at kiddie land which was a relief. Really, the general manager should do walks of the park during the day and there should be line monitors. That seems comprise the bulk of complaints on Yelp. read more

We bought tickets for elitch gardens' lumoniva holidays for today! It was super cute with a bunch of instagrammable moments. Some rides were open, but we were hoping for a few more since the weather was so nice. The food/drink was definitely over priced and my churro was a tad over cooked, but overall it was a good experience for 20 bucks. We got through it all and went on 3 rides in about 1.5 hours. read more

Elitch Gardens - Luminova holidays - Amusement Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

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Ahh, Elitch Gardens in the summer. Not so much. I've been to Elitch's a handful of times in my ten years in Colorado and each experience has left me underwhelmed. With so few attractions at the park you are guaranteed a long wait in line before you get to take advantage of the rides. The rides themselves all seem to be geared towards younger kids. The employees really never seem that enthused about their jobs. I don't blame them though. I def couldn't work at an amusement park. The worst part is when you've waited for 25 minutes and are next in line for a ride, then lightening strikes, literally. At that point for safety all the rides are grounded. Not their fault at all, but a serious bummer once you've invested all that time waiting. Luckily if the rides are grounded for long enough they will hook you up with a pass for a different day. Perhaps if I was a parent with young children, or a young child myself, or it held a sort of nostalgia for me I would feel differently about Elitch Gardens. But alas, none of these things apply to me. Looks like my days spent at Elitch Gardens are behind me. read more

I've been going here for years and years and years. Everytime more amazing than the last. Me, my family and my freinds always love to go here. Definitely Recommended. read more

NO WONDER SIX FLAGS WANTED NO AFFILIATION WITH THIS PARK! Horrible experience in the park and zero customer service after. We were there 5.5 hours and rode 2 rides because every single one broke down numerous times (except teacups). My son was there at the same time with a school group for 4 hours and rode NOTHING!!! He stood in line for 3 rides and every one broke down after he'd already been waiting for an hour. The lines are super long and disrespectful/unsupervised teens/kids cut in line. If you confront them, it feels like a risk because they might pull a knife or jump you if they see you later. We left after the 5.5 hours of frustration, but first went to guest relations and asked for a refund. The two employees there were very apologetic and said they wouldn't be able to process a refund for us since we purchased the season passes online (not in person), so they gave us a form to fill out. I also reached out to Elitch's marketing team using the email address provided in my order confirmation. I received a response within an hour and was told no refunds, no exceptions. The next day (in the middle of the night), two of the five of us became extremely sick. Both of us had chicken tenders at one of the restaurants, and the other three who ate burgers were fine. So to top off our horrible Saturday, our weekend was further ruined by food poisoning. The management here does not care about anyone's experience, just as long as they continue to sell tickets. It's such a shame, as I grew up in Denver and have wonderful memories of the old Elitch's park. As someone who manages operations/customer experience for a hospitality company, I'm disgusted by the response I received. read more

Haven't been to an amusement park in years. Went on a Sunday evening to kick off the end of Summer - happy with the discount in price but before we even entered the park there were long lines. Within three hours we covered the whole park. It's not big but its decent and crowded for the city of Denver. We were all about the thrill rides: rode the "Sidewinder" roller coaster, "Turn of the Century" flying swings & "Tower of Doom" drop. To top off the evening we stopped at Fanny's Funnel Cake. This was the most frustrating part. There were two lines and it was unclear that one was to pay and the other was to order and pick up. Everyone was in the order/pick up window and were being rerouted to pay first. Most establishments are set up so you order, pick up and then pay. This was super confusing to everyone. Overall we got our ya-yas out and were content with the experience. read more

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Update- Still enjoying Elitch... Thanks If you feel the need to respond to my review in a negative way, please refrain from doing so! Like I said....... if you are a complainer or a Debbie downer, please stay home and let us enjoy the park! People will never be happy or satisfied..... when you're life sucks or you have nothing going for you! I take my kids to have fun and enjoy our family time and tho you may not be served like a king or queen you wish you to be, it's because you're not one! Get off your high horse and keep your negative comments to yourself. Please & Thank you! read more

LOVE IT. So fun. I came with my parents a few times and had a great time. It has long lines but everywhere does.

