Elitch Gardens | |
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An aerial view of the park. | |
Location | Denver, Colorado, United States |
Website | http://www.elitchgardens.com |
Owner | CNL Lifestyle Properties |
Opened | 1890 (original location) 1995 (current location) |
Previous names | Elitch Zoological Gardens 1890 to 1900
Elitch Gardens 1900 to 1998, 2007 to present |
Operating season | January to December |
Area | 70 acres (280,000 m2) total |
Rides | 30 total
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Elitch Gardens Theme Park, locally known as "Elitch's", is an amusement park in Denver, Colorado. It is owned by CNL Lifestyle Properties and operated by Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation.[1] It is a seasonal park usually opening in late April and closing around Halloween.
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As space was getting scarce at the original location of Elitch Gardens at 38th Avenue and Tennyson Street, the Gurtler family and their financial partners purchased a 67.7-acre (274,000 m2) plot of land in the Platte River valley near downtown Denver for the price of $6.1 million in June 1994. $90 Million was spent relocating some rides from the original park and construction of the new park. The money was from a mix of public and private dollars and various loans.
On October 1, 1994, the original park closed its gates forever and a majority of the rides were moved to the new property. On May 27, 1995, the new Elitch Gardens opened up to lower than expected crowds. Attendance was weaker than the expected 1.2 million guests the park aimed for. Some notable rides at the park's opening were the original Carousel and Sidewinder roller coaster, relocated from the old park; and a new version of the Mister Twister, the Twister II.
In October, 1996, the Gurtler family and its partners sold the park to growing theme park operator Premier Parks for $65 million.
Premier noted the lackluster figures the new park had in its first two seasons and new additions were soon rushed in for the park's third season. The first and most notable addition was the park's third roller coaster, Mind Eraser, a Vekoma Suspended Looping Coaster. The next big addition was Tower of Doom, an Intamin freefall ride that stands at 250 feet (76 m). Also added was the park's 700-seat Tracadero Theater. The price tag for these additions came to a total of $28 million.
Throughout this short era, the park had the "The Great Escape" surname under its official name like most of its sister parks at the time (Darien Lake, Riverside Park, and The Great Escape)
In 1998, Premier Parks purchased the Six Flags chain of theme parks from Time-Warner. With the purchase, Premier decided to brand-name some of their parks with the Six Flags prefix. Elitch Gardens was one of those parks and big changes came the next year.
Numerous additions came in 1999 when the park was officially renamed Six Flags Elitch Gardens. The first and most notable addition was the Boomerang: Coast to Coaster, a Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster. Other additions included the Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters/themes. Throughout 1999-2001, additions were rushed in such as a new Looney Tunes Movietown area, water rides, and flat rides.
In 2002, the park added one of its most popular rides and the area's only flying roller coaster, Flying Coaster.
In 2004, the park added its latest thrill ride, Half Pipe, the only one of its kind in America.
In 2005, Six Flags parks closed down and removed Chance-Morgan Chaos flat rides for safety reasons. Also, the park added Edge, a vertical water slide inside the park's Island Kingdom water park.
Also in 2005, control of Six Flags, Inc. was obtained by Daniel Snyder in a proxy fight and Mark Shapiro was installed as CEO. The park faced a grim future in 2006 when Shapiro announced selling six of the Six Flags owned properties. Costumed workers and entertainment workers were laid off as a part of cost-cutting.[2] On January 11, 2007, it was announced that Elitch Gardens was to be sold, along with six other Six Flags parks, to PARC Management for $312 million. In April 2007 the Six Flags prefix was removed from the name, making the park Elitch Gardens once again.[3]
The PARC era officially began on April 9, 2007. CNL Income Properties bought Elitch's along with six other former Six Flags parks and now leases the properties to PARC Management. An immediate change under the new management was the removal of all Looney Tunes uses from the park. A new ProSlide Bowl water slide, named RipQurl, was added for the 2007 season. In 2008 a new interactive dark ride, Ghost Blasters, opened. The ride takes guests through a dark mansion haunted with ghosts. Using Boo-blasters on the ride, guests have the opportunity to extinguish the ghosts while competing against one another as digital counters keep track of the scores.[4] Alongside the new rides, the park hosts a summer concert series which has included Raven-Symone, Metro Station, Sara Evans, and Lee Ann Womack.[4] Elitch Gardens also has live entertainment shows, such as Survivor Live!, and Sea Lion Splash! The shows for 2010 were Rocknation: Don't Stop Believin', Bob the Builder Live: Let's Recycle!, 120 Rockin' Years at Elitch's and Laser Rocks. During October the park has haunted houses and a Trick-or-Treat Trail.
