OT: Sesame Place, any comments?

[letsgoagainsoon]

We were thinking about going to Sesame Place next weekend. It is about a 3hr drive for us. Can anyone tell me about it? Is it worth the money and the drive? Doesn't seem to be a lot of rides, and DS is not really into water parks that much.

Their website doesn't really show that much.

Any tips or comments?

TIA!

 

[imthatgirl]

well it is mostly water related rides.

we went as kids every year. but now as an adult i have not taken my children. i was shocked by how much they were charging to get in the door. if i remember correctly it was abour $50 for 2 days after the tax was added on. right now you can go to sixflags for 29.99 and pay the $10 to stay the extra day. so no i dont think its worth $50 a person.

 

[jmb120]

we took our DS 2 at the time last summer. We went before Memorial Day and it was really cold outside so we didn't do any of the water rides and neither did 99% of the other people at Sesame Place. My son had a blast with just the rides they do have. We would take the kids back this year except for gas prices and we are saving every penny for Disney this November.

I would recommend Sesame Place it is perfect for toddlers and pre-schoolers. The shows are great that they have and the parade is really nice too. I wish we lived closer, it was about 4.5 hours for us to get there.

 

[badblackpug]

We are close, but DON"T go on the weekend. It is suoer crowded. Also, I would say 90% of the park is water slides or water related, so if your son is not into that I would skip it. I'm not sure where you are located, but you may want to try Dutch Wonderland or Dorney Park instead.

 

[brymolmom]

IF you want to PM me your email address...I have a pretty lengthy review written up from my two visits (2005 and 2007). Some good information in there. I second the 'don't go on a weekend if at all possible' suggestion.

 

[QueenGoblin]

We have been a few times, but it isn't very far away for us, and we tend to go in the off-season when the tix are cheaper. There are only a handful of rides that aren't water rides. It is very crowded in the summer and it is kind of messy and not managed very well.
When we took DD at 2, she loved the parade and the shows. We took her when she was 4 and she was much more jaded by then (nothing was up to snuff compared to her recent Disney trip, and she was pretty unimpressed by the parade and shows by then.)
If your kids are still really little and will be excited about the characters, it might be worth it, but if they are older, they might not get much out of it, especially since it is mostly water attractions.
If you are in Central Pa, have you thought about going the other direction and hitting the Pittsburgh area? We took DD to Idlewild this year and she really enjoyed it.

 

[java]

save your money! Stay home. Now I have not been in a year but swore never ever again. I have many posts on here talking about why I hate Sesame Place. DIRTY is the number one complaint and by dirty I mean disgustingly dirty as the kids wouldn't even go in the water last time it was so gross. (someone threw up in the pool- a couple employees came over with a net- scooped what they could and kept the pool OPEN! )

So my opinion- not worth the money or the drive(and we live within 45 minutes of the place)

 

[boardom]

SP is worth a visit if you have a big Elmo fan in the family, or if your kids really enjoy waterparks. Otherwise, I would pass. We got season passes in August last yr which covered the end of last season and all of this one - pays for itself in 3 visits - but I wouldn't do it again.

If you do go, do your utmost not to go on a weekend. I agree it can be kinda grungy there, but especially so when it's busy, plus the lines get really awful.


I highly recommend Dutch Wonderland - I have never been there when it was super busy, even on weekends you can often walk on to rides. It is super cute, SPOTLESSLY clean, the kids that work there are really nice, and it's just perfect for about ages 3-6. Also...you may want to sit down for this...parking is free. Can you imagine??

 

[jenb1023]

If you are going to drive that far, Hersheypark or Dutch Wonderland would be a better option IMHO.

 

[mrstomrice]

We live just a few miles away. It is a small park. As for rides, there are 7 that I can think of off the top of my head, along with a big moon bounce, slide, and a climbing net area. There are smaller water experiences too for the smaller kids. The shows are pretty cute too. DO NOT go on the weekends. I have never seen it dirty as the pp mentioned, or I wouldn't go myself. We've had season passes for 3 years now and it is getting better then it had been. It is not Disney and isn't meant to be. We tend to get to the park in the evenings and do a few things with our 2 ds's. Young children love it. The characters are around the park for them to meet and they have a parade twice a day. You'd be better waiting until mid to late Aug, as they have offered a deal that you can buy a season pass for this summer and get all of next summer free...I think you can even buy a regular 1 day pass and upgrade as you leave if you like it. A 1 day pass is good for 2 visits in a year. If you go, get there by 9:45 to get in line for the opening.
They keep the flower beds well cared for with gorgeous flowers too!
You can pack you lunch and carry it into the park in a small cooler to save money. If you have any questions, feel free to pm me!

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

Thanks everyone for your posts! I had been thinking of Dutch Wonderland too...maybe a better option for us now.

 

[dolfinjuls]

I really like Sesame Place! I used to go as a kid so I know it holds some memories from my childhood.