So here is the deal. I hate stupidity. It's not too busy of a day here, but the longest line we have been in is the one to get pizza at the food court. This should not be a difficult process as they only make two different types of pizza and I'm sure they are already pre-assembled. Two people should be able to run this pretty efficiently, but apparently that is not the case. My son waited in line for about 45 minutes to get a rather crappy $10 pizza. Here's how I see it, person 1 puts in pizzas and then takes them out when they are done. Person 2 takes the money and gets the drinks. Seems simple, right? #NotRocketScience read more

My family and I visited your park yesterday (July 5). We arrived around 11am. The woman who was working the front gate had a HORRIBLE attitude problem. As soon as we walk up to her she starts snapping at us about a bag check so I start to walk over to the guy doing the bag checks and she snaps at me "Ma'am! Your bag DOES NOT need to be checked. You're holding up the line." There was no one behind me! Then this horrible woman proceeded to snap at the rest of my family to move on through the line. Whoever this miserable woman is, she is a TERRIBLE representation and first impression of your business. We voiced our complaint but nothing was done. Common decency and a little respect goes a long way. We won't be returning if this is how you allow your employees to treat your guests. read more

Elitches is MY JAM. I can't say enough nice things about Elitches, but I will try. When I was in college I would get a season pass every year and spend my school-free summers hanging out at the park. As an adult, I started REALLY missing it. Every time I was stuck on I-25 (AKA every time I had to take it) I would stare longingly at my beloved theme park and wish that I could go. I begged my husband to get season passes with me but he, like most adults, thought it was "ghetto" or that he was too old for it. He hadn't felt that magic yet. I decided I had enough of not being on roller coasters, so I purchased a Groupon last year for tickets during Fright Fest. My husband, being a finance guy, would not allow the money to go to waste so along with me he went. It took about ten minutes of being in there for him to finally feel that magic as he watched a faux blood-stained man in a hockey mask chasing children with an artificial chainsaw. As expected, we had a great night. I was thrilled when he conceded that it actually is really fun and he promised me that we could go at least once next year. Next year is now this year, and when it came time for me to redeem his promise I started pleading my case for a season pass. He was VERY resistant and said we would never use it, so I appealed to the money manager in him and explained how you could come and go as you pleased, we could stop in and ride one coaster and leave if we felt like it, the cost of the pass was less than the cost of going twice, etc. It was the free parking that did it, though. At $20 a pop free parking is a huge perk. My fairy tale of how I finally got my Elitches season pass has been long so far, so I'll try and sum up the outcome quickly. He loves it. We go at least once a weekend, and he has enjoyed finding all of the money hacks (and there are many!) to help you get the most bang for your buck. A $12.99 souvenir beer glass allows you to get $3.99 refills ALL SEASON LONG, versus the $8.99 a single glass normally costs. The saloon has a Breckenridge Brewery IPA that gets you buzzed really quickly, and costs the same as a Coors Light. You can pack a cooler and ride all the morning rides, run to the closely parked car and eat your packed lunch, and then wander back into the park, allowing you to save money and calories by not binging on park fair. The Friday night movie nights and summer concerts provide a free (once you've purchased the pass) date night. The list goes on and on. My husband now regularly praises Elitches and tells all our friends about it. We spend so much time here and spend a very small fraction of what we would at a bar, and get a full day of entertainment. People still doubt me but I can promise you there are two types of people: people who love Elitches, and people who haven't given Elitches a proper chance. I imagine if you do it the expensive way, buying a single day ticket, buying sodas individually and park food for a family of 5, that Elitches would not be your favorite place. If you take the time to research and customize it to what your family needs though, you can have the most fun summer of your life just like us! read more

Elitch Gardens - In front of the landmark Ferris Wheel with our $12.99 refillable beer glasses! They've already gotten a lot of use and it's only June :) - Amusement Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

An icon of Denver. Elitch has gone through many changes over the years and always come out being a fun place to go with lots to do. Prices are not too bad and each staff we met was friendly. The food is typical park food. read more

We went to their luminova light show. My daughter bought tickets on line along with the refillable hot chocolate cups. The rides were fun, the light were awesome. The service was horrible. We were sent from one end to the other to pick up the cups and hot chocolate. All the stands we went to were out, then we couldn't even get a refund for the cups we couldn't fill! read more

