Sesame Place


Sesame Place is a children's theme park and water park, located on the outskirts of Philadelphia in Langhorne, Pennsylvania. It is the only theme park in the United States based entirely on the award-winning children's educational television program Sesame Street and includes a variety of rides, shows and water attractions suited to young children. It is also the first theme park in the world to become a certified autism center.
Sesame Place is one of the 12 theme parks owned and operated by SeaWorld Entertainment, which operates the park under an exclusive license from Sesame Workshop, the non-profit owner of Sesame Street. Sesame Workshop itself was the park's original owner; the land was sold to Anheuser-Busch in 1987.

Overview

Sesame Place first opened in 1980 near the Oxford Valley Mall and initiated the expansion of the commercial complex in the vicinity. It was designed by Eric McMillan, a Canadian designer, Sandra Hanna of Lambertville, New Jersey and several other designers. The park is open from early May through Halloween for The Count's Halloween Spooktacular, and mid-November through December for A Very Furry Christmas. The original park was and featured play areas and large computer labs where kids could color their favorite Sesame Street characters. Since then, it has expanded to with rides and water attractions. The expansions included the construction of Cookie's Monster Land in 2014 - the park's largest renovation to date.
The theme park is described as having implemented features to make it accessible to children with autism, and on World Autism Awareness Day in 2018 was announced to be the first theme park that is a Certified Autism Center. Certified Autism Centers " businesses better serve guests and clients with cognitive disorders, including autism".
In 2007, it became the first theme park in Pennsylvania to become completely smoke-free.

Related parks

Sesame Place is one of 12 parks operated by SeaWorld Entertainment. Others include SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Discovery Cove, Aquatica Florida, Adventure Island and Water Country USA.
For about 30 years, Busch Entertainment operated Sesame Place in Pennsylvania. In 2009 and 2010, under the new ownership, kiddie areas in Busch Gardens and Sea World parks were converted to Sesame themes. A second Sesame Place park also existed in Irving, Texas from 1982–1984, closing its doors due to poor attendance and a large number of water parks competing for its business. A third one in Tokyo, Japan was open from 1990 until December 31, 2006. In 2017, a third location was announced, to open "no later than" mid-2021. In 2019, it was announced that Aquatica San Diego near San Diego, California would be replaced by a new Sesame Place theme park by spring 2021.
In 1994, a Sesame Street themed amusement park called Parque Plaza Sesamo was opened in Monterrey, Mexico. According to TEA's Global Attractions Attendance Report, Parque Plaza Sésamo is one of Latin America's highest ranking theme parks by attendance, with 1.2 million visitors per year. In Salou, Spain, the PortAventura Park has a Sesame Street themed area called SésamoAventura. Universal Studios Japan has a Sesame Street section in their Universal Wonderland themed area.

Attractions

Each attraction is split into a category. Dry rides are open during Elmo's Springtacular, the summer season, The Count's Halloween Spooktacular and A Very Furry Christmas. Water rides are open only in the summer season. Other rides are only operated during Elmo's Springtacular, The Count's Halloween Spooktacular, or A Very Furry Christmas.

Sesame Plaza

The front entrance.
NameManufacturerOpenedDescription
Vapor TrailVekoma1998a Super Grover-themed custom Vekoma family roller coaster with several helixes.

Oscar's Wacky Taxi

An area featuring the titular roller coaster.
NameManufacturerOpenedDescription
Oscar's Wacky TaxiThe Gravity Group2018a family wooden roller coaster, it is located near the front gate.
Big Bird's Tour BusTBA2020a crazy bus ride found in kids areas at many amusement parks.

