The perfect choice for an affordable, family-friendly, outdoor theme park with a variety of shows, rides, roller coasters, water slides and character meets is Sesame Place! Only about an hour and a half drive from Teaneck, Sesame Place is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. My husband Zack and I visited on a Sunday in August with my family. From infant to grandparent, a good time was had by all!
After completing the bag check process and having our tickets scanned, we sat down for lunch at picnic tables near the park entrance. In honor of its 43rd birthday (which was earlier that week on July 30), Sesame Place held a birthday bash dance party on Oscar’s Wacky Taxi Stage. In this performance, which we watched after lunch, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Zoe came on stage and began singing and dancing to the Cha Cha Slide and other fun, interactive songs while encouraging the audience to join in. My nephews, 3-year-old Usher and 5-year-old Matanel, had a blast jumping to the music. Matanel especially enjoyed it since his birthday was the day before. Even my baby niece and nephew loved it. I held my nephew Yakov, while Zack took his hands and danced with us.
Also in recognition of Sesame Place’s 43rd birthday, were a banner and giant candles around the Sesame Street character statues at the entrance of the park. There are a variety of family-friendly events at the park depending on the time of year, including sand sculpture weekend, Hanukkah celebration, New Year’s Eve fireworks and more.
Big Bird’s Tour Bus, a red double-decker bus with Big Bird and his furry friends pictured on top, was my first ride of the day. I sat with Zack in the second row, and other members of my family, including Usher and Matanel, sat in the first and third rows. We could not stop laughing as the ride boosted us into the air and took us round and round. Opposite the bus was Oscar’s Wacky Taxi Roller Coaster, a wooden-steel hybrid roller coaster, which Zack along with some of my siblings hopped on next. They rode in a bright yellow, taxi cab-inspired cart driven by Oscar the Grouch, while other family members and I continued on to Big Bird’s Beach water park.
Tempted by the inviting spurts in the water park while the hot sun was beating down on us, I could not resist grabbing Matanel’s hand and leading him through Abby’s Splash & Spray. We shrieked and giggled as the spurts drenched us, and Yakov cooed gleefully from his sitting position on the pavement as drops of water landed around him.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed bright water slides and asked Matanel if he wanted to go on one with me. We opted to go on Elmo’s Surf ‘n’ Slide instead since its rafts could fit six people at a time, which enabled us to ride with Zack and my sister Naomi as well. This ride ended up being my favorite of the day! The line was longer than I thought it would be, but thankfully Matanel behaved and waited patiently, and we made it to the top after around 45 minutes. Along the line, there were mists spraying us which kept us cool in the 86˚ heat and sun.
Pro tip: bring flip-flops or slides since the ground can get very hot, especially when you’re waiting on line! When it was our turn, we put a life jacket on Matanel, crawled into the raft, and the attendant spun us forward. Dizzy and wet, we laughed our way down the slide until we reached the final drop and shrieked so loud that my sister Adina, who was standing at the bottom, remarked later that you could hear us from miles away. After we reached the bottom and helped each other off the raft, Matanel excitedly exclaimed that he wanted to do it again, despite the long wait in line.
Parched, Zack and I purchased water bottles, soda and Dippin’ Dots before making our way over to the Party Parade. I was delighted that the Dippin’ Dots stand offered Ultimate Brownie Batter, a flavor that I love but can’t find at most Dippin’ Dots stands. Everyone in my family enjoyed watching the Party Parade, in which furry characters danced by on the floats and contemporary music was played. Matanel and Usher got a great view of the characters as they cheered from my dad’s and my brother-in-law Baruch’s shoulders. Then, I went with Zack and other members of my family to meet Elmo and Rosita, and pose for pictures with them at Photos with Elmo & Friends. The photographer scanned our PhotoKey card, which Zack and I had registered for and retrieved in the morning, and the camera lens shuttered as multiple shots of us were taken.
For our next ride, Matanel chose Monster Mixup, a ride with spinning tea cups with pictures of furry monsters. Naomi and Matanel chose a cup with Rosita on it, while Zack and I sat in a cup with the purple Honker on it. The ride took us round and round, and we waved to each other and to my mom, who was standing on the side and excitedly videoing us.
Then it was time for our final ride before we had to leave the park. Zack chose a roller coaster, which generally would make me feel sick, but I agreed to go on it since it was the last ride of the day. The coaster was called Vapor Train and felt like it took us to the outer limits of the solar system with Super Grover. According to Zack, a roller coaster expert, Vapor Train was pretty tame, especially compared to Oscar’s Wacky Taxi which went surprisingly fast and had steep drops.
Although we were at the park only from 11:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., there was plenty more to do had we stayed all day. The hours of operation vary by day so be sure to check the schedule online in advance. There are a variety of rides for a wide range of age groups, including Mini Monster Clubhouse, where toddlers can crawl around, and a few high-thrill rides for older kids. While the parade is fun for all ages, make sure to get there early so you can get a spot with a decent view. Also, be sure to bring sunscreen and reapply it throughout the day—I did that and still managed to get sunburned.
Officially, Sesame Place’s policy is that no outside food may be brought into the park. However, this rule can be waived for guests with dietary restrictions if arrangements are made in advance. Before our trip, Naomi emailed [email protected] to arrange that we would be able to bring kosher food into the park in a 12×12 lunch box. Although security did not question the food in our bags when we got there, it is probably a good idea to email prior to your visit to be sure that there will be no problem..
When you get to the parking lot, take a picture of the sign near your parking spot since each sign has a different Sesame Street monster on it and is helpful for finding your car when you exit. Download the Sesame Place app prior to your visit so you can utilize the interactive map and view ride wait times and showtimes.
Before purchasing your tickets, make sure to check out all viable options. The prices are always changing, and the strategy to get the best-priced tickets will be different depending on what deals are going on. For example, since my family went toward the end of the 2023 season, the optimal deal we saw at the time was buying two 2023 gold season passes on sale. The biggest perk of the gold season pass is that you can bring four free guests one time only, so it ended up costing us less per person than whatever the individual tickets were selling for at that time—even cheaper than deals on Groupon.
There are also silver and platinum season passes and options for individual tickets for one day, two days, or groups of 15 and more, so be sure to review the benefits and select the one that works best for you. If you are looking to make a vacation out of it, they offer a Sesame Place Philadelphia Hotel Package, including lodging and park admission.
Overall, I enjoyed Sesame Place and would recommend it to other families. The park was clean, had a variety of attractions for all different ages, and offered exciting shows with impressive choreography. The various events at different times of the year provide uniqueness and spice up each visit. Sesame Place brings the kids’ favorite TV show, Sesame Street, to life and is a dream come true.
Ahuva Greenberg grew up in Silver Spring, MD and lives in Teaneck with her husband Zack. She is a Talent Attraction Coordinator at IPG Mediabrands. Ahuva just returned from Disney World where she watched The Fray perform live and also rode the new roller coaster, Tron, twice! Ahuva runs an Instagram page where she posts about her and Zack’s fun adventures, so make sure you are following @funzacktivities!
