We took our two year old boys to visit Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA this week.  It’s pretty easy to find off of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and we got pretty good directions from MapQuest.  Once you get onto US 1 you see signs for the park that direct you where to go.  It was a relatively easy ride from us – we live in Northeastern Pennsylvania so the trip one way took us about 2.5 hours.  Not too bad I guess, but without the benefit of our portable DVD player and some Wiggles DVDs it could have felt like a much longer ride.

As I mentioned, the park is located in Langhorne, PA and the hours of operation are pretty much 10:00 am to 8:00 pm daily.  You do need to pay for parking there - $13 for regular parking and $16 for “preferred” parking closer to the park entrance.  If you get to the park bright and early you can get a good spot in the regular parking, but for the extra $3 we opted for the preferred lot.  Getting into the parking lot took us a while – it wasn’t all that busy, just slow.  The attendants spent their time greeting guests and speaking with the kids so I guess this personal touch took up some time.  My kids wanted to get into the park to meet Big Bird and Cookie Monster and wanted nothing of this waiting in the parking lot.

The lines to buy tickets were pretty long, so I was glad I opted for the e-ticket option.  You can purchase your tickets online and print them out to bring to the park.  You go right to the admission turnstyles and don’t have to wait too long in the lines.  The ticket prices are expensive - $44.50 per person for anyone over the age of 2.  I guess I could have “pretended” the boys weren’t yet two years old, but my conscience wouldn’t let me get away with it.  If you search online you can find some discount promotional codes.  I found one that let me save $6 per ticket when you buy them online.  Be prepared to open up your purses and bags to be searched. 

You can bring a small cooler into the park (I used a lunch box size one) but it really doesn’t fit all that much.  As with any amusement park the prices are much higher than you would pay in the grocery store - $3 for a bottle of water – but they have you where they want you.  Bring your own sports bottles and/or sippy cups filled up with water or whatever your child drinks to save some money, and what you can fit in a small cooler will also help you to save.  I didn’t notice if there were any water fountains available.  I’m sure they had them and I just didn’t notice.

The park is mostly a water park – there are only 5 or so rides that don’t involve water and one of them you have to be 3 to ride, even with a parent.  We didn’t bring any swim clothes or swim diapers for the boys so we stayed near the dry attractions.  They did have a climbing/playground area, bouncy house, and slides that were not water based, plus there are the climbing ropes for the older children to enjoy.  My boys liked the few rides they went on, but I think they might have been just a bit too young to enjoy the park fully. 

We opted to do the up close dining and have lunch with “Big Bird and Friends”.  If this is something you think you want to do with your children be sure to make your reservations and pay online so you can be sure to have a seat.  The breakfast and lunch both sold out the day we were there.  Once again, it’s not a cheap alternative for eating - $19.95 for adults and $15.95 for children over two, but search online for promotional codes.  I found one that saved me $3 per person.  The atmosphere was nice.  The staff was friendly and very helpful.  For example, one of the employees saw me struggling with two high chairs so she came over to help me get them to the table.  The menu was very kid friendly, and there was some good food for adults as well.  The food was very good (not the hottest in the world, but that works out great for toddlers) and while I don’t know if the food was worth the money, the chance for my children to get up close with the characters was well worth it to me.  The characters at this lunch were: Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Zoe and Elmo.  Elmo and Big Bird remain in one place during the lunch, while the other characters come table side to visit with the children.  If your child misses a visit with one of the characters, all you need to do is tell a staff member and they’ll come right over.  The characters also entertain everyone during the lunch, singing songs and dancing.  My boys loved it! 

I did do some thinking about the price of lunch and came to this conclusion.  For all four of us to eat lunch at the park it would probably cost about $10 a person.  With the money I saved this lunch cost me about $63 with tax.  For $23 I was able to guarantee some good face time with the two characters my boys love – Big Bird and Cookie Monster.  We didn’t have to wait in the hot sun for just a few seconds, we got to visit with each character for a few minutes total.  It made the day for my boys.

Lunch let out just in time for us to see the “Rock Around the Block” parade at 2:00 pm.  It featured all your favorite Sesame Street characters performing to some oldies type songs from the 50’s and 60’s as well as the classic “Rubber Duckie”.  The boys did like the parade, and I have to tell this story.  We got to the parade just about when it was set to start.  There were many people there already with their strollers up front or sitting on the ground.  I found a spot where the kids would be able to see over some children, but this adult offered to move so I could put the stroller up front.  I thought it was such a nice gesture and meant so much to me that my boys could enjoy the parade up close and personal. 

There are many attractions and shows we missed at Sesame Place, mainly because of how tired the boys were.  I suggest looking at their web site (www.sesameplace.com) to find out more specific information.  If your children love Sesame Street, a trip to Sesame Place is worth it for you and your family!