But we've gone twice a year the past 3 years. This year we got the season pass that allows access to all of the Anheiser Busch parks. My daughters love it. A lot of it is water. But we've also gone early in the season before it was warm enough for the water areas and still had a good time.

I actually just went this past Sunday even though I swore I wouldn't go on a weekend in July/August. It was crowded, but we didn't have to wait to do most things. And the park was very clean, and I even encountered some pretty friendly employees which was not very common before!

I'm sure it's not like Disney...but we enjoy it!

 

[Kenenitz]

Honestly I would check out Dutch Wonderland or Hershey. Sesame Place is nice but I don't think it's as nice as it used to be. We used to go all the time, but for the price, DW is nicer, esp since your son isn't into water rides all that much. JMO

 

[chloe770]

save your money! Stay home. Now I have not been in a year but swore never ever again. I have many posts on here talking about why I hate Sesame Place. DIRTY is the number one complaint and by dirty I mean disgustingly dirty as the kids wouldn't even go in the water last time it was so gross. (someone threw up in the pool- a couple employees came over with a net- scooped what they could and kept the pool OPEN! )

So my opinion- not worth the money or the drive(and we live within 45 minutes of the place)

I agree 100%

Try Dutch Wonderland. it is a much nicer park.

 

[Minniemouse07]

We were just at Dutch Wonderland on Saturday and it was, well, WONDERFUL!

Dd is 7yo and ds 2.5yo and they both had an amazing time. We literally walked dd onto the "big" roller coaster, three times. The longest wait was for the water slide (about 20min) but other than that we waited no more than 1 or 2 ride cycles for anything else.

We are equidistant from both parks and we much prefer DW.

 

[QueenGoblin]

Another vote for Dutch Wonderland over Sesame Place. It is spotlessly clean and we have never seen it very crowded. It doesn't look like much from the road, but there is quite a lovely park hidden back there. The shows are a little corny, but DD enjoys them, esp. the frog prince diving show. There is a nice water area that is mostly sprinklers etc. rather than pools and slides. Most of the park is small rides meant for little kids.

Plus, Lancaster County is a nice area and less congested than the area around Phillie. If you wanted to make a whole weekend out of it, you could visit a working farm, or Hands on House and there is lots of outlet shopping if you are into that.

 

[carrie6466]

We were just at Sesame Place last Sat/Sunday with a 5 yo and a 2.5 yo for the first time. I have to say it was absolutely mobbed on Saturday. I wouldn't ever go there on a Sat. again. Sunday was better. FWIW, it didn't seem to be dirty, the kids loved interacting with the characters, the parade, bouncy/climbing rides (?) and the water stuff. On the other hand, the food stunk and it's certainly not WDW. I would have rather done the second day at Dutch Wonderland than 2 days at SP.

 

[birdsboro]

i don't know about you but i took my 3yo daughter there earlier this year.....i paid the $50 a piece for 2 days....i had never been there before...but i figured i would use this trip as a primer for our disney trip later this fall. I was curious to see how she would interact with the characters, needless to say the first time she saw them come out on stage for a show.....the ticket lady coulda said it was $400 to get in and i woulda paid it. My daughter LOST her mind, that in itself makes up for the "lack" of rides....altho i felt that there was plenty there to keep her occupied....the giant rope climb alone was enough to keep her busy for the entire trip....and the fact that she was chosen to be in the elmo live show was just icing on the cake......my suggestion is.....just go ahead and do it.....what sesame place lacks for in size/rides, etc......they completely make up for in being the only place you can go and hug big bird and get your picture taken with bert and ernie and bang on oscar's trash can.....just like you can only see goofy and wdw...well........you get the idea. wheew that was long.

 

[KEMdisney]

I think it all depends what you are looking for from this trip, and how old your children are. If they are young children and into the Sesame characters Im not sure how you could pass this up. Although it is a crowded, smaller park...and yes, maybe not the cleanest-- if you have an Elmo lover, just seeing your little one with Elmo is enough to make you keep going back. The parades and shows are great for little ones...Id say 4 and younger. If you have children over that age, who are anticipating much more than that, then I wouldnt recomend SP. DON'T compare it to WDW, or youll be let down. Ive been there during the week and it wasn't overly crowded. The water rides were fun, the parade was great, and the shows were wonderful in the eyes on my two year olds twins. The dirtiest that I saw was that there seemed to be a lot of hair in the wave pool when we were there. If you arent too far from SP Id say try it out....just like everyone on the DISboards, you kind of have to check things out for yourself!

 

[KEMdisney]

Also, I just wanted to add that for me, my kids weren't really into Disney characters until recently. While they were very young, Disney didn't really hold their attention ... but Sesame Street seemed to hold their attention for much longer. That being said, my daughters (against my will) were more interested in Big Bird than Mickey!! If you are close enough to drive to Sesame Place, than I would look at it as an advantage being so close. Think of all the kids on the West Coast that love Elmo but do not have the opportunity to see him!