On November 24 2010, CNL announced that it had reached an agreement to terminate PARC's lease of Elitch Gardens and up to 17 other locations.[5] The move came after, according to their 2010 SEC filings, PARC defaulted on their lease obligations on the properties.[6]
CNL Lifestyle Properties, Inc., owners of Darien Lake Theme Park Resort and Elitch Gardens, and Herschend Family Entertainment Corporation (HFE), the nation's largest family-owned theme park corporation, assumed the day-to-day management of both properties starting January 25, 2011.[1]
The Island Kingdom water park is a 20-acre (81,000 m2) water park located next to the entrance of Elitch Gardens. Admission is included with a one day ticket to Elitch Gardens. The park has several main attractions: a large tube slide tower, a body slide tower, a family water playground, a large family raft ride, a half pipe water attraction, and a lazy river. Palm trees are planted yearly to add to the atmosphere. The water park usually opens around Memorial Day (depending on the weather), and closes at Labor Day. The Island Kingdom waterpark will be closed if temperatures drop below 70 °F (21 °C).
There is a light rail train stop located next to the park's entrance, served by C and E line trains. The light rail station also serves neighboring Pepsi Center. Many park visitors take the train instead of paying for parking. There is a bus station just off park grounds as well, which is served by route 10 and the Front Range Express (FREX)(to Castle Rock / Colorado Springs).
Ride | Year Opened | Description |
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Twister II | 1995 | A John Pierce designed wooden coaster based on the original Elitch Gardens Twister. The old coaster proved too costly to move with the park and was in bad condition. This coaster opened with the new park in 1995. |
Sidewinder | 1995 | An Arrow Dynamics shuttle loop roller coaster. Moved from the original Elitch Gardens and originally built in 1980, it was relocated from Magic Springs and Crystal Falls park as the Roaring Tornado |
Mind Eraser | 1997 | A Vekoma SLC (Suspended Looping Coaster). Riders are suspended below twisted track. |
Boomerang: Coast to Coaster | 1999 | A Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster. |
Half Pipe | 2004 | An Intamin "Half Pipe" roller coaster. Closes occasionally during park hours, usually opened up and allows guests to enter queue. |
Cactus Coaster | 1995 | An Allan Herschell Company "Little Dipper" kiddie coaster. |
Ride | Year Opened | Description |
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Shake, Rattle, & Roll | 1995 | A Huss Top Spin that uses centrifugal force to repeatedly invert riders.
Formerly known as "Avalanche." Relocated from a park in Germany and originally built in 1990, it was one of seven new attractions to debut at the new location. |
Hollywood & Vine | 1995 | A Huss Breakdance themed to the busy intersection of California's Hollywood and Vine Streets. Relocated from the old Elitch Gardens, it was formerly known as "Paradise" and originally built in 1987. |
Turn of the Century | 1999 | A Zierer Wave Swinger with ancient Egyptian/Aztec paintings on it. Relocated from the old Elitch Gardens and originally built in 1973, it was not operated until 1999. There are only four in the world; this one is the only 1973 model still in operation. |
DragonWing | 1999 | A Chance Aviator with a dragon theme. Formerly known as "Batwing," it was renamed after Six Flags sold the park. |
Tea Cups | 1995 | A Mack Teacups ride relocated from a park in Germany. Originally built in 1988. One of seven rides to debut at the new park for 1995. |
Observation Tower | 1995 | A HUSS observation tower 300 feet (91 m) tall with the observation platform at 275 feet (84 m). Closed or subject to inclement weather on certain days. One of the seven new attractions to debut at the new park at 1995. |
Spider | 1995 | Classic Eyerly Spider ride relocated from the old Elitch Gardens. Originally built in 1969. Relocated several times. |
Troika | 1995 | Classic Huss Troika ride relocated from the old Elitch Gardens. Originally built in 1976. |
