OT: Questions for anyone who has been to Sesame Place

[bangzoom6877]

Hello all! DH and I decided as well to purchase the season passes for Sesame Place for our family. We have not taken the kids there yet, and they have some special events going on this summer that was wanted to take them to, plus we live so close that we can take several day trips there throughout the summer for them to enjoy. DH and I are both teachers so we have the summer off and are able to go there during the week any time we want.

We already have a 5-night trip planned to Lancaster, PA so we could take the kids to Dutch Wonderland, Hershey Park, Strasburg Railroad, etc. and also have some time to relax and enjoy the pool at the hotel.

Since Sesame Place is having Bert's Birthday Bash, which I already reserved for our family, and it takes place 2 days after we check out of the hotel in Lancaster, we are considering extending our trip and adding 3 nights at a hotel near Sesame Place, and also checking out Philadelphia. DH and I have both never been to Philly. I am, however, nervous about the area where I stay, since this is an unfamiliar area to me. The hotels in Langhorne (town where Sesame Place is located) are very expensive, but there are hotels within 15-30 minutes from Sesame Place that are all $89-$129 per night, much more affordable.

Could anyone recommend an area to stay near Philly/Sesame Place? Here are towns I had found:

-North Wales, PA
-Mt. Laurel, NJ
-Trevose, PA
-Center City Philadelphia, PA
-Levittown, PA
-Horsham, PA
-Audubon, PA
-Princeton, NJ

Thanks in advance for any info!

 

[NattysMom]

Since Sesame Place is having Bert's Birthday Bash, which I already reserved for our family, and it takes place 2 days after we check out of the hotel in Lancaster, we are considering extending our trip and adding 3 nights at a hotel near Sesame Place, and also checking out Philadelphia. DH and I have both never been to Philly. I am, however, nervous about the area where I stay, since this is an unfamiliar area to me. The hotels in Langhorne (town where Sesame Place is located) are very expensive, but there are hotels within 15-30 minutes from Sesame Place that are all $89-$129 per night, much more affordable.

Could anyone recommend an area to stay near Philly/Sesame Place? Here are towns I had found:

-North Wales, PA
-Mt. Laurel, NJ
-Trevose, PA
-Center City Philadelphia, PA
-Levittown, PA
-Horsham, PA
-Audubon, PA
-Princeton, NJ

Thanks in advance for any info!

Hi! We live about 20 minutes from Sesame Place and go often. Like you said, there is a Sheraton in Langhorne literally across the street from Sesame Place but it might be pricey. There is a Red Roof Inn just down the street, a Marriott Courtyard as well as a Residence Inn quite close by. One option is the Hampton Inn in Newtown, PA. It's close by off of I-95 and would be easy to get to downtown Philadelphia as well.
Trevose and Bensalem, PA might have more choices with discounts but aren't really touristy destinations. They are more in between both places.
I don't know which location you want to be closer to - Sesame Place or downtown Philly.
Let me know if you have any more questions I can help with!

 

[bangzoom6877]

Hi! We live about 20 minutes from Sesame Place and go often. Like you said, there is a Sheraton in Langhorne literally across the street from Sesame Place but it might be pricey. There is a Red Roof Inn just down the street, a Marriott Courtyard as well as a Residence Inn quite close by. One option is the Hampton Inn in Newtown, PA. It's close by off of I-95 and would be easy to get to downtown Philadelphia as well.
Trevose and Bensalem, PA might have more choices with discounts but aren't really touristy destinations. They are more in between both places.
I don't know which location you want to be closer to - Sesame Place or downtown Philly.
Let me know if you have any more questions I can help with!

We would like to be closer to Sesame Place, but still able to drive into Philly, so within an hour of Philly but preferable 30 min. or so. Sesame Place is priority though.

How is North Wales? There is a Residence Inn there, called Residence Inn Montgomeryville. Do you think it is worth it to stay in Princeton, NJ or Mt. Laurel? Would there be a toll to go to Sesame Place or Philly from those locations since we are crossing state lines each time?

 

[NattysMom]

I personally wouldn't really recommend North Wales. It may say it's 32 minutes away(via google maps) but that's on the turnpike going like 65 mph! There is also a $1.60 toll each way. I'd say you'd want to stay close enough to Interstate 95 to be able to make the trip quickly. Sesame Place is right off of 95 and so is downtown Philadelphia. Did you look into the Residence Inn in Langhorne?

You'd pay a toll from Mt. Laurel crossing a bridge but I think you could avoid a toll from Princeton but it's farther north from Sesame Place thus making your trip to Philly even longer.

