As a roller coaster enthusiast, I've ridden hundreds of coasters all around the country and in foreign countries as well. I have never had to wait 2 hours and 20 minutes to ride a coaster until I visited Elitch Gardens. More specifically, I waited 2 hours and 20 minutes to ride Storm Chaser, which turned out to be extremely disappointing given the roughness of the ride.When I finally reached the front of the line, the cause of the extended wait time became apparent. The ride operators were dispatching trains with empty seats, making no effort to increase the capacity of the ride. As a point of reference, wait times usually average around an hour for the popular rides at Cedar Point, which gets ~3.5 million visitors per year.I did not attempt to ride any other coasters while at Elitch Gardens, with one of them even being out of service. I simply left afterwards, having wasted an afternoon and evening.
Lisa Neill
This park is FILTHY. It's obvious that there has been next to no maintenance and zero cleaning in years. Every seating area is disgusting and caked with old spilled food. The food stations (especially the one by the little kids rides) smells horrendous. Bathrooms have trash all over the floors. We saw employees dragging brooms around but never actually cleaning anything up. I didn't see a single table get wiped down. There were quite a few rides that never opened once from the time the park opened through closing, and they're not listed as closed on the website. My younger kids stood in several lines in the kid area only to have the ride shut down when they got to the front of the line. One female ride operator grabbed her purse and just walked away without saying a word. My kids had a good time, be overall it was super disappointing. I guess they don't care since that land will soon be developed into housing. We had a total of 8 in our group, so we spent quite a bit...and I won't be back.
Kellen Phillips
For the amount of money you spend to attend this park, you would think there would at least be a fresh coat of paint on all of their rides so they don't look so dated and old. The rides were fun, but many weren't operational this day, I'm guessing due to staffing shortages. They also shutdown the Waterpark side and so half the park was unusable. We had fun with what was available, but they really need to evaluate their budget on maintenance and make this park worth the money you spend.
Sam Lang
I'll probably not be back unless they hire like 3x the staff. Half the rides were closed and the ones that were open had lines so long I spent at least 9/10 of my time waiting. Fine for a social group, but kinda boring otherwise.This place used to be WAY better. Kind of a ripoff anymore to be honest. Hopefully when they move it'll get re-imagined entirely.
A D
We bought our tickets online around memorial day for a reduced price during a sale. Going after the height of summer was a good plan, I’m pretty sure we waited much less then we would have a month ago. Do wish a few more of the rides had been open. Food was all right, it does get expensive if you want to drink any adult beverages. I had a good time and would definitely come again in similar circumstances.
Tara Holcomb
Took some of our grankids there while they were visiting. We had the best time. There are plenty of food selections and great rides. We didn't do the water park, but that looked pretty awesome. I loved the roller coasters! The only bad thing was the large swing ride by the wooden roller coaster ? got stuck with us on it Waay up in the air. We were up there quite a few minutes, and I was terrified ? We finally came down, but there was no explanation why it ever happened in the first place. I won't do that ride again, but the others were great. The water rides were so refreshing as it was a very hot day. We got soaked and we loved it! Overall it was a great day. We spent 7 hours there and still didn't do everything we wanted to. We are considering session passes next year for sure.
Sandy
Went with our 7 grandkids, on a Wednesday when it opened. 10:30 am.Stayed all day!Had a great time.Not to crowded, bathrooms were clean. Workers could have been a little more friendly, and helpful. We ask one worker where drinking fountain was, her response, I honestly don’t know if we have any??Food was way overpriced….for what ya got. Disappointed couldn’t bring in our own food.This place is pricy…..so will only be able to go once every couple years.
Anna Fritzler
Super fun place! Our family loves it.Few things tho :-Buy tickets online ahead of time even if it's on the same day you're planning to go. They're cheaper on the website and you skip the line to buy tickets at the entrance-Food is expensive, and I mean EXPENSIVE so plan accordingly. For example, bottled water is about $6 and ice cream scoop about $8-At the moment, the kiddie land part of the park is severely understaffed. There was only one person in charge of about 5 different rides and of course he could only manage one at a time, so it was very frustrating trying to get the kids in their favorite rides and not being able to bc there wasn't another staff member that could manage it.-if you bring toddlers, or small kids, seriously recommend you bring a stroller, or one of those little wagons.-Bathrooms are clean and well kept✅️-There's a smoking area inside the park away from the crowd with benches and a little roof so you get good shade✅️-Even tho food is expensive, they have a good selection and it's really good✅️-Getting inside the park is fast and easy. If you bring strollers or wagons or diaper bags they will direct you to a checking point and search your bag for safety but it takes no time✅️Really the only reason I don't give it 5 stars right now it's bc they're understaffed in the Kiddie Land but that's also something they would fix as soon as they could.