I'm updating my previous review. While most of what I previously I said is true, I also have to admit that today all the rides seemed to be open (or if a few were closed it must have been too few to even notice) and we were able to get on with very minimal wait time - it was amazing how many rides we could fit in only 2 hours. The key? Get there at 10am. By 12:15 we were gone, having been on 5 or 6 family rides, some of them twice and even 3 times! It was a wonderful experience today. I don't know if they've hired more people, but it was definitely so much better today. The attendants were really nice too. I constantly asked them to make sure my kids were safely fastened in their seats (whenever they rode together) and they happily and politely did. So yeah, much better today!! read more

Elitch Gardens - Amusement Parks Near Me - Denver, Colorado

We were traveling in Denver for my daughter's softball tournament, and thought we found a great deal to attend Elitch Gardens for half price on our day off! Total cost for our family of 4 with parking was $170, which seemed reasonable. Upon arrival, however, we discovered that half the roller coasters were closed. I guess we paid half price for half the park! Also, we skipped eating as food prices were outrageous. Finally, water bottles were $5 each...ouch! read more

After buying season passes, we visited 3 times. Each time, we left after an hour or less. We won't be back. Each time, at least half of the rides were not open. We once stood in line for the Mind Eraser for nearly an hour only for it to shut down with no ETA for reopening. We left. Today we gave them one last shot. The only coaster open was the Mind Eraser. It closed again while we were in line. P.S. What is up with the rancid "chocolate milk" on the water ride? (See pic) read more

This is my first visit to Elitch Gardens since the early to mid '90s. Obviously, it has gone through several changes and even locations since. After a day of galavanting and doing all the rides and attractions, I can say this: There are plenty of other things to see and do while visiting Colorado. The park is surprisingly nice and clean; the food is good - as expensive as you'd expect at any amusement park; the rides are entertaining. But, my biggest gripe - the endless waits. The employees have absolutely NO sense of urgency. Lines to get on rides and ensuring riders are safe and secure is perfectly acceptable, except these are not the holdups for rides. Most rides seem to only have one person operating the attraction. That single individual is tasked with ushering and counting the number in patrons, checking each and every seat belt, communicating with people waiting, giving instructions and finally starting the attraction. Often times I spent more time sitting on a ride waiting for the start than waiting in line. On larger scaled attractions, like a roller coaster, more workers assisted, but oddly the actual start of the ride took just as long. Employees just kind of sleepwalked through the motions. Not a care, just whatever. My visit occurred when the park was not overly crowded. I would hate to be here on a busy day. Come on, get the line moving. Start the ride. Nice park, but definitely not worth other things you can do in Denver, including if you came across a pop-up carnival in some mall parking lot. read more

Elitch Gardens hosted the Night Nation 5K run and it was awesome!!! I was wondering how they were going to have the obstacle laid out since the park was still open, but they did an incredible job. There were some places where it was tight and we had to walk, but other then that it was a very fun run. Loved the upbeat variety of music and cool vendors there. Definitely was a great cause to run for and host for. I definitely will do this run again. read more

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This is not it. I suppose if you haven't been to any other theme park to compare then you probably think it's good. This is by far the worst theme park ever, a step up from a carnival or a fair. The staff is rude, the prices are high for terrible food, and most of the rides are always closed. I was looking forward to this place on my visit to Denver but I regret making this part of my trip. Definitely a waste of time. Do something else. read more

Very disappointed. Only one rollercoaster was working today. Everything was way over priced. , $15 for a beer, $5 for a simple bottle of water. A few of the attractions at the water park was also closed. The main entrance area where the gift shops and food vendors were closed. A very expensive place where most attractions were closed. read more

The nostalgic optimist in me was so pumped to bring my little girl here for the first time after I spent so many years having the best time. But..... I was truly disappointed. They discount the season passes so heavily that it seems like the greatest deal, which it is UNTIL you have to wait an hour to get through the season pass line to get in. Why not give people QR code's instead of these outdated bracelets. Ugh. Also, kiddie land is still fun, but don't waste your time in the ball area that was so fun when you were a kid. There is hardly anything that works and it's dirty! And it's true.. parking is $25 if you pay cash, and $30 if you pay with your card (yeah, wth). read more

Do NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY. The most expensive and worst themepark I have ever been. Over half the rides weren't open, and whenever we asked staff when it WOULD be open, they were rude and didn't know anything. Seemingly, no one gives a shit about anything at this park, especially not customer experience. The amount of money we spent, which was over 500USD, and the absolute shit quality of service has left me and my family angry, upset, and now out of a lot of money, especially considering we flew in from CANADA TO VISIT. DO NOT GO HERE. ITS A SHITHOLE. read more