I'll try to think of some other suggestions!

 

[NattysMom]

I found some good rates for the Red Roof Inn- Philadelphia/Oxford Valley. Try that! Sesame Place is right next to the Oxford Valley Mall and sometimes they call the area that even though it's Langhorne. You could probably see the big rubber ducky slide from your room!

 

[Ariel8676]

Don't know anything about nearby hotels, but just wanted to say..we take our girls to Sesame place a few times a year and always have a fantastic time!!!!!

 

[turtlebean]

We went to Sesame Place last year and stayed at a Comfort Inn in Levittown. It was pretty close, maybe only 15 minutes away at the most. We aren't used to the roads in PA, so sometimes it would take us longer b/c we would get confused w/the no left hand turn rule. The hotel we stayed in was really nice and had just been redone.

On another note, Sesame Place left a bad taste in my mouth. I think when we went had a lot to do w/it. It was really hot. We went for 2 days, Monday and Tuesday. Monday it was 100 degrees w/the heat index and on Tuesday it was 115 degrees w/the heat index. (If you watch Jon and Kate +8, we were there the same time they were and saw them filming.) There were a ton of people and I just wasn't that impressed. It was nice to do once, but not sure we will do it again. We did go to Dutch Wonderland later that week and absolutely loved it. It was very shady and they had a nice little water park. Not like Sesame Place, but enough for the little ones and enough to cool the adults down. All of the rides seemed to be more geared for little ones and a ton of family oriented rides. We loved Dutch Wonderland so much, we went back around halloween time for ds's birthday. We go to Hersheypark a lot b/c it's only 1 1/2 hrs from our house and it's always very clean. Not sure when you are going, but they are adding to their waterpark area and it looks really nice. (We were up there for Springtime In The Park and they were still working on it). If you have any little ones who like trains, you definitely have to visit Strasborg Railroad. It's really neat and you make catch Thomas the train while you are there. He's usually there in June, September, and December. It's a must if you have a Thomas lover like we do. Hope you enjoy your trip to Lancaster. I really like the area and there is a ton for little ones. It's about 2 hours from where we live, so it makes for a nice day trip. Not sure how old your kids are, but if you get a chance check out Hands On House, while in lancaster. We stopped there in November and my boys had a great time. It's an interactive children's musuem and a lot of fun.

 

[turtlebean]

I just saw how old your kids are. They will LOVE Hands on House and Dutch Wonderland. You guys will have a blast.

 

[ryanshana]

I live in Warminster, which is about 15-20 mins from Sesame Place.

North Wales is too far. NW is about 15-20 mins drive from Warminster in the opposite direction of sesame place.

These are a list of the cities that are closest to SP and the end of the list will be close to SP but going towards Philly.

Yardley
Newton
Langhorne
Levittown
Bristol
Bensalem
NE Philadelphia
Center City Philadelphia.

You wanna be near either 95 or Route 1 as both of those roads have easy access to Sesame Place

Red Roof inn on Oxford Valley rd
Red roof on rt one
Shereton on Oxford Valley rd (of all of them I would suggest this one...I believe they have shuttles to and from sesame place and it is like a 2min drive to 95 south which takes you into Center City, ride time on 95 would be about 35-45 mins to get to the heart of the city)
Comfort Inn in Levittown I wouldn't suggest it is right near a bad part of Bristol.

I wouldn't suggest a hotel in bristol cause there are good parts and bad parts. And not being from around here you may not know what is the good and bad parts

There is also a new Holiday Inn express in Warminster on Street rd But then again you'd be 20ish mins from Sesame Place and about 45-50 mins from the city

If you need anymore help PM me.

Can you tell I lived here all my life and worked at sesame place??!?!

 

[ryanshana]

We went to Sesame Place last year and stayed at a Comfort Inn in Levittown. It was pretty close, maybe only 15 minutes away at the most. We aren't used to the roads in PA, so sometimes it would take us longer b/c we would get confused w/the no left hand turn rule. The hotel we stayed in was really nice and had just been redone.

