Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I know there have been a lot of posts about Sesame Place so I apologize for adding another.

My daughter is 21 months and is obsessed with Elmo. I want to see her have that "wow, Elmo!" experience but I have read such mixed reviews online and I don't know if spending over $100 for dh and I to get in is worth it right now...she may love it or not. Also, I don't think she is big enough for rides really.

I read that the park is really dirty and every single person I have mentioned the trip to has tried to talk me out of it.

Thoughts?

Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I'm so glad you posted this.

I am on the fence about taking DS - who is 2.5 because I heard that the park was gross as well.

I would love to hear more current feed back on it.

Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We were at Sesame Place on Monday. Our older DS just turned 2 in May, and while it was a nice family day, I am not sure we will go back. I wouldn't say it was dirty, but it wasn't as clean as I would expect a children's amusement park to be either. I guess I was expecting it to be like Disney, cleanliness wise, and it was not. DS had a nice time, but there was a lot of stuff he was to little to go on, and we found the character breakfast to be very mediocre. We don't regret going, but next summer we are planning on Dutch Wonderland instead!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I think Sesame is great for 21 month olds. Your child will love it, especially if she likes Elmo.

I thought the park itself was great. The water in one of the pools wasn't clear but the rest of the park was clean or as clean as a waterpark can be. DH and I are not fond of some of the people who were there at the park but the park itself is really cute.

You have to take reviews with a grain of salt. In real life, I have been told how dinky Dutch Wonderland and the NY Aquarium was. My toddler had the time of his life at both. Most people we know in real life like Sesame Place but it gets poor reviews on LIF.

I personally think Sesame is perfect for toddlers. I now have a 4yo and we like the larger parks better - Hershey, Disney, etc. LEGOLAND is next on our list. I'm glad we did Dutch Wonderland and Sesame in the past because we probably won't be going there in the future.

Message edited 7/3/2013 11:10:03 AM.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

DD is 27 mo and we're planning to take her, just debating if it really is a 'day trip'. The only bad reviews I've heard are all from here. Most people I've spoken to in real life say it's great.

I can't believe the price they charge, especially for adults who aren't really going to be riding most rides but what can you do? Price aside, I think it sounds worth checking out.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

If you are torn about going to Sesame now, wait and take her there in EARLY October when they have it decorated for Halloween. The water rides aren't open, but the prices are also discounted. They still do the parade, and your DD can see Elmo.

I say early October, because the closer it gets to Halloween, the more crowded it gets, and then the lines are long for such short kiddie rides.

It's also close enough that you could do it in a day trip if you wanted. It's a lot of driving for you, but the kids usually fall asleep in the car.

We've gone there 3x....once for Christmas and 2x for Halloween. I was actually impressed with how clean it was, especially after hearing all of the mixed reviews. My son is outgrowing Sesame. He's more of a Hershey Park kind of kid now. Otherwise, we might have considered going back again this fall.

Message edited 7/3/2013 11:42:04 AM.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We just went this past Saturday. Had 3 kids 6, 4 and 2. All had a great time. Mine is the 2yo and she was able to go on almost all the rides w/ a grown up and LOVED them. The Count's Castle water area got a bit crowded for my liking so we went over to the Tiny Tidal Pool and that was much better for her. I don't know why people think it is dirty...I didn't see any garbage around and all the shops and ride areas were clean. There was some garbage left after the parade but it was cleaned up in minutes. One pool was kind of murky but I think it was from all the sunscreen, LOL. Just FYI I didn't see Elmo except for the parade but we saw ALL the other characters and they are out frequently. But DD was scared of them, I think she wasn't expecting them to be so big!
So anyway, we had a nice day and would take her again!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I was not a fan... But we did do it as a day trip.

Our kid is not an Elmo fan... So there was no Elmo magic. If this is your reason to go (Elmo magic), it's a valid one and you should go to check it out.

The rides were worse than those at adventureland. The balloon ride got stuck right before we got on it and the kids running it were confused as to what to do next.

The water part of it for our then almost 2 year old was no better than a kiddie pool.

Yes... People there were not classy. Lots of line cutting... But not anything really horrible.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I'm headed there tomorrow so I'll get back to you. I'm just going there with the mindset that this is about DS and not me. I can't wait to see the look on his face. I've heard mixed reviews...Surprised though bc most of the GREAT reviews came from moms on this site...so i'm surprised to see so many negatives on this thread. But I recently looked up reviews on trip advisor who were there recently and they said it was clean and they had a great time.

I'm sure when it's packed it's hard to keep up with slobs who just leave their crap anywhere but for the most part people seem t say good things on tripadvisor.com

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I was there last week. My girls are 12 months and almost 3. They both had the time of their lives! The park was not dirty either time I was there. I think it's great for 21 month olds. There is a lot to do between the waves pools and some of the dry rides, the parade is tons of fun too. We did lunch with Elmo and that was also fantastic!

Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We went last year and my DD loved it! She loved seeing all the characters! The parade and shows was soo much fun! I will be going back this year.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We took almost 3yo DS last month. We had a great time, but honestly I would not have taken him any younger. There are some rides that he is still too small for so we spent most of the time in the water stuff.

To save some money, we bought "twilight tickets" which were only $25 (this was mid-June, they might be more now) for admission from 3 PM to closing at 8 PM. Five hours was more than enough time and we still got to see the parade. It is definitely worth looking into if you don't mind going in the late afternoon/evening.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We just got back and were pleasantly surprised. Our expectations weren't that high and the park was cleaner and a better "type" of people than we expected. My DS was 4 and I was glad we waited because he could go on everything and went ELMO crazy. Literally got totally overwhelmed at one point. We also went during the week which might make a big difference. There really weren't any lines more than 10 minutes and it wasn't too crowded.

Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We went in May when my daughter was 22 months and we all had such a great time. She loved all the characters. It was too cold for water rides but we still spent a good 5 hours at the park and did everything we could do. I didnt think the park was dirty at all. Not sure what everyone means by that. My DH even suggested going back again next year when she is almost 3, so that definitely means he had a good time lol

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We just took our 21 month old daughter to sesame a couple of weeks ago and she LOVED it! She went in the water and on the dry rides, we saw a show, the parade and had breakfast with the characters. The park was very clean (although we did go on a weekday and there was barely anyone in the park).
We stayed overnight, we didnt have to get up super early to get down there and we didnt have to rush. You could do it as a day trip but I preferred not to have to worry about scheduling things around naptime and my dd needs to nap. We got down there after her nap, spent the afternoon, went back to the hotel and then went to breakfast with the characters and spent the morning in the park. We had a great time and my DD was talking about it ans asking to go to sesame place for days after.

ETA: we didnt eat lunch or dinner in park so I cant comment on the cleanliness of the restaurants we ate at the red robin up the street, I suggest doing that, cheaper and better

Message edited 7/5/2013 10:45:11 AM.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I live near there so Im there like every week. I would wait until your DD is a little older. we first brought jack at 20mo old and he couldnt do most of the rides nor did he really have an interest. He loved the bouncy area that they have for the little ones. the little pool is cute for them too.

I think it depends if your kid likes rides and likes sesame street. at the time DS didnt show much of an interest in either.

the only thing that I would say is "dirty" is the eatery..I think its the ELmos one ..the tables arent cleaned fast enough.
but over all..I find the park to be clean.

For the price though its a small park and I'd wait until maybe next year when your DD is approaching 3yrs old. (even though she gets in for free now)
I find the admission to be ridiculous considering its the same price for 3 & Up. thats why I bought the passes when they were on sale. 2 visits and it paid for itself.

Message edited 7/3/2013 9:30:33 PM.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I'd love to know what "TYPE" of people the comments are about. Its Langhorne PA..not a ghetto. There are people that come from all over.

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

In summer 2011 i took DD who was just 2 and it was perfect. What was amazing was that they were offering, buy a season pass and it was good through the end of 2012! We did halloween twice, a very furry christmas twice and about 4 times that summer and last summer. I am Hoping they will run that special again,.it was mid august. It was a steal!

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

Go!!!

We've been 3 times. DS was 13m, 26m, and 4yo. We loved it every time. I have no idea what people are talking about--it's very clean & adorable! We did water rides, dry rides, the parade, dinner with the characters, and the live Elmo's World show.

I didn't notice any people there that I wouldn't see at Adventureland or Roosevelt Field mall. I really am baffled by people's negative comments.

Sesame Place...so on the fence!

We have gone 2x and had 2 completely different experiences. First time 2nd week in July awesome time, Dd was1. Second time 4thvof July week (actually it was July 2nd) horrible experience. Dirty dirty dirty!!!! Teenagers playing in the Ernie area in the water part and they were mean and rough!!!! Pool filthy and literally kids peeing all over! Gross. I doubt we will go back even if we have a second child (DD is passes it now).

Re: Sesame Place...so on the fence!

I went twice and it was fine. We all had a great time. I have read on here about the "type" of people and I honestly feel it is thinly veiled racism/elitism. Now I will say, if seeing people with large tats bother you, this might not be the park for you. For what ever reason, both times I went I saw different men with almost entire body tats including face tats.

If the park is crowded, then yes having a ton of people around may make things more messy because more people = more mess. I would go during the week as it will be less crowded than on the weekend. It is a great park for a child ages 6 months to 6 years old. Older than that, I think the child would be board.