Earlier today I went to Elitch Gardens Theme and Water Park with two friends, and while we had a great time on all the rides, everything is so different when looked at through a food allergy point of view. So without further ado, here is my review for Elitches! For those of you who don’t know, Elitch Gardens is a large amusement park in downtown Denver. While called a “theme park”, Elitches doesn’t necessarily have any heavy or cohesive theming, and its attractions are basic roller coasters and fun flat rides. Nevertheless, the park is one of the most popular places in town to hang out with friends and is definitely a blast! With all this in mind, Elitch Gardens definitely surprised me from an allergy point of view. I was going with only my two good friends, not my parents, so I wasn’t really sure what to expect, but it was all handled very smoothly! First, my family called in advance because normally guests are not allowed to bring food into the park, even though I can’t really eat there and needed to bring my own lunch. We were told to speak with security as we entered and have them check the food we were bringing in, and that if any issues arose we could speak to a supervisor. Fortunately there were no problems at all, and it took almost no extra time to get through! A nice security guard quickly glanced at the food in my backpack, informed one checkpoint’s employee of my situation, and waved me through. Just like that! Once my friends and I were inside of the park, I found that eating there with allergies is a bit challenging but definitely doable. Just like any theme park, Elitch Gardens has TONS of food options, including more than a dozen stands along the walkways and a large Wild West-themed food court. It’s all good carnival food, just be prepared for the normal sky-high prices! From what I saw, the employees working at the stands are usually young and don’t really understand food allergies well (I mean, who does), but will follow your directions and try their best to answer questions. While I don’t think each stand has a specific ingredient book, you can find an allergy guide here. All in all however, I was happy sticking to the picnic lunch I had brought in (although my friends did order some yummy pizza). Then later in the day, we of course decided to get ice cream! (I think the shop was called Miss Mary’s Ice Cream if you’re looking at the allergy guide.) Three teenage employees were running it, but I managed to ask one woman for any allergy information. A few moments later, she reappeared with one of the tubs of chocolate ice cream, complete with an allergy label I read and it was safe yay!!! I placed my order for that exact chocolate ice cream, but found out that tub had been empty and therefore was unavailable. (*face palm*) So, I asked, could I please read any of the other flavors? “No,” was her response, “but their ingredients are mostly the same!” (*double face palm*) I repeated myself, saying that I (obviously) couldn’t take any chances, and she went back into the kitchen. Long story short, she found another tub of that exact same chocolate ice cream that was safe and opened it fresh for me. I read the cones’ ingredients (they were safe) and, since there were no clean scoops, she just used one of the plastic spoons (it took a while but it worked!). So when it was all said and done, I got two scoops of delicious chocolate ice cream in a cone with only the normal amount of questioning, and for around $5 it was a great deal compared to usual theme park food. My friends (who are amazingly understanding about my allergies by the way, a quick thanks to them) and I sat down to enjoy our ice cream and had a great time! Well, that was it for my review of Elitch Gardens! The park definitely surprised me in a good way, and it was awesome how I was able to bring my own food in. I really hope you enjoyed this review and that it helped you out; see you next time! :) Previous Post: Using Stores to Eat Abroad
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