On another note, Sesame Place left a bad taste in my mouth. I think when we went had a lot to do w/it. It was really hot. We went for 2 days, Monday and Tuesday. Monday it was 100 degrees w/the heat index and on Tuesday it was 115 degrees w/the heat index. (If you watch Jon and Kate +8, we were there the same time they were and saw them filming.) There were a ton of people and I just wasn't that impressed. It was nice to do once, but not sure we will do it again. We did go to Dutch Wonderland later that week and absolutely loved it. It was very shady and they had a nice little water park. Not like Sesame Place, but enough for the little ones and enough to cool the adults down. All of the rides seemed to be more geared for little ones and a ton of family oriented rides. We loved Dutch Wonderland so much, we went back around halloween time for ds's birthday. We go to Hersheypark a lot b/c it's only 1 1/2 hrs from our house and it's always very clean. Not sure when you are going, but they are adding to their waterpark area and it looks really nice. (We were up there for Springtime In The Park and they were still working on it). If you have any little ones who like trains, you definitely have to visit Strasborg Railroad. It's really neat and you make catch Thomas the train while you are there. He's usually there in June, September, and December. It's a must if you have a Thomas lover like we do. Hope you enjoy your trip to Lancaster. I really like the area and there is a ton for little ones. It's about 2 hours from where we live, so it makes for a nice day trip. Not sure how old your kids are, but if you get a chance check out Hands On House, while in lancaster. We stopped there in November and my boys had a great time. It's an interactive children's musuem and a lot of fun.

I am sorry that SP left a bad taste in your mouth. But seriously I have never had a bad time there......We do have Season passes too and that allows us to go on non-peak blazing hot times.

Some suggestions to make sesame a good time is either go early or go later in the day. WHich would be another good reason to stay at the Sheraton because if it gets too hot you can leave and come back. It does get HOT in July/August and will get PACKED on the weekends. If you can go on a weekday it will be better. If you can't take one of those misters like people do at Disney.

Food can be expensive. I went yesterday and we had dinner there we got 2 individual pepperoni pizza that came w/ fries and a drink and 2 kids meal (one hot dog and one chicken tenders, p.s. their chicken tenders are awesome!) that came w/ fries and drink, DH got 2 cookies and DS got a cupcake. Total was $35 that was w/ our season pass discount of 30% which saved us 13 bucks.

I wasn't expecting to eat there but DSs were really hungry so we decided to. There are alot of picnic areas and their lockers are HUGE! So I would suggest packing if you like. There is a grocery store called Redners that is about 5 mins from sesame place I believe it's on business Rt 1 or Old Lincoln Hwy.

Again if you have any questions just ask!

 

[ryanshana]

We went for 2 days, Monday and Tuesday. Monday it was 100 degrees w/the heat index and on Tuesday it was 115 degrees w/the heat index. (If you watch Jon and Kate +8, we were there the same time they were and saw them filming.)

And also I remember that it had leaked in the news that J&K+8 were going to be there those days which may have made it more mobbed than normal.

 

[turtlebean]

And also I remember that it had leaked in the news that J&K+8 were going to be there those days which may have made it more mobbed than normal.

Believe it or not, that day was the least busiest. Monday was much worse b/c there were a lot of schools there for I guess their end of the year field trip. Alot of it had to do w/the heat to be honest. I wouldn't not recommend going to sesame place. We still had fun. But after 3 1/2 hrs in the car and then to go and walk around in the heat, it was a bit much. Also the days we went we had a fluke heat wave. Of course we had to pick the hottest days go, lol. It was so hot that we didn't even ride any of the regular rides, just the water rides. Also I thought it was a bit expensive. I expect to pay alot when I go to theme parks, but it just seemed crazy. It was $15 to park each day, to rent a stroller $15 (on the second day we just used our own umbrella strollers), to rent a locker it was $15 a day, and the food was really expensive. DH and I shared a hamburger meal and the boys shared a hot dog kids meal and it was $22. The next day we just made sure not to eat in the park. I expect to pay those prices at Disney World, not Sesame Place, lol. Next time we go, we'll probably go when it's not quite as hot like May or September.

 

[micheleq]

My friends and I are planning a playgroup trip to Sesame Place the first week of June w/our preschoolers, and I am staying at a friend's house in Cranbury, NJ (near Princeton) the night before to minimize travel time. She tells me SP is about 20-30 minutes from Princeton.

ryanshana gave me some great advice about a trip to SP, so listen to her! We are going on a Tuesday so hopefully the crowds won't be so bad. We'll also probably pack our lunch and bring our own strollers into the park since we'll have kids ages 2-4 with us. And bonus, because there are about 16 of us going, we can get a group rate

Have a great trip. We also love Hershey Park!

 

[PrincessPeyton]

I live in Bristol which is only a couple of minutes away from Sesame Place. We have season passes and were already there on Friday! I don't know how the prices are but I strongly recommend the Residence Inn Philadelphia Langhorne for families. We actually had to stay there when work was being done on our house. The reason I recommend it for a family is because we stayed in a suite that had a fold out couch in the living room, a kitchenette, and a separate bed room that had a king size bed in it. They also have a really good breakfast that will have plenty of selection for everyone in the family.
Like the OP wrote, don't buy meals there! they food is really expensive. we get a season pass discount and we still don't eat there!
BTW, the new count's castle is awesome! I can't wait until it stops raining here in PA so we can go back!

