PTR: larrygator coasts across the Continental Divide

[gp1086]

Awesome trip report! I actually wasn't familiar with some of these parks. Thanks for sharing!

[Philrad71]

Nice report, Larry...thanks for sharing!

 

Lagoon is also high on my list and I was just checking Glenwood's website last week because we're planning a trip out west in our rv next summer. I'd love to check that park out during our trip. That Screamin Swing....oh man!

[larrygator]

Nice report, Larry...thanks for sharing!

 

Lagoon is also high on my list and I was just checking Glenwood's website last week because we're planning a trip out west in our rv next summer. I'd love to check that park out during our trip. That Screamin Swing....oh man!

 

Phil - In Glenwood Springs there is a German restaurant that was recommended to me (Rosi's), but their opening hours were not convenient for me.

[larrygator]

On the fourth day of the trip I started out the day visiting Elitch Gardens for 3 hours. I don't read much about this park and I was expecting and run down park with poor operations and devoid of big thrills. After my time there I was impressed with the aesthetics of the park, operations were better than average but the park does lack thrills. As many people know this is one of the few American parks within city limits and some people use that as an excuse. But I can't give a park a pass on that as I've seen quite a few European parks in cities embrace their limited space and better maximize it.

 

One area I thought the park stood out is with food and drink. They were varied food offerings, especially in the food court. The park also caters to the beer drinker with season long refill discounts, variety of local brews and a nice area to congregate. The party deck had already gathered a decent sized crowd by 1PM.

The front entrance

The enclosed arcade

and Main Street all look great

so does the carousel

Loved their breakdance and they ran a long cycle at a great speed

I was clearly mistaken coming in with the impression that park wasn't upkept, everything looked great

I took a few hours to get Half Pipe running. I thought it would be my favorite ride, but that hump that prevents small children from sliding under the restraint was not kind to my boys

Twister II - It looks nice

I can see the rapids from the top of Sidewinder

Noted

Panda Express's menu was bigger than their limited offerings at SFNE

This would have been my lunch spot...if it was open

But this food court offers a lot of variety

My gun didn't quite work right

Probably a good deal for the return visitor (Sorry I though a took a picture of all the beer offerings but I can't find it)

Chad can rejoice, because they have Blue Moon. Others can rejoice because the Party Deck is for all beer drinkers.

For those looking for something a bit stronger

One last thing I really liked about the park was the abundance of these giant shade umbrellas along the walkways.

I did not take a picture of this squirrel just to get in Elissa's good graces. I found his food choice interesting.

He his eating an oreo

[ImNotOneOfYou]

I've been wanting to go to Glenwood Springs for the Screamin' Swing, but now the Canyon Flyers is another reason for me to go

[larrygator]

I'm traveling tomorrow but I'm still going to try to post Lakeside Amusement Park by tomorrow night. In the meantime here are some theme park related postcards I picked up the the Mile High Flea Market. Yes I went there to ride their coaster, because it was cheap and not very far out of the way.

 

I also picked up two packs of postcards that each have 12 scenes. One is from Disneyland's POTC, the other is LaRonde as it looked during Expo 67. I might copy them in the future if I have time.

I practically forgot to take a picture of the coaster

[Philrad71]

Nice report, Larry...thanks for sharing!

 

Lagoon is also high on my list and I was just checking Glenwood's website last week because we're planning a trip out west in our rv next summer. I'd love to check that park out during our trip. That Screamin Swing....oh man!

 

Phil - In Glenwood Springs there is a German restaurant that was recommended to me (Rosi's), but their opening hours were not convenient for me.

 

Oh, I'll have to remember that!

 

And any park that caters to beer enthusiasts is a park that I must visit, despite their lack of a decent coaster!

 

Looking forward to Lakeside as that is a park that we used to always drive by on our way to Vegas every year - but never had time to stop.

[prozach626]

Elitch Gardens looked pretty nice. I don't think I'd go out of my way for a visit, but if it were on the way somewhere or near where I was visiting it would be a must stop.

 

 

And any park that caters to beer enthusiasts is a park that I must visit, despite their lack of a decent coaster!

Amen to that, brother.

[Philrad71]

That $5.99 deal is not too shabby considering most places nail you for at least $8 for a 12 oz beer.

 

I would love to see other parks do this, but then again I could see how it could backfire once people that can't handle their alcohol start acting like asshats.

[Coastinmiller]

Zippin Pippin (Bay Beach)

Gold Striker (CGA)

Lightning Rod (DW)

White Lightning (Fun Spot)

Goliath (SFGAm)

Roar-o-saurus (Story Land)

Switchback (ZDT)

Kiddie Coaster (Rye Playland)

Classic Coaster (Washington State Fair)

 

I don't really count the last two

Not to highjack thread, just making comment in regards to you facebook comment earlier in the month, but you travel the same if not more than I . I have 10 wood left in US, with a lot being same, maybe time for us to get em together?!?!

Gold Striker (CGA)

NM Rattler (cliff's)

Boardwalk Bullet (Kemah)

Kiddie coaster (Rye) We can both cry the blues to get on together!

Outlaw Run (SDC)

Goliath (SFGam)

American thunder (SFStl)

Cannonball Run (Waterviller)

Cheetah (Wild Adven)

Switchback (ZDT's)

 

Great pics on train too. Cost worth it?

[larrygator]

Great pics on train too. Cost worth it?

 

I think the train was about $40 from SLC to Glenwood Springs and $60 for the Glenwood Springs to Denver leg, for $100 total. For me traveling solo, and planning the stop in Glenwood Springs it was worth it.

 

I saved three days in car rental fees, one night of a hotel, 15 gallons of gas and most importantly 12 hours in driving time, which become 12 hours of rest.

