Sesame Place: Toddler Hope And Tragedy, Then A Whole Lotta Philly Food

To celebrate Aowyn's 'only-child-ness' before she becomes a big sister in a few months, we planned a trip to Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. Loving Abby and Elmo, we felt this park would be perfect for her. 

Well...things don't always go as one would imagine. So it's a good rule to just go with the flow, however difficult or disappointing at the time. As a grandmother I was so looking forward to our two day trip to Sesame Place. To start out we had to get up at 6 am which does not go well for night owls. We managed to be ready and in our daughters vehicle on time. Ben caught up on some sleep during the long three and half hour drive. Not me. I cannot sleep in cars. Try as I might the night before to go to sleep early, my body would not cooperate. I sustained on four hours sleep. I had a pillow with me... just in case.  It is a tight fit next to the baby seat and my old aching body shifted often and then my breakfast sandwich fell between the seats. Not a good omen for the day.

It was good we had ordered our tickets and VIP parking passes online. This moves you along quicker when you arrive at Sesame Place. The VIP parking was an excellent choice as we parked right next to the entrance. This really helped my pregnant daughter and well...me! You can get your hand stamped and go out to the car during the day for supplies too. Other people had to park so far away! We were very glad we had paid the extra money for this parking area!

I remembered Sesame Place as an amusement park for toddlers.  My children and I went shortly after the park was opened over 26 years ago. Yes things have changed....a lot! 

There were no huge crowds and all the rides and play areas built at the time were easily accessible. Here are a couple old photos from 1985 of me and my two little ones. Now that little girl is taking her little girl to Sesame Place. Oh there's my eighties frosted perm.

The lack of people in these old pics is very evident and you can even see the Sheraton hotel in the background of one. Now there are so many big water rides that the view in the park is quite different.

Sesame Place has grown into a large water park with wall to wall big people in bathing suits and towels. Saturday was hot, steamy and uncomfortable. Just moving through the vast sea of people and strollers was overwhelming. All my energy was in finding shade and just breathing. We tried going into a few of the food areas for some air-conditioned shade. There was not one empty table in any of them. People kept pouring in from every direction. The lines were long for everything and that is not fun for toddlers or big peeps. We pressed on.

Aowyn is not known for her patience, and could not understand at two and half years old, the concept of waiting in long wrap-around lines to get on a ride. Cutting the line off right in front of her was cause for sad loud wailing sounds. Not the gooey wonderment we had all hoped for in our imagining this day we planned around her. 

Finally on the carousel ride, she was in baby heaven. Then it stopped. She did not understand having to get off of a ride either. So ended her short moment of glory. More tears.

Luckily Aowyn really enjoyed this soft blocks area the best of all. She could run round and round the big circle while interacting with other children. Occasionally she would escape to the next play area that had a colorful twisted slide and then jump in an old fashioned puddle on the sidewalk. I was really hoping there would be more safe creative play areas like this one just for toddlers.

Sitting on the carpeted steps we all felt this shady play area was a good spot for a relaxing break. I closed my eyes a few minutes while leaning on Ben, and then ate some tiny picnic sandwiches my daughter had made for such a moment. I felt refreshed.

Next we headed to one of the indoor shows featuring Elmo. This show was based on the 'Elmo's World' TV show and dancing. The wait in line was long, and many people butted in front of us, as our place in line was just in front of the door to the venue. I also felt the attendants could have moved us inside the small theater much sooner. Once inside my daughter spotted the best seats in the house. Up on the top row next to the exit. These seats had a Plexiglas wall in front of them allowing Aowyn to stand up and not bother anyone around her. Much better than being squished in the bleachers below.

Everyone was instructed to move down to the end of their benches to make room for all the people coming in. We were fine, but we spied a woman who refused to move from her seat near the aisle and then left a blank spot of three to four available seats. It was funny, because from above you could see she would have had twice as much room if she moved down the bench. An extremely large man was behind her and had her locked into a very uncomfortable position. Some people are just difficult, and that led to the last four people entering the theater being jammed into the row behind us.

Rules for the crowd were repeated over and over at the beginning of the show, and then finally... Elmo appeared, all red and furry. We were not sure how Aowyn would react to seeing him. It was disbelief, surprise, and awe. She kept holding her hand over her mouth as she stared down at him. Silence.

The show was enjoyable for her and was not too long. We quickly exited afterward and tried to make a game plan for the rest of the day. We decided to walk around the park and scope things out for the next day's activities. Of course we were hoping there would not be as many people on a Sunday. 

It seemed like the park had gotten even more crowded towards the evening. Attempts to get in line for rides were becoming impossible as the lines were just too long. Navigating the masses was really not much fun and now everyone was getting tired. Even the crowds were looking grumpy. Not those happy photos you see on the website.

Aowyn's parents thought they had a bit of luck when they arrived at the 'Sesame Street Hoopers Store' area just when Abby Cadabby arrived for a photo op. So they waited in front of Abby while the attendants got Abby ready. Well that was not to be, because they were on the right side of Abby and the powers that be formed a line on the left side of Abby. So close but so far away! Aowyn was not having any of that nonsense, she squirmed down from daddy and "bum rushed the stage" as they say. The attendants shushed her away from Abby. She is only two and was treated like a adult transgressor. Her little heart was broken. That was so sad.

