the DENVER thread

nik, quit telling me I have dope eyes - it makes kelly jealous

haha rocky mountain man hands

Lakeside is THE BEST - me, chenille reynolds, mergaypeters and gunther heartymeal all went there last weekend - we stood in line for AGES to go on 'flight to mars" which was probably the saddest amusement park ride i've ever been on

>Lakeside is THE BEST - me, chenille reynolds, mergaypeters and gunther heartymeal all went there last weekend - we stood in line for AGES to go on 'flight to mars" which was probably the saddest amusement park ride i've ever been on<

Lakeside is sad during the day, because you can see the wear and tear that the park has been through. There's the closed Staride (which Rhoda, the owner, doesn't want to part with for whatever reason, and thus keeps in its place), the peeling paint on the Cyclone, the faded Roundup (most exciting ride in the world!), etc. Then, you go at night, and all the neon and 30s architecture works its magic. Plus the rides there are actually good (Cyclone is fun, the Wild Chipmunk is a classic wild mouse, the whip and flyers are in good shape, it has one of the best park trains in existence etc).

Elitch's is just a total dump. Its flat, architecturally uninspired, filled with generic rides that can be found everywhere else in the world; not a single ride in the entirety of the park is an original or custom model. And they're not run particularly well either. Twister II, the redo of the original that sat at the original Elitch's, is utter garbage; a perennial cellar pick on every coaster poll ever done. Its especially sad considering that the original was considered to be one of the best rides on the planet. The food costs $10 for a hotdog, fries, and a coke. The whole place is surrounded by parking lot, railyard, and a river. There's only one admission price for adults, so if you go, you better want to go on rides (Lakeside? Its a $1 to get in, then tickets or wristband should you want to go on stuff). Its everything Lakeside isn't, and the world needs a lot less Elitch's and a lot more Lakesides.

yeah, I can't ever see myself going to Elitch's - maybe if it was the old dumpy Elitch's I'd consider it

I've heard nothing but good things about the old Elitch's. It actually had gardens (the new Six Flagsized version has a flower clock, and that's about it), had unique rides, had personality, all that. Then the owners at the time decided to move the park. Initally, they wanted to move to a larger location. Then the city offered them a prime spot downtown with tons of tax breaks to help in revitalization. Only catch: it was actually SMALLER than their old location. The family decided then to get out of the game and move the park anyways, sell it after construction and opening, and then cut with the money. They did just that. Premier Parks (now Six Flags) entered the picture, bought the park with money they didn't have, upgraded it with more money they didn't have, and that's where we stand today.

At least the mexican community around Lakeside populates the park enough to keep the business up. Rhoda also owns a lot of real estate, and the park is her hobby. The fear though is exactly what will take place once she dies (as the land the park is on is prime for condos, and lacks expansion space for a major chain to be interested).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v13/side_view/brightlights.jpg
Lakeside Rules!
I don't think I've ever even been to the new Elitch's, but I do miss that rainbow ride.

Hmm well if Rhoda wants to leave the park to ME when she dies, I will do my best to preserve the state of the place

I just took a sweaty nap in my car, ugh, i feel awful now

I know the burrito talk is over, and it's not even really Mexican food, but I love me some Illegal Pete's. Go Colorado.

mmm i love me some illegal pete's, too. now im hungry!

this might be weird, but i prefer the illegal pete's in denver over the one in boulder. gotta love those potato burritos!!!

I've never actually been to the one in Denver (there are 2 in Boulder). How is it better?

I have never been to lakeside, I do remember the last time I went to Elitches, though. It was with Melinda and Scott Beiser, and it was nighttime and raining and for some reason that made the whole experience creepy in a fun way.

FYI only Mand and Kell know who Melinda and Scott are (and will subsequently be the only ones who find this story of interest, I do declare).

Elitch's is great - I've had me plenty of good times there, especially on that ride they strap you together with a couple other people and drop you on the biggest swing/bungee cord thing ever - but only if you're not paying for any of it. Then it's just depressing.

les, I DID find that story interesting because I forgot that SCOTT BEISER EXISTED.

And, I LOVE LAKESIDE. It is the best place to take pictures.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y285/keckles/09_05_1.png

who is scott beiser again?

im so glad the denver thread stayed alive - we owe it all to adam.

Is Lakeside the park that looks like it's been closed for forty years?

Does that mean you BROKE IN?

how can you mean it looks closed? it's all lit up 'n' shit!

ally c we paid admission of two dollars APIECE

That is as dopey as Kelly's eyes.

lemin, my preference is based on one experience eating at the boulder version -- they didn't cook the potatoes long enough! hopefully they have a different DUDE back there now.

on a more current note, a woman told kelly her eyes were STRIKING. do you guys think that means she was referring to striking GOLD when she peeped into her eyes or that lightning had STRUCK when she looked at them?

I like the Wright family and I DO NOT EVEN KNOW THEM.

I will post like they do because it IS AWESOME?!?!!!!!!

1. Not really. Except maybe some people on their way to ASPEN!

I used to live there! Quite recently, in fact!

...I miss Colorado.

Mand, you don't remember the Beiser brothers down in bittersweet? Eric, Scott and, and.. I forget the other's name. Anyway, Melinda was dating Scott, who was my age and TOTALLY had a hunch back. And we all went to Elitches together.