We took our 10 & 3 year old little boys spent a full day at both the amusement & waterpark. We had an incredible time and ended purchasing season passes along with the meal plan. Now it obviously is not Disney World or Six Flags, but it is still a great time for the whole family and great for locals like ourselves. read more

i'm a colorado native and have been coming here ever since i was little. the rides are super fun but the employees really take the amusement out of amusement park. seriously the least fun workers they could possibly have hired which sucks because this is entertainment. another thing is the fast passes which are $50 addition to the $60 day pass, all the rich people who have them get to get on the ride first making the wait for rides almost 2 hours and leaving no front spots on any ride. just a bummer read more

Dear Elitch Gardens, RE: New Chaperone rule making all kids under 15 have a 21 year old chaperone with them. I have never been this angry. So Stay at Home Moms and their kids are now the only ones allowed in the park? Some of us work! My 16 year old daughter "babysits" my 13 year old and can't take her to Elitches? She has an 18 year old friend who nannies who also can't take those kids! Oh and my 18 year old son can't take the kids either. So basically single parents are definitely out, but most people come from two income families. You have ostracized almost everyone who goes there. People who are over 21 aren't sitting around waiting to take kids who have already paid for their passes. I have another friend who is a single mom, and her 20 year old son can't take her 15 year old son (they both have passes that I GAVE them because they couldn't afford it) and she certainly can't take her son because I only gave them two passes. I will NEVER buy another season pass again. read more

The worst amusement park I have ever been to. This was one of the most disappointing outings of my life. I got there at 4 pm and left at 8:30 and only had the opportunity to ride one ride. Many of the rides were closed which was disappointing in itself. This also made the wait time for the others rides incredibly long, hence only riding one ride within a 4 1/2 hour time period. This place needs better management. Many other guests shared my disappointments and we found ourselves leaving early along with many many others. Do not come here if you want to enjoy your day. read more

Would give it a negative star if I could. So many reasons not to go... even when the tickets are on sale. Paid $100 and right when we walked in it started to thunder. No refund and they closed the park. The employees are rude and it's dirty. read more

Mind Eraser was the only big ride running. If roller coasters is your thing I would go somewhere else.

I decided to go to Elitches while visiting my family who lives up in Colorado and I've been wanting to go to since I've seen it closed in the winter time. This place is a lot of fun! They have tons of rides for all ages! The park is very clean and well organized. They have a huge selection of different places to eat at. Even places such as, Panda Express and Subway! The staff was very friendly to my family and I. They even interacted with you while you were on the ride! This place was a whole lot of fun. The water park was even a blast! They had a big wave pool and tons of slides! A long lazy river and they had a few of those slides where you can fit around 6-7 people on one raft! My overall experience here was great! The staff was friendly. The lines weren't that bad for a Saturday and they moved pretty fast! This place is a easy 5 star for me and I can't wait to be back again!! read more

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What an extremely disappointing, frustrating, and expensive way to spend a day. I got tickets online beforehand thinking it would speed up our entrance however it did not. When we arrived, shortly after they opened, there were two incredibly long lines with no signage to indicate which line we needed to be in. Fellow guests helped us figure it out. After 45 minutes, an employee came out but gave no helpful information about why the line was taking so long. After switching lines a few times and waiting an hour and a half, we finally got into the park. We then proceeded to wait another hour for our first ride (Minderaser). Had difficulty finding the entrance as the only sign read "Rapid Ride Access" which made me think it was only for those with a special ticket but it was actually the entrance for everyone. While in line for that ride, I saw no fewer than four groups of people jump the line. The ride itself took no time at all and was disappointing. We then went to the second roller coaster ride and waited in line for an hour before finally jumping out of line and heading to lunch. During our time time in line, we saw at least seven groups of people jump the line. One brave gentleman actually called out one group who then pushed back and said they were allowed to do so because they were joining a group of friends. We also saw that the ride operator allow EVERYONE in the rapid ride access line to go ahead of the regular line. Which meant our line did not move at all. Because if the number of people in the rapid access line equals the the number of seats on the ride, then regular line people would never have an opportunity to ride. We decided to head over to the water park where things improved slightly. Signage was still horrible and at each ride we had to ask about the process for obtaining rafts. Other guests were great about recognizing we were a group of two and could go ahead if a two person raft was available. But I saw no signs or employees providing this information. Again we went on a rapid access ride and saw the same rapid access ride group ride four times while our line had progressed only a few feet. Again we bailed and headed to non- rapid access rides. In the end, we were able to ride a handful of unexceptional rides the caliber of which we would find at a county fair at a much more reasonable price. However we did meet a number of very friendly people who helped us navigate the park since there were no Elitch's employees or signs to do so. If you do choose to go, I recommend the rapid access pass otherwise you are unlikely to ride many attractions. Also, be prepared to ask other guests for help if you aren't familiar with the park. And bring your patience as line jumping is common and apparently acceptable. read more

