Sesame Place

[Anonymous]

We're hoping to take our 2.5 year old to Sesame Place this summer. How much time should we plan to spend in the park? Is one day in the park going to be enough or should we plan an overnight (drive up Saturday morning, have saturday and most of Sunday in the park, then drive home sunday evening) to get a bit more time? I see that it's a 3 hour drive from NW DC, so I'm not inclined to do it as a day trip! Anything we should be sure to do/avoid? And finally, any hotel recommendations?

[Anonymous]

One day is plenty enough time, as the park is pretty small. However, the basic ticket to the park is good for two days, so breaking it up as you're planning wouldn't cost any more.

We've always spent the night to make it less of an ordeal. Sometimes we go to the park for a couple of hours the day we arrive, then go back the next day until we get tired. Sometimes we do it all in one day and grab dinner before we head home. (There are a billion kid-friendly eating places around the park.) Either way, the kids are pretty tired on the drive back, so it works! The drive really is not that bad. We have at times been stuck in traffic going through Philly, but nothing horrible.

As for hotels, I recommend the Sheraton. It's right across the highway, and they have a shuttle to the park if you want to save the parking fee.

Also, just FYI, I thought the character breakfast was a waste of money. The food was worse than I expected (and I wasn't expecting much).

You'll have fun ... 2.5 is a good age for the park. Enjoy it!

[Anonymous]

we just got back Sunday night from Sesame Place, we left saturday for Hershey Park spend the whole saturday there and then drove 45 minutes to our hotel Mariot Courtyard which is 20 minutes away from Sesame Place. Left the hotel, around 9:30am and got there 10minutes exactly before they open which is 10am.. We spend the morning with the rides and shows which actually great shows, there is BigBird Beach party, Elmos World and Abby Cadabby treasure hunt, my 4 years old DD and my darling husband enjoys all of the 3 shows, plus you would spot characters easily for some picture takings! And there is the water park too, i found it cute that im pretty sure your 2.5 will really enjoy its the right size for toddlers. Tho, my DD did'nt enjoy much of it because of the cold chilly weather last week. Theres the parade at 4pm, its nice too (weve been to Disney to, so the end of the day parade at sesame is just ok..) But i will, give the whole experience a thumbs up! the park close at 5pm, but by that time you would be finish and seen everything in there thats guaranteed... I dont know if you had purchase your tickets already, i would suggest getting the any TWO Day ELMO pass, which is the same price as the regular admission 47$.. You can use the other ticket any day of the summer 2008. You can get some coupons too, for the regular admission i found some 10$ off via internet tho you can use them on TWO DAY ELMO pass.

were planning to use our other ticket, by July when its really warm! To enjoy the water park..

your kid will enjoy it ill guarantee you!

have fun..

oh almost forgot, you can bring a small size cooler i would suggest packing some sandwiches for you. For the food is too expensive! got a meal for the 3 of us, a 3 piece chicken sticks and sides of french fries for DH and a small size cheese pizza for DD and a croissant chicken sandwich for myself plus a small cup of fruits and a cup of jelly for DD, i paid $32..

[Anonymous]

My DD (almost 3) is a huge fan of Sesame Street, so we've been to Sesame Place quite a few times. Last summer, we would leave the DC area around 6:30am to arrive at the park at opening. We would spend a few hours there, at the most. It can get REALLY hot, and REALLY crowded in the summer. Then we would check in the hotel, nap, and eat dinner. We never made it back at night, and we never went back the next day. It was just too tiring for a 2 year old.
This year we went on opening day and made it into a day trip. We left at 7:00am and arrived back home at 7:00pm. It was a LONG day, but DD napped on the way home and we stopped for dinner - breaking up the trip a bit.

Hotel recommendations...
Stay in Langhorne! There are many options. We really liked the Residence Inn, but it can get expensive. We also stayed at the Red Roof Iinn, which was okay for a cheaper hotel. There is also the Sheraton, Holiday Inn Express and the Courtyard by Marriott. All of these are about 2 minutes away from the park, and seem very nice. I think they all offer a shuttle, which is nice because parking is somewhere between $13 - $16 dollars (on top of the pricey admission costs).

Character meals:
I thought the lunch was worth the money. Food is not good at all, but you get a chance to meet and take pictures with all the characters. ( The characters do show up in the park throughout the day, but you usually have to wait in line to get a picture).

Have fun!

[Anonymous]

Reviving an old thread...

What are good ages for this park?

I have a 20 month old (read, not yet 2!). Will she be able to do anything other than gape at the huge Sesame Street Characters? Are there rides geared towards that age set?

And conversely, I have a 6 year old and a 7 year old. Will they be bored out of their mind?

Finally, how crowded does it get in Spring? Summer?

Thanks!!

[Anonymous]

I think ages 2-4 are optimal for this park. Although my oldest loved Sesame Street when he was younger and my youngest (3yo) despises Sesame.

[Anonymous]

We went last summer. Kids 4 and 6 loved it, but it was super crowded and the wait times for rides were extremely long. You might try a weekday.

[Anonymous]

I think a 6yo and 7yo may be bored out of their minds. There aren't many rides, they are mostly all oriented for younger kids, and most of the water play areas are knee deep.

[Anonymous]

Sesame Place is only good up to 4 years old. After that look for something else. I think the Radisson is the best place to stay. Nice rooms and close to the park. I would say plan for at least one night.

[Anonymous]

Ours kids loved it -- it was if their favorite show had come to life.