Sesame Place

Another parent on a message board had posted about their awesome time at Sesame Place in Pennsylvania so we thought we'd check it out a a last hurrah for Parker before he has to go to his new school.  April's mom stayed with Lauren (thanks, Lita!) so we could enjoy the trip without having to worry about naps and food and all those other baby things that are always on your mind when a baby is near.  So here are some photos from our trip!

Our first stop on our way to Pennsylvania was at the Cracker Barrel for lunch in Binghamton.  We left early in the morning and Binghamton was about the halfway point I think, so it seemed like a good place to stop.  Plus, they have that cool IQ game with the pegs where you jump over them and try to leave just one peg standing.  The best I got was 4.  I think April got 3 once.  And Parker figured out how to win the game so that no pegs were left on the board.  Amazing!

 Parker enjoying some bacon with his pancakes.

 Mmmmm!  Bacony goodness!

 Here are April and Parker walking down the hallway to check in at the Residence Inn in Langhorne, PA.  It's pretty much around the corner from Sesame Place and has a shuttle that takes you there and picks you up, which is awesome because you save on parking that way and you also get to jump the lineup of cars waiting to get in because they take you to a special drop off area.

 Here's our room!

 We had plans to use the kitchen but we never actually did.  Maybe next time?  Or maybe we should just get a room without.

 Parker loves elevators.  Here he is pointing at the button he just pushed.

 And here he is inside the elevator, covering his ears because he thought the beeping was really loud.

 This is the exercise room, Parker's favourite room in the entire hotel.  Why was it his favourite?

 Because it had a "fresh water store" where he could get all the water he wanted.  He seems pleased with his cup of fresh water.

 Here's Parker in his pull-out bed.  Our initial thought was that he could sleep in the pull-out bed and then I could go downstairs and wander around, or April could go out and check things out, or maybe we could watch a movie or read or something.  But as soon as we put Parker to bed (around 7:30 pm, a bit later than normal) we pretty much fell asleep ourselves.  

The next day we went to Sesame Place for the first time!  I left the DSLR camera at the hotel and just brought the point and shoot.  Although the photos aren't as nice, it was definitely a good choice because it would have sucked lugging a gigantic camera around in the 2000 degree heat.  Here's the entrance, packed with people.  The park opens at 10 am and it was already pretty busy.

 April and Parker posing after we got in the gate.  They also stop you and take a photo, but we didn't check it out or buy it.  It probably sells for around $20.

One of the many water park-type areas.  There are tonnes of splash pads and water parks and fun areas for kids.  We wore our bathing suits to the park both days and I'm glad we did because it made it really quick and easy to jump in the rambling river or whatever and then keep exploring.  And with the heat, I think I was dry in about 11 seconds.

This is a crazy obstacle course thing with nets you can climb.  Parker is a pretty cautious kid so he didn't want to try it out, unfortunately.  I was really hoping he would, because it looked awesome.  

 Speaking of Parker being cautious, we were actually a bit concerned that he wouldn't want to go on any rides, or would just want to go home, or wouldn't really enjoy himself.  He can be pretty timid and afraid to try new things (especially physical things, like jumping and climbing and that sort of thing).  Strangely enough, he was actually pretty psyched to go on the rides.  This is the first one he went on, which was Big Bird's balloon ride.  It goes around and way up high and spins around a lot.  I get motion sickness so I told Parker that I would just take photos.  Luckily April loves rides so she was able to go with him.

I think he went on this again the second day.

 This is Grover's World Twirl.  It's crazy tea cups!  They spin, and spin some more, and then spin some more.  

 Even though they look like they're about to die in this photo, they loved it!

 Parker wanted to go again.  I think he went on this one three times maybe?

 These are airplanes that go around and up and down (I sense a theme here).  You can control the height of the airplane by pushing a button, which is pretty cool.  Parker was kind of freaked out by the loud hissing noise of the hydraulics when they went up and down, so he only went on this one once.

 Parker's favourite ride of all, the crazy swings.  I think he went on this 4 or 5 times?

 He went on this one once.  It's like the Demon Drop from the old Cedar Point commercials but for little kids.  Parker looks worried in this photo but he actually really liked it.  April did not want to go on this one again.

 Someone was nice enough to take a photo of us posing in front of an Elmo-shaped shrubbery!  I bought a cheap backpack from Target before we went to the park to put all of our stuff in.  It was much nicer than lugging a bag around.

 We signed up for Lunch with Elmo and friends and it worked out really well.  We were able to explore the park and go on some rides from 10 until 12:30, and then we went to a buffet lunch with reserved seating.  It was nice because it was a limited number of guests, so it wasn't crazy packed or chaotic, and all the characters came out and sang some songs, did some dances, and posed for photos.  They also had a pretty yummy buffet lunch.  Here's Parker meeting Cookie Monster for the first time.

 The Count stopped by to count our calories.

 Abby Cadabby hanging out with us.

 After lunch, we got to go to a special meet and greet with more characters, which was fun (albeit scorchingly hot).  Here's Parker reluctantly hugging Bert.  Bert was actually one of the first characters we saw earlier in the day (they hang out at designated spots I think so you can line up and get a photo with them if you want).  And when Parker saw him he was so happy and in awe.  It was so fun to watch him.  He was staring at Bert and he said, "It's Bert!  He IS here!  He's really here!"

Us posing with Super Grover. 

 Parker was really excited to see Ernie.  He ran up and gave him a big hug.  

 Another photo op with Ernie.

 At 2:30 we watched the parade go down the main strip.  It was pretty entertaining, and luckily we found a shady spot.  Parker was nervous because the Canada Day parades we go to have loud trucks and fire engines that honk and turn their sirens on.  The Sesame Street parade is pretty quiet and the music is pretty catchy and fun.  Parker sat on my shoulders and I caught him busting a move a few times.

 The characters come out and do sing some songs and do some dancing.

 After the parade we decided to check out the ramblin' river.  I forgot to put sunscreen on my chest and back so I was afraid I'd incinerate if I took my shirt off.  The lineups were pretty short, which was awesome.  I think the longest we ever had to wait was about 10 minutes, and that was pretty rare.  We were on most rides and events within a few minutes.

 Here we are, ramblin' along.

 Parker also loves trains so he wanted to check out these train things.  You pump the handles to make the train cars go.

Kind of like the mining cars in Temple of Doom.

The second day we went back to Parker's favourite rides and did them again.  He wanted to do the ramblin' river a bunch of times, so we did those again.  And then it started to rain really hard, so we went into one of the little café's to eat lunch (which was kind of expensive but it really hit the spot).  It didn't stop raining so we ended up leaving after a little while longer.  All of the rides were closed and most people were leaving.  They would have given us a voucher for another visit but we weren't going to be back this season so didn't bother picking it up.  Even though it rained it was still a fun trip and I'm glad we went back the second day!  I'd definitely go back to the park again -- it's PERFECT for young kids -- but maybe not until Lauren is 3 or 4.  It's a long drive from Kingston but seeing Parker have fun and enjoy himself was totally worth it.