OT...Hershey Park and Sesame Place

[princess stich]

This is OT I know, but I am thinking of going to Hershey Park and Sesame Place this summer and thought I would check here for any info. Has anyone gone to these parks? Where do you stay? Do we need to stay in two different hotels for the trip? Any advice or information you can give is greatly appreciated. (we will be driving from Indy by the way)

Thanks!

 

[skjuls]

This is OT I know, but I am thinking of going to Hershey Park and Sesame Place this summer and thought I would check here for any info. Has anyone gone to these parks? Where do you stay? Do we need to stay in two different hotels for the trip? Any advice or information you can give is greatly appreciated. (we will be driving from Indy by the way)

Thanks!

Since it's approx. 3 hours between the two parks I believe then you would need two different hotels.

I have yet to go to Hershey Park, although my sister took my son in December. I have been to Sesame Place and it was fun although the park is small. Expect a lot of crowds at Sesame Place.

Sesame Place has a waterpark, shows, and rides. I haven't been there since they opened up Elmo land.

I plan on going this spring since I will have a Platinum Busch Gardens Pass and Sesame Place is part of the Busch Gardens family.

 

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I live about 5 minutes from Sesame Place. The best place for you to stay would be at the Sheraton in Langhorne, PA

 

[Gillian]

We live near Sesame Place and had a lot of fun there last summer. My kids were 3 & 5. It is a small place, but they have several shows and a parade. It's very managable for a day visit. Or 2 even.

Many of the hotels have shuttles that drop you off right at the entrance.

Depending on the ages of your kids, there might be more to do in the Hershey area.

ETA friends of ours stayed in the Sheraton last year. It's very close by.

 

[princess stich]

Forgot to say that my kids are 3 and 6! Sesame Place sounds really neat for their age, and I am afraid that if we don't go before too long, that they will not longer be interested in Sesame Street and not want to go there!

 

[Gillian]

Forgot to say that my kids are 3 and 6! Sesame Place sounds really neat for their age, and I am afraid that if we don't go before too long, that they will not longer be interested in Sesame Street and not want to go there!

ITA!! We are getting season passes again this year. Next year we probably won't need them.

 

[momof5boys]

Hershey park is a great family park but I can drive there so never had to stay at a hotel. Make sure you go to chocolate world which is right outside the park! You can buy all the hershey products there! YUM! I live very close to Dorney Park but would rather drive to Hershey! Never went to Sesame Place though, always heard it was really crowded. Have Fun!

 

[Makdyn]

Subing want to know about Hershey Park.

 

[skjuls]

ITA!! We are getting season passes again this year. Next year we probably won't need them.

I didn't go last year because my son was 2 but will take him this year. I have a season pass but he didn't and was cheap and didn't want to pay for him.

He went to sesame place when he was a year old and loved it.

I plan on taking him to one of the character breakfasts this year.

It's a 3 hour drive for me since I live in VA near DC.

 

[pha1226]

The parks are pretty far apart. Hershey Park is wonderful...clean, well run, plenty for kids of all ages. There are plenty of hotels in the area. I'm not a big fan of Sesame Place...very crowded, not nice people.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

We did both a couple of summers ago. You definitely need two separate hotels...its quite a drive between the two parks. Seasame Park was neat, but small and very crowded in August. We also hit Dutch Wonderland while we were in the area.

Of course this is just my opinion but Hershey park seemed more for older kids.. There really wasn't much to do with younger children. Biggest draw was the mega rollercoasters. Maybe I was missing something though..

We stayed at the Hershey Lodge. The hotel itself was nice. We had some problems with some neighbors though...Seems the parents would head down to the lounge and leave their pre-teen kids alone to bounce off the walls till midnight/1am. fun.

 

[I'mNoPrince]

With them at that age I would do Dutch Wonderland in stead of Hershey as well. You could still ride over and hit the Choco factory but 70% of Hershey is for bigger kids. Also there are many cheaper places to stay around the Lancaster area with the outlets close by.


Good Luck both parks are now ran by Hershey and are very nice places.

