Heritage Square

It is so expensive to go to the fancy new amusement parks. Who has $38 per adult and $28 per child to go to Elitches Gardens (http://elitchgardens.com/plan-a-visit/tickets/)? Who has a 3 to 6 year old that they are willing to risk 28 bucks on in hopes that they'll make it more than 45 minutes in a hot, crowded, spilled pop/beer concrete floored megaland? Not me! Elitches really missed the boat when they moved from there quaint little area in a quiet Denver neighborhood to the middle of downtown Denver. When I was a kid, my parents got in to Elitches for $0.75 (yes, 75 cents) a person and gave each of us kids $5.00 in tickets to ride rides and to play a few games. My mom would pack leftover fried chicken, some chips, and bring in a jug full of koolaid. We'd eat our picnic dinner in the beautiful OLD Elitches Gardens, next to beautiful flowers, while listening to some local band. It was a rite of summer that we all looked forward to. There is no way a family could have that same experience at Elitches today. You can't bring in your own food, it'd cost a family of four $132 just to get into the park and God only knows how much it'd be to feed them.

Today, the only Denver Metro area you can get that experience with is at the Heritage Square Amusement Park (http://www.heritagesquare.info/rides.htm). Admission is free, you can pay for rides "by the ticket", you can bring your food, the scenery is amazing (you've got the beautiful Red Rocks and Morrison formations as a backdrop). There are rides of little ones and an amazing alpine ride experience for your older kids. The view from the top of the Ferris wheel is amazing. There's a quaint little train that circles the park and is a great way to wind down the little ones before leaving the park. Being able to ride "by the ticket" is a wonderful option for those of us with little ones; if your little angel has a meltdown 20 minutes into your outing, no big deal. Just hold onto the un-used tickets until your next visit as the tickets never expire. Definitely, if you want a casual, no-stress, but fun amusement park adventure, especially if you have little ones, Heritage Square is the place to go.