Sesame Place - Day Two

We had our breakfast with Elmo scheduled for our second morning. Well, Husband and Son did, I planned to sit out in the car. It didn't make sense to me to pay two adult tickets (around $20) just to watch my son be too excited and distracted to eat breakfast.

The boys had a great time. The characters walked around the tables and spent time with the kids. As part of the package a picture with Elmo is given. The picture wasn't great but, my husband made up for it by getting some other cute shots. Husband recommends the breakfast to families with pre-schoolers. It is a fun and cute experience. Grandma will probably want to go when she comes to visit.

We ended up running into friends from my son's school so we spent most of the day with them.

There are wet rides and dry rides. Most of the park is taken up by the water rides. Slides, sprinklers, wading pools and, my favorite, the lazy river.

There are very few rides small children can ride without having an adult with them. The plus: you spend more time with your child. The minus: you have to go on rides you might not like.

It is a decently run park. The younger employees, like in any summer job, run from decent to apathetic.

The best think I saw from the employees was the missing child alerts. An announcement would come over the park speakers announcing that a child had been found and was in the 'Lost Child' room. Pretty standard. I saw the employees help a child to get to that room. It's done fast and friendly. Most of the employees are near park phones and will call a manager. One girl closed her game stand to help a little boy. They must get some training because she was quick and calmed the child before taking his hand and leading him to 'Lost Child'.

The parade is cute and worth seeing. It was a rock-themed parade so they didn't do all Sesame Street songs. I would have preferred all songs from the Street.

The food is kinda crappy. Well, the quality was okay, it was the selection that sucked. Mostly toddler food. Chicken fingers, fries, pizza, hotdogs were available for kid meals. There were a few adult choices. Emphasis on few. The food itself was good and were decent portions. There are some adorable Elmo cupcakes that have a good flavor. The prices are a bit high for a normal lunch but comparable to any amusement park. We had a season pass (gotten through some special deal) and they give 30% food and souvenirs in the park. We saved a lot of money.

Sesame Place - The Adventure Begins

So, after the glowing review from another mom, we decided to take our face to Sesame Place for a little 'school is over' vacation.

Since we are Marriott members, we tried looking for deals through the Marriott site. Nuthin'. Occasionally, their site ties into local attractions and will offer decent deals. Not this time.

Husband and I decided to look at the deals through the Sesame Place site. At first glance, the deals looked good. Husband did some research and found out that the lower-priced hotels were in a crappy area and were run-down. People complained of car break-ins and dilapidated rooms. My husband comes from a long line of paranoid people so, we decided to look a bit further from the park.

Husband found a deal at the Hyatt, Princeton. (Odd aside, their website layout is identical to Marriott's site) Yes, Jersey (shudder). The hotel is 15 miles away and doesn't have a shuttle. We're going for piece of mind not convenience.

We will be doing Breakfast with Elmo on our first day in the park. Well, Husband and Son will. It seemed a bit silly for two of us adults to pay the $17 fee. My favorite was Oscar and I don't think he would throw a good breakfast party.

You've caught me, I'm not one of those mothers who feel the need to be present at every childhood event.

We booked through the Sesame site. While they confirmed immediately, we didn't get the hotel confirmation until a few days later. That made Husband nervous.

The tickets for Sesame Place and the Elmo breakfast are meant to be printed out, which we did. Husband had me check them multiple times.