Gilroy Gardens’ Amusement Park Slumber Party & Campout

Family amusement park, Gilroy Gardens, is hosting the ultimate summer campout: Gil & Roy’s Slumber Party.

Gilroy Gardens’ mascots Gil & Roy have a big backyard and are hosting the biggest backyard party ever. Come on Friday nights (through September 22) from 5-10 pm to enjoy your favorite park attractions plus special games, food, and activities.

This all-new Friday night experience is just $30 when you buy tickets online.

Special Friday night-only activities include:

• Pajama Contests
• Fireside Folk Songs ‘Round the Campfire
• Gil’s Game Night
• Roy’s Rockin’ Karaoke
• Flashlight Expedition Hike in the Wilderness
• Stargazing Telescope Stations
• New “Dreamcatcher: The Magic of Dreams” Play (all-new live show in Amphitheater)
• Unique specialty eats including Milk & Cookie Shooters, Make Your Own S’mores, Cookie Dough Flight, Caramel Apple Nachos, & Breakfast for Dinner (Breakfast Burritos, Pancakes, Bacon, Eggs & Hashbrowns)
• Water Oasis Open Until 10 pm

For the ultimate adventure, upgrade to the Sleepover Package to spend the night under the stars and then wake up to complimentary breakfast and a full day of fun on Saturday.

The 2-Day Sleepover Package includes admission and parking for Friday and Saturday including all activities for the day, overnight access, and breakfast the following morning. The 2-Day Sleepover Package is $95 for adults (Ages 12-61) and $85 for the Child and Senior Package (Ages 3-11 & 63+). Regular daily admission is $50, so this is a great deal for two day admission, parking both days (regularly $20 adv. / $25 at gate), breakfast, camping, and special Friday night-only activities.

Hours:
Friday Night: 5pm-10pm
Sleepover: 10pm-8am
Saturday: 10am-6pm

Tips for a great sleepover:

• • Parking gates for the sleepover open at 3 pm* to set up camp. Arrive punctually to get yourself set up before the Gilroy Gardens park gates open at 5 pm. Campers will have their own private entrance into the park. Ins and outs are allowed for campers. *Time subject to change. An informative email will be sent after your ticket purchase with specific event details

  • If you’re sleeping over, bring along a wagon to carry your camping stuff from the parking lot to the field. There’s a huge field for you to pick your favorite spot to set up camp, with nearby bathrooms and plenty of shade around the perimeter of the field (and picnic tables).

• • Pack along some fun pajamas (including for the whole family!). There’s a costume contest with some great prizes including free park tickets for a return visit. Be sure to find the contest table and get your photo snapped before it closes (7 pm typically). Although the park closes at 10 pm, there is a limited time to enter the costume contest.

  • Start your evening at the Water Oasis before it cools down outside. It is open until 10 pm in case you want to keep splashing after dark. There are free lifejackets to use if you need one, but the Water Oasis water depth is shallow, including the multi-story water slides.

• If you’d like to join the Flashlight Expedition hike, make sure to find out the timetable. We caught the last hike of the night which left at 8 pm. The hike takes you through the backscenes of Gilroy Gardens and out of the park for a view of Lake Kathryne. Do take note that the hike is on uneven terrain and up a small hill. You’ll want to wear sensible closed-toe shoes suitable for hiking. They pass out flashlights for the hike, and the trail is illuminated. Take note that the flashlight hike takes approximately 40 minutes roundtrip. You’re in a larger group, so the hike accommodates hikers of all paces.

• Nearly all of the rides are open with incredibly short lines on Friday night. Make sure to ride its unique rides. Take a spin in a twirling garlic bulb, soar through the sky on a bright balloon, spin ’round and ’round in the artichoke dip.

• The singalong campfire has a shared box of musical instruments so you can play along with the music. There are also songbooks set out, and you can make a song request. We caught the tail end of the singalong. It doesn’t go until park closing, so if you’d like to sit around a campfire with some tunes, make sure to head over earlier. However, the ambiance around the campfire was really nice. It’s a nice way to end the evening without any songs.

• Roy’s Rockin’ Karaoke was a popular activity for the night. This was incredibly popular once it was dark out and the disco lights were going. If you’d like to belt out some tunes without the wait, head here earlier in the evening.

• You have to wait until dark to get a proper view from the telescopes at stargazing stations; however, with so many little ones, the telescopes can quickly go out of focus. It’s best to arrive at dusk if you’re interested in viewing some planets or the space station. There was a short wait for the telescopes when we went; although there were plenty of telescopes set up, only two remained in focus at that point in the evening.

• Be on the lookout for Gil & Roy, Gilroy Gardens official mascots roaming the park on Friday night.

• Foodies, come hungry! There are lots of specialty food items available only on Friday night including make-your-own s’mores over an open fire or breakfast for dinner.

 

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