Twiddlebug Land

An area themed to the Twiddlebug characters.
NameOpenedDescription
Mix n' Match Twiddle Tracks1993a children's railroad.
Silly Sand Slides1993three giant slides modeled after; A large watch, a spoon on a bag of marbles and a dumped bucket of sand.
Sky Splash1995a large raft water slide that stands more than six stories high, it is designed to look like it is made out of giant toys.
Slimey's Chutes1993two spiral tube water slides. Single and double tubes are used.
Teeny Tiny Tidal Wave1993a wave pool formed from Ernie's wild garden hose.

Sesame Island

An area featuring water-based attractions.
NameOpenedDescription
Abby's Paradise Theatera covered outdoor theater that currently shows A Sesame Street Christmas and hosts Snuffy meet & greets.
Big Bird's Rambling River1990a slow-moving, waterway winding through Sesame Island.
Ernie's Waterworks1990a small water play area.
Sand Castle Beach1990a giant beach-like sandbox and playground.

Sesame Neighborhood

A full-scale replica of Sesame Street. Opened in 1988.
NameOpenedDescription
Sunny Day Carousel2008a carousel with Sesame Street-designed horses. Its location was formerly the home of the Big Bird Steps.
Sesame Studios1980an indoor theater currently showing Elmo the Musical: LIVE! Christmas
Sesame Place Neighborhood Theatera large outdoor theater that currently shows Elmo's Christmas Wish.

The Count's Court

Themed after Count von Count and features water rides. The special Count-themed dry attractions only operate during special events and are listed below.
NameOpenedDescription
The Count's Splash Castle2009a multi-level, water park attraction features over 90 play elements, including a 1000-gallon tipping bucket.
Sesame Streaka pair of tube water slides, one for single riders and the other for double riders.
Slippery Slopesfour short vertical water slides that drop into a three-foot pool.

Elmo's World

Themed after Elmo, more specifically the Elmo's World segment.
NameOpenedDescription
Bert & Ernie's Slip & Slide1985two intertwining body flumes that empty into a splash pool. Despite the name, it is located in the Elmo's World section of the park and features his image on the exterior.
Peek-A-Bug2006a Rock 'n tug themed to a peek-a-bug.
Blast Off2006a tower drop ride in which riders travel to Planet Elmo.
Elmo's Cloud Chaser2011riders fly around in swings.
Flyin' Fish2006an aerial carousel ride, similar to Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Snuffy's Slides1980two long dry tube slides for kids 12 and under. This is the last vestige of the Big Bird Bridge system.

Cookie's Monster Land

Named after Cookie Monster. Opened in 2014.
NameOpenedDescription
Captain Cookie's High C's Adventure2014pirate ships circle a rising and falling track.
Oscar's Rusty Rotten Rockets2014a whip-like ride, but with hanging garbage can-shaped rockets as vehicles.
Honker Dinger Derby2014a Tivoli Orbiter. Formerly operated at Busch Gardens Tampa as Sandstorm.
Monster Mix-up2002a teacup ride. Formerly known as Grover's World Twirl.
Flying Cookie Jars2002a high tower ride that affords a view of the park. Formerly known as Big Bird's Balloon Race.
Monster Clubhouse2014a net-climbing attraction.
Mini Monster Clubhouse2014a play area for smaller children.

Special Event Rides

These rides only operate during specific seasonal events.
NameDescription
The Castle Swinga swing ride.
The Count's Fly Bya smaller version of Elmo's Cloud Chaser, themed after the Count.
The Count Arounda ferris wheel.
The Count's Cruisersa carousel-type attraction with 4x4 cars.
Sesame Place Furry Expressa locomotive train.
Twiddlebug Gingerbread Factorya retheme to Twiddlebug Land.

Former attractions

The Count's Halloween Spooktacular Shows/Parades:
A Very Furry Christmas Shows/Parades:
Families can have breakfast with the characters an hour before the rest of the park opens. This is not included in the regular admission price. The entire Sesame Place crew struts down Sesame Street twice a day in the "Neighborhood Street Party" Christmas parade. This features all of the Sesame Place characters, large floats, dancers and music. The characters include:

Current characters

Sesame Street