Elitch Gardens is pretty much the only amusement park in the state so you get what you get. It's not a bad park it's just not a very good one either. The rides are decent, the crowd wasn't that bad but not sure if what you get is worth the price you pay. We found discounted tickets thru a promotion so it was somewhere around $40 each to get in but be prepared to keep pulling out the card. Parking was $25, locker $15, no outside food or drink allowed and the food prices are steep. $12 for a pretzel, $13 for a funnel cake, $18 for a burger basket with fries, refillable drink cup for $16 but the refills are only .99 cents. If you have a family of 4 it's not hard to make it a $300-$400 day. All of this is to be expected I know, but I was not expecting it to be run so poorly. There were 3 or 4 major rides closed due to lack of personnel. There were other rides that didn't open until 1pm when other workers were coming in. They are only open from 10:30-6pm so not even an 8hr day for your money. They were not enforcing the rules so you had quite a few not so family friendly thong/g-string swim suits around that are supposedly not allowed. They don't seem to clean up during the day at all so if you have that group next to you that leaves trash all over the ground you have to deal with it or be a good neighbor and clean it up. Was it fun, sure! Was it worth the cost, questionable. read more

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If you'd like to hang out with every methamphetamine user in the state of Colorado, this is the place to go. Otherwise, know that inclement weather (which is pretty frequent) essentially shuts down the park but you can't get a refund or raincheck unless the park remains shut down for "90 minutes" and there is zero integrity among the Guest Relations staff so initially you'll be told that rain checks are available at 4:35, and then it will become 4:45, and then may 5 pm. I also advise never, ever purchasing a ticket without confirming that weather isn't keeping rides from running first, because they will continue selling right up until they close, regardless of closures. read more

Unfortunately, we had a terrible experience. Spent $500 on season passes and waited in a 3 hour line in 95 degree weather. Even TSA is more efficient. read more

Gross. It is really gone downhill and is even worse than before. I have so many good memories and this really saddened me to see. I wish that it was in much better shape. Half of the rides were closed and the food stands were out of many items. Lines were over an hour wait on most of the rides that were open. It feels run down and on the edge of unsafe. Honestly, I would pay more for a season pass if they would be able to use that money for updates. I would love more rides and thrills. read more

We came here on a summer Tuesday afternoon (we arrived right before 1p). The lines were short. The most we spent in line was about 15 mins and we rode the front and back cars on each ride. We headed straight to the back to hit up Mind Eraser, Twister II and Boomerang first. We were done with the park (as far as big rides) in about 2.5-3 hours, with some rides ridden twice. They don't allow outside food (they confiscated ours: two protein bars, go figure!) but you can bring in disposable water bottles and refill them around the park. We had free entry tickets but not sure if I would pay online price to come back again. I thought about coming back to check out the water park but it was SUPER crowded in there, so much that I didn't even think it was worth it to come back just for that. read more

The drinking fountains are broke. I am thirsty. The worker at the spray gun will not listen to me. We are like got the swings and they are broke too j also it rained read more

Drunk adults mixed with small kids at an amusement park never mix. I seen multiple adults getting hyped up and the work attendants not doing anything about it. They would turn a blind eye like nothing was even happening. If you can tell an adult is getting past their alcohol level you should stop serving them but it seems like the park only cares about getting its money. There are a lot of rude rude workers who make unnecessary comments to families and lack in customer service. If you plan on getting food here since they don't allow outside food I would suggest getting the premium food pass as almost everything there is $12 or more. The water park area seems to be the least dramatic area to go to and I think our family will enjoy that section until our children get a little bit older. read more