Teresa Dimauro
I almost didn't buy passes this year. Because last year's experience was not very good, especially concerning teenagers, And Food quality. My sister got a pass, so I ended up getting one and very happily. I can report that the food quality has gone up, and the friendliness of the staff has gone up as well. We did have an incident of older teens trying to take my kids' free cup out of her hand. I guess it was good because she stood up to them and didn't let them do it. But I do have concerns about the number of teens that are allowed there without supervision versus the amount of security. But overall, it's been a good season. I'd like to give a special thank you to Starley, In customer service, this young person is amazing. And also to Char Who is very kind to my child with different needs. And it makes my child more comfortable to come to a place that normally makes her scared and nervous!! Thank you for stepping up your overall game.
Muriah Johns
Pros: kiddieland for kids under 50inch that remind you of a carnival. Kids rollercoaster, short lines, lots of options, free water, great food options, small, allows wagons, big coaster and "carnival rides" for teens and adults and a nice water park for hot days! Get tickets online and skip the line.Cons:theme park pricing, the height signs are slightly confusing, not all rides open at same time.9/10 would go again
Had a wonderful day with my family. A lot of the rides were shut down and it was hot but we still had a good time.
Charlie Chavez
The fast-pass is ridiculous. Evereyone has payed to be in the park. They don't use a percentage of fast-pass individuals and general admission. Waiting an hour is understandable but not when the corporation doesn't care about all of the people. I spent two hours for two rides.
Peter M.
Hmm. Well, while I have crazy fond memories of Elitch's from my youth, the experience has gone a little mediocre. The reality is that there are too many people and not enough youths to make the place efficient anymore. We went a couple of times this year; once in the spring (crowded) and once in the fall right before DPS reconvened (not crowded, but since they lost a ton of workers back to high school, only 20% of the waterpark and about 30% of the other rides were open), it felt like a letdown. Still, it is a nice place with fun stuff and if you don't pay full price I truly think you get a nice experience for the money.
Justin N.
This place has gone significantly downhill for the past couple of years. We went last Friday and most of the good rides in the park were not working. If I didn't have a season pass there would be no way I would spend the money for a day pass. We were at the park a month earlier and almost all of the same rides were broken. It's very apparent they have given up and are just waiting for the move if that ever happens. Don't waste your money.
Heidi M.
WHYYYYY!!! WHYYYYY!!! WHY are there SO MANY people at Elitch!? The amount of people is overwhelming. My kids had a great time in the kiddie land area and pretty much rode every ride that they were tall enough to do. When we got too hot, we moved over to the waterpark area. Again, I repeat, why are there so many people there? The bathroom line was disgustingly long. I am so glad I never had to wait in that because it was no joke 30+ people every time I walked by the bathroom. The "changing area" was nonexistent so my daughter and I basically changed into our swimsuits in the open area in front of everyone and we were not the only ones doing that. The shower area was so crowded, filthy and disgusting. Don't even bother trying to shower because there is nowhere to put your clothes or bag down. No bench and no hook. STUPID.My aunt waited forever in the waterslide lines and the rest of us never bothered to do so. As soon as we got to the wave pool which had about 1,125,235,653 people in it, they made everyone get out for 15 minutes. There was MASS chaos out of the wave pool and then everything else was just overwhelmingly crowded. We followed the rules and didn't bring food or drinks into the park, but we definitely saw people had brought stuff in. We even saw a cooler packed with food/drink! Instead, we waited in the LONGEST lines ever to pay way too much money for mediocre amusement park food. My kids were miserable because it was so hot and there was nowhere to even go in the water. We only lasted a few hours.Elitch is extremely overpriced for tickets PLUS you have to pay $25 just to park! I would never recommend this place to anyone and I will never go back.
