Elitch Gardens Park Research
Park History Elitch Gardens opened in 1890, 30 years a er the founding of Denver, Colorado, as a botanical and zoological garden and entertaining grounds. Run by the Elitch family, the gardens began as the first zoo west of Chicago, as well as Denver’s first symphony orchestra home, botanic garden, movie theatre, and children’s museum. Elitch Gardens began transitioning into an amusement park with purchase by John Mulvihill in 1916, who installed a carousel, ferris wheel, kiddie park, and the wooden coaster Mister Twister, which claimed to have no straight track. The carousel is still operational, and the coaster layout is retained in the current wooden coaster. In 1994, Elitch Gardens underwent relocation to downtown Denver, completed in 1995 with a wooden coaster, Twister II, and an Arrow launched loop steel coaster, Sidewinder. One year later, Premier Parks acquired Elitch Gardens, and began a large-scale improvement plan, which gave the park a Vekoma SLC, Mind Eraser, as well as a water park. Premier Parks purchased Six Flags in 1998, and so expanded the brand to their holdings, including the renamed Six Flags Elitch Gardens. This expanded their coaster lineup with a Vekoma boomerang, Boomerang, in 1999, and an Intamin half-pipe coaster, Half-Pipe, in 2004--currently the only one in North America. In 2007, CNL Properties/PARC picked up Six Flags parks being sold, including the re- rebranded Elitch Gardens. The park changed hands again in 2011, with Herschend Family Entertainment assuming management. http://elitchgardens.com/visit/park-history/
Coasters
Name Opened Type Manufacturer Height (ft) Inversions
Helsel Phelps Twister II 1995 Wood 100 0 Construction Co.
Sidewinder 1995 Steel Arrow Dynamics 56 1 (2)
Mind Eraser 1997 Steel Vekoma 109.3 5
Boomerang 1999 Steel Vekoma 116.5 3 (6)
Half Pipe 2004 Steel Intamin AG 98.4 0 Coaster analysis The park has a decent offering of many rides, with a solid wooden coaster, many standard rides, and unique ride experiences. The weakest point would be lack of a headliner steel coaster, akin to a solid B&M or Intamin coaster more than the easily reproduced Vekoma rides. The park would benefit from this addition, to help tie the park rides together. Station/Brake run Li Hill - Height 125 Inversion - First is zero-G roll, second is corkscrew. Block Brake Half-pipe - 3 90º bank turns Helix