Family Fun at Sesame Place

August 7th, 2008 by Libby - NWA WorldVacations

If you jump on a plane to Philadelphia, drive about 20 minutes north, you will find yourself in Langhorne, PA at a little spot called Sesame Place. It’s just the thing you would do for your 5-year wedding anniversary…or perhaps just the perfect getaway to take your 2-year old.

Well, we did it and loved it. Not a lot of people have heard about this hidden treasure with Elmo, Bert & Ernie, and Big Bird, but it is a great family vacation. The characters are all so friendly (my daughter hugged Elmo for about 10 minutes), the park is so clean and there are many rides and shows to choose from.

Here are my travel tips for Sesame Place:

Where to stay. We stayed in Bensalem, about 20 miles from Philly and 6 miles from Sesame Place. This was great because we could go to the park for a few hours, leave to have lunch or a nap and then head back for some more fun. Parking is $13 per day and you get a pass to re-enter the park. There are a few hotels that are within 1 mile of Sesame Place and offer free shuttle service, too, though you will pay a little more for the convenience.

Packing for the park. You will want to bring some water as it gets so hot and you need to keep hydrated in order to keep up with your little ones. They have water rides all over the park so it is good to have your suit and a towel. We had planned to do the regular rides one day and water rides the next, but got too hot so we ended up just wearing our swim suits the 2nd day as it was great to be able to cool off as needed.

Dine with characters. You can have breakfast, lunch or dinner with the characters. We did breakfast with Cookie Monster. Not only did we have a delightful buffet to choose from, but we had the chance to take pictures with all of the characters (you can take your own pictures and can purchase a professional picture if you want.) Best of all, we did not have to stand in line to get into the park because breakfast is at 9:15am and the park opens at 10am. When breakfast was over, we were already in the park and felt like we had the place to ourselves for a good hour.

Take in a little history. Instead of going back to our hotel for a nap, we hit the roads of Bucks County one afternoon (knowing very well our daughter would fall asleep the second the car started) and drove towards Washington’s Crossing Historic Park. We drove up along the Delaware River on the Pennsylvania side and then back down on the New Jersey side. The area is simply beautiful; filled with foliage that would be amazing in the fall and small, quaint towns that you just don’t want to leave. The town of New Hope was simply precious - old stone houses and store fronts, homemade ice-cream shops and antiques. It is even a hot spot for the bikers as they can coast along the country roads. It’s not every day that you get to see a dozen Harleys, Elmo and George Washington all in the same day.

Don’t forget the parade. They have a parade that runs down Main Street at 2pm and 7pm. It is a great way for your kids to dance, sing, and see the entire Sesame gang. My husband went early and found a curbside spot while I took our daughter on one last ride so she didn’t have to sit as long. We loved it!

I am telling you, Sesame Place does bring out the kid in you. We laughed so much - not only was it awesome to see our little one have the time of her life, it brought us back to our childhood days. It’s time to bring out the kid in you…and if you are lucky, you may even be able to catch a glimpse of Snuffalupagus.