So, I haven’t done anything theme park related since 2009, when my sister and I went to Coney Island, but it’s 2019, my sister and I are in Copenhagen, and our hotel is only a few blocks away from Tivoli Gardens.

It costs money to get in and then it costs money to go on the rides. Each ride takes a certain number of tickets to get on, so instead of trying to figure that out, we decided to do the smart thing and buy an Unlimited Ride bracelet. Basically, if we went on 4 rides the cost would be covered. Easy enough, right?

Turns out it was so easy that we went on 13 rides.

Our first was the Rollercoaster. We’d gone in through the entrance across from the Central Train Station, and it was literally the first ride we saw. I wanted to try the Ferris Wheel first (to get my bearings), but my sister was gung-ho about this one, so I agreed.

Now, I still remember the Cyclone and how insane that drop felt, so I prepped myself for this ride, and it was… way better than I thought. It was really fun. The scariest parts of the ride were whenever we’d go through complete darkness and you didn’t know when you’d come out (which was also the best).

After that, we took it easy by going on the Ferris Wheel and scoping out the other rides. Next we hit up The Star Flyer, The Golden Tower, The Monsoon, Fatamorgana, and The Demon.

After that, we realized we’d had so much fun on those rides, we might as well do them again! So we went on everything again (except for the Ferris Wheel), ending with the Roller Coaster. We weren’t brave enough to go on the Vertigo, but we did The Golden Tower twice. I’m still not sure if it was scarier the first or the second time – but I did learn that screaming makes it a lot more fun.

With the Fatamorgana we tried it twice, once in the animal seats (which is relaxing and VERY cozy if there are two of you in there), and then in the outside-facing seats. On our second go, the ride stopped because some kid stood up in one of the animal seats, so he got kicked out, and then it took a bit of time to get the ride started again. Lesson learned: don’t be the idiot who caused the ride to stop and need to get fixed.

Things I Took Note Of:

1. Wear sunglasses or glasses on The Star Flyer – the second time I didn’t wear my sunglasses and we were going so fast that the wind made it hard to look at things.
2. Many rides have areas where you can safely stash your purse/phone/wallet, that are only accessible to people going on the ride at that moment.
3. On some of the rides where you can’t wear glasses, they have a little magnetized holder next to the seats where you can put your glasses/wallet, that locks when the ride’s going.
4. Tie your shoelaces tight. You don’t want to lose a shoe on some of these.
5. To stop your head from being battered around on the Demon, keep your head back against the headrest (don’t lean forward).

 

We went around 4pm on a sunny Monday in late May, and it was busy but not crowded. Although there were line-ups, we never had to wait very long to get on any ride. We didn’t try any games, but next time I will (especially Galoppen*).

Before leaving we got some shaved ice to help with the fact that we hadn’t eaten/drank anything. Next time I’d love to hit up some of the dessert places.

And that’s the joy of Tivoli – that I keep thinking ‘next time’, because even though I was older than many of the people there, I had so much fun. After this visit, I can see how a theme park can be the most wonderful place on Earth.

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*I’ve watched the Travel Man episode with Richard & Noel, and I’m sad that I missed this wonderful game.

**I’m referring to all of the rides by their English names, since the map I got was English and not Danish.