Opening day at Sesame Place was this past Saturday. This was the second year in a row that we went to opening day and it was a lot of fun. My son was even more excited this year, as he has asked at least weekly since December when we can go back to Sesame Place. This summer, he is a lucky boy, as we have season passes for the first time to Sesame Place. I won a season pass from Philly Parent Circle, a great resource website if you are a parent in the Philadelphia area. I decided to buy two more passes so that the whole family could visit repeatedly this summer and lucked out in buying them during winter when they were discounted.
We have had the chance to visit Sesame Place several times over the past few years as guests of the park at blogger events. I had heard the spiel about buying passes if one plans to visit more than two times, as at that point it is cheaper than purchasing daily tickets. What I discovered was that having season passes really pays off in respect to the 30% discount on food and merchandise they provide for guests. Being local and pass holders means we can visit the park without the pressure to do EVERYTHING in one day. The rides or activities we missed doing or doing again this past weekend we can do the next time we are there. It made the day much more relaxing. I realized that if we didn't make it to the show we wanted, it was ok, as we have more opportunities to catch it this summer.
What was fun about opening day? The characters were so fluffly looking! Fresh costumes, happy employees, and an ultra clean park all led to a fun day. We missed the morning arrival parade, but did have the chance to enjoy the Neighborhood Street Party Parade. This time we were along the beginning of the parade route and really had the chance to enjoy unobstructed views. My kiddo was even encouraged to join in on some dancing by a parade dancer, but Mr. Bashful swayed along on the side.
A big change I noticed this year was the menu changes. Honestly, the food there was nothing exciting last year. This year they added a completely new menu to one restaurant, Captain Ernie's Bistro, which featured a variety of paninis, pizza, and salads along with an updated kid's menu that included pretzel hot dogs and a turkey sandwich. My husband and I had paninis (Chipolte chicken and Turkey Florentine) and really enjoyed them. My son had the pretzel hot dogs and actually ate his lunch. The kids meal includes a fruit choice and drink. With our pass savings, lunch there was cheaper than what we usually pay locally. A tip: the map you can pick up at the entrance has the menus printed on the back for each restaurant. Each place serves different foods, so if you have a picky kid (or adult) who will only eat certain things, check to see which place serves the food they want. The family in front of us had to get out of line because their kid was upset that Captain Ernie's did not have chicken fingers.
It was really cold on Saturday, so we did not go on the water rides, although there were a few crazy people swimming. We actually have never been on any of the water rides. We are looking forward to trying them out this summer!







