#77 – 1000 Awesome Things

Sesame Place

How was everyone’s long weekend? Can you believe it’s September already?! Mommy and Daddy and I took the last weekend before school starts as an opportunity to cross a few more things off my Summer Bucket List – we didn’t manage to get to everything, but, wow, did we make a dent this season! Anyway, on Friday afternoon we headed to Philadelphia where we visited with Aunt Julie, and THEN, on Sunday, we went to Sesame Place on the way home! You guys? SESAME PLACE!

Sunny days
Sweepin’ the clouds away
On my way to where the air is sweet

We got to the park as the doors opened, at 10:00AM. Despite concerns over Hurricane Earl hitting the east coast, we had a *gorgeous* day – sunny and warm, without a cloud in the sky! As soon as we arrived, Daddy grabbed some coffee from the Starbucks coffee cart and we took a lap around the park to get the lay of the land. Mommy checked out the map and the showtimes to get an idea of a plan for the day.

After our walk, we decided the first thing we wanted to do was see “Elmo’s World Live.” We watched Elmo and Dorothy learn about fishes, complete with a visit from Mr. Noodle and a sing-a-long at the piano at the end. (Okay, I *love* Sesame Street, and thought Sesame Place was completely awesome, but Mommy’s not a big fan of Mr. Noodle. She thinks he’s creepy.) After the show, I got to play Elmo’s piano AND meet Dorothy!

Come and play
Everything’s A-OK
Friendly neighbors there
That’s where we meet

After the show, we had time to check out a few of the dry attractions before our lunch with Big Bird and friends. Mommy and Daddy and I all went on our first ride of the day: the Peek-a-Bug in Elmo’s world. Since Elmo’s World is at the back of the park and it was still pretty early, the line was relatively short.

We also checked out Big Bird’s Court – a play area designed especially for preschoolers. In addition to a small playground area, there was Big Bird’s Nest, a superfun vinyl foam-padded section with soft blocks to climb on and play with. Also? It was surrounded by big, carpeted stairs – and we all know how much I love those!

Daddy also took me on the Nets n’ Climbs, but I’m a little too little to climb very well without getting all tangled up.

Can you tell me how to get
How to get to Sesame Street

The Dine With Me lunch with Big Bird & Friends was a *highlight* of our visit! As soon as we arrived, we were assigned to a table and our server got me milk in a souvenir cup (he got Mommy and Daddy diet sodas.) Mommy got me some delicious food from the buffet; in addition to the typical macaroni and cheese and hot dogs, there was really good turkey with gravy and a great vegetable medley – I had a bunch of broccoli. The chicken fingers were really tasty, too. Lots of the stars from Sesame Street were at lunch, too, and they walked around the tables saying hello to everyone. I didn’t really want to get too close to the celebrities (Bert snuck up behind me and scared me a little), but I was really excited to see them and wave! AND! As an added surprise, the characters led little sing-a-longs where they sang and danced in the middle of the dining room. We met Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Elmo, Zoe, and Cookie Monster!

For dessert, there was fresh fruit offered, in addition to chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and ice cream. I had yummy orange and some honeydew melon!

After such an exciting morning, I may or may not have napped through the Rock Around the Block parade.

Daddy took pictures for me, though, and Mommy videoed the whole thing so we can relive it at home.

…and then Daddy was so tired that *he* took a nap on a chaise lounge in Twiddlebug Land!

Once everyone was feeling well rested and refreshed, we hit some of the pools and the water rides. Mostly I stayed in the Teeny Tiny Tidal Pool, but we also checked out Ernie’s Waterworks, and took a ride on Big Bird’s Lazy River.

We dried off and headed back to Elmo’s World for the last few dry rides of the day. Mommy and I went on the Flyin’ Fish, and then all of us went on Big Bird’s Balloon Ride. At the end of our very long day, we watched the fireworks before heading home. What a fun day!

Tips:

• If you have bigger kids (42″ or taller), head to Hooper’s Emporium as soon as you get into the park – you can sign up to ride on a float in the parade!
• Definitely, definitely, DEFINITELY sign up for a Dine With Me experience. The food is good, there are no lines, and you get to meet the Sesame Street stars up close and personal (or not – you can just wave, if you want). We didn’t really see as many characters walking around the park as we expected, so we were glad we saw them at lunch.
• Think about your timing: we left our lunch with Big Bird at about 1:30 and were able to score prime spots for the 2:00 parade. People start lining up early, so we were glad we’d snagged a place to stand. As *soon* as the parade was over, we booked over to the Teeny Tiny Tidal pools and got two chaise lounges in the shade. Also, Daddy hit some of the bigger slides at the end of the day, while Mommy and I were waiting to get on the Flyin’ Fish. It was somewhat cooler than mid-day so almost everyone else was done with the water attractions and he was able to go on a whole bunch!
• We watched the fireworks from the parking lot instead of the park’s front plaza. We could see just as well, but we were closer to our car and managed to get out of the parking lot before most of the crowd.
• I had a FABULOUS time, but I think I’d be at the younger end of the age where it’s worth it to go – there were obviously a bunch of attractions that were too big for me, but there was more than enough for me to play on. I’m looking forward to going back for years to come!