 

[coyandrew]

I can attest that Herhseypark is a great park to take kids to. There are alot of rides for all ages, and this year they are putting in a waterpark within the park. We have season passes and go at least once a week. For the same admission as well, you can go to Zoo America which is connected to the park by a bridge and houses animals found in North America. The park houses rides for all ages and have some very nice coasters. It is incredibly clean, shady and dependent upon when you go, not always that crowded. My wife and I used to work there as well (we actually met there) and Tuesday through Friday are the best days to go. As to where to stay, the best there are the Hershey Lodge and the Hotel Hershey. Hotel Hershey is pricey, but it is incredible, Milton Hershey (founder of Hershey Chocolate) designed most of it and it is remarkable. Hope this helps!

 

[stacy6552]

Are you a big fan of WDW....Then I say skip them, you will only be disappointed.

 

[cinjam]

My feelings are the same as pha1226.

Hershey Park was wonderful - we enjoyed our time there very much. We've stayed at both the Hershey Hotel & the Hershey Lodge. The lodge is cheaper.

We did not have good experiences with Sesame Place, so I am not a fan and cannot pass on any good experiences.

 

[loveysbydesign]

I live near both of these parks. If your kids LOVE Sesame Street then Sesame Place is a must do...however be prepared for it to be EXTREMELY crowded no matter what day of the wk. you go and avoid weekends at all costs!
We went to HP this past August on a Monday ( dd's 4th bday, we took ds to WDW for his bday so we had to do something for hers-LOL) We stayed overnight on Sunday at the Econo Lodge in Grantville (cheap, clean and free breakfast, plus Italian place down the road had fantastic food) so we did the free preview night and then went Mon. during the day. I have to tell you that we were totally shocked by the long, long lines. Most lines were 30 minutes or more and the kiddie rides were about 20 minutes and we got there at opening. The roller coasters were 1-2 hour waits!!! (therefore my ds and I barely got to ride any and we were so upset!)
My dh commented to me that Disney World spoiled us since HP has no fast passes. We only got to go on about a third of the rides between the 1 1/2 days we spent there. If you go I sat go early in the season on a weekday. LMK if you have any other ?'s!
Forgot to add that they have a brand new HUGE waterplay area opening up this summer, we walked past the area they're building it at when we were there in Aug.

 

[Bowen9475]

We visited both parks last summer (in late June) and had a great time at both. Our kids were sons - 9.5 and 3.5 and a 7yo daughter. We had visited Sesame Place once before and enjoyed it both times. We drove to PA on a Sunday and stayed at the Comfort Inn in Levittown (about a 10 minute ride to the park but not a great area - not much in the immediate area). We spent Monday and Tuesday at Sesame Place. All 3 kids liked the park. They all liked both the water and dry rides and the parade. Sesame Street was never a huge favorite for any of our kids but they all had fun at this park both times we were there. We drove from Levittown to Hershey on Wednesday and spent Thursday and Saturday at Hershey Park. We spent Friday exploring the area. Hershey Park is divided into several different areas and there were kiddie rides in each area for our youngest son. There were also many things we could ride together as well as the several already mentioned roller coasters. I definitely think you would enjoy both parks with kids your ages.

 

[mericletwins]

Forgot to say that my kids are 3 and 6! Sesame Place sounds really neat for their age, and I am afraid that if we don't go before too long, that they will not longer be interested in Sesame Street and not want to go there!

Another option would be to stay in Lancaster and do Hershey Park (about 30 minutes away) and Dutch Wonderland. Dutch wonderland is geared towards young children. We usually stay at Willow Valley , but have stayed at quite a few places in Lancaster (always do the outlets) and stayed once in Hershey.

 

[tammyandtommy]

OK, I have taken the kids to Sesame Place when they were younger, be prepared it is a lot of water attractions, my kids didnt like standing in lines for the slides and such, and I was afraid of losing them because it was soo busy. Hershey Park is a great park, but I agree it is mainly for older kids, Dutch Wonderland is great for younger kids, my kids still talk about going there 3 yrs ago! My opinion is Dutch Wonderland, and a trip to Hershey world, which is free!

 

[momof5boys]

Here's another idea, especially if you want to save money for that next trip to Disney! You could head further north into PA. and go to Knoebles amusement park. This is also a great family park lots of rides for the kids and no admission fee! You can get wristbands or use tickets. I literally had to drag my kids out of there after 8 hours! Oh and a note about Hershey, try the halloween days and christmas days (nights actually) During Halloween you can go trick or treating in the park. Xmas was cold but the decorations were pretty!