OT: Storyland, NH

[JenLanDisney]

Hi,

Has anyone got tips and must sees for Storyland in NH with a 2 year old? We are planning to visit Memorial Day weekend.

Thanks,
Jen

 

[Darcy03231]

If you get there in the late afternoon (I beleive its after 3 pm) you get free admission the next day.

 

[npmommie]

You will love Storyland! We go every summer! Most every ride is toddler friendly, there are no big huge scary rides, its clean, the food is reasonably priced, or you can bring a picnic.
at 2 yo your little one is FREE! how great is that!
they even have a pumpkin coach ride up to cinderellas castle and cinderella is there mornings and afternoons!
we love storyland

 

[MRYPPNS]

I've been going since I was a little girl and plan to take my DS for the first time this spring/summer. We went two years ago and I would suggest getting there first thing in the morning (just like at Disney). It got busier as the day worn on.
If you have time that weekend check out Clarke's Trading Post (it's a family favorite with us).

Wouldn't a DIS meet at Storyland be fun?

 

[tjmw2727]

I love storyland, we go every summer. Took our kids for years and now my kids love to go with my neice and nephew.

Everything is fun and unlike Disney you can see and do everything in one day. The only thing that IMHO gets really bad lines are the antique cars (not to be missed) and the raft ride if its warm. We also love the bamboo chutes. The website lists the most and least crowded days and we have found that the be quite accurate.

If we are staying in the area we take advangage of the deal a pp mentioned, enter after 3 (pay full price) and you can return the next day as well.

If you want to beat some of the lines head to the left first and save the storybook area for last. The carosel is also very neat - one of my favorite things

Its a very walkable park, clean and friendly, strollers are free and you can bring a picnic lunch

TJ

 

[GoofyinMaine]

Storyland is fabulous and you'll love it there. Contact the North Conway Chamber of Commerce for places to stay. I believe there is a Storyland hotel on the corner just before you take the right to get to Storyland. You also may want to consider Santa's Village. That too is in NH though a couple hours north from Storyland.

Also in Lincoln (across the Kankamankas Highway) there is Clarks Wild Animal Farm. The specialty there is bears.

It was (many) years ago that we took our two boys and loved every minute of all of these attractions.

Have a wonderful time. But like anything else book into a hotel/motel early. That's the busy season.

 

[collcass]

I believe it is still 1/2 price at Memorial Day but I could be wrong. my kids absolutely adore Storyland as do we.

Just north of there is Santas Village - another very cute park. In between there is a 'wild west" themed park that DH raved about and was not worth any of the money spent

have a terrific time!

ETA I was incorrect. It no longer is 1/2 price but is a reduced admission. I got this from the site:

Guest Appreciation Days, 9am to 5pm, on May 24-25-26, 30-31, June 1, 6-7-8, 13-14-15; special rate of $20 per person at the front entrance
Story Land will be open from 9am to 5pm on Memorial Day Weekend, Sat. 2/24, Sun. 2/25, and Mon. 2/26. After that, Story Land is open 9am to 5pm on the following three weekends: Fri. 5/30, Sat. 5/31, and Sun. 6/1; then Fri. 6/6, Sat. 6/7, and Sun. 6/8; then Fri. 6/13, Sat. 6/14, and Father's Day Sun. 6/15. The special admission rate for Guest Appreciation Days is $20 per person ages 3 and above (ages 1 & 2 enter free), and is available to all guests for purchase at the front entrance of the park, only on the dates listed above.

Daily Operating Season, 9am to 6pm, every day from June 16 through Labor Day September 1; only $24 per person
Story Land will be open from 9am to 6pm every day from Mon. June 16 through Labor Day, Mon. September 1. The admission rate for our Daily Operating Season is only $24 per person, ages 3 and above (ages 1 & 2 enter for free).

 

[emmiesmom]

I just want to chime in with the after 3pm deal! We went last year with DD (then 2) and she loved the "preview" the day before after being in the car for 4 hours- the crowds were also much lighter at this time of day when we went and we were able to walk on several rides.
My DD loved riding in the pumpkin coach, the flying shoes and the antique cars. We loved that almost all the rides were toddler friendly!

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We love Storyland, and we go up to North Conway from the Boston area every summer. We stayed at the new Hampton Inn with waterpark last summer; great place to stay with kids. And great outlet shopping, including Wooden Soldier for gorgeous kids clothes (check out the tent sales for AWESOME deals.) We also went to Santa's Village for the first time last summer, and the girls really enjoyed it. We loved looking for all of the elves!

I'm also really impressed with Storyland's food selection. My peanut allergic DD can enjoy Rebecca's Nut Free and Divvie's cookies there!

Here is a thread that I started awhile ago!

 

[mdurette]

Storyland is nice and clean and remarkably not all that expensive. I remember when we went the year before last that I was suprised the cost of the food and the variety was good in the park. Memorial Day weekend will be very busy - but if you are use to Disney you shouldn't have any problems! If you need another activity for the day try Clarks Trading Post and Santa's Village.

Prior to going I would recommend you introduce your child to the classic nursery rhymes....that the entire theme there.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

It's wonderful- a nice slow paced family place. We love going there (and my oldest is 11

Couple things that haven't been mentioned. Keep in mind it is in the mountains and in May, esp, it still may be cool. Bring a couple layers, fleece and a windjacket. The park is super small (compared to, say, Disney ) You could easily send someone back to the car for an extra layer if you need it.

