OT...Hershey Park and Sesame Place

[monorailsilver]

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

I agree but about Sesame. I was so surprised that it was in the middle of a busy road & only a fence sheilded it from the main street (you couldn't see it).

We went twice-once when my dd was just over 2 & the other time when she was just over 3 & our ds was under 1.

My dd who will be 6 in May loved it. She went on some of the rides but she couldn't go on alot of the water rides other then the splash pools because she was too small & couldn't swim.

I was also amazed at how dirty it was compaired to Disney-I mean Disney has it's days but Sesame was dirty.

We stayed at the Marriot in Langhorne & got a suite.

I do like Hershey. I went once as a child & then again with dh (before he was dh) when we were on our way to Colombus. I think we stayed at a Best Western. It wasn't the ritz but it was doable.

A few times passing thru the area (too many car show trips we have taken many years ago) we'd always stay at this one hotel right of 81 & I want to say it was either a Hampton Inn or a Comfort Inn.

One more thing I hate about Sesame, once you are over 2 you pay the same price whether you are an adult or a child which I think is stupid because my 2 yo I am not going to put on some of the water rides.

 

[LaraK]

I've never been to Sesame Place, but we go to Hershey at least once or twice a year...my in-laws live about 15 minutes away (so I can't recommend a hotel). The kids had plenty of things they could ride, but the headliners require you to be taller than the headliners at Disney.

My favorite PA park is Kennywood in Pittsburgh (actually in West Mifflin...but same difference). The entire place is a National Historic Landmark. They have great high speed coasters and some of the best classic wooden coasters around. I LOVE Kennywood...we try to go every year.

 

[emileee]

We went to Pennsylvania two summers ago. We live in Michigan. We went to Hershey(not the amusement park, just the tour part), Dutch Wonderland (loved it), Sesame Street Place (ok, but not worth the trip just for that), Philadelphia Zoo (great), Children's Hands on Museum (awesome...never would guess form the outside). We also visited Liberty Bell, Betsy Ross' home, etc... We then went to the Crayola Crayon Factory (nice driving diversion) and came home through Niagra Falls....It was a great trip. I have three children. They were 1,3 and 5. Oh and they had an IKEA as well....

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

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.

We love Knoebels...it is a great little park. We like it because of the free admission, you can just walk around and not ride anything! Our DS is just starting to "get into" rides so this way we can just buy the tickets when he feels like riding. We think they have great food too! We try and go a few times a year, since we are close. Certainly not WDW, but a fun park.

 

[kaysmommie]

I have been to both parks and yes they are far away from each other so you will nedd 2 different hotels. When we went to Sesame place we stayed at the Sheraton right there that gives a free park shuttle. It was alright nothing fancy and the shuttle wasn't that great. The only good thing was kids eat free there and it is the closest to SP. i was not impressed with Sesame place at all. the characters were cute but it was not well run and alot of the guest were very rude and trashy. laot of the rides are water rides and slides and even a lazy river. If you go first thing in the morning it's not too bad but by afternoon forget the waterslide because you will wait over and hour or more .

Hershey park is pretty nice and well run. The theme park is quite nice but my kids love chocolate world and the tour and candy making there. They have the best hot chocolate and coffee drinks there too. We stayed at a Hilton Garden in that was about 5 minutes away. Hotel Hershey and hershey Lodeg are supposed to be nice but are a bit more expensive. they have a shuttle to the park, chocolate world and the hershey gardens too. Also we love lancaster and visiting Kitchen kettle shops and eating at Shady Maple which has the best breakfast in the world and it's only $6 each (yum) and 4 and under are free.

 

[princesspiglet]

I live in lingelstown which is 5 minutes away from Hersheypark. My DD4 loves HP and they are adding an amazing waterpark on this summer, so it should be even better. It is a pretty big park with alot of hills, but does not seem crowded even during the busiest times. We also go to Dutch wonderland which is 45 mins, down the road in Lancaster. it is geared more towwards young kids and I don't think you could spend an enitire day there. There are tons of things to do in Lancaster though if you wanted to make it an all day trip.

Now regarding Sesame Place. The only reason we go is because my husband is military so we get in free, otherwise I would not waste my money or time there. It is a 2 hour drive from Hershey. Like others have said, the park is always extremely crowded, no matter what day you go. It is a small park and not worth the price of admission, which I think is up to $41 a person!

You could make a weeks vacation on what is available in the Hershey/Lancaster region. You can also drive 2 hours north and go to Knoebel's which is another awesome amusement park. they have 2 great campgrounds on site which are wonderful to stay at. The best thing about Knoebel's is that you pay as you go. i am not a "rider" but my DD4 loves them, so DH and I get in free but buy tickets for her to ride all the rides- we all leave very happy. The rides are pretty cheap too- anywhere from .80cents to $1.20.

If you want some more detailed info, pelase pm me. I would be hapy to help anyone out with ideas/ info for the area.

 

[tammyandtommy]

Seconding Knoebels! We go every year!

