Elitch Gardens and Island Kingdom (Lots of Pics)

[kenshinmac]

Hell, the ride doesn't even have to go around the border (even though that would be INSANE!), we just need AIRTIME!!! They can have supports in the park. Sea World San Antonio did that with Steel Eel and a little bit with Great White. Speaking of which, a Morgan hyper wouldn't be as expensive as Intamin or B&M, right? Steel Eel is a Morgan coaster, and it has more airtime than any other coaster I've been on.

I admittedly haven't ridden Steel Eel and I have heard it is by far the best from Morgan, but not Morgan... NEVER!!! I have to ask have you ridden Superman/Bizzaro at SFNE, El Toro's first half at SFGAdv, or Boulder Dash at Lake Compounce. Those are truly amazing airtime machines which we rode on ECT last year and riding Steel Force at Dorney afterwards was a complete snooze... It was like riding a really tall Mine Train with absolutely no forces to speak of.

[pruje]

I've been going to the new Elitches for about four years now. I've lived in Denver almost my entire life and remember the old one, but I didn't start going to the new one until about 4 years ago.

 

The twister is disappointing to be honest. The old one was a lot better. Maybe its just because I'm an adult now, I don't know. But I remember the old one being a lot better. I also remember I liked riding it at night (the old one had lights, and the park used to stay open a lot later, like 11pm...now it only stays open till 9pm, and it's barely dark outside).

 

I found the park to be very well landscaped with most of the buildings looking pretty fresh. I plan on adding Disaster Canyon photos soon (for all the rapids fans).

I like the rapids ride as well. The only thing I found annoying is that there really isn't any way to avoid getting soaked...I mean, I understand that thats kinda the point. But I think it would increase the suspense if there was at least a chance that you could avoid getting soaked. The way it is now, if you ride it at all you will be thoroughly drenched by the time you get off it. There is no chance to avoid it.

 

The line is camouflaged with landscaping to make it look shorter than it is. Very clever actually...the first time I rode it was with a friend who hates long lines. You never really see how long the queue is until you get to the end. We thought we'd be in line 10 minutes or so...over an hour later we finally got on the ride. He wasn't happy, heh heh

 

As far as landscaping goes, I like Lakeside a lot better than Elitches. It has an old-school feel to it. I went there recently and found it to be far less ghetto than people told me it was...it feels a lot like the old Elitches. Lots of trees, next to a big lake, with a great view of the mountains. The rides are not as nearly as intense as Elitches; the Cyclone was down, but the Wild Chipmunk (a steel wild mouse coaster) was just as cool as I remember. Other than that, the other rides are basically old-school carnival stuff. I loved the retro 60s-theme-park atmosphere there.

 

I really like the location of the park with all the other attractions within walking distance (Aquarium, REI, Centennial Gardens, Pepsi Center and downtown).

I live downtown, and I gotta admit, it is pretty cool. Off the top of my head I cant think of any other downtown theme parks (I'm sure there are some though).

 

 

EG really just doesn't have a star attraction, unless you count Mind Eraser.

The Boomarang counts I think...that ride is better than the Mind Eraser IMO. I still haven't tried the half pipe yet, but I plan to this weekend.

 

The Mind Eraser was fun, but really bumpy and uncomfortable. And the line is always long, even on slow days.

 

 

I honestly am still a huge fan of Half Pipe but the downtime seems pretty extreme again this year...

I've been several times, and it has been broken down every time.

 

 

However, I don't think Twister II is the best ride there.

Not even close. Its cool from a nostaliag point of view. But it is pretty tame. They used to have on-ride photos for it, but thats gone this year (maybe they will put it back on later in the year).

 

As for the flying coaster, I actually kinda liked it. I would still ride it if it were working. I rode it years ago once and my glasses almost fell off in the middle of the ride (I know, I should have anticipated that on a ride where you're facing down the whole time)

[ragerunner]

Here are some pics of Disaster Canyon River Rapids Ride at Elitch. It one of the better rapids I have been on.

 

 

Station

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pruje]

Those are great pictures.

 

I was there last weekend...the ride is running now and they changed it a little. It now no longer drenches you at the end.

 

So I might actually ride it again. The line seems faster too...don't know if it is because they have more rafts or what, but I'm not complaining.

 

Saw the half pipe running briefly during the day I was there...but broke down almost immediately again. Rainbow was still broken down and so was the Top Spin, Thunderbolt, and Chaos. The Observation tower was closed (I assume) due to weather, but then, it's always closed. Everything else was working though, and I had a good time. Lots of rain this year = a green green Elitches.

[ragerunner]

Those are great pictures.

 

I was there last weekend...the ride is running now and they changed it a little. It now no longer drenches you at the end.

 

So I might actually ride it again. The line seems faster too...don't know if it is because they have more rafts or what, but I'm not complaining.

 

Saw the half pipe running briefly during the day I was there...but broke down almost immediately again. Rainbow was still broken down and so was the Top Spin, Thunderbolt, and Chaos. The Observation tower was closed (I assume) due to weather, but then, it's always closed. Everything else was working though, and I had a good time. Lots of rain this year = a green green Elitches.

 

I was told by Guest Relations that the Observation tower will not open this year. Thunderbolt, Chaos and the Rainbow have not open so far this year as well. With that said, I have enjoyed all my visit to Elitch this year and hope next year will bring a new coaster or ride. Make sure to check out the Survivor Live show, its actually pretty good.

[HPCrazy]

Very nice pictures there! Too bad it was rainy. They really would have looked nice with blue skies. Lots of great landscaping. Great job!

[Flyingcoasterfreak]

I went to Elitchs on Friday the 24th.

 

It's sad to see the "flying coaster" standing but not operating....

 

Boomerrang is down. Anyone know why?

 

Twister 2 had some faults though out the day

 

Halfpipe was running when i got there and shut down within 30 mins. Reopened around 4pm.

 

ME ran a few empty trains at one point during my visit. Both trains felt very smooth.....

 

Ghostbusters is a nice addition to the park

 

Shake Rattle and Roll had some downtime as well...

 

Sidewinder was a good ride as always.

 

Rainbow was down. That's sad. I love that ride.

 

TOD was running 2 sides. 1 side was missing a OTSR on one seat...

[Flyingcoasterfreak]

It appears that Mind Eraser is down for repairs. Anyone know why?

[christianscoasters]

PARC has not been doing so well lately.

 

http://screamscape.com/html/industry_news.htm#PARC Scroll down about 3/4 of the page. It's under PARC Management.

[Flyingcoasterfreak]

Boomerang opened up at 6pm today. Mind Eraser will be down until Monday if all goes well. Same thing happened last year or the year before......