Recently our family had the opportunity to visit Sesame Place in Langhorne Pa. Sesame Place is an amusement park and water park all in one. My two-year-old daughter loves Elmo, so I knew this would be a great summer destination. I researched the park for a few weeks, and found their website http://sesameplace.com/en/langhorne/ and free app for my iPhone to be very helpful. I discovered that by ordering food, tickets, parking, and other things ahead of time online, we were able to get some great deals.
Upon arrival at the park, we were greeted with a warm hello and cheerful smile. The Park was very clean, inviting, and had a wonderful family-friendly environment. We decided to ride some dry rides in the morning, and water rides and attractions in the afternoon. The three of us loved the dry rides. I appreciated how safe my daughter was on the rides, all she could say was "more, more, more!" My husband was impressed that we as adults were actually enjoying the rides as well.
Our next adventure was "Lunch with Elmo and friends." We had decided to eat with the characters for lunch, (and I'm so glad we did.) This was by far the best part of the day! "Lunch with Elmo and friends" is a buffet breakfast, lunch, or dinner; you pick in advance which meal times you want. We sat as a family in a large room with 2 buffet bars, dessert bars, and ice cream machines. Servers come to your table to bring drinks, but the rest of the food is self-serve. Immediately after being seated, Elmo, The Count, Cookie Monster, Grover, and Abby appeared and started dancing and singing. Each character makes a special stop at each individual table, except for Elmo, who is seated for professional photos. My daughter was in awe of the characters, and she enjoyed seeing each one up close and personal (although being 2 years old, she was a little intimidated by their life size costumes.) This was the ideal time for children to spend "1 on 1" time with the individual characters mentioned above. The food and entertainment were both great, and all the kids really enjoyed it! Making "Lunch with Elmo and friends" well worth the price.
After the lunch excitement we headed to the wadding pool area. There are a few different water attractions throughout the park. We were most intrigued with Big Birds Rambling River, and Counts Splash Castle. There are also multiple water slides throughout the park that are great for older children and adults. All the water attractions were a splash with my family! My daughter seemed to love the water fun even more then the dry rides. In fact, my daughter was able to ride with my husband on the inner tube on Big Birds Rambling River. After we were done splashing around, we enjoyed the "Neighborhood Street Party Parade", and the "Elmo Rocks!" show. At these events the Sesame Street charters appear with music and dancing. We finished the day off with dinner at one of the cafes. My daughter’s meal came with a souvenir Elmo cup and cookie monster plate. Both are very well made, and of course are now her favorite cup and plate to use at home. At the end of the day, there was still so much we wanted to do. The park is filled with so many things, it seems impossible to do them all in one day. Hopefully next time we visit, it will be for a two-day trip!
Here are a few Macaroni Mom tips for visiting Sesame Place:
- Be sure to plan ahead. Research the website, iPhone / Android App, and Facebook page. I found all of these resources extremely helpful.
- Hit the amusement rides first. The lines for the rides were much shorter in the morning. By the afternoon the wait time is a lot longer. If your family isn't into waiting, consider purchasing one of two versions of Abby's magic queue. We were very happy to have this! It allows you to bypass the lines on almost every ride.
- Book your " Dine with Elmo and Friends" meal early. These tend to get booked quickly. Also look into the breakfast time. It's currently cheaper, and it allows entrance into the park a half hour before the park opens.
- Don't forget your sunscreen, sunglasses, towels, hats and bathing suit. If you do forget something, don't worry! The park has most water items available for purchase.
- Do bring a waterproof carrier of some sort. We brought a case that held my phone, money, ID and credit cards. I wore this around my neck most of the day. It was very helpful! Or rent a locker for the day to store your valuables.
- Parade Time! If you plan to see the parade, you may need to "hold" your spot. The front row starts to fill up about 1 hour before the parade starts. I suggest bringing an extra towel, and trying to save a spot that way. My husband is over 6 feet talk, and was able to place my daughter on his shoulders. She had a great view from the back row.
- Check the iPhone / Android app for daily shows/musicals and times. The app will actually navigate you to the shows as well
- Parking your stroller happens a lot. There are a ton of places to park them. Just be sure to keep all your valuables on you, and not in the stroller.
- Need to find a bathroom? Check that iPhone / Android app - it will lead you right there!
- Planning a picnic could be a real money saver. The park offers a nice picnic area with tables and chairs right outside the park entrance. Just be sure to get your hand stamped before you leave, so you can come back in.
- If at all possible plan a two-day trip. The Park offers discount tickets if you plan to come for two days in a row. The website also offers discounted getaway packages, which include a hotel. I will be looking into this for our next visit. One day was just not enough time for my family to see and do everything.
- In love with the park? Check out the great deals they are running right now for season pass holders!
All this information and more can be found at www.sesameplace.com and don't forget the Facebook page, and free app - Sesame Place discovery guide.
We were offered 1 free admission to Sesame Place in exchange for this review