 

[writersblock42]

For those that said Hershey Park will be a disappointment after Disney...I both agree and disagree. You have to go to Hershey Park with a different attitude than Disney. Hershey Park is a place for chocolate! and rides. There are not characters and parades and shows and all that Disney has to offer...but they have chocolate. Also they have some type of show either dolphins or sea lions that is pretty good and Zoo America is an alright zoo that is included in the ticket price. I live around here and my reccommedation would be to do a day at Hershey and maybe a day at Sesame Place, but get out and do a lot of other things that the area has to offer. Ride in an Amish buggy, visit Landis Valley Musuem (working farm for kids), twist your own pretzel at the Sturgis Pretezel House, take a trip to Philadelphia and for you visit the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross House and for the kids visit the Franklin Institute (awesome science musuem). There is so much to do in the area. Philly alone is just full of stuff. Another option if you did not want to switch hotels would be to go to Sesame Place and Dorney Park. Yet another option is the sunset savings plan where you could just go to Hershey Park after 5 pm. There are a lot of options. for the area.
I personally think that Dutch Wonderland is cheesy, but some people really like it.

 

[mommy2savannah]

We went to Sesame Place two summers ago when my dd was 20 months old. We had a wonderful time. There are many hotels in the area, but I don't remember where we stayed. I think Sesame is a great place for little ones. We are planning to go again this summer. Everyone mainly walks around in their bathing suits and water shoes since most of the rides are water rides. I've heard that the food is not the best. You may want to bring a picnic lunch and leave it in the car (they don't allow you to bring food inside the park). They have picnic tables at the entrance of the park . We just had sandwiches in the car for lunch and for dinner we ate at a nearby Old Country Buffet on the way back to our hotel. The next morning we had a character breakfast booked (eggs, bacon, french toast sticks, cereals, etc.) The characters were fun and the food was good at this particular location. I have not been to Hershey but would definitley recommend Sesame Place. Oh, one more thing, they usually have an offer where you buy one ticket at full price and get to go back on another day for free. It's a good deal if you plan on going for two days.

 

[MinMouse]

I agree with some other posters that Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster would be a great place to go with children 3 & 6. It's a great park for the little guys. Mine have outgrown it Definitely check out Willow Valley in Lancaster. The hotel has a great smorgasbord restaurant and I think they have a water park since the last time we went. Great time for the kids and in the heart of Lancaster. You can see the cows off in the fields. You could easily make a day trip to Hershey Park from here. I always liked that Hershey had "little kid" rides in every area of the park. So if someone wants to hit a big attraction there's something for the little ones to do. Instead of splitting up the group.

We live in Delaware about 15 miles south of Philadelphia. Just a note about the Franklin Institute. They are currently hosting the King Tut exhibit. I believe it's the last one in North America. Supposed to be amazing and here through September (I believe).

 

[htmom]

We have been to Sesame Place a few times and it is cute. DS (five now, three when we went) liked it. Be prepared that it is mostly a waterpark. I was surprised by the amount of people who didn't know that when they went in.
Hershey park is really fun. They have so many kids rides. (check out thier website for a list and height reqs) My son always loves to see what rides he is big enough for at the beginning of the new seasons.(this year is Pirat and Canyon River Rapids, I have been told by him ) We usually go in the park in the morning, go to Chocolate World around lunch, then go back in the park to the zoo, then finish the day in the park. We always go up to the gardens during the summer as well. The roses are beautiful.

For a hotel in Hershey I would try Country Inn and Suites (it is where our relatives stay when they are coming in for a visit)

 

[carabean]

My family and a friends family went to both places last summer. I would not recommend Sesame Place to anyone! It happened to be a nice day, mid-week and the crowds were awful!!! We got there first thing in the morning so we were able to do a lot in the first two hours, but after that forget it. It is not a very big place and it is so close to major cities. I guess if the weather was bad it wouldn't matter much, but who wants to go to a waterpark in the rain? The shows were good but, not worth the money.
On the other hand, We all LOVED Hershey! It is a very clean park and there is something to do for all ages. Last year they were adding a water park area as well. That should be completed by now. Looking back we would have spent an extra day at Hershey and skipped Sesame all together. Plus my seven year old.... well was just too old. He couldn't wait to get to Hershey. I hope this helps. Oh yeah- there are a lot of affordable places to stay in or around Hershey.

 

[Gillian]

Htmom, and others near Hershey Park, if my kids will be 4 & 6, should we do Dutch Wonderland or Hershey Park? Or just wait until next year?

We are thinking of camping also. We've been to Spring Gulch, which is ?? an hour from Hershey I think.

We enjoy Sesame Place, but we're local and have much more flexibility. The season passes are very reasonable (especially compared to a 1 day ticket!) and we can leave once it gets crowded. We like to arrive as early as we can and leave either before or just after the 2:00 parade. It's also nice to go in the evening, maybe around 4-5. I realize that's not a typical visit!

 

[dismom301930]

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.

