Sesame Place: What to know before you go

Sesame Place recently kicked off its 37th season, introducing a line-up of special events, themed weekends and programs for the 2017 season. With the new 123 Trade with Me pin program guests can collect and trade pins with Sesame Place team members and other guests.

Central Penn Parent travel blogger Stephanie Conroy and her family visited the park on opening day. She’s written up a helpful “know before you go” guide  for planning your visit to see Elmo, Big Bird and the whole Sesame Street gang!

Easy to find. The park is in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, and is right off the PA Turnpike. It was a quick 90-minute drive from Lancaster for our family.

Parking. Parking was hassle-free. As with most amusement parks, there was a parking fee. Options include general ($18), preferred ($20) and VIP ($30) parking. The more you’re willing to pay, the closer you get to park!

Ticketing. Tickets are required for all guests ages 2 and older. Tickets at the gate cost $70. Online ticket prices range from $50 – $65 (depending on the day you want to visit; online prices increase will generally increase as the date approaches.) Elmo’s 2nd Visit FREE tickets include a free 2nd visit and can be used on any operating day during the season through December 31, 2017. Additional discounts are offered for guests ages 55 and older (30% off), as well as discounts for military families (up to 4 people). Check out Sesame Place’s online FAQ for more information on ticketing.

Great parades and shows. As we were there for opening day, we got to see the Opening Day parade, which featured upcoming events that will be held throughout the park’s season. The parade was fun, with all your favorite Sesame Street characters (Cookie Monster, Elmo, and Super Grover were the highlights for our family). Weekend events that will be coming up include Choo-Choo Soul, Elmo’s Friendship Weekend, and various holiday celebrations throughout the year. There are great shows to watch, including Elmo the Musical-Live at Sesame Place.

Rides and Water Park. The water park was not open on the date of our visit, so we could only look longingly at the fantastic attractions. There were many great water slide options for visitors of all ages, water play areas for younger guests and huge lazy river. Upon seeing these attractions alone, my kids (ages 5 and 8) started planning our second trip to Sesame Place. While we couldn’t enjoy the water rides, there were plenty of other amusements to be enjoyed. Among our favorites were the spinning, fast moving Honker Dinger Derby; belly-tickling drops on Blast Off; the relaxing spinning on the Castle Swing; and everyone’s favorite for the day, Vapor Trail, the steel roller coaster that even my 41 inch tall daughter could ride! (Additional age and height requirements for Vapor Trail). All in all, I would say that this park is great for kids ages 10 and under. If your child is on the more adventurous side, this park might be a little “too young” for them.

Food Sesame Place offers standard amusement park fare of pizza, burgers, hot dogs, and chicken tenders. The children’s menu also includes PB&J and corn dogs. All kids meals come with a souvenir plate and cup. Prices are typical for what you’d expect at amusement parks. Dining meal plans are available for purchase for either single meals or double meals and are good at select locations in the park. If you’re not interested in paying tons of money for food, there is a large, shaded picnic area just outside the main gate. Inside the park, I noticed many families with coolers (size restrictions applicable) and we had no trouble coming in with our own water bottles.

Photo Key. There’s no worries about capturing all your favorite memories from your visit when you purchase the Photo Key option (single day $60). With this, all of your pictures from the day are collected and you can access them with your own QR code that is linked to your Photo Key account. Then, after your visit, you can access unlimited viewing of your photos online.

Meet the Characters. In various locations throughout the park, you can meet and be photographed with your favorite characters. We waited in line approximately 15 minutes to meet Bert and Ernie, but the picture and the memory was worth the time! Additionally, you can make an advance reservation to dine with Sesame Street friends at various locations.

Restrooms. Restrooms were clean and plentiful. Diaper changing stations were also available.

Shopping. What would a visit to a theme park be without SHOPPING! There were many stores scattered throughout the park, carrying colorful Sesame Street themed merchandise. We had fun browsing, but did not buy anything because we could not find prices on many items displayed.

Sesame Place
100 Sesame Road
Langhorne, PA 19047
Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram

Stephanie Conroy is a middle school teacher from Lancaster. She’s married to Chris, mom to Dylan (8) and Ella (5).