 

[ryanshana]

Believe it or not, that day was the least busiest. Monday was much worse b/c there were a lot of schools there for I guess their end of the year field trip. Alot of it had to do w/the heat to be honest. I wouldn't not recommend going to sesame place. We still had fun. But after 3 1/2 hrs in the car and then to go and walk around in the heat, it was a bit much. Also the days we went we had a fluke heat wave. Of course we had to pick the hottest days go, lol. It was so hot that we didn't even ride any of the regular rides, just the water rides. Also I thought it was a bit expensive. I expect to pay alot when I go to theme parks, but it just seemed crazy. It was $15 to park each day, to rent a stroller $15 (on the second day we just used our own umbrella strollers), to rent a locker it was $15 a day, and the food was really expensive. DH and I shared a hamburger meal and the boys shared a hot dog kids meal and it was $22. The next day we just made sure not to eat in the park. I expect to pay those prices at Disney World, not Sesame Place, lol. Next time we go, we'll probably go when it's not quite as hot like May or September.

Oh that's weird than. We normally don't have a probably w/ crowds...but then again since we live soo close we just up and leave if the crowds become a problem.

Another budget saver for SP is season pass now get 30% off EVERYTHING inside the park except character dining. Bringing your own stroller if you can would be better cause they are pricey but I believe of you get part of that back when you return the stroller to where you got it. Also if you google stroller rental you can pre-buy lockers and strollers which looks like it is cheaper then when you get there. If you are going for more than one day and buy a popcorn bucket or a souvenir cup bring it back the next day refills on the soda are less than a dollar for season pass members and I think popcorn refills are like 2 bucks (might be a little more or less)

um what else.......shows are great and free....also several non-regular shows are going on this season....like choo choo soul and dan zane and lazy town Go to the website click on events and make a reservation, seriously make the reservation or you will not be able to get into the show (not the park just the show theatre kind of small)

That's all I can remember right now. I'm sure I'll think of more.

Oh yeah those helium balloons are RIDICULOUSLY priced something like 12 bucks maybe $18 somewhere between there....try to avoid the balloon person like the swine flu

 

[ryanshana]

ryanshana gave me some great advice about a trip to SP, so listen to her!

WOOHOO! glad I could help!

 

[mrstomrice]

We live in Langhorne and have had season passes for 3 years now. DO NOT go on the weekends. The crowds are huge and not always polite or watching their children in the water...it gets rough in tight areas at times for younger children. It is a totally different experience during the week.

 

[ryanshana]

We live in Langhorne and have had season passes for 3 years now. DO NOT go on the weekends. The crowds are huge and not always polite or watching their children in the water...it gets rough in tight areas at times for younger children. It is a totally different experience during the week.

Ya know we were at preview night or was it opening day, I don't remember. But we were waiting for flying fish and someone pushed their way to their family. I really don't care about trying to get to your family and all (I know some have issues w/ that) but do you have to almost knock over my 1 & 2 yo in the process? . DH was like here we go again!

 

[3babyws]

We have platinum Busch Gardens passes and have used them for SP a few times. Last trip we stayed in Princeton, NJ and I think it was mine and my husbands favorite part of the trip. We went into the town to a great ice cream place and walked around enjoying the beautiful campus areas and neat shops. My kids chased lightning bugs and we relaxed in a grassy coomon area. It was a pretty place and had a nice atmosphere. About a 15 minute drive to the park with a toll on the way there that cost about 25 cents or so. Best of luck picking a place and enjoy we really like SP.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Wow, thanks everyone!!

Anyone know how safe Mt. Laurel, NJ is? What about Plymouth Meeting, PA? I found some Marriott and Hilton hotels in both areas, they are decent rates, and seem to be not too far from either Sesame Place or Philly. I am just concerned about it being safe.

DH and I are picky about hotels in that we prefer a queen or king bed. We also prefer Marriott or Hilton hotels (the budget Marriott or Hilton is fine, and normally what we stay in, the ones that include breakfast).

We are staying over a weekend because Bert's Birthday Bash is that Sunday but we are getting season passes so other times we will go during the week throughout the summer since DH and I are both teachers. So whatever we miss we will see at other times in the summer. We also want to see some sites in Philly because we have never been there!

Thanks again everyone!