Sesame Place Philadelphia

We have been passholders at Sesame Place since my oldest was one. It is a must-do if you have a Sesame Street fan in the family and a great starter park for young kids. It is geared toward the preschool crowd, so thrill rides are not their forte. Instead, they offer some great introductory rides, including two family-friendly rollercoasters.

I do not go to theme parks without a season pass. When you have small kids, paying hundreds of dollars for one day at a theme park when the weather may not cooperate, it could be overcrowded, or your kids decide they’re just not into it that day, is too big a gamble for me. I prefer to have the flexibility of a season pass so I don’t feel any unnecessary pressure to “get my money’s worth”. With a season pass, I know we can return for all of their special events throughout the year, and ideally, the park is part of a larger network of theme parks that we can visit during our travels. We love the Platinum Pass, as it includes entrance and premium parking at the 11 Seaworld Entertainment-owned parks across the country. It also includes one-time Magic Queue Passes for each visit to Sesame. My husband is a school teacher and receives a free teacher’s pass, which we upgrade to platinum. This is an incredible deal and if you are a teacher, be sure to check their website in the late summer for information to enroll for the upcoming year. The rest of us wait for their big sale in late August/early September which usually includes a 30% discount on passes, plus the remainder of that year free. If you will not visit other parks, and only plan to visit Sesame a few times a year, you could get the Gold Pass which includes parking and comes with free guest passes. This way only one or two members of your party need passes and the others can use guest passes. And remember, children under 2 are free and do not require admission.

The small size of the park makes it great for preschoolers that may not have the stamina to log miles of walking. The parking lot, even the standard lot, is extremely close to the entrance of the park and if you prefer to leave the stroller behind, this is the park to do it. There is a water park section that is open seasonally (generally Memorial Day to Labor Day, but that can vary depending on staffing and weather) as well as dry rides. When the water rides close for the season they bring in a couple of carnival-style dry rides that they set up near the large splash pad. It is nice to have some additional options available, and my kids have always enjoyed these.

Oscar’s Wacky Taxi is their newest rollercoaster and is quite thrilling for a family rollercoaster. And the old standby, Grover’s Vapor Trail, is a perfect starter rollercoaster for your little thrill seeker. The rest of the rides are typical amusement park flat rides with a cute Sesame Street theme. My kids love the large slide in the back of the park and the web-style bouncy play area in Cookie Monster Land. You can comfortably allow your child to climb and explore the play area while being able to see them the entire time. I like being able to give my kids a sense of independence, while I know they are safe.

I know there are people that go to theme parks strictly for the rides, but you would be doing yourself a major disservice to miss out on the shows, dance parties, and the parade at Sesame Place. Neither of my kids has ever been a huge Sesame Street fan (my youngest still asks if Elmo is Mickey Mouse), but they love the shows, especially the holiday-specific ones. Meet and greets with the characters take place throughout the park and are also a must-do. The characters are so kind, patient, and gentle. They will give kids as much or as little attention as they would like and are very well-trained at following the kid’s cues. This spring they brought in a full lineup of outside characters, the highlight of which was Blippi. These meet and greets were free but required pre-registration and were a huge hit. We have also enjoyed Choo-Choo Soul concerts, which returned this year for the first time since the pandemic. Even our older niece enjoyed the concert, as she was a big Choo Choo Soul fan when she was younger.

They usually offer fireworks for Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, and New Year’s Eve. While these may not be Disney fireworks (whose are, really?) they are a lot of fun and our entire family always enjoys them. Pto-tip: If you prefer an easy exit, you can park your car in the Oxford Valley Mall parking lot to watch the fireworks. You won’t get the music or the in-park ambiance, but it can be a great option if your family needs a little more space or to get away from the crowds. We will leave the park, grab some dinner at Styled Burger which is right next to the standard parking lot, and head over to the lot across from Red Robin to eat, relax and wait for the fireworks.

In my experience, food has never been a selling point at Sesame Place. We have found the lines to be long, the food to be expensive, and sadly the little bit we have tried is not good. Fortunately, they are extremely lenient with allowing outside food. You are allowed 12x12 coolers in the park. They are super strict on size so measure before you come. However, instead of lugging it around all day, I usually pack snacks in our park bag and return to the car when we are ready for a meal. There are picnic tables throughout the park and a shaded picnic grove adjacent to the Preferred Parking Lot. You are welcome to use the picnic pavilion even if you are parked in the standard lot. If picnics are not your thing, there are several restaurants in the immediate area including many fast food and quick service chains. Our personal favorite is Styled Burger, a locally owned, 50’s diner-themed burger joint, located in the strip mall just behind the regular parking lot. While you could walk there, it requires crossing a busy roadway with a median, so we prefer to drive.

We always bring our refillable popcorn bucket. You can purchase a new one each year for free refills through that year, but we have used the same bucket since 2018 and purchase discounted refills instead. With our passholder discount refills are just under $4 this year. The “free refill” buckets are now $50 and we do not consume enough popcorn in one season to justify that cost. You can also bring your bucket to the other Seaworld Entertainment-owned park for discounted refills there as well. They offer a drink cup, but we prefer to bring our own water bottles. I have struggled to find places to refill our bottles so I keep extra water bottles in the cooler in our car and refill them when we go out for a meal.

A few words of warning about some newer park policies of which I am not a fan. Sesame Place is now 100% cashless. With the water rides, I prefer to carry a card, but I understand that many do not. There are machines available to convert cash to a card. To add salt to the wound, they charge a 5% surcharge on all purchases made with a card. I don’t understand the line of thought here, why not just raise your prices? It feels very nickel and diming, and it’s part of the reason I choose to spend as little money as possible while inside the park. For a while, they took all price tags off of items in their gift shops. Again, I cannot understand the train of thought here. Recently they started marking some items, but the majority are still not marked. Unless we have Sesame Cash (free money that is given to passholders a few times a year)I refuse to shop there at all. Plus, my Platinum Pass discount for merchandise is only 25% at my home park, Sesame Place, while it’s 50% at other parks. Make it make sense! If there is something we really want, I wait until we visit Busch Gardens or SeaWorld and get a better discount.

Overall, it’s a good starter park especially if your kids love Sesame Street. The Platinum Pass makes it a great value for us, mostly for the admission and higher merchandise discounts at their sister parks. Have you visited? What were your thoughts? Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or Threads to let us know what you think or ask us questions!