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You all know I love the beach and pool, but another summer (and spring/fall) activity that our family loves is to visit theme parks! This past winter we were lucky enough to visit Legoland Florida twice, have a brunch at Chef Mickey at Walt Disney World, and have visited our local amusement park, Adventureland, many times.
One park that has always made our summer must-do list is Sesame Place in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. I honestly do not think we will go this year, for the first time in 5 summers! I am a bit sad about this! But my guys have “graduated” to a bigger water park (we have a Splish Splash visit scheduled in a couple of weeks), but we have gone to Sesame Place for the past five summers and I am thrilled to share my best Sesame Place tips to help younger families plan their most awesome trip.
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Sesame Place Tips
What is Sesame Place?
Sesame Place is a Sesame Street themed amusement park located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, about 27 miles north of Philadelphia. From where we live on the South Shore of Long Island, it’s a little over 2 hours away.
We first visited Sesame Place when little man was 3 and baby girl was about 9 months old. This park is definitely geared for little ones, I’d say about ages 1 -6 (maybe 7 or 8 if visiting with a younger sibling).
On all of our visits we chose to do Sesame as a day trip. We would drive down, arrive for the 10:00 opening and stay all day. We would then head out around 6 or 7, grab dinner in one of the restaurants off the highway and then head home with sleepy kids in tow. There are several hotels close by and many families choose to stay over and do two slower paced days at the park. Both are great options, depending on your kids. and how far you are traveling.
The Sheraton Bucks County is right across the street from Sesame Place. Book your room HERE.
Rides at Sesame Place
Sesame Place is a two-part theme park. About half of the park is “dry” rides and the other half is a water park. The dry rides include traditional park rides, all with a Sesame theme. Our favorites include the Sunny Day Carousel, Elmo’s flying fish, Monster Mix-Up Teacups and the Elmo’s Cloud Chaser swings. The “scariest” ride is the roller coaster that has a hill, but nothing too major! You have to be 3 years old to ride the Vapor Trail (roller coaster) with an adult.
There are also some attractions that are just big slides, and areas to play in or climb – which are great because these don’t have lines or wait times!
The water rides are always my kid’s favorites… okay mine too! There is one big ride, the Sky Splash where you sit in a big round float with about 8 people and there is a big drop! I’m such a wuss about rides!
Other water attractions include water slides (some where you sit on a tube and some you just go down on your bottom), and a lazy river. There are also multiple splash park areas, which again are great because no lines and no waiting.
Dining at Sesame Place
There are several dining options at Sesame Place. There are fast service restaurants and food stands throughout the park. There are also character meals offered for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We are partial to Dine with Elmo and Friends because it is inside, a buffet meal with something for everyone, and the characters put on a show!
On all of our visits, we have opted for the character lunch. The breakfast (9am seating) would require us to leave too early, and could be stressful to be on time if we hit traffic driving down to PA. I think the character lunch is a great way to break up the day, and spend a mid-day hour in the AC.
The character lunch is located in the Dine with Me! restaurant and you must reserve ahead online. The lunch is a buffet, offering kid friendly type food such as hot dogs, chicken fingers, Pulled Pork, mac and cheese, and salad. A server brings your drinks and the kid’s beverages are served in souvenir cups that you can take home.
SESAME PLACE TIP: Before you head out, have your server refill everyone’s water cups and you can even ask them to give you a coffee to go!
The food is decent, I think the mac and cheese is pretty yummy! But the best part of the meal is that they always have delicious desserts – especially the cookies! I guess they are Cookie Monster approved!
While eating, the characters – Abby, Cookie Monster, Count, Bert and Ernie make their way around to each table. You can hug them and take photos. To see Elmo, you have to go stand in line (usually not long) and a Sesame photographer takes your picture with the red guy! You can purchase the official photographs, or you can take Elmo photos with your own camera.
As everyone is finishing their meal, the characters put on a show where they dance around and the audience is encouraged to join in! My kids have always loved this!
The character lunch costs $28 per adult, $9 for children age 2-9 while kids 23 months and younger are free — definitely worth it in my opinion!
Helpful Sesame Place Tips
Because Sesame Place is both an amusement park and a water park, there are some logistics involved in your visit. Here are my best Sesame Place tips:
- Buy your tickets online and print them at home! I can never believe how many people are stuck waiting in line at 10am to buy tickets! We always dart right past them and into the park.
- Sesame Place offers a “two-day ticket” for the same price as a one-day ticket. If you opt for the two-day, you can return later in the season for the Halloween extravaganza or a Very Furry Christmas (or any second day the park is open that year). We went one December for the Christmas festivities and although it was cold, it was a nice stopover on a Philadelphia trip.
- Rent a locker right when you arrive. The locker rental costs $20 and the rental desk is located by the park entrance. Then you have your key and you can stash away your water stuff.