On the flip side, there is a little water sprinkle type section. You may want to bring bathing suits for that. (Weather dependant of course whether you want your kids in there that early in the year.)

I believe they still have free strollers (been a while since I was in need of a stroller...) but they' are old/upright ones. I'd bring my own.

Stressing what someone else did- the food is very reasonably priced. We usually bring in some snacks for my DD since she wants to eat 24/7, but I have no problem paying their prices for the meals.

The line for the antique cars and raft ride were mentioned. The Polar Coaster can also have a good sized one. Tea cups can get backed up too (though allieviated some because now there is the similiarly spinning Glockenspiel ride by Heidi's house. You're still talking significantly shorter lines than Disney's worst though.

For future reference for anyone else going- both Storyland and Santa's Village (a little further north in Jefferson, NH) are open Labor Day to Columbus Day on the weekends as well. We try to hit them both then. Extends the summer a little bit and crowds are next to nothing!

 

[NHdisneylover]

It's wonderful- a nice slow paced family place. We love going there (and my oldest is 11

Couple things that haven't been mentioned. Keep in mind it is in the mountains and in May, esp, it still may be cool. Bring a couple layers, fleece and a windjacket. The park is super small (compared to, say, Disney ) You could easily send someone back to the car for an extra layer if you need it.

On the flip side, there is a little water sprinkle type section. You may want to bring bathing suits for that. (Weather dependant of course whether you want your kids in there that early in the year.)

I believe they still have free strollers (been a while since I was in need of a stroller...) but they' are old/upright ones. I'd bring my own.

Stressing what someone else did- the food is very reasonably priced. We usually bring in some snacks for my DD since she wants to eat 24/7, but I have no problem paying their prices for the meals.

My most recent visit was last year:

Getting back to the car for jackets/swimsuits would not be too difficult, but we always bring htem in and set them on the shelves provided to the right as you enter. Never had a problem with anythign "walkning" and don't bring really nice thigns anyway.

As of last year they did still have free strollers but they were (as mentioned) the very old style ones. I would bring my own.

I also want to stress the yummy and very reasonably priced food. I htink one reason my kids love SToryland is it is one of few places I am willing to buy them jsut about whatever to snack on whenever they want. Last year I had a $20 bill in my pocket when we arrived. With that we got lunch for me and the two kids, popcorn to share with water, snow cones all the way around and shared an elephant ear and had sodas with that.

 

[d1gitman]

we have gone for the last 3 yrs. and have found 1 full day at Storyland is enough. We typically check in to a hotel on a Friday night and then do a full day at Storyland and then drive home. That gives us all of Sunday to catch up on rest before the Monday morning rush.

 

[PrincessAtta]

We do half day/full day deal and have a great time with it. On the full day, get there early (at opening) and head to the back of the park. While people are distracted with Mother Goose you can get Bamboo Chutes, Dr. Geiser and the barn ride out of the way. Farmland car ride is a slow load so even with short lines can have a long wait so do that early too.

The lunch area that is a small world takeoff (sorry, name escapes) by the safari ride has LOOOONG waits at lunchtime. Head to the place right inside the gate across from the Old Woman in the Shoe. Same fare except no pizza, no lines.

Have fun!

 

[C&M&C&M]

I saw earlier that someone recommended the Storybook Inn.

BAD, BAD Choice !!!

We stayed there last year and never would ever again or recommend it to anyone.

The hot tub was non-operational and contained about 6 inches of mud.
None of the drains worked in the bathrooms, all the air conditioners filters needed to be cleaned (which we ended up doing ourselves) and in the inn ( the only rooms that fit more than 4 people ) the rooms sloped by more than 3 inches from one side to the other. We had three rooms so it was not just a one bad room experience

Might be convenient to Story Land but was absolutely AWFUL !!!

I have heard that the new Holiday Inn express next to the McDonald's has an indoor pool with a setup almost like a water park.

Story Land itself was a blast and a great value!! The Red Fox has a great Sunday brunch, but watch out they charge for the drinks separately.

 

[npmommie]

we go every summer, for some good ideas on places to stay:
we have stayed at Red Jacket Fox Ridge in north conway,
Village at Loon Mountain in lincoln, and our new favorite where we now stay is MountainView Grand ( in whitefield )
these are all reasonable priced, clean, nice amenities, and reasonable distance to storyland.
mountainview is close to santas village too if you decide to do that park as well.
have fun!

 

[mikamah]

We go to storyland every year and love it. It is great to go in at 3pm the first day, and then you get the next day free.

I also would not reccommend the Storybook Inn. We stayed there our first year and it was way over priced.

The last 3 years we have rented a condo at the seasons at attitash, www.seasonsatattitash.com and it was much cheaper than the hotel and we got a 2 bedroom condo. They usually have a package deal to stay the 3rd night half off, or 4th night free. They were very clean, and there was an indoor pool. We tend to go labor day week, and the prices are less, and would probably be for memorial day weekend too.

Storyland is a lot of fun.

 

[JenLanDisney]

Wow! Thanks for all the great tips and links.

I can tell this will be perfect for my DS2.

 

[tchrrx]

Ahhh...I'm feeling nostalgic. I haven't been to Storyland since I was very young, but I still remember it. That's where I sucked the plastic cow at!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Ahhh...I'm feeling nostalgic. I haven't been to Storyland since I was very young, but I still remember it. That's where I sucked the plastic cow at!

You mean the one your subpose to milk??