We only had one real outing today – our dogs are worn out from walking all over the place!  But, we really wanted to see this particular spot so we tied on our sneakers and hit the sidewalks of Copenhagen to make our way to one of the world’s first amusement parks – Tivoli Gardens. It was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel so not too bad. The park opened in 1843 with approval from the king. Walt Disney visited it several times in the early 1950s and used it as inspiration for Disneyland. As you walk around Tivoli Gardens, you certainly see specific things that old Walt copied when he created his version. Aside from the amusement rides, the park is a delightful place to spend time. The mature trees provide lots of shade and there are gorgeous gardens full of blooming flowers everywhere. We already have it in mind to come back here when our granddaughter is a bit older!

The entrance to Tivoli Gardens. It’s located right in the heart of the city. You pay one price to enter the park but also can get an enhanced ticket that includes rides or pay for specific rides once you’re inside. We’ll wait to do rides when we come back with Avie.

This cute tram/train just runs around the park on the same walkways that pedestrians are – no tracks necessary!

Here we are in front of the Peacock Theater. There are mostly performances of Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tales that take place here. Sometimes, though, the Royal Danish Ballet Company has performances too.

This looks like it inspired the entrance to the Storybook Land ride in Fantasyland at the Disney park.

And, here’s what obviously inspired Walt to create the “river” around Tom Sawyer’s Island with the paddle wheeler and sailing ship Columbia.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad anyone?

How about the Matterhorn? Here it’s just called Roller Coaster but there’s no mistaking where Walt got his “coaster ride in a mountain” idea from.

A motor boat ride for the kiddies.

This is just one of a number of hair-raising rides for the older kids.

It was so pleasant just to stroll around the grounds and watch young people having fun and Danish families out together.

We went back to the hotel to relax after our fun time at Tivoli Gardens – one of us may have even taken a nap. For dinner, we strolled around this body of water to the opposite side from where our hotel is. We ate some delicious food at a Thai restaurant where we sat outside and looked back across the water toward our hotel. It was a beautiful evening and a nice spot to reflect back on another wonderful day in Copenhagen.