Sesame is THE place for my 28 month old
Written: Jul 13 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Lots of fun for my 2 year old, characters nice with kids, clean
Cons: Food and drinks very expensive, help in food areas could definitely be improved.
The Bottom Line: I recommend it. It was clean and safe. We had a very nice family vacation.
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| finkel's Full Review: Sesame Place |
We planned a 2-day stay in PA with our 29 month old to go to Sesame Place. Although we are only about a 3 hour drive away, I decided to book a hotel in the area and spend 2 days at the park instead of trying to cram everything into 1 day and having a stressed-out 2 year old. It worked out great. My daughter loved it and my husband and I were able to relax knowing we didn't face a long drive home after a long, hot day of fun.
The first day (Monday) we arrived at the park at about 10:30 a.m. We parked in the preferred parking lot ($13 instead of $10 for general parking) which gets you a little closer to the entrance but mainly if you bring a picnic lunch it's more convenient to the picnic area from the preferred parking lot. The park opens at 10:00 and there was already quite a line to purchase tickets by 10:30. It was pretty organized and the line moved fairly quickly. We purchased the Elmo Passport which gives you 2 days entry for the same price as a single day (each ticket was about $43 after taxes). The only disadvantage is you can't use any discounts (like AAA) or coupons at all with the Elmo passport and you can use them with the single day tickets. But still, since we were planning to go to the park 2 days in a row, it was a good buy. Once you purchase the tickets, you go to another line to enter the park. There they check ID and go through any bags you might be bringing into the park. I guess it's a security thing. You are not allowed to bring coolers into the park but they do have a nice picnic area with tables and benches just outside the park near the preferred parking area. We brought our lunch with us the first day based on reviews I read here about how expensive the food is in the park and it was good advice.
There are several restaurants/cafes/food carts but the lines were long, the quality was so-so and the prices were very high. The second day we had a big breakfast before going to the park so only purchased a few snacks and lunch for my toddler, but I was not at all impressed with the food or the service in the food areas. We got a hot dog with fries, turkey sandwich with fries and one soda and it was over $15. Also, the hot dog was cold.
The park is very clean, there are tons of employees (mostly kids) and overall I was impressed with it. It's small compared to Disney or something like that but it's more than enough to entertain a 2 year old for 2 days. There were photo op areas where different characters would pose for photos with the kids and although the park had employees taking pictures to sell to the parents, they had no problem with parents taking their own photos as well. I got plenty of photos of my daughter with different characters and only actually purchased one of her with Elmo (12.99). There is music playing though the park from Sesame Street and the little town is very cute. There are different play areas, water attractions and rides throughout the park for children of different ages. There was plenty for my 2 year old to do. She loved the tidal pool and the lazy river ride. The parade is twice a day and it's very cute. All the characters are in the parade and they have a couple of floats and dancers and there's plenty of music and singing. We saw 2 shows, Elmo's World (which is just like the tv show) and a beach show in Big Bird's theater which had a bunch of the characters in it. Some older kids were chosen to participate in both shows.
There were plenty of rest rooms (clean) and benches around the park to sit down and rest. There were beautiful flowers and the park seemed to be very well taken care of. We stayed until about 4:30 the first day and then went back the next day from about 11:00 to 5:00.
It was very hot when we were there (like 90 degrees and sunny) so the water rides were a welcome relief. I recommend purchasing the waterproof containers to wear around your neck for $4. I didn't buy them until the second day and regret not having bought them as soon as we got there the first day. The park was crowded but seemed quite organized. Overall a very nice vacation.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
finkel
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Reviews written: 1
Trusted by: 0 members
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