Lakeside Review - Part 1

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Well, I had my first trip to Lakeside today since I was a child. I barely remember it from the first time around because it was so long ago...right after my family moved to Denver. I only rode one ride today. Mostly I just wanted to check out the Park and take pictures of the Neon to show friends and family and convince them to check out the Park too.

A view of the mountains at dusk

For those of you who don't know, Denver has two major theme parks, Lakeside and Elitches. Both Parks have been in Denver a very long time, but Elitches, which used to be in the same area as Lakeside, moved to a location next to Downtown in the 90s. Lakeside is at I-70 and Sheridan next to one of several big lakes along I-70...about half way between the mountains and downtown. While Elitches has a great view of downtown, Lakeside has just awesome mountain views framed by the lake.

Examples of some of the Landscaping and small parks

I am going to be comparing the two a lot in this post. Honestly, between the two I personally prefer Lakeside now even though I have a season pass to Elitches and still go there several times a year. I like both, but I prefer the atmosphere of Lakeside. It is a very traditional theme park with lots of art-deco styling on the buildings, and lots of 50s neon everywhere.

Elitches received a huge infusion of cash during the move, and because of that, Lakeside is often viewed as the "ghetto" park of the two. So I was kind of bracing myself for the worst. However I was pleasantly surprised that while the Park is definitely low-rent (not necessarily a bad thing, see below), it is actually pretty normal. I saw lots of kids and families; surprisingly, they greatly outnumbered the teenagers and the atmosphere was more relaxed than Elitches is at night. Based on what I had been told, I was expecting the opposite, but Lakeside seems a lot more family friendly than Elitches. It reminded my of what Elitches used to be like in the 80s before it went all "Disney" and corporate. But if you are looking for intense rides, Elitches has much better ones. Lakeside's real strong point is it's atmosphere and classic rides.

The coolest ticket booth in the park...50s futuristic that looks like something out of the Jetsons. This one was originally the booth for the Wild Chipmunk coaster

The Park itself looks very retro, like something from the 50s or 60s. The landscaping is what you would expect from a mid-range theme park of that era. It isn't as meticulous and manicured as Elitches, but there is lots of greenery, and lots of big trees. While the landscaping isn't neatly trimmed, it also isn't overgrown with weeds and looks well maintained. It was also very clean, as I didn't see any trash in the park (except in the bathrooms, which were pretty bad, but not that much worse than Elitches). In a lot of ways, it feels like a real park; there are paths and benches and picnic tables everywhere (retro ones, like everything else). Yes, you can bring in your own food and picnic in the park, just like you used to be able to do at Elitches. They also have food for sale in the park that (gasp) is real theme park type food and not branded mall crap like Panda Express or Burger King or whatever. While the concession food is a mixed bag, I had what is probably the best burger I have had this year. Grilled and greasy like only low-rent burgers can be. Certainly better than anything I have had at Elitches so far.

The Matterhorn, Lakeside's Elaborate Alpine Bobs ride

Prices are pretty reasonable. There is a $2.50 admission fee which includes parking and a 50 cent voucher good for one ride ticket or towards the purchase of an unlimited pass. The parking is free...the $2.50 is for admission, not Parking. If you bring in your own food and don't plan on riding anything, then 2.50 is all you have to pay all day (by contrast, you cant get into Elitches for less than $40, even if you ride nothing). The Park follows a hybrid model of unlimited daily passes or old-fashioned tickets (where you buy tickets at booths in the park and use them to "pay" per ride). Most rides range between $1 and $2. The unlimited pass is about $18, and allows unlimited rides all day (it is only $14 weekdays, due to shorter hours). My one real complaint is that Lakeside doesn't offer a season pass. While Elitches hours seem to be shifted towards daytime (they close at 9pm during most of the season), Lakeside seems shifted towards the night time (they close most days at 10:30 or 11pm, depending on how busy it is). Be warned that the admission gates often close several house before that.