As a roller coaster enthusiast, I've ridden hundreds of coasters all around the country and in foreign countries as well. I have never had to wait 2 hours and 20 minutes to ride a coaster until I visited Elitch Gardens. More specifically, I waited 2 hours and 20 minutes to ride Storm Chaser, which turned out to be extremely disappointing given the roughness of the ride.When I finally reached the front of the line, the cause of the extended wait time became apparent. The ride operators were dispatching trains with empty seats, making no effort to increase the capacity of the ride. As a point of reference, wait times usually average around an hour for the popular rides at Cedar Point, which gets ~3.5 million visitors per year.I did not attempt to ride any other coasters while at Elitch Gardens, with one of them even being out of service. I simply left afterwards, having wasted an afternoon and evening.
This park is FILTHY. It's obvious that there has been next to no maintenance and zero cleaning in years. Every seating area is disgusting and caked with old spilled food. The food stations (especially the one by the little kids rides) smells horrendous. Bathrooms have trash all over the floors. We saw employees dragging brooms around but never actually cleaning anything up. I didn't see a single table get wiped down. There were quite a few rides that never opened once from the time the park opened through closing, and they're not listed as closed on the website. My younger kids stood in several lines in the kid area only to have the ride shut down when they got to the front of the line. One female ride operator grabbed her purse and just walked away without saying a word. My kids had a good time, be overall it was super disappointing. I guess they don't care since that land will soon be developed into housing. We had a total of 8 in our group, so we spent quite a bit...and I won't be back.
For the amount of money you spend to attend this park, you would think there would at least be a fresh coat of paint on all of their rides so they don't look so dated and old. The rides were fun, but many weren't operational this day, I'm guessing due to staffing shortages. They also shutdown the Waterpark side and so half the park was unusable. We had fun with what was available, but they really need to evaluate their budget on maintenance and make this park worth the money you spend.
I'll probably not be back unless they hire like 3x the staff. Half the rides were closed and the ones that were open had lines so long I spent at least 9/10 of my time waiting. Fine for a social group, but kinda boring otherwise.This place used to be WAY better. Kind of a ripoff anymore to be honest. Hopefully when they move it'll get re-imagined entirely.
We bought our tickets online around memorial day for a reduced price during a sale. Going after the height of summer was a good plan, I’m pretty sure we waited much less then we would have a month ago. Do wish a few more of the rides had been open. Food was all right, it does get expensive if you want to drink any adult beverages. I had a good time and would definitely come again in similar circumstances.
Took some of our grankids there while they were visiting. We had the best time. There are plenty of food selections and great rides. We didn't do the water park, but that looked pretty awesome. I loved the roller coasters! The only bad thing was the large swing ride by the wooden roller coaster ? got stuck with us on it Waay up in the air. We were up there quite a few minutes, and I was terrified ? We finally came down, but there was no explanation why it ever happened in the first place. I won't do that ride again, but the others were great. The water rides were so refreshing as it was a very hot day. We got soaked and we loved it! Overall it was a great day. We spent 7 hours there and still didn't do everything we wanted to. We are considering session passes next year for sure.
Went with our 7 grandkids, on a Wednesday when it opened. 10:30 am.Stayed all day!Had a great time.Not to crowded, bathrooms were clean. Workers could have been a little more friendly, and helpful. We ask one worker where drinking fountain was, her response, I honestly don’t know if we have any??Food was way overpriced….for what ya got. Disappointed couldn’t bring in our own food.This place is pricy…..so will only be able to go once every couple years.
Super fun place! Our family loves it.Few things tho :-Buy tickets online ahead of time even if it's on the same day you're planning to go. They're cheaper on the website and you skip the line to buy tickets at the entrance-Food is expensive, and I mean EXPENSIVE so plan accordingly. For example, bottled water is about $6 and ice cream scoop about $8-At the moment, the kiddie land part of the park is severely understaffed. There was only one person in charge of about 5 different rides and of course he could only manage one at a time, so it was very frustrating trying to get the kids in their favorite rides and not being able to bc there wasn't another staff member that could manage it.-if you bring toddlers, or small kids, seriously recommend you bring a stroller, or one of those little wagons.-Bathrooms are clean and well kept✅️-There's a smoking area inside the park away from the crowd with benches and a little roof so you get good shade✅️-Even tho food is expensive, they have a good selection and it's really good✅️-Getting inside the park is fast and easy. If you bring strollers or wagons or diaper bags they will direct you to a checking point and search your bag for safety but it takes no time✅️Really the only reason I don't give it 5 stars right now it's bc they're understaffed in the Kiddie Land but that's also something they would fix as soon as they could.
