We took our 8 year old to Gilroy Gardens for a summer day trip. It was easy to find and parking was…read morea breeze. The parking fee was 25 dollars which they refunded when we bought the premium pass for 40 dollars more. The premium pass gives you unlimited visits and free parking. I think there are other perks but the husband took care of ticketing so the website explains it I'm sure. The park is clean and the young staff is polite and helpful. The bathrooms and pool changing area could use a little more attention but it wasn't too bad. They allow you to bring drinks- we had water bottles. Good security screening which I also appreciated. There are picnic tables in front if you want to exit the park and grab lunch from the car. Otherwise there are many food stands throughout the park. The usual fare and as always pricy. There are rides for everyone. I was surprised to see couples without kids and kids from toddler to High School enjoying the rides. The water pad park includes something for everyone age. For kids in first grade up there are 3 water slides, water cannons, and the buckets dumping water. You can lease a cabana that has a fridge to create a home base for the day but we found chairs to watch the activity. A towel and water shoes/crocs are good to bring. Some kids were wearing goggles. I didn't bring my suit but there were plenty of adults going down the slides. Everyone looked very happy! They have special events on holidays. Halloween, New Years Eve and Christmas are supposed to be well decorated and festive. I guess we will make the trip. Overall, it's a good way to spend a day with younger kids from toddler to grades 5/6.

We visited Gilroy Gardens again for the nth time, and it never gets old--especially for our little…read moreone! My son couldn't have been happier. His favorite attractions are the racing cars, the fire trucks, the beautiful gardens, and the playgrounds where he can run around and burn off all his energy. The biggest highlight of our trip, though, was definitely the water park. That's the main reason we chose to spend our family day here, and it did not disappoint. It was packed with families because of the warm weather, but despite the crowds, everyone seemed to be having a great time. One thing I really appreciate about Gilroy Gardens is how family-friendly it is. There are plenty of rides and attractions designed for young children, lots of shaded areas, and the park is clean and well-maintained. If you have toddlers or young kids, this place is absolutely worth a visit. We've been here many times already, and somehow it still manages to create new happy memories for our family. We'll definitely be back again!

Went on a tour Saturday. P.S. *get your tickets online* it gets busy!…read more I arrived late and was fortunate enough to get added to the next available tour! The staff is so friendly and helpful throughout my time there. Tour Guide Nora was Amazing! Super funny and informative, it was first time visiting the mystery spot And she went above and beyond for the entire group tour! Highly recommend this place to anyone looking to explore and experience something so unique,exciting & unbelievable to say the least. S/O Nora for taking a great photo for me !

Super great tours! Bridger was hilarious and the entire experience was so much fun for the whole…read morefamily. Make sure you make a reservation or go early in the morning as it gets busy fast! Can't recommend enough

This is the most thrilling attraction at Gilroy Gardens. We did have to wait almost an hour for it…read more(we went during holiday season), but since we're not locals it was a must to try at least once. It is themed after the mines, and you ride on a mine cart. When you're in the queue you can see pictures and some historical snippets, but not much to look at in general. The ride itself isn't super fast and doesn't go very high so the drops don't feel anything more than someone quickly going down a hill in a car. So when they say thrilling that may mean thrilling for kids, but as someone said, this is a great trainer coaster. Fun, but not something I'd wait over 30 minutes for. It is neat that it goes through the trees here and it's the only ride that has it's own separate check in on Yelp? I know Disney has separate check ins for everything, so maybe it is time to change that LOL.

The website boasts this "thrilling mine coaster speeds you through dips and turns surrounded by…read morenearly 600 trees!" Built in 2001 by DH Morgan Mfg, it's billed as the only "thrill ride" in Gilroy Gardens, although their wobbly Sky Trail Monorail ride makes my adrenaline rush because it feels like it's going to fall. The track is 2,139 feet with a top speed of 32 mph. The highest of the two lift-hills is 38 feet, which is about 7 yawning grandpas end to end. Basically, the smooth dips and turns of this two-lift steel coaster disguised as an abandoned cinnabar (mercury) mine train that is a very basic but enjoyable ride that's thrilling for someone barely reaching the height requirement (42" to ride with an adult, 48" to ride alone). It's a good training coaster. The cool thing is that they'll often let you stand by the exit wall for a chance at a second ride if they anticipate that the next train won't fill up. Think "Big Thunder" but not that big. Think "Small Thunder" but not that thunderous. Think "light rain", or "hummingbirds spitting on you".

Took our 2 teen granddaughters here, only 1 wanted to go with me…read more We got stuck so many times, not sure we'd get out! Had a lot of laughs with a couple girls in there. Once we got out, the clerk gave us glasses to go do it again. It made it harder. This was a lot of fun and a break from just the same souvenir shops. The price is higher than we expected. I do wish they offered a senior discount. We really enjoyed it though.

No longer has the mini golf option I wish it was mentioned…read moremore online about that. However, my son did enjoy the mirror maze.

My favorite ride at the boardwalk! When my cousins and I came here for a day trip, we rode this…read morelike eight times back to back! It was a slightly rainy day so there were no lines for a while. The ride may not seem like it's that exciting, but it definitely whips you around and if you ride it enough you will feel dizzy. Wouldn't recommend for super small kids or anyone with physical ailments or feeling already unwell.

Lack of safety straps , very rough and bumpy . I'm an adult 5'3" I was tossed from my seat . No…read morepadding when you hit the hard surfaces . Can you imagine with kids or small build person . Won't ride or recommend this .

Fun rides. Every rollercoaster was peak…read more Only issue is Wish things were more affordable for family's. Wish you could beings in snacks and your own food because nowadays who want to pay these prices. But good thing is you can have a bbq outside in the parking lot and sell plates. Kids loves it so I had a good time. It has a water

I'd never been here before this year. I love it!…read more It's so fun to have a park like this in the bay area. It's got some fun coasters, a nice atmosphere, a beautiful water park, and a TON of kids rides. I'm also pretty happy with the fact they have a panda Express :) Railblazer, Gold Striker, and Flight Deck are super fun coasters. And there are a bunch of other fun flat rides and kids rides. There is so much packed into the Snoopy section you can often find pretty short lines even in the summer. Please Santa Clara City government, DO NOT rezone this for the developers. It's an amazing place to go with the family, we love it!

For some reason, none of the operators of this ride can operate the trains at a constant speed. I'm…read morenot sure if something is wrong with the trains or if the drivers are just really bad at measuring their speed, but they go back and fourth between going really fast and then going incredibly slow. And the times that they go fast vs slow is different each ride. I should be able to enjoy each set equally. However, putting the speed problem aside, the ride still looks pretty good.

Fun and fancy harmless joyful ride of train transporting through the barriers of time into the fun…read moreloving days of the caveman meets dinosaur. Florescent colored scenery marks everything with a certain pizzazz. Not too long.