I didn't know there was a Wright family style of posting, though. What does the style entail?

Maybe we should talk about "Things to do in denver when your dead" in this thread.
But I haven't seen it, I just know it has the word Denver in the title.

I have a theory that Chenille Reynolds and mergaypeters are not real people but alter-egos of Mandee's.

"things to do in Denver when you're dead" is ok--Denver atmospherics. I saw it for the first time after I moved away and I was all, "aw, Colfax Ave!"

And Christopher Walken's in it, always a plus point. Although, he doesn't dance at all if I remember rightly.

No, he would be in a wheelchair in that one.

hey!!
I'm a real person....and have real feelings too!
A lot of them happen to be about food and Denver.

Excellent eggs!

i'm real, too! in fact, mandee and i lived together at THE JERK. ask the nipper, he stayed there once. or twice.

part two of my IN FACT -- here's a picture of our former bathroom.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a310/hereisthenews/thebathroom.jpg

Aah - the Jerk's bathroom. How I miss thee! But not the beetles.

Garcia, A is good in the Denver movie.

Oddly, my fondest memory of CO is... BITTERSWEET 4. An album title waiting to happen.

Chenille is Mandee's former roomie and MerGay is Kelly's former roomie. FORMER, which I think means that as roomies they left a lot to be desired. But then Mandee and Kelly don't live with me anymore either so who am I to judge?

BITTERSWEET 4 is a bank now.

My daughter tells be that Lakeside was called Elitch, in the time before Six Flags Elitch Gardens.

Elitches and Lakeside have always been two seperate parks, as far as I know. Even in the "old Elitches" time before they built the new downtown park.

Maybe I'm mixed up about which I saw. Where was/is the old Elitch?

Lakeside and Elitch's were fairly close together, but were entirely different parks. By close together, I mean like a 5-10 minute drive. The new Elitch's opened in 1995 and was sold within a year to Premier Parks.

(part of the justification for building in a smaller location than the original was that amusement rides in the future would be simulator based. of course, this never came close to reality, and this Six Flags is stuck buying rides with tiny footprints, or just not buying rides at all)

(and the original location for Elitch's was W38th and Tennyson. Lakeside is on Sheridan Boulevard)

after growing up near cedar point i can't get into elitch's. cedar point is the only reason to go to ohio. there are other reasons to come to colorado.

yeah, but that's why there's Lakeside! Lakeside! Lakeside after dark > every other park in North America. And this is from someone for whom Cedar Point paid his bills at one time.

Is the original Elitch's still standing?

The original Elitch's was bulldozed in 1999 and replaced with condos. There was a lot of work to try and move the Twister, as it was a classic of a ride, but the large footprint, the increasingly dilapidated structure as years passed without maintenance, and the fact that it intertwined with the parks other wood coaster, the Wildcat, basically doomed it. Another attempt at rebuilding the Twister was put up at Knoebels, a family run park in PA that's become legendary for being a halfway house of sorts for some of the best rides ever built once their mother parks close down. However, the third attempt, while better than the Twister II that stands in downtown, doesn't match the original. It has a strong first half, but peters out after going through the signature double helix and doesn't do a whole lot of anything.

The old Elitch's stood for a while and I wish I coulda seen it one last time before it got bulldozed. As for Cedar Point... I don't know. When I went there the lines were sooo long, and it was sooo hot/humid, and the people were sooo "Ohio" (I lived in Ohio for two years and don't know how I can describe them except to say "Ohio", which basically means they seemed culture-less, driftless, bland as oatmeal, and had a slightly trashy tinge). Plus when we were driving back on I-80 some freakazoid tornado or massive lake gale or something just about blew my car off the road and it sort of tainted the whole experience. Obviously Cedar Point is a superior park, but it just doesn't have the sentimental value of the old Elitch's for me.

And I still haven't been to Lakeside.

My parents tell me that they have fond memories of Elitch's Gardens, but given that the last time we visited the Gardens as a family was in 1956, a return trip would likely prove disappointing to them. We are going to see a movie about penguins instead.

I don't remember Elitch's from 1956, when I was two, in fact remember nothing about Denver 1956 except for ICE CREAM!

Huh. The penguins were playing last week at Landmark Chez Artiste on Colorado Blvd., where we saw "Grizzly Man" with our daughter.

(Apparently it was Lakeside we drove past at one point, btw, but it was at midday, and it look pretty dilapidated.)

"...looked..."

Lakeside and Elitch's were fairly close together, but were entirely different parks. By close together, I mean like a 5-10 minute drive.

More like a 5-10 minute walk, they were about 10 blocks apart.

>(Apparently it was Lakeside we drove past at one point, btw, but it was at midday, and it look pretty dilapidated.)<

Like I said above: Lakeside during the day is sad. Lakeside at night is a more attractive park than Tivoli Gardens at night. Which is to say, its really, really, really nice looking. The art deco with neon looks outstanding.

(for those reading in the northeast, a similar, albiet far more expensive and more visited/better maintained example of a similar facility would be Rye Playland, just outside NYC)

Home of the DRAGON COASTER and formerly, the MONSTER MOUSE!

My heart broke when I was too short to ride the Dragon Coaster.