Also a huge thank you to the PP who mentioned the Brandywine pass. We plan on going again in the summer to see Winterthur and Nemours estate. The pass already covered Longwood so these two are bonuses for us.

Anonymous wrote:Blankets ok for fountains.
As a PP mentioned, there's a great children's museum on the riverfront (which is very nice and being revitalized). If you go in winter you can combine ice skating at the riverfront.

If it's just adults you can get some cheeky beverages at the Hotel Dupont and check out who is playing at the Queen or the Grand.

If it's kids in summer, Longwood and Winterthur are all pretty magical for kids if you go slow and let them fully enjoy. The train set, the treehouse, the toadstool garden, the lilypad ponds, etc. It's hard for parents to slow down but when you do the kids really do have a magical time.

Where was the train set and toadstool garden? I didn't see either of those in Longwood. Or are those at Winterthur?

Op here. Thank you all! We went over the weekend and I felt like we needed more time to relax and enjoy it more.

We didn't get to see the Rose garden and the tower until late and sadly no lights in the walk paths in those areas so we had to use the phone flashlight. No time to explore the idea gardens.

We saw all the conservatories and omg I was blown away at the huge variety of flowers. Wish we arrived earlier. I felt rushed since I didn't want to miss seeing all of them. We were there 6 hours and it was not enough for me. One kid enjoyed it as much as I did but the other got bored after a bit.

We stayed for the illuminated show. All in my family thought that was much much better than the regular fountain show. I was actually disappointed in the regular one at 8:15. The theme this weekend for illumination was Taylor Swift Shake it Off.

We had a picnic blanket in the car but didn't feel like carrying it around. It was not a big deal and I was fine sitting in the grass for sometime and later standing and watching the show.

food was not great at the Beer garden area.

If you love gardens, it's a full day and is doable as a day trip. They have a café and snacks, so you can take a break and get a bite to eat. The greenhouses are insane, and there's a cool manor house in addition to the gardens.

Blankets ok for fountains.
As a PP mentioned, there's a great children's museum on the riverfront (which is very nice and being revitalized). If you go in winter you can combine ice skating at the riverfront.

If it's just adults you can get some cheeky beverages at the Hotel Dupont and check out who is playing at the Queen or the Grand.

If it's kids in summer, Longwood and Winterthur are all pretty magical for kids if you go slow and let them fully enjoy. The train set, the treehouse, the toadstool garden, the lilypad ponds, etc. It's hard for parents to slow down but when you do the kids really do have a magical time.

parking won't be an issue - they have buses from the further lots if needed and run them pretty regularly to get people moving. It can get crowded for the summer shows. I don't love eating there - usually I do as others have suggested and eat beforehand and bring a snack for the ride home. 8 hours with the show is probably too much - but you can always get a seat and hang out.

The illuminated fountains are nice, and being in the garden at night is kind of fun, but if you don’t want to stay that late, don’t feel you are missing something huge.