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Sesame Place Philadelphia

Sesame Place Philadelphia is a children's theme park and water park based on the children's educational television program Sesame Street. It is one of the twelve Sesame Place theme parks owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts under an exclusive license from Sesame Workshop, the non-profit owner of Sesame Street. Located outside of Philadelphia in Middletown Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania[1] (with a Langhorne mailing address),[2] it is the oldest of the two Sesame Street theme parks in the United States (the other being Sesame Place San Diego). Sesame Place Philadelphia includes a variety of rides, shows and water attractions suited for young children, and is the first theme park in the world to become a certified autism center.

History

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 3 acres (1.2 ha) and featured play areas and large computer labs where kids could color their favorite Sesame Street characters. Since then, it has expanded to 14 acres (5.7 ha) 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.[3] Certified Autism Centers "[help] businesses better serve guests and clients with cognitive disorders, including autism".[4]

In 2007, it became the first theme park in Pennsylvania to become completely smoke-free.[5]

Beginning in January 2021, the park began its year-round operation.[6] The park's previous operating season ran from April through early January; however, 2021 was the first time the park has ever been open during the winter months. Each weekend was a limited capacity event that featured rides, dance parties, and a parade. In 2023, Sesame Place did not continue year-round operation but only closed between mid-January to mid-February.

Alleged snubbing case

In July 2022, the park faced criticism after a family claimed in an Instagram post that the character Rosita snubbed their two young black children by ignoring them as they waved to her.[7] The video went viral as other users posted similar incidents of costumed characters and black children, with those on social media calling for a boycott of the park.[8] The park released a statement that the costume had made it difficult for the performer to see the girls. They later followed with another statement that the performer had not intentionally snubbed the girls, but instead rejected a request "from someone in the crowd who asked Rosita to hold their child for a photo, which is not permitted."[9] On July 19, Sesame Place Philadelphia formally apologized to the family and invited the family back for a personal meet-and-greet with the characters. They also announced that their employees will undergo racial bias training to ensure park guests have an "inclusive, equitable and entertaining" experience.[10]

Attractions

Sesame Place features dry rides and water rides. 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 (Memorial Day-Labor Day). Other rides are only operated during Elmo's Springtacular, The Count's Halloween Spooktacular, or A Very Furry Christmas.

Sesame Plaza

The front entrance.

Sesame City

An area themed to mass transit and a big city.

Big Bird's Beach

Formerly known as "Twiddlebug Land" from 1993 until 2023.

Sesame Island

Sky Splash (a former attraction located in Twiddlebug Land) in 2005. This attraction is now known as "Elmo's Surf n' Slide".

An area featuring water-based attractions.

Sesame Neighborhood

A full-scale replica of Sesame Street. Opened in 1988.

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.

Elmo's World

Themed after Elmo, more specifically the Elmo's World segment.

Cookie's Monster Land

Named after Cookie Monster. Opened in 2014.

Special Event Rides

These rides only operate during specific seasonal events.

Former attractions

Entertainment

Holiday shows and parades

The Count's Halloween Spooktacular Shows/Parades:

A Very Furry Christmas Shows/Parades:

Mardi Gras Shows/Parades:

Costume characters

Families can dine with some characters at Dine with Elmo and friends (or one of its seasonal variations). This is not included in the regular admission price and takes place at varying times depending on season. The characters at the dine change seasonally. Many of the Sesame Place characters strut down "Sesame Street" in the "Neighborhood Street Party" parade (or one of its seasonal variations). This features 15 Sesame Place characters, large floats, dancers and music. The park also features character meet and greets that vary through the year. During the holiday season, characters from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer appear in the park, thanks to a licensing agreement between SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, and Character Arts LLC. The characters that feature in the park include:

Current characters

Sesame Street

Other

Former characters

References

  1. ^ Fish, Wayne (March 10, 2022). "Sesame Place Classic still a big attraction for runners, walkers and kids of all ages". Pocono Record. Retrieved December 26, 2022. [...]Sesame Place [...] have enjoyed the famous theme park in Middletown Township[...]
  2. ^ "Directions". Sesame Place. Retrieved December 26, 2022. 100 Sesame Rd Langhorne, PA 19047
  3. ^ Katz, Brigit. "Sesame Place Becomes First Theme Park to Be Designated a Certified Autism Center". Smithsonian Magazine.
  4. ^ "Certified Autism Center | Autism Certification for Business Locations".
  5. ^ "SESAME PLACE – FIRST THEME PARK IN PENNSYLVANIA TO BE 100 PERCENT SMOKE-FREE" (Press release). Sesame Place. March 21, 2007. Archived from the original on June 9, 2008. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  6. ^ "Elmo's Furry Fun Fest | Mommy Poppins - Things to Do with Kids". mommypoppins.com. January 15, 2021.
  7. ^ __jodiii__ (July 16, 2022). "I'm going to keep posting this, because this had me hot. We were on our way out of sesame place and the kids wanted to stop to see the characters. THIS DISGUSTING person blatantly told our kids NO then proceeded to hug the little white girl next to us! ..." Instagram. Archived from the original on July 18, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  8. ^ Alfonseca, Kiara; Ross, Kendall (July 20, 2022). "Family calls for Sesame Place performer to be fired". ABC News. Archived from the original on July 26, 2022. Retrieved July 25, 2022.
  9. ^ Bella, Timothy (July 19, 2022). "Sesame Place apologizes after Muppet seems to snub Black girls in video". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 19, 2022.
  10. ^ Davis, Wynne (July 19, 2022). "Sesame Place apologizes after video shows 2 Black girls being passed over at a parade". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on July 20, 2022.
  11. ^ "New Roller Coaster | Oscar's Wacky Taxi | Sesame Place Philadelphia".
  12. ^ Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "The Castle Swing". sesameplace.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "The Count's Fly By". sesameplace.com. Archived from the original on March 9, 2016. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  14. ^ Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "The Count Around". sesameplace.com. Archived from the original on November 9, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  15. ^ Hutchinson, Guy (June 27, 2012). "Big Bird Bridge: Rainbow Pyramid".
  16. ^ Hutchinson, Guy (November 26, 2012). "Big Bird Bridge: The "boat slide" at Rubber Duckie Pond (version 2)".
  17. ^ a b Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "Elmo the Musical - Live at Sesame Place". sesameplace.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "Let's Play Together!". sesameplace.com. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  19. ^ Entertainment, SeaWorld Parks &. "The Magic of Art™". Retrieved June 4, 2016.

Further reading

Wikinews has related news:
  • Abby Cadabby debuts at Sesame Place today as a walkaround character
Wikinews has related news:
  • Wikinews attends Christy Carlson Romano concert Sesame Place

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sesame Place.