Sesame Place was a lot of fun but I wouldn’t say it was entirely what I had expected and/or I’ll know better for next time. The park was busy (Saturday of the 4th of July long weekend, DUH) but it wasn’t so busy that we couldn’t enjoy ourselves. When we first arrived, already in our bathing suits, we went straight to a small wading pool area where Sadie and Ryan both had a great time splashing around. The park was mostly water with some dry attractions and shows. I wasn’t expecting that I’d spend the day walking around the park in my bathing suit but that’s exactly what ended up happening. After some more water we ended up at the stage show “Elmo Rocks” which was a blast! During the finale Sadie was in the middle of a pre-school mosh pit complete with confetti and streamers flying around. Loved it!
Elmo Rocks:
After the show Ryan napped while Sadie met cookie monster and went on the carousel. She loved both.
We decided to get lunch and at the same time catch the parade when Sadie fell asleep. Apparently nap coordination was too good to be true! Oh well. We took the time to wander through the gift shop (Sadie got a Big Bird and Cookie Monster beanie baby) and see what other attractions were around. The day went by quickly which surprised us and soon enough it was late afternoon. At that point both kids had been on 2 rides each, and we’d seen most of what the park had to offer. The last stop before leaving was seeing “Elmo Live”. Sadie and I fit into a front row seat (I love front row) and she was more or less enthralled (mostly by Elmo’s gold fish “Dorothy”). At one point Elmo was sitting right beside her and I half expected her to pull at his head but she didn’t. I kept sneaking a peak back at Ryan and his moms and he was equally amazed with his jaw dropped in “awe” for most of the show. Too cute!
The good and bad of Sesame Place:
GOOD:
- The food was reasonably priced (for a theme park) a good portion and actually edible. The kid’s combo came on a souvenir Elmo plate and included a reusable cup. There were fresh options like Salads and fruit. It was more cafeteria style than fast food. Also, drinks were free re-fills. We got more than our money’s worth of soda/lemonade, etc. and free cold water was easily accessible for Sadie.
- The shows were really good. I wish we’d had the chance to see all of them. Even with already established long lines we didn’t have an issue finding great seats for either show by walking up/lining up right before they started.
- Easily enough to do over 2 days (we opted for just one) if you split dry attractions/shows with a day enjoying the water and then you wouldn’t need to walk around in your bathing suit!
- Lots for our toddlers to enjoy but I think with the large play structures and water attractions it will be a good place to come back to when Sadie is 5 or 6.
- The rides we chose to ride did not have terribly long lines at all even though the park was PACKED and the park was REALLY busy. The park was so busy that I’m surprised we had no complaints about it. We really were in our own little “bubble” enjoying the attractions and for some reason, the order we did things, we really weren’t impacted.
Proof the park was busy, this is what the water attraction we had been to in the morning looked like in the afternoon:
BAD:
- We’d read some negative reviews about the PEOPLE being trashy at Sesame Place and although we didn’t encounter much of it other than some really nasty bathing suits we had one bad experience. The woman behind us in line for Cookie Monster kept cursing that people were cutting in line. “Why you got to be Fuckin’ Cuttin’ in line?” over and over again. Classy thing to do in line with toddlers to see a Sesame Street Character.
- The park staff were (for the most part) completely clueless. It was the beginning of the summer but the park had been open on weekends since May so I’m not sure if that could be used as an excuse. I had to ask 3 different people where the lockers were to get an answer. The third person was a manager of some sort. I don’t think my question was complicated, at a water park (lockers, hellllo?) even for someone new.
- When we entered the park we were not handed a park map and trying to find one in the park was brutal. The plastic sleeves where they should have been were all empty and when I asked at various shops, lost and found, etc. none of the staff had them. We were told we had to go back to the front of the park which, btw, was where the lockers were too. Perhaps if maps were available, staff would have known that.
The elusive park map:
Overall, it was fun and totally worth it and I do want to go back. Next time I want to do a better job of tracking down characters or maybe doing a character lunch. In general the Philadelphia area is a great place to go with young children. There were more attractions there then we could have fit in a week. We’re really looking forward to going again!
Next up…. 4th of July, New York and Splish Splash!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Yay! Can't wait for chapter two :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time. We enjoyed it too and went for 2 days. The people are pretty trashy there, I agree. But still...good times. We went to 3 character meals which was overkill but Riley loved it at the time. The food was okay. I liked that there was a variety of water stuff for small kids.
ReplyDelete