Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park — Attraction in Gilroy

Tip Major!! Print all your passes and or screenshot for last minute purchase passes. There is no service or WiFi!!! I didn’t think of this because I was handling my son autistic episodes and overstimulated and then this experience from the park. They don’t let you buy inside for last minute passes. I believe in customer service and this is why I gave 3 stars. The customer service was awful the whole day. The only employees who were happy were the ones saying goodbye. I read the website pretty well to get the FAQs but it lacked instructions for where to get wristbands or which restaurants are doing the drinks wristband. They require everything to be purchased online but the site does not work when there is no reception and no WiFi. I ordered tickets and had the bar code ready and then the website glitched and the email codes were not coming through. At entry we should have been happily greeted and offered a brochure for first timers. Instructions on where to get wristbands should have been advised or at least direct us to the welcome center. We ended up needing fast passes as our autistic son could not handle the lines. I ordered online and walked all the way to the entry because I didn’t know I needed to get them at the welcome center which is where I was redirected too. From there I already ordered the passes and because I didn’t have my party with me due to my son having an episode, they refused to give them to me, the associate required to log into the computer was clearly irritated and didn’t care about my child’s special needs. This also points out my frustration on their true guidelines for outside drink and food. You can bring water in canisters and little snacks! Knowing this would have helped our sons fit. I had to walk back to the train station and get everyone bring them back. Then to get wristbands for the unlined fountain drinks you had to get separately at the restaurants but didn’t specify which. The pizza place was the only kind workers who filled the cups no issue, while everyone else acted bothered and telling us they don’t have ice like that’s going to make me leave. Drinks were cold but seriously why offer drinks but have no ice (multiple places). I do feel the family deal should be served at the same location it’s only two food options! The 1920s car ride kept closing to rotate workers like 3 times in a short period of time. I think I was more mad about how my child was not allowed to wear any shoes at the waterpark, I was told by 3 lifeguards, I explained his special needs and they were just like read the sign! My child does not like texture feeling to his feet. I also believe in not spreading diseases through bare feet. I basically spent the first hour getting everything situated. Once I was able to purchase food and drink and get to the waterpark my son calmed down. On a positive note yes the park is awesome and fun. The waterpark and play place was a hit! The Toy Box store was icing on the cake for our son he played at the Lego table for quite sometime. Banana Split was a hit with the older kids. The train ride was really cool and our son really enjoyed it. GET FAST PASS...

Some staff are absolutely clueless.

First, after waiting 20+ minutes for our order of four meals and drinks I went to the pick-up counter to enquire what was taking so long, only to be told the order had been given to someone else - even though I was holding the assigned pager! Add another 10 minutes for the order to be remade.

The biggest failing by far this day was the apathy and the lack of response when the car ride broke down. Yes, rides do fail from time to time, but what matters is a timely response from the theme park staff. Unfortunately, my 3-year-old grandson and I were stuck in the "car wash" section of the ride. In of itself, this shouldn't be a problem, except (a) there was no announcement as to what was happening and (b) extremely loud music was blasting above our car. An app on my phone measured it at 85 dB!!! After several minutes I texted my wife to ask the operator to shut of the music as our grandson was hysterical. After several more minutes I called my wife and pleaded again for someone to shut off the music (Obviously I could not hear her response in view of the booming noise right above me). I subsequently learned that my wife had repeatedly informed numerous employees standing idly around at the ride entrance as to what was happening, at the "car wash" and she begged them to shut off the deafening music, but to no avail. They didn't know how to shut it down. Before starting the ride we were under strict instructions not to exit the car under any circumstances. After around twenty minutes with still no announcement, and no sign of anyone one coming to assist, we got out of the vehicle. Less than 50 feet away there's a park employee!!! Yes, I berated her. I did not appreciate her apathy, nor her smirk. She seemed to think it was amusing that my grandson was completely traumatized, in tears, and (unbeknownst to me) I had blood dripping from my mouth - the result of my grandson reflexively snapping his head back while I was consoling him in the car. As I carried my grandson towards the exit, another employee came over. Not to offer assistance, or to enquire if either one of us need first aid, but to chide me for berating his associate. My wife and I subsequently met with a park supervisor to explain what had occurred. Fortunately, this employee was the consummate professional. She listened, apologized for the ordeal our traumatized grandson had endured. She also offered to escort me to the first aid station, which I declined since my wife is a nurse. I gave the supervisor my business card and hoped someone in a more senior position would reach out to us. That hasn't happened.

I considered giving zero stars, but in retrospect, my 2-stars reflect a holistic assessment of Gilroy Gardens. We enjoyed the water park and other rides, and we had a fantastic experience when we visited this theme park last year. What is sorely lacking is training and empowerment for employees to respond expeditiously when things do not go...

I wouldn't recommend buying tickets or season passes this year.

We've been going to Gilroy Gardens since my son was 2; he's 12 now. We've always loved this place!

Now that he's on summer break, my son wanted to go back to Gilroy Gardens. However, this time was much different. We quickly discovered that Gilroy Gardens hasn't been properly maintaining their rides in the off-season.

Four major attractions broke down or were closed today: the banana ride -- for part of our visit, and my son's first stop and disappointment; the spinning swings, which a park employee said had been down for months; both sections of the old classic car ride -- for the entire time we were there; and the Water Oasis Bucket and slides -- for the entire time we were there (one of their flagship attractions) (picture attached; employees just stood around waiting all day to tell people over and over it wasn't usable and they had no ETA on when it would be back up).

When we asked park attendants why the Water Oasis Bucket area was closed, they said that too much chlorine had been added (which implies negligence).

Of the few rides that were open that we rode, the majority had other operational issues. Even the tram made such load noises from scaping against the track through sections that the kids on it were covering their ears with looks of discomfort on their faces. We even got hit in our tram car by multiple branches of overgrown trees throughout multiple sections of the ride.

People that work there should ride each ride each morning before the park opens and guests come to ride the rides to ensure they're safe; had they been, I think they'd quickly see parts of the trees are coming into the tram in multiple areas.

For a visit that took us over 2 hours to get there; and over 3 hours to get home (through Gilroy 5 pm traffic); and cost a ton -- what a disappointment.

I'd recommend steering clear this summer. There are lots of other great water parks and amazement parks throughout California that are much better maintained. They should be reinvesting some of their revenue back into each of their rides each off season; especially if they're going to be open 7 days a week. Guests expect to come and find what they paid for available.

We also checked the website before coming to plan our visit. There was no mention anywhere that any of the attractions were down. We checked again when we got home, still no mention that any attractions were down today.

I'm really disappointed Gilroy Gardens. There were a lot of places I could have spent the day with my son; but we chose your family theme park. The least you could do was ensure that your rides were fully operational, safe, and well-maintained for all of your...