I totally agree. We live in the middle of the two parks and we LOVE Hershey. We go every year, and all three of my girls (2, 5, 6) really look forward to it. I think they have enough rides to keep kids of all ages entertained, although there are a lot of roller coasters for really big kids. We are looking forward to the new waterpark section this year. We also love Chocolate World.

We have gone to Sesame Place twice, and really disliked it both times. We found it to be extremely crowded and very dirty, and the people were very rude. We will never go back.

Other places in the area we like to go with our kids include the Franklin Institute, the Philadelphia Zoo, and the Crayola Factory. When my kids were younger, they really liked the Please Touch Museum.

Many people have recommended Dutch Wonderland to us, and I think we will try it this year. I have also heard very good things about the aquarium in Camden, NJ.

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

I disagree with this in respect to Hershey Park. We love WDW, but we also love Hershey. We think it is clean, pretty, and great for families. Of course the parks are very different, but I don't think you will be disappointed with Hershey.

 

[htmom]

Gillian- Personally we would go with Hershey. The park is MUCH bigger and lots of things to do. Dutch Wonderland is cute but my five year old gets bored after about two hours, where as in Hershey it takes a day just to "do" the park.

 

[sexyravenfan]

We live about a half hour from Hershey park so we go all the time. I love it. It is clean and just the scenery is great. There are plenty of rides for the kids. Mostly big coasters though.

 

[zoomsharedisney]

My vote between the two would be Hershey Park. I feel that there is more available for the kids to do in Hershey with the theme park, Chocolate World, and Zoo America. But for a great kid friendly park with one of the largest kiddie lands in the United States - then I would say Idlewild Park.

The park is divided into several parts: Storybook Forest, Racoon Lagoon, Mister Rodger's Neighborhood, Hootin' Hollor', and Jumpin' Jungle.

 

[jlstwinmommy]

We have been going to Hershey every year since my older son was 18 months. We are only about 2 hours from Hershey, so it's close for us. We usually go for 2 nights and spend 2 days at Hershey park. We stay at the Hershey Lodge because of all the activities for kids there. My kids love this park. This is where we go when we can't go to Disney. If you go during the week, Wed and Thurs are usually the least crowded. We usually go Thurs and Fri in May (so it's before school is out) and the park is practically empty. My dh's company has had their company picnic there the last couple of years in August and it's usually packed then (of course it's on a Saturday in the summer, so i wouldn't expect less).

 

[sandman12998]

I am a long time season pass holder at Sesame and have also been to Hershey and Dutch Wonderland several times. About Sesame, this is one of those places where you have to know the strategy (kind of like Disney). First, you need to go when its hot b/c it really is primarily a water park. If you can't go when its hot, its really not worth the price of admission. Second, you need to go midweek and be at the gate when they open. July and August are the most crowded times so if you can go in June or September, you'll be better off. Even in July/August, if you are there right when they open, then you will be able to do the big slides before it gets overly crowded. Once lunch time hits, go to the wave/activity pools where you kids can just splash and play without waiting in line. There are low, beach type chairs for the parents so you can just sit and watch your kids. The pools are zero entry and they don't get very deep. There is no question that it gets quite crowded especially in the afternoon. I find that if you back and rest and come back after 4pm, it is usually less crowded and the crowds continue to die as the evening wears on. If your children like the characters, there are many opportunities to interact with them.

Hershey is a very clean, well run park. There is tons to do for all ages. The Hershey candy bar characters wall around. There are water rides here too so bring suits and water shoes. Again, do not go on a weekend in the summer. You will be miserable. Go during the week and be there when they open. There is no need to spend the extra money to stay at the Hershey Lodge or Hotel, there are chain hotels on the outskirts that are much more affordable.
Dutch Wonderland would be a great park for your kids age. It is very well run and also has a waterpark section. Lancaster is a wonderful place to visit, full of history and shopping outlets. Look online for package deals that include an amish buffet. Again, go midweek.
If you have any further questions, I would be happy to answer.

 

[mcrockett1220]

We live about 1 1/2 hours from Hershey. We have taken my DD 4 times, the first time she was 18 mos, now she is 4. She LOVES it. She actually asks to go back there more often than she asks to go back to Disney. Your kids definitely are not too little for Hersheypark. There is so much to do. We usually take 2 days just to do the park. Then about a half day for chocolate world (do the 3D show). There is also a zoo, butterfly gardens, museum, trolley tours, etc. It is a very neat town. The park is beautifully landscaped and very clean. There are a lot of hills though. And it is incredibly busy during weekends in the summer (and hot!). We hate sesame place- crowded, dirty, almost all water rides. But that is just one opinion. My recommendation is to do the ticket package that includes admission to Hersheypark and an extra day to Dutch Wonderland, 45 minutes away in Lancaster. Won't take you all day to do Dutch Wonderland, but there is exceptional outlet shopping ( 2 centers), mini golf, etc. on the same stretch of road. I recommend staying at the Suites at Hershey. All rooms have 2 bedrooms and full kitchen plus washer and dryer. Very nice. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.