Chaos | 1999 | A Chance-Morgan Chaos ride that flips its riders upside down while spinning and lifting in the air at the same time. |
Disaster Canyon | 1995 | A basic white water rafting ride by O.D. Hopkins. Built new in 1995, it opened with the new park. Not open after Labor Day. |
Shipwreck Falls | 1997 | A O.D.Hopkins Shoot-the-Chutes that ends in a massive splash. Not open after Labor Day. |
Tower of Doom | 1997 | A 210-foot (64 m) Intamin drop tower that drops up to three sets of four people at a time. Occasionally closed due to inclement weather. |
Sea Dragon | 1995 | A Chance Sea Dragon Viking longship that rocks back and forth. Relocated from the old Elitch Gardens and a park favorite. Originally built in 1980. |
Tilt-A-Whirl | 1995 | A Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl relocated from the old park. Originally built in 1957. |
Thunderbolt | 1996 | A Chance Alpine Bobs ride, it replaced the older Holland Express attraction, which had been moved from the old park. |
XLR8R (upcharge attraction) | 1996 | A 182-foot (55 m) Skycoaster that is available for a nominal additional fee. |
Sling Shot (upcharge attraction) | 2006 | A 160-foot (49 m) reverse bungee attraction that rockets riders skyward at 70 mph (110 km/h).
Available for a nominal additional fee. |
Ghost Blasters II | 2008 | A dark ride, designed by Sally Corporation, and themed as a haunted manor where guest shoot "ghosts" with laser guns. The entrance to the ride was formerly the Stagecoach Mercantile, which still has a small store, caricature stand, and airbrush tattoos. The same attraction can also be found at various other amusement parks in the USA and Canada |
Big Wheel | A giant Ferris wheel over 100 feet (30 m) tall. The Big Wheel was repainted in 2010 and has new LED lighting, presenting a dazzling new light show while saving energy. | |
Carousel | A fully restored 75-year-old carousel features 67 hand-carved horses and chariots. |
Ride | Year Opened | Year Removed | Description |
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Rainbow | 1995 | 2011 | After many years of being a favorite in the park, this Huss Rainbow was finally taken down due to waning popularity from an accident in 2007. |
Western Round-Up (flat ride) | 1995 | 2001 | Relocated from a park in Germany and debuted at the new park, this Vekoma Sky Flyer ride was dismantled in 2001 due to major maintenance issues. Though reasonably popular, it was standing idle half the time. Originally built in 1985. |
Holland Express | 1995 | 1998 | This classic Mack Zugspitze ride was one of the rides moved from the original Elitch Gardens. As maintenance costs rose due to the ride's age, it was removed in 1998. A newer incarnation of the ride, the Thunderbolt, now fills its place. Originally built in 1964. |
Mine Shaft | 1995 | 1998 | This Chance Rotor ride was removed due to the controversy over a similar ride at Six Flags Great America. Rather than modify the ride as many other parks did, Elitch Gardens dismantled it in 1999. Originally built in 1972 and traveled on carnival routes. It was also at the old Elitch Gardens for a short time. |
Sky Ride | 1995 | 1997 | A standard Watkins aerial chairlift ride, it stood for two years until the opening of the Island Kingdom water park prevented it from remaining open. It was one of the rides moved from the original park and was built in 1965. |
Run-Away Train | 1995 | 1997 | A Mack Blauer Enzian powered roller coaster, it was bought used from a park in Germany and was originally built in 1986. Upon inspection, the "hot rail" that powered the train was badly damaged. This ride only ran for two seasons and the Mind Eraser now stands in its place. |
Flying Coaster | 2002 | 2008 | A Zamperla "Volare" roller coaster that is the first of its kind in the United States. As Of November 2010, most of the ride track has been dismantled with only a handful of the support beams still standing. It was a beta version of the coaster design, which made maintenance excessively expensive. |
Casino | 1995 | 1998 | This Wipeout/Trabant ride was another ride moved from the old park. Even though it was in good running condition, Elitch Gardens couldn't find room for it among the newer rides. |
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