Sesame Place, Langhorne Pennsylvania, USA.
This post is many years, and many memories in the making!
We have a family tradition to visit Sesame Place each time a child turns 2. We have been a few extra times as we were traveling through the area for other reasons because it is just such a fun place for young kids. I would be willing to bet that we may have visited more times than any other family living in West Michigan.
In seeing how much my children enjoy this park has made me fall in love all over again. If I were the Count, I would say “Let me count the ways….1….2…3…” but instead, I am going to take a cue from Murray on the street, and give you an alphabetic rundown of the reasons we love Sesame Place.
A – Abby Cadabby: she is cute and curious, and has her own theater where sometimes she invites her friends to sing and dance for you.
B – Big Bird: He really is BIG! You can see him marching in the parade, or at the 123 Dine with Me character meals offered in the park.
C – Cookie: He is a favorite of ours since my mom saved my childhood costume so that each one of my children gets to be Cookie Monster for Halloween when they are two.
D – Dinger Derby: Hang onto your tummies! This is not a ride you will EVER find me on, but Buddy, Buggie and Daddy love it! (Bubba will too, but this is one of the few rides he is not tall enough to ride quite yet.)
E – Elmo: He is everywhere. He has his own section of the park with many great rides! He also has a musical show that is performed many times a day as well. You can bet that he will also be one of the main attractions at the character meals!
F – Flying Fish: Speaking of Elmo land, Elmo’s flying fish are a big hit (the Sesame equivalent of Dumbo at Walt Disney World!) even young toddlers are welcome to ride this ride as long as they can walk.
G – Grover: Dressed mostly as Super Grover, this blue friend will mess up your hair as he walks on by; just his way of saying hello.
H – Horses: A charming carousel awaits you as you head into the dry(er) section of the park.
I – Head on over to Snuffy’s Street Treats for delicious kids ice cream sundaes, or waffle cones of soft serve ice cream.
J – Jump to your heart’s content at the Moster Clubhouse. Large net trampolines drape back and forth across the climbing gym. Adults are also welcome, which comes in handy when your little panics halfway across, and a rescue is needed.
K – Kids’ meals come with souvenirs at Sesame Place. A take home plate, and nice cup with lid and straw are included in the kids’ meal price.
L – Lunch bags: You are now welcome to bring your own food into the park, this is a change in recent years to accommodate kids (and adults) with food allergies. They do still limit the size of your cooler, but the parking lot is not far away, and they have picnic tables for you to spread out a large feast. Overall, I don’t think the food is that outrageously priced, and I feel you get a decent amount of food for the money. At Mr. Hooper’s Food Market, you can create a healthy lunch bag for your child.
M – Murray: Murray hits the streets during the parades, and can also be found in the private meet and greet area for season pass guests.
N – Numbers: Along with the ABC’s, you will find lots of 123’s. We happened to visit (a few times) during the 35th Birthday celebration for the park. They really do go all out making the park festively decorated for their special events.
O – Oscar: Though he is a hard guy to find, they did just recently give him his own ride in the park – Oscar’s Rusty Rockets. This ride is a tight squeeze for Daddy who is 6’4”, but when I am unable to ride, he is a champ, and still fits inside the smaller vessels.
P – Parade: Most days you will find at least 2 parades down Sesame Street. A daytime and nighttime spectacular. (hint – it is the same parade, but has some glow elements in the evening) I’m not sure my children have ever missed a parade in all of the times we have been there. There are some surprises during the parade for first time visitors, and then after that, you might find that you have to choose the perfect placement for all parades to follow so that you can catch one of Abby’s “pumpkins.”
Q – Quiet River: Also known as Big Bird’s Rambling River, is a fantastic place to relax for a little while (although, there are many water features that you might want to strategically avoid depending on your desire to get soaked.) If the crowd is not large, they will let you continue for multiple laps, which makes a decent replacement for a nap for those who have recently outgrown them.
R – “Rubber Duckie” – The actual name of this ride is Sky Splash – we however have always called it the Rubber Duckie Ride due to the 8 foot rubber duckie that sits atop of the 6 story water raft ride. On a clear day, you can see Philadelphia from the top platform.
S – Swings: Themed as an Elmo Cloud Chaser attraction, these swings are an adult level thrill ride, with kid sized seats! My husband is a champ, and will ride this with the kids – his hips must be more narrow than mine, because even though the ride motion itself doesn’t bother me, the width of the swings makes this uncomfortable for me to ride. Riders between 36”-42” must be accompanied by someone 14 or older.
T – Tidal pool: On one extended trip to Sesame Place, I am fairly certain that we spent more than half of one day splashing around in Ernie’s Tidal Pool. This is a great place to let little ones splash around – the “tidal” part is hardly noticeable, so it is not too intense for even the littlest visitors.
U – If you would like to sit under an umbrella at Count’s Splash Pad, you should plan to arrive early in the morning to stake your claim. (Take into consideration that the sun will shift quickly, so chairs in the shade at 10am will not be at 2pm.
V – Vapor Trail: Buddy’s hands down favorite ride of all time. This was his first roller coaster ever, and during our first trip Daddy estimates that they rode this ride twenty or more times! Now that she is old enough, it has grown into one of Buggie’s favorites too…I have learned that I cannot ride it more than 2 times in a row without feeling sick. It is a real-deal coaster!
W – Waiting for the parade. There is an afternoon and evening parade on most days. You cannot just park your blanket along the parade route, or they will be removed and taken to the Welcome Center. This is a great time for Mama to wait while Bubba Naps.
X – Xhausted: None of my children made it out of the parking lot awake on their first visit.
Y – You’re gonna get wet: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….SPLASH! The Count’s Castle is an absolute favorite for my family. We tend to spend a good portion of our day here, climbing, sliding, and just trying to avoid being soaked by the Count’s splash bucket. This area is heavily lifeguarded, however, I have found that it still puts me at ease to dress my kids in bright swim shirts to make them easier to spot.
Z – Zoe: One year Zoe was the love of Buggie’s life! We happened to have Super Grover Season passes that year due to the number of days we would be visiting, and these passes allow you special admission into a private meet and greet area where you can take pictures with your favorite friends before the parade starts.