A Classic Whip, with a Neon enhanced roof

In the course of taking these pictures, I was stopped and questioned by a lady who I suspect is one of the owners, or at least part of the upper management (I'll refer to her as "Admin Lady" for the rest of this post). They found it suspicious that I was taking pictures of stuff most people don't (like the paths and tables and whatever). Lakeside has apparently been portrayed negatively in local media as a "has been" run down park. Once I convinced her that I had no intention of portraying the park negatively (quite the opposite actually, though I'm not sure how she could have known otherwise either way...would someone trying to write a negative review of the Park admit it?) she was happy to answer some questions I had. They are planning some additions and upgrades in the future, which hopefully includes "The Riviera"...a really cool Vegas-esque restaurant bordering the lake. Admin Lady said they had some ideas of what they might do with it, and I really hope they follow through, as it would be really cool to have an adult-oriented area like that in the Park.

Ok, on to the rides. Lakeside doesn't have the high-end thrill rides Elitches does. There is no analog to the Mind Eraser here...the Cyclone (a full sized wooden coaster) and the Chipmunk (a steel Wild Mouse coaster) are probably the most intense rides in the park. The first thing I noticed is that almost all the rides have the original neon signs. You wouldn't think that this would be such a big deal, but thats something I really missed at Elitches. Everything seems stripped down and re-branded and generic there now. Here every ride has working neon lights, full sized (presumably original) custom ticket booths, and neon signs. The ticket booths are wild...they all look like something out of the 50s, and although very few of them are actually being used (according to Wikipedia they are used for storage now), they all look like they are in mint condition. They really add to the park, and I'm glad the management decided to hold onto them even though they aren't used anymore.

Too bad the Cyclone was down...but the Art Deco Neon sign just looks cool

1 - The Cyclone - This is the alpha coaster in the Park, but was down for maintenance while I was there. I asked Admin Lady about it, and she said they were hoping to have it fixed soon, but she didn't know when. The Neon was working though, and it looks like something out of "Xanadu". Which is to say, very cool. Admin Lady confirmed it originated from the 40s. Since I havnt ridden this coaster since I was a kid, I cant accurately say how good it is. But internet opinions seem to be unanimous that it is much better than the Twister II, the Elitches wooden coaster.

The sign is animated

2 - Wild Chipmunk - By far my favorite ride in the park, and (as far as I know) the only Wild Mouse coaster within hundreds of miles of Denver. I like this ride because while it is intense, it isn't so intense that you cant see everything. It has a lot of very tight turns that make you feel like you are going to fall off the track. The cars theoretically seat one to four people, but almost everyone I saw riding it went one to a car. There is no seatbelt or anything. It basically feels like rolling along a high track in a shopping cart. The vertical Gs aren't really enough to require a restraints though, and the car is deep enough that lateral Gs aren't a danger either. This was the only ride I actually rode today.

3 - Carousel - This ride was always busy, and looks like it'd be more fun than the one at Elitches, though the Elitches one is far more elaborate. It borders on the main park area and has a good view of the lake.

Bumper Boats

4 - Skoota Boats - aka "Bumper Boats"...probably the coolest looking ride in the park in my opinion. This was once part of a "Shoot the chutes" ride (which is like the Splash-boat ride at Elitches). I personally like this better. Great Neon effects all over it. It is basically a water version of bumper cars with circular boats.

5 - Autoscooter - Basically a version of Bumper Cars. Elitches used to have a Bumper Car ride as well, but it was significantly inferior to this one. Like the Bumper Boat ride, this one is also stylized and has neon that looks like something straight out of the 50s.

6 - Whip - Similar to the Tilt a Whirl, but on an elliptical track. This one also had a lot of neon in a custom enclosure and roof.

7 - The Matterhorn - A themed "Alpine Bobs" ride. Much much better than the one at Elitches. More elaborate graphics and fully working lights.

8 - Hurricane - What looks like a Bisch Rocco "Flying Skooters" ride. Two of the cars were missing, but it otherwise was running and looked like it was in good shape.

Spider Ride

9 - The Spider - An Eyerly Spider ride with original green Neon. And what I assume to be a custom neon sign...very very cool. As a kid this was one of my favorite flat rides. Elitches has one as well, though it is significantly inferior to the Lakeside model (no neon, and many of the lights are burned out). This one is in great condition.

