Sunday, July 20, 2008

Sesame Place, Langhorne, PA

A couple of weeks ago on a Saturday we had been to Sesame Place (http://www.sesameplace.com/sesame/pa/index.aspx), a theme park based on the popular characters of the TV show Sesame Street such as Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Zoe, etc. My niece and her husband, and their 3 year old son joined us.

The park is filled with rides and activities that one can enjoy in a ‘dry’ setting and a 'water' setting. The activities are also categorized by children's age and there are some attractions that very young children cant participate in. We booked a two-day ticket since there were just too many things to do, and also based on the fact that the difference between a one-day ticket and a two-day ticket is just around 5 bucks. There are several coupons to be found online, as well as one-day discounts through AAA if you are a member.

Park timings are from 10 am to 8pm. The park is open from May through October, and apart from the daily attractions and rides/shows there are other special events that are organized.
Children can also have breakfast or lunch with the characters, but these cost an additional amount of money. Lockers and strollers can be rented if you want at an additional cost. We passed on all of this.

We reached there around 11.30 am and the park was already very crowded. We were famished, and had lunch outside the park, as carrying one's own food to have inside the park is not allowed. What is allowed inside are snacks, fruits, kids' stuff etc., and a cooler which should be of a particular size.

By the time we actually got going inside the park, it got real hot. At specific places in the park are "refreshing zones", where at the press of a button there is a spray of cold air and water. A word of advice: lot of sun block lotion, lot of water, sunglasses and a cap are a must. Also in order to escape the heat it is worth it getting into the water based activities to cool off a little bit. I was in bad shape for a while as i forgot to take my cap, and i didn't want to venture into the water as i had my costly camera equipment with me. Bummer! will make sure the next time we go there, I leave my camera behind.

The 3 of us rode on the new "Sunny Day Carousel" ride
before it was time for the first "Round the Block Parade" at 2 pm. The parade was a real treat for both children and adults alike, as there are a lot of performers who along with the main characters dance along with music in the background, and put on a great show for everyone. They have the parade twice during the day, at 2 pm and at 7pm.

After this we went for Big Bird's beach party show
with all main characters decide to go out to the beach. The show was conducted very well by all the characters and the girls who manage the show. A few people from the audience were very sporting to come on stage and dance along.

We rode on Elmo's "Flyin' Fish"
which is a like a merry go round, only it can go up and down vertically with your control as you are going round at a very decent speed. That was a great experience and all 3 of us really enjoyed it. The only other ride that we 3 took was Big Bird's Balloon race. Apart from this my daughter and my wife had great time in a couple of the water attractions - Little Bird's Birdbath and Little Bird Rapids, both catering to my daughter's age. All this while i sat in the hot sun caring for my camera and roasting away.

While i waited in the line (yes there are long lines for almost everything) to collect pictures of my daughter with Big Bird and her favorite Elmo, she made sure that she had fun at the Silly Sand Slide, Monster Maze and Cookie Mountain.

By this time it was almost 7.15 pm and we started to make our way back. I am happy that we have another day's pass left to go back and try to get into all the other attractions there (there are just too many). Even two days aren't enough to go through all the attractions. The park is a great way to spend time with family, but it would be better if you had a chance to do it during a weekday so there wont be so much crowd, which means not waiting much in the line for all the rides. I think having a Passport membership would be well worth it as you can keep coming back throughout the time the park is open if you happen to live around the area and its just a couple of hours drive.

Well worth it and would recommend this as one of the favorite spots for all parents with children up until the time they enjoy Elmo and his gang!

I am sharing some of the pics that i took through the day. Enjoy!
-- Sriram



Entrance

Waiting patiently for the parade

Here they come!

There he is - Elmo!

Here are the performers putting on a great show

Zoe and Elmo at the dance floor

Baby Bear

Mammoth

Cookie Monster

Grover

Oscar

Telly

Count von Count

Ernie

Elmo again

Rosita

Big Bird Float

Dance till you drop!

Aftermath

Sesame Street

Big Bird's Beach Party

Shakin some!

Now that's what we are talkin about!

Blast Off