- What has worked best for us is to arrive in dry clothes and ride the theme park rides first. After lunch we will retrieve our swim stuff from our locker (THIS giant LL Bean comes in handy here, not just for the beach and pool). We will then change into swimsuits, reapply sunscreen, and hit the wet rides!
- Life vests are provided at each ride. You do not have to worry about brining your own.
- At each wet ride there are cubbies for your shoes. We have always utilized these, but if you have water shoes those would be great for Sesame Place!
- Be sure to bring towels! They do not provide these.
- There are several shows throughout the day. I’m sure they are great, but we have never attended. The big parade usually happens twice a day – once at 3pm and once at 7pm. My best tip is to skip the afternoon parade and hit as many rides as you can during that time. People start to line up for the parade about a half hour before, and the parade lasts about a ½ hour, so during that hour the ride lines are significantly shorter! If you can catch the night parade that is always less crowded!
Sesame Place opened in 1981 and I remember visiting as a kid! My kids have loved our trips to Sesame Place, they ask throughout the year to visit, especially the water rides! I am sad that this year we will be checking out some other local theme parks, but its time to move on! I hope this post was helpful in you planning your own Sesame Place trip. Enjoy it, you blink and your kids are too old for Elmo!
Have you ever been to Sesame Place? What are your best Sesame Place tips?
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I visited Sesame Plae when I was a kid and loved it. My hubby and I have been talking about taking our kids here for years. With these awesome tips I know we can plan a great trip for our girls.
its super fun! I went I think in 1982!
How did I not know this place existed?!?! My daughter would LOVE IT! We are possibly taking a road trip North from here in Virginia and we will HAVE TO make this one of the stops!!!
yes, i bet it wouldnt be that far for you!
Bummer we never went when my kids were younger, but great tips for planning a visit to an amusement park in general! We might be heading to Hershey this summer 🙂
oohhh fun! I think Hershey will be good for us next summer. R is still a little too small for all the good rides she wants to go on and then freaks out when her brother can go…
Thanks for the tips! We want to go there soon with our kids, but I was kind of overwhelmed by it all.
I LOVED Sesame Place as a kid and can’t wait to go with my kids when they’re older. We live just outside Philly, so Langhorne was never too far to go for water slides and other fun 😉
oh you could easily do it in a day! and buy the two day to go back for a holiday!
We’re about an hour away and made a few trips when my oldest was obsessed with Sesame Street a couple years ago. It is the perfect size for little guys, and we love the main street, even more than the rides. Sometimes Groupon will have great deals, so keep an eye out there too!
I’ve never heard of Sesame Place and sooo glad I found this post! We have been looking at a good vacation spot to take our almost 2 year old (planning an Elmo birthday party right now) and this looks perfect. Hopefully next summer we can go here!
I grew up not far from here so we used to go here for Girl Scouts. So many fond memories.
I had no idea that sesame place had so much to do. Obviously I’ve never been there. But I will keep these points in mind when my daughter gets a little older because I’m sure she would love to go. Thanks for sharing
I didn’t even know such a place existed! My son loves Sesame Street so I’m pretty sure he’d love this place!
This is a great guide for when we visit in the future. Thanks to you, we’d be adding it to our list! ?
I have heard great things about Sesame Place. I didn’t realize it catered to kids as young as one! That might be a good place for us to go with our 18 month old this summer!
My daughter LOVES Sesame Street right now! If this were closer we’d definitely go! Maybe next year when she’s older because his looks like a blast!
Seems like a truly fun place! Thanks for the idea!
Which is better the Holloween or Christmas theme park at Sesame pl? Pro cons?
so we have been to the Very Furry Christmas (we went like the day before new years) and it was COLD. Its an outdoor park, so we bundled up, would go on one ride, run inside, warm up and repeat. So for those reasons I would say Halloween would be better weather wise. However, we had planned this Philly trip and the weather happened to be very cold that day. The park closes for the year on Dec 31, so it was use it or lose it on our tickets.
What a great family trip! Your kids have amazing smiles and look like they are enjoying their Sesame time. Sesame Street was one of my favorites as a child, glad it’s still going strong.
I’ve always heard nice things about this park but never took mine! Paying for it now with season passes to Six Flags. I’ll pass along the tips.
This is so cute! I will need to tell my niece about this.
This looks like so much fun. I know my son would absolutely love to go here
It looks like a complete adventurous place. So many cool and high rides, water park and water rides all sounds so great and wonderful and happening place for all family. It must be fun there. In india there are many places like yours sesame. But i get chance to visit sesame i would love to. Because every new place is a new experience
Sadly I didn’t know this place existed! Now, I can’t wait to take our kiddo. Thanks for sharing!
I loved Sesame Street growing up and I would love to bring my kids here! Great tips here, it looks like such a fun day out
Embarrassed to admit that I have two kids and didn’t know this place even existed… Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for the article! Great pics and great tips! Can’t wait to go to Sesame Place!
oh its the best! My kids are too old now, but even now they will half joke that they want to go back to Seasame Place. Amazing memories!