I almost didn't buy passes this year. Because last year's experience was not very good, especially concerning teenagers, And Food quality. My sister got a pass, so I ended up getting one and very happily. I can report that the food quality has gone up, and the friendliness of the staff has gone up as well. We did have an incident of older teens trying to take my kids' free cup out of her hand. I guess it was good because she stood up to them and didn't let them do it. But I do have concerns about the number of teens that are allowed there without supervision versus the amount of security. But overall, it's been a good season. I'd like to give a special thank you to Starley, In customer service, this young person is amazing. And also to Char Who is very kind to my child with different needs. And it makes my child more comfortable to come to a place that normally makes her scared and nervous!! Thank you for stepping up your overall game.
Pros: kiddieland for kids under 50inch that remind you of a carnival. Kids rollercoaster, short lines, lots of options, free water, great food options, small, allows wagons, big coaster and "carnival rides" for teens and adults and a nice water park for hot days! Get tickets online and skip the line.Cons:theme park pricing, the height signs are slightly confusing, not all rides open at same time.9/10 would go again
Restaurantji Recommends
Had a wonderful day with my family. A lot of the rides were shut down and it was hot but we still had a good time.
The fast-pass is ridiculous. Evereyone has payed to be in the park. They don't use a percentage of fast-pass individuals and general admission. Waiting an hour is understandable but not when the corporation doesn't care about all of the people. I spent two hours for two rides.
Hmm. Well, while I have crazy fond memories of Elitch's from my youth, the experience has gone a little mediocre. The reality is that there are too many people and not enough youths to make the place efficient anymore. We went a couple of times this year; once in the spring (crowded) and once in the fall right before DPS reconvened (not crowded, but since they lost a ton of workers back to high school, only 20% of the waterpark and about 30% of the other rides were open), it felt like a letdown. Still, it is a nice place with fun stuff and if you don't pay full price I truly think you get a nice experience for the money.
This place has gone significantly downhill for the past couple of years. We went last Friday and most of the good rides in the park were not working. If I didn't have a season pass there would be no way I would spend the money for a day pass. We were at the park a month earlier and almost all of the same rides were broken. It's very apparent they have given up and are just waiting for the move if that ever happens. Don't waste your money.
WHYYYYY!!! WHYYYYY!!! WHY are there SO MANY people at Elitch!? The amount of people is overwhelming. My kids had a great time in the kiddie land area and pretty much rode every ride that they were tall enough to do. When we got too hot, we moved over to the waterpark area. Again, I repeat, why are there so many people there? The bathroom line was disgustingly long. I am so glad I never had to wait in that because it was no joke 30+ people every time I walked by the bathroom. The "changing area" was nonexistent so my daughter and I basically changed into our swimsuits in the open area in front of everyone and we were not the only ones doing that. The shower area was so crowded, filthy and disgusting. Don't even bother trying to shower because there is nowhere to put your clothes or bag down. No bench and no hook. STUPID.My aunt waited forever in the waterslide lines and the rest of us never bothered to do so. As soon as we got to the wave pool which had about 1,125,235,653 people in it, they made everyone get out for 15 minutes. There was MASS chaos out of the wave pool and then everything else was just overwhelmingly crowded. We followed the rules and didn't bring food or drinks into the park, but we definitely saw people had brought stuff in. We even saw a cooler packed with food/drink! Instead, we waited in the LONGEST lines ever to pay way too much money for mediocre amusement park food. My kids were miserable because it was so hot and there was nowhere to even go in the water. We only lasted a few hours.Elitch is extremely overpriced for tickets PLUS you have to pay $25 just to park! I would never recommend this place to anyone and I will never go back.
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