Elitch Gardens Survival Guide to Taking Small Kids

When we decided to attend my husband's work outing at Elitch Gardens this summer, I searched for tips for taking small kids. Our daughter is 7 and our twin boys are 4. I wanted us to have fun and I, wanted to stay sane. I couldn't find anything. So, I decided I would share what I found out. This is from my experience with small kids at Elitch Gardens in Denver during the summer of 2016.

My daughter is not a thrill seeker. She enjoyed the rides in Kiddieland, but was right near the cutoff on height, which is 54". Next year, this will be a bummer as she likely will not want to ride the big rides yet. My boys had a blast on the mini roller coaster and the bumper cars. They also spent a ton of time in the Goofy Gazebo, where they can shoot and throw foam balls all over the place. It's super loud and a total germ-fest, but it sure made them happy...and tired.

We did enjoy the lazy river in the water park, but the water was too cold and crowded for us to enjoy the other attractions.

The food options are so expensive and not healthy. Huge portions of things your kids will hardly eat, nor should they. Here's what we will do next time. Bring in empty water bottles and fill them up inside. Leave a cooler of food in our car. When it's time to eat, we will get a reentry stamp and go eat at our car. It will give everyone a break and a chance to eat some healthy food. We will spend our money on ice cream or smoothies as a fun treat!