Sesame Place or Dutch Wonderland???? (Philadelphia, Easton: rentals, amusement parks, hotel)

[toobusytoday]

Disney has several properties on site. Just go to their site - Disney World Resort Accomodations | Walt Disney World Resort | Walt Disney World Resort

[Sassygirl18]

Another place to consider is Storybook Land. This place is WONDERFUL. It's definitely for young kids, but the great thing is, adults are allowed on all the rides with the kids. The park has a beautiful aesthetic - set in a heavily wooded park - and the whole thing is oriented around fairytales, and it's a pretty big park. It's located in South Jersey on the way to AC.

Here's the web site.
Storybook Land ... a wonderful world of fantasy!

[AvidGamer]

The fam got sick going to Cesspool Place. I think it was because they didn't properly chlorinate the wading pool. It's an OK place; I would just stay away from the pool.

Heard glowing things about Storybook Land.

[Sassygirl18]

Storybook Land is so great, honestly my husband and I enjoyed it as much as our niece and nephew. It's that nice.

[orrmobl]

I would say Sesame Place is for the younger kids - the rides and activities are more geared for younger kids; once they outgrow Sesame Street, they outgrow Sesame place. Dutch Wonderland has more appeal to kids from preschool through preteen.

As for Disney, kids are never too young to go, unless you know they freak out on any kind of amusement ride. I've been taking my kids since they were 1-2 years old, one as young as 6 weeks! And its never been a problem. There are a handful of roller coasters and rides the kids cannot get on due to height restrictions but it is a small number - they will not be missing much and you and a partner can swap in line so you can each ride the ride individually if you don't want to miss it.

Pop Century is the recommended Value Resort
Coronado Springs is recommended in the Mid price category. Port Orleans - Riverside is also recommended.
Wilderness Lodge is the recommended Luxury hotel. Garden rooms at the Contemporary are also recommended - they are more expensive but very large.
The cabins at Fort Wilderness are huge and could fit a whole extended family with cooking facilities to cut costs way down - it would be camping like but the price and proximity would be well worth it.

Disney accomodations are fairly expensive in general but they have been giving great recession discounts and they include buses/luggage service from/to the airport, airline check in to major airlines from the hotel, and Disney transportation to the parks - we have 3 small ones who would require car seats so we just skip all that hassle and use the buses, boats, and monorails to get around.

As long you don't want to go to Sea World or Universal Florida, this is the definitely the best way to go - especially with lots of kids who would need car seats in a rental.

[twingles]

I can't stand SP - but love DW. I think DW is about $20 cheaper than SP, and if you go within 3 of closing, you can use the same tix the next day.

We usually go at night, let the kids do the water part, then go back the next day and do the amusement part. Little, little ones can ride most of the rides by themselves.

Best part - no inner city camp kids jumping the lines and pushing and shoving like at SP.

[cp292]

Thanks orrmobl for all the info on DisneyWorld. Can you tell me if these resorts are located on Disneyworld premise or off?
cp292

[Gracie2001]

Dutch Wonderland is - I think - great for little kids. Not so terribly expensive.

[Jaribu2000]

thanks everyone for your advices. Just to do something new I think I'll try DW this year. I'm also gonna look into Storybook Land, never heard of it. I've done Disneyland but not disneyworld. That is out of our budgets for this year. Also Seaworld is great, for the price of one day you get a year pass for the one in San Diego.

[phlydude]

Originally Posted by cp292

Thanks orrmobl for all the info on DisneyWorld. Can you tell me if these resorts are located on Disneyworld premise or off?
cp292

There are Disney hotels on their property and there are non-Disney hotels off their property
The only way to guarantee that you are getting a Disney hotel is to book directly with a Disney certified travel agent, calling 1-407-WDISNEY or going to Disneyworld.com and clicking on accommodations and book a package or stay.

There are two types of Disney reservations, Room Only and Package. The package includes park tickets and ability to add on a meal plan plus "Magical Express" airport transportation. (cancellation and final payment due dates are different from Room Only reservations and package reservations are made through Disney Travel Company)
Room Only are simply that, hotel room only (good if you are a Disney pro and know what you want and what you don't want and now how to get it outside of Disney - note meal plans are NOT offered ANYWHERE but through a PACKAGE with Disney).

there are a couple sites you can check out:

Deb's Unofficial Walt Disney World Vacation Information Guide - WDW Planning Guide - Walt Disney World
MouseSavers.com - Disney Discount Source - Disney World Discounts, Disneyland Discounts, Disney Cruise Discounts
Disney World Tickets Discounts Vacation Resorts Hotels Planning Tips Maps and More for Disney World
WDWMAGIC.COM WDW, Walt Disney World News Rumors Photos Reviews Discussion Forum

The hotels are:

Value:
Pop Century
All-Star Music
All-Star Movies
All-Star Sports

Moderate:
Port Orleans Riverside
Port Orleans French Quarter
Caribbean Beach
Coronado Springs
Fort Wilderness Cabins

Low-Deluxe:
Wilderness Lodge
Animal Kingdom Lodge

Deluxe Hotels:
Polynesian
Contemporary
Grand Floridian

Disney Vacation Club Deluxe:
Beach Club
Yacht Club
Boardwalk
Villas at Wilderness Lodge
Villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge / Kidani Village
Old Key West
Saratoga Springs
Bay Lake Tower (opens in Aug 2009)

There are also two hotels called "Swan" and "Dolphin" - these are on Disney property but NOT owned by Disney. You get some Disney privileges, but not the same as if you were staying in a Disney owned property.


If you can book soon and go later August through late September, you can get the free dining deal that Disney is offerring right now - I figured that this could save you well over $500 on a 5 night stay for 2 adults...yes, food on property can be that expensive.



As far as Dutch vs. Sesame - just remember, Dutch Wonderland doesn't have to be the only stop in the area, there is lots of things to do in Amish country including the Strasburg RR and the PA RR Museum, just around the corner and down the road from Dutch.

Sesame has the Oxford Valley Mall...plus as another person mentioned, Sesame Place has a nick-name - cesspool place - a good number of people get sick when leaving there (imagine baby diapers acting as tea bags in the pools). It's cool if your kids love Elmo...