10 - Speed Boats - This ride was inactive while I was there. Admin Lady told me it was basically wooden speed boats you could take out into the lake. I really hope they decide to fix this ride in the future.

The bridge leads to a small section across the train tracks bordering the actual lake

11 - Sports Cars - Basically a small elliptical Go Cart Track. It borders the lake and has cool neon signs...there's a bridge you can take that goes up and over the train track. It's little stuff like this that makes the park seem so neat to me.

12 - Satellite Jet - An original 50s-era Kasper Klaus Satellite Jet ride with fully working neon. The ride itself wasn't active while I was there, although it's neon was turned on. It is next to the Sports Cars ride, and accessible by the same bridge.

13 - Rock O Plane - An Eyerly ride that looks like a Ferris Wheel with rocking cars similar to the ones on the Zipper. Also in the same area next to the lake with the Satellite Jet and Sports Cars rides. This one was active while I was there. It also has fully functional original neon.

This is a Loop o Plane ride, despite what the sign says...

14 - The Miniature Train - This is a train that goes all the way around the lake (I didn't get a chance to ride it today, but it looks like it would be a nice long ride...the lake is fairly large). There are three trains (two steam and one diesel) though I only saw the Diesel one while I was there. It was packed too..every seat was full.

15 - The Dragon - A Zamperla Junior coaster. It wasn't working while I was there.

16 - The Flying Dutchman - An Intamin Flying Dutchman, which was not in operation while I was there.

This is the "Real" Round Up

17 - Heart Flip - A Grover Watkins Heart Flip ride. This is the only one I have ever seen. I got some pictures of it, but they came out blurry. The link doesn't show it at night, and it does look pretty flashy. All the lights were working.

18 - Ferris Wheel - Cool Neon, but otherwise unremarkable. The one at Elitches is better, a lot larger, and more elaborate.

The Zoom

19 - The Zoom - A "drop zone"-type ride (which I like to call "Tower of Zoom"). I don't know which company makes it though. It is not nearly as high as the Tower of Doom at Elitches (this one is 140 feet), and doesn't seat as many people. But it has blue and orange lights at night and looks really cool. Unfortunately, the pictures I took at night didn't come out well, but the lights at night look really good on this ride.

20 - Scrambler - A classic Scrambler Ride, which looks almost identical to the one in Roller Coaster Tycoon, complete with fully working Neon and the original sign.

A Scrambler, right out of Roller Coaster Tycoon

21 - Crystal Palace - Basically a small house of mirrors. I think it's free. I didn't get a chance to try it out though.

22 - Loop O Plane - This also had a Round Up sign for some reason, but this is an Eyerly Loop-O-Plane ride. It looks like a single-person version of the Kamakaze. It had full neon on the ride, but the only sign was for the Round Up. It actually looked pretty fun.

Tilt a Whirl, in it's Neon glory

23 - Round Up - A Hrubetz centrifuge ride that Elitches used to have as well. This one is well lit with lots of neon and in perfect condition.

24 - Tilt-a-Whirl - Check out the neon. This one looked like it was much better maintained than the one at Elitches. Paint was immaculate and all the lights were all working.

A - The Riviera - This was originally a ballroom, and eventually had a lounge installed as well. Right now it is closed down. All you can see is a building with a cool 50s-style Vegas-esque sign. I was afraid that they were going to tear it down, but Admin Lady assured me they have plans for it.

B - Pony Rides? - This is a remote and overgrown area in the corner by the parking lot that looks like it was once used for Pony Rides...it has a circular steel-fenced track over grass. Stuff like that would be a cool addition to the park I think. What ever happened to petting zoos? Admin Lady said they have no plans to do anything with it at the moment.

C - Main Entrance - This is the main entrance to the park that borders Sheridan. It is inside the big tower that is probably the most photographed part of the Park.

D - Dead Ferris Wheel - This looks like it used to be a really cool Ferris Wheel. It is not very big, and has no cars. I don't know if they are going to remove it or restore it, but I hope its the latter. Even though it is not very big, I think it would add a lot to the atmosphere of the park.

I will be following this up with future posts as I go back to explore the park in more detail. Mostly, the only reason I went this time was to scout it out and take pictures. But I will definitely be going back.