Walking on through the park we came across another water feature area with a giant bucket that dumped water on the people walking under. The cool spray floated out to the crowd below. Tomorrow Aowyn would wear her bathing suit so she would be ready to experience the water rides quickly and easily.

Weary of getting in any more lines and tired of the stroller tangles we headed for the entrance gate. Tomorrow we would go through the Twiddle Bug water area, hopefully with more success. Gathering our thoughts and our exhausted bodies we planned Sunday's activities. Off we went to our hotel twenty minutes away. On the way we stopped at 'Lees Hoagie House of Newtown' to get some Philly food to take back to our room at the Hampton Inn in Doylestown. We knew Aowyn was too tired to handle a sit down restaurant as she fell asleep in the car anyway. A variety of very delicious hoagies were ordered: Tuna, Shrimp Salad, Grilled Vegetable and a Cheese Steak. The curly fries were fantastic too. The nine inch hoagies were large, quite good and almost too big to finish. Imagine ordering an 18 inch. OMG!

The Hampton Inn was new and the interior design was modern. The bathroom was really nice, and the beds comfy. We awoke to rain...a lot of rain! They have a self serve breakfast for hotel guests. It was fine for what it is. I am spoiled by Ben's wonderful breakfasts! 

Before going back to the park we need to stock up on more Philly foods! Sticky Buns and Soft Pretzels! I had gone online to find something in the Sesame Place area and found two excellent choices. They would close before we got out of the park so we need to make our purchases first. The google had the location of the 'Philly Pretzel Factory' wrong and we drove all around creation trying to locate the building. We even ended up using my daughter's GPS, which took us on a joy ride past my old high school. That was weird. 

I happened to jot down a second location in Levittown and we found that store easily. We purchased a dozen pretzels each to take home and freeze. Of course we ate some right away in the car and would take some into the Park for a snack later! Yum!!!! No they are not part of my new food lifestyle, but I told myself I would always allow 
an occasional treat, and especially not deny myself some carbo-liscious Philly food when back home. They reheat nicely in the toaster oven and even taste a bit like street vendor pretzels.

Fritz's Bakery is just across the street from Sesame Place, next to the Sheraton. We also noticed a Hoagie deli right next door, which makes this an ideal shopping center if you are visiting Sesame Street. It was pouring rain and the parking lot was a river. The feet got wet! You do not want to miss a trip to this Bakery!!! The place oozes with yummy gooey wonderfulness! They specialize in StickY Buns, so we got a half dozen to take home, as well as a snack box for the car. If I was not pre-diabetic I would have gotten a bunch of their Cinnamon buns that were covered in a pool of whipped cream cheese icing so thick that you could not see the round shape of the buns!

Arriving at Sesame Place we noticed the satellite parking areas were empty as well as nearby parking. We made our way to the VIP area and saw a few cars and people. Is the park closed? We saw people in bathing suits and rain ponchos. The rain was light at this time. The guys went in to investigate and reported that the park was open and some things are running. Sesame Place gave us the option to use our tickets as credit during this year for another day at the park, since it rained on our day. We decided to go in and see a couple of shows. By the time we got the stroller packed and covered from the rain, it was coming down hard again. As we entered the park, people came out saying everything was closed. After much back and forth we decided we had given Sesame Place our best shot, so we cut our losses and headed back home. 

Oh, but not before drowning our sorrows in more Philly food! I had mapped out the location of 'Steve Prince of Steaks' on nearby business route 1 in Langhorne. An award winning cheese steak operation very nearby! Whoo hoo! We found them just past the K-mart and guess what was just across the street? The original 'Philly Pretzel Factory' we had been looking for earlier that morning. Now we know this is another good hot spot for Philly food! Our Cheese steaks were excellent! Some of us got em' "wit" cheese. Meaning cheeze whiz, and some of us got provolone. My daughter wished it was possible to take home a dozen and freeze them, as they were that good! She is still thinking about those cheese steaks. Photo above needs cheese on that delish roll! We will be back someday Steeeeve! Below is a video about the Prince of Steaks.



Looking back on our trip, here are some recommendations for going to Sesame Place: Book your hotel way in advance as all the nearby hotels were booked and unavailable. We saw shuttle vans from 'The Sheraton' and 'The Holiday Inn Express' frequently pull into the VIP parking area. If you stay at those hotels you do not even have to mess or pay for parking. Consider, if you can afford it, to stay in the area the night before, so you are not already exhausted from a very long car trip before you even enter the park. Purchase your two day pass online for Sesame Place as well as the VIP parking for both days. Perhaps it is a good idea to pay extra for the privilege of not having to wait in long ride lines too. Pack a large cooler and eat out in the VIP parking area instead of bothering with the park's overcrowded food area. Try to plan your entrance route to Sesame Place by going around the mall ring from the other direction. You will not be stuck in a long traffic back-up line like on the highway entrance side. 

Afterward check out some of the Philly food places I have mentioned in this blog. They were all very good and you do not have to drive to downtown Philly to get your fix. I am so hungry for Philly food after working with the food photos above! I will be good! I will be good. I will be.... So then I find this video on combining the pretzel and the Cheese Steak at the Philly Pretzel Factory. Can you freakin believe it!!! Okay... I will go eat my avocado and tomatoes now.