 

That's not factoring in either driving the car back to Salt Lake City or paying the ridiculous drop-off charge.

[coasterbill]

Great report so far. I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[larrygator]

Lakeside Is a park I always wanted to visit because of the architecture and neon. I was not expecting much out of the rides. I purposely planned my stop on a weeknight, since the main rides are only open at night on weekdays. I wanted to force myself to see everything at night. Admission to the park is very reasonable $3 per person to enter and $16 for an adult wristband. The park owner continues to follow her father's philosophy of keeping the park affordable for everyone

 

The park was mildly crowded, but many people were just sitting around in the picnic areas as daytime parties wound down. Cyclone was the only ride that had any wait (2-3 train cycles). Wild Chipmunk and Spider were down for repairs. Zoom (Drop Tower) never opened when I was there.

 

The park does look great at night, but in the daytime the cracks in the beauty show like a cougar without her make-up.

 

I ended up accidentally deleting a lot of photos so this will be light.

Cyclone was a little on the rough side and wasn't counter balanced by any thrilling moments like other aggressive woodies that I enjoy

There was no charge to play the follow the duck game

One of those areas that can definitely use some work. Since you can't move the tree, move the sidewalk (since no one uses it)

The neon livens up the rides at night like the 1908 Parker Carousel

More neon

I missed a credit. I'll live.

The Whip runs well, with proper whipping action, but not as violent as Camden and Rye. You can see in this photos how much the vehicles move and close in on each other.

The Starride has not operated for decades, and is quite an eyesore in my opinion

Always a fun ride

Another popular ride that runs well

Again more nice architecture at park, the train station

And here is the locomotive that pulls you around Scenic Lake Rhoda. The lake is named after the current owner, by her father when he bought the park.

Unfortunately the 20 minute train ride is not that scenic

I was at least hoping to get better pictures of the park

Looking away from the park there wasn't much scenery to see

I ended the night driving up to Boulder for Pizzeria Locale and sat at the pizza bar.

I got one of their signature pies the Maiale which has fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and parmigiano reggiano I had them hold the arugula.

So good, I went back on Sunday for lunch, this is their regular margherita pizza.

Edited July 29, 2016 by larrygator

[bert425]

the pizza looks good, but love the neon at the park!

 

worth going just for that!

[larrygator]

the pizza looks good, but love the neon at the park!

 

worth going just for that!

 

The bottom crust was a little burnt, but the pizza was incredible. The make bar size pizzas for one. It was about $18 for the specialty pizza. But Sunday they had a lunch special so you could get a drink and salad with the margherita pie for the same price as the margherita pie alone. I passed on the salad and they were kind enough to put reggiano on my pie at no charge.

[cfc]

I love the old-school neon signs, but it's a pity Lakeside isn't in better shape.

[coasterferg]

I love Lakeside, I much prefer it over Elitch's. It does definitely have an "agedness" to it I find it to be part of the charm. Unless its changed the park is open til Midnight on the weekends so you can get a good 3-4 hours of quality dark time on the weekends and the park is beautiful.

 

Here are a few night photos I took a few years ago.

[Nrthwnd]

I like the name SKOOTA BOATS.

[daveydo5172]

Say what you want about Cyclone, for being one of the oldest roller coasters, I think it has held up quite nicely and still offers a fun ride

[daveydo5172]

When I first rode that coaster back in the 1970's, there were no seat belts(and still no lap bars), which made it somewhat frightening

[Philrad71]

The park does look great at night, but in the daytime the cracks in the beauty show like a cougar without her make-up.

 

 

The park certainly looks to be a bit beat up - almost like a Conneaut Lake West.

 

Well, maybe not THAT beat up!

[larrygator]

So my last day was supposed to consist of credit whoring and sightseeing. In the end I did not get to all sights I wanted, nor did I make all the coasters. The plan was to visit the Amusement Park at Heritage Square, the mountain coaster at Breckenridge, then City Park in Pueblo and finally Santa's Workshop along with a visit the Garden of the Gods and the Air Force Academy. As I ran into a lot of traffic issues, I decided to cut out the least excited and expensive kiddie coaster by skipping Santa's Workshop and Garden of the Gods.

 

The Amusement Park at Heritage Square was set up very nicely, I expected it to be rundown after the commercial/entertainment side of the Heritage Square is no more.

 

As many of you have noticed I'm a big fan of mountain coaster, although this one is pricey. City Park in Pueblo holds a lot of history and is one of only a handful of parks run by local governments in the US. It only cost fifty cents to ride the coaster (other rides are only $0.25), but I bought $5 in tickets and gave away the remainder to a family waiting in line for more tickets.

 

What many people don't know about me is that I almost attended the US Air Force Academy, so it was nice to finally see the campus. Also, Colorado Springs has awesome hole-in-the-wall food places.

They have the some classics at Heritage Square

Like the Tilt-a-Whirl

Ferris Wheel

But none of this is why I'm here

The awe inspiring Python Pit

and the incomparable Miner Mike

After a much longer than necessary drive, thanks to traffic, I got another gondola ride to the Gold Runner Coaster at Breckenridge.

and then encountered a ridiculous line

It is a Weigand model and I've grown to like the ADG models a little more.

One of the signs that tells the story of Pueblo's acquired classic CW Parker Carousel

They are proud of their carousel

Here's the credits I drove all this way to ride.

The only other ride at City Park capable of holding adults

The city keeps captured gnomes inside of trees to starve them out

The park had some neat jigsaw puzzles mounted on the wall.

I may have to search the internet to find one for myself.

This a Azada Mexican Grill, great homemade mexican food in Colorado Springs

nom! nom! nom! fresh Carne Asada Tacos

Edited August 1, 2016 by larrygator

[cfc]

Mmmm . . . carne asada and carnitas . . . o-o-o-o-o-o . . .