- Gilroy Gardens
Infobox Amusement park
name = Gilroy Gardens Family Theme Park
caption =
location = Gilroy
location2 = California
location3 = United States flagicon|USA----
opening_date = June 2001
previous_names = Bonfante Gardens (2001–2006)
season =
area =
rides = 19
coasters = 2
water_rides =
owner = City ofGilroy, California
slogan =
homepage = [http://www.gilroygardens.org Gilroy Gardens]Gilroy Gardens is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit horticultural-themed family
theme park inGilroy, California and is the home of the world-famous Circus Trees created byAxel Erlandson . [ [http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/casivalley/a/bonfante.htm Gilroy Gardens] ,About.com ] The Park opened in June 2001 as Bonfante Gardens. The name was changed to Gilroy Gardens in February 2007. [ [http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-26-2007/0004534697&EDATE] , prnewswire.com] The park features 19 rides, 27 attractions and 6 gardens.Gilroy Gardens was founded by Michael and Claudia Bonfante, after selling their Nob Hill Foods supermarket chain to build the park. The park was a dream that took about 25 years to become a reality.
In the summer, Gilroy Gardens hosts weddings. Starting in 2004, the Park began its annual holiday celebration - Gilroy Gardens Holiday Lights.
The park struggled with financial difficulty and low attendance the first two years it was open. It closed early for its first two seasons, and the Park's management debated whether to open at all for the third season.
Paramount Parks began to manage the park on contract starting with the 2003 season.Gilroy Gardens operates under the management of
Cedar Fair Entertainment Company , who acquired Paramount Parks fromCBS Corporation onJune 30 ,2006 .References
External links
* [http://www.gilroygardens.org Official website]
* [http://www.gilroygardens.org/holidaylights Holiday website]
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