We arrived in Tivoli at 2 PM when the rides started and left after the "Tivoli Illuminations" at 10:3opm. We purchased tickets that allowed us multiple visits to all the rides except the six "wild rides."
The park is located in the center of Copenhagen. It really is quite small for an amusement park, but there is enough to keep busy for several hours. There are more restaurants than rides. The restaurants could be quite pricey, so check those menus before entering. We went on rides that were quite tame except for one: Vallhalla. This a troll ride. You walk into a small space where you see animated trolls, then you walk into a room with seats. This turns out to be an actual ride that swings like a pendulum. It seems like more because the room revolves around you. It's silly and fun for one visit. Other rides include scenes from Hans Christian Anderson tales and bumper cars -- nothing really special.
Tivoli also includes many shows. I was really looking forward to the pantomine. There were two scheduled. At 6:15 they were performing Cassander the Cooper. At 8:15 they were performing The Fortune Teller. The Cooper show included a live orchestra, multiple sets, and a play with Commedia Del Art characters that was ageless. It was also baffling and incomprehensible. For the duration of 45 minutes, I really could not understand any thing beyond the basic plot. The seats were filled with local Danes. There was almost no interaction between the audience and performers except for a performance ending sing-a -long. I just didn't get it. We back to see the Fortune Teller show to see if that was better. Guess what? It was the same show. Figure that out. Other shows at Tivoli included an orchestra, a Big Band, and a women singing a song from Funny Girl with a Streisand brooklyn accent. She sang well, actually.
We stayed for the illuminations. Don't bother. It only lasts 7 minutes and didn't amount to much. Worse still, I came back for the fireworks on Saturday night. I watched from the square across the street at 11:45pm. This was a mediocre display lasting all of three minutes. I timed it.
Our Collette tour brought us to Tivoli on Friday night for dinner at the Nimb Restaurant. This was the most beautiful restaurant in Tivoli. But as a group tour, we were treated poorly. The food was almost thrown at us. The meal was three small unsatisfying courses. There's good food to be had at Tivoli and Copenhagen. Probably, the Nimb would be good on your own, but group tours beware. On that night, the park was packed with kids coming in for a Rock group performing at 10pm. This was a far different experience than we had had on Wednesday when the park was fairly empty. We left with the tour group before gridlock enveloped everyone.