OT: Dutch Wonderland

[goofy4wdw2]

DH and I are thinking of taking DD to Dutch Wonderland this spring/summer. We're about 2 hours away, so it would be an easy trip. She's 18 months now, do you think she'd enjoy it, or is she a little young? We met other family at Hersheypark last year (knowing there wouldn't be much of anything for her there, we still wanted to see the family), but she only seemed interested in the water area b/c most rides were for older kids. Thank you!

 

[loveysbydesign]

DW is an AWESOME park for kids, especially under the age of 7. We've gone there every year for the past 5 years and my kids love it, that being said my 7.y.o was a little bit bored this year. The waterplay area is GREAT especially for small toddlers. It's right off of Rte. 30...but don't take Rte 30 West all the way in from the east, it's better to take the PA turnpike or another shortcut to Rte 222 South and then get off at Rte 30 East. We live near Allentown so we hop right on Rte 222 South and take it to Rte 30 East. Then it's only about 3 miles til you reach it. My SIL lives in Harleysville and took Rte. 30 West all the way in and she said it was a nightmare with all the lights and traffic. LMK if you have any other ?'s! Oh and parking is free.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

We took our DD there when she was about that same age..maybe a few months older. It was part of a larger trip of a few parks in PA but I thought it was a cute park for her.

There were a lot of kiddy rides, we did the gondola ride, merry go round. There is also a little water play area.

2hrs away..I say why not ?

 

[GraysMom]

loveysbydesign, just wanted to say hi from Emmaus We've never been to DW, but passed it often during college (we went to Millersville) and when we go down to the outlets. We usually go to Knoebels, but maybe we'll have to take DS2 to DW to see how it is.

 

[loveysbydesign]

loveysbydesign, just wanted to say hi from Emmaus We've never been to DW, but passed it often during college (we went to Millersville) and when we go down to the outlets. We usually go to Knoebels, but maybe we'll have to take DS2 to DW to see how it is.

Oh Hi, My dd goes to preschool in Emmasu! BTW 2 y.o. are FREE at Dutch Wonderland! we just went his past year to the Winter DW and the kids had a blast, only about a 3rd of the rides are open in the winter but it's only like $7.95 to get in...cheaper then Koziar's Christmas Village! It takes about 1 hr. to 1 hr. 15 min. to get to DW form where we live, it's great since the Rte 222 bypass opened.

 

[makinorlando]

Before moving to Orlando, we lived in Lansdale, and when DD was the same age, (18 months) she went to DW with some other family members (I was on a business trip) and they said she loved it! I guess that was the start of her love of amusement parks - Hershey Park, Disney, etc!!!

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

Your DD will love Dutch Wonderland. We used to do a side trip there when DS was younger and into Thomas the Tank Engine. We did yearly trips to Strasburg and stayed in Lancaster 1 night to go to DW, every year for 5 years.

 

[Mandylynne]

We took Tyler is July (right after he turned 3) and he loved it. It was a GREAT Park. The water park area is a large splash pad. He loved playing on the baby slides and it gave us a chance to just sit and watch him.

~Mandy

 

[kileybeth]

how we've missed Dutch Wonderland all these years is a mystery! maybe our kids have been to far apart in age (always one a little to old) but did I hear Knoebles??? LOVE IT so fun for all the ages. go every year for at least an overnight (great new Holiday Inn Express now too)

what's Sesame Place like these days? It'sbeen years since I've been there too but having a 4 and 2 year old again it might be tim eto hit some of these younger parks.


any thoughts? I just feel spoiled by Disney I must admit but a 1-3 hour drive for all parks mentioned here is a bit different than the 20 hour drive to Orlando!

 

[irish_trip_mom]

We've had wonderful visits to DW! We took our triplets when they were 2 years old, and again the next year. We always had a third adult with us so we'd have a 1:1 ratio. We'd go mid-week in July or August, so the lines were so short (very kiddie tolerable!) and then hit the water park at the end of the day. It was a great precurser for Disney, we knew how much our kids loved DW that we were sure that Disney would be a blast!

We'd do daytrips from the Baltimore suburbs.

 

[Ambassador]

DW is great for families with young children.

 

[HelenePA]

I was at sesame a few years ago.. its a GREAT WONDERFUL park for small kids. Make sure you bring your swimsuit.. it has ALOT of water themed sections, some for older kids some for babies. I'm thinking of doing it for a day trip this summer. Knoebels is very close to me so we go there almost every weekend in the summer. WONDERFUL family park! Sorry I haven't been to Dutch Wonderland but I have heard great things about it. We shop at the outlets near there a few times a year. We also go for the day with Thomas. Its a fun little area!

 

[pezheadval]

Dutch Wonderland is great!

If you go, you can do a free preview the night before you go, too!

Preview Plan: Be Our Guest

It’s 3 hours before Park closing and we want you to be our guest! Purchase a regular admission ticket for a full day at the Park tomorrow – and join us FREE for the remainder of the evening!
When the Park closes at 6:00 PM: Enter after 3:00 PM
When the Park closes at 7:00 PM: Enter after 4:00 PM
When the Park closes at 8:30 PM: Enter after 5:30 PM