Single-day admission tickets purchased for this season will be honored through the 2021 season.

Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park has been working with government officials and experts on developing a plan for reopening, with social distancing guidelines cleaning procedures that meet COVID-19 safety guidelines. Unfortunately, that was too monumental a task, and the theme park was unable to develop a plan that met approval.

Gov. Jared Polis issued an executive order prohibiting the operation of amusement parks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the timeline for when those businesses might reopen has not been determined.

The decision was announced on Friday, and a letter from General Manager David Dorman was posted regarding the decision:

“To you, our guests, we sincerely apologize that we will not be able to entertain you this season. We truly miss hearing your screams of joy on Mind Eraser and happy splashes in our Commotion Ocean wave pool. We deeply regret not being able to hire our 1,400+ team members this season that become part of our large Elitch Gardens’ family every summer. Although we are sad to have to make this announcement, we are already anticipating seeing everybody’s smiling faces again in 2021.”

Elitch Gardens also announced that 2020 Season Pass holders would be automatically transferred to a pass for 2021, and would be upgrading all pass holders to a special VIP pass for next year that includes added perks and benefits. Single-day admission tickets purchased for this season will be honored through the 2021 season.

Elitch Gardens hires over 1,400 staff members every year and hosts some of the Denver area’s most-anticipated events, including the annual Fright Fest in October, free summer concerts, dive-in movies, and other activities throughout the season. As with many other events and venues in the state, these events will be on hold until 2021.

Water World, the largest water park in the area, announced back in May that it would not open this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic; Lakeside Amusement park has yet to announce any reopening plans; however, some smaller theme parks such as Glenwood Caverns in Glenwood Springs and Cave of the Winds Mountain Park in Manitou Springs are open in a limited capacity.  

What other favorite area attractions will you miss this year? Let us know in the comments.