
We are thinking of going to Dutch Wonderland in a couple of weeks. We have never been there or to the Lancaster, PA area. Willow Valley report has been recommended as a place to stay. We are thinking about only staying one night. We would see Lancaster/hang out at the resort one day and then go to Dutch Wonderland the next day. Would this be enough time for this trip or should we allot an extra day. We are traveling with a 7 month old, 3year old, and 5 year old. Thanks! |
It depends how much you want to do at Dutch Wonderland. With those ages of kids, doing a full day might tire them out (the 2 little ones, at least). There are definitely enough activities, between the rides, shows, and water park, to keep the kids happy for more than 1 day.
Although I've been to DW several times, I've never done anything else in Lancaster. We did do the Strasburg train, which I would certainly recommend if your kids are into that (it might be kind of boring for kids who aren't). As for where to stay, we stayed at the Country Inn and Suites I believe right across the street from Dutch Wonderland. While there isn't anything much to do at the hotel except for the pool, we liked the convenience of being able to take the younger kid back to the hotel for a nap while the older one stayed at Dutch Wonderland. It really is a fun place for kids. DD particularly loved it when she was 3. She still talks about meeting the princess, and wants to go back and do storytime with the princess again. |
I agree with PP. You could easily do more than 1 day esp. if you break during the day. They have a good deal with the tix where you can do the night before and the next day and it's same price or not much more than just 1 day. That's what we did, 1 day and 1 night at DW and then the following day we rode the steam engine and drove around Amish country and then headed back to DC.
We stayed at Willow Valley but ended up spending all our time driving back and forth to DW. I agree with pp and would have stayed across the street with hindsight to have the easy access to the park. Esp. with the baby if you want to take a break for nap you can just walk back to your hotel and then walk back over to the park and meet up with the rest of your family v. spending 30 to 40 min. (roundtrip) in car going back to the other hotel. (Our kids still nap so we had to drive back to hotel for naps and then drive back to the park again after and it just wasted time.) Anyway, in fairness we did not do any of the stuff at Willow Valley so can't say we got our money's worth there -- but the kids loved DW so much we were just trying to get back over there. They have shows and a waterpark too and those were both highlights. |