pcarter

We are coming to PA for a week with our kids ages 3-5. We are looking to go to Sesame Place, Crayola, Hershey Park, and Dutch Wonderland. How many days do we need at Sesame Place and Hershey? Also, we will be there for the 4th of July. I think we will be staying in Lancaster then. Where could we go to celebrate that wouldn't be completely overwhelming for the kids? Thanks.

Suki

One day is plenty for Sesame Place (bring your bathing suits) and also for Hershey. Since you will be in Lancaster County, consider staying on a farm. See www.pafarmstay.com My daughters loved that when they were young. I'm not sure about the 4th of July but Lancaster has a big park, Long Park I think, and I bet there will be activities there.

Just a note about Crayola - it's fun but not really anything special. You haven't been able to tour the real factory for about 10 years. Your kids will enjoy it, but if you end up not being able to do it, don't fret about it.

SuCo27

Lititz Springs Park has the best fireworks show in my opinion. Long's Parks is second though..but if memory serves, Long's Parks celebration is on the Sunday before or after the 4th, not actually on the holiday. It looks like Lititz's is on the 4th this year. It's a bit of a drive from downtown Lancaster or Amish Country and traffic is horrible in the area right before the fireworks go off, so consider making a day of it. Lititz is a quaint town with cute shopping, the Wilbur chocolate factory (that you used to be able to tour, not sure if you still can but they do have a museum and store) and of course the park that can all keep you busy for at least a half day before the fireworks. Looks like there's a fair amount of other events happening in the park all day too.

Check out:

www.wilburbuds.com
www.lititzspringspark.org

Also, just some food for thought:
Hershey Park is soo expensive and there really aren't a ton of rides for small children. If Mom and Dad are going to do some roller coasters, it'll be worth the money, but if you're planning to spend a whole day doing kiddie rides, the kids may get bored pretty quickly. And you'll have spent a TON of money. Sesame Place and Dutch Wonderland are more geared to small children where Hershey's more for teens. My brother-in-law works for Hershey so he gets free passes but my sister only takes my 3 year old nephew about 3-4 times a year cuz he gets bored. He LOVES Chocolate World though and goes 3 times a week. (But Chocolate World's free for everyone.) Just my opinion! Either way, have fun!!

SuCo27

Also check out TripAdvisor's Lancaster Forum for more info on small children and Hershey Park.

J62

In my experience ages 3-5 are too young for Hershey Park. It is definitely geared towards adults/older kids with a large number of height limited rides.

You will pay a big entrance fee for the limited number of rides you'll enjoy, and the relatively short time you'll spend there.

Dutch wonderland may be better suited to their ages.

pcarter

Thanks for the info, what exactly is Chocolate World and aren't they opening a new boardwalk this summer? Can I do sesame and dutch wonderland in a day. My 3 year old still naps so we would probably leave for part of the day. I have heard that Sesame gets crazy in the afternoon anyways.

pcarter

I also forgot to ask if the Strasburg Railroad was any good....

SuCo27

Chocolate World is a little ride at Hershey, just outside the park, where you sit in a little car and go through the making of chocolate. Takes about ten to fifteen minutes then you walk through a shopping area where they try to sell you all the chocolate you could imagine. There are also little shops before the park you could walk through without paying admission, but none of it's probably worth the drive to Hershey...won't take you more than a quarter of a day to do. The new Boardwalk is also geared more towards bigger kids...if you're looking for a water park, check out Dorney Park and Wild Water Kingdom in Allentown. You can buy admission to just WWK and it's a much bigger water park with more kiddie stuff.

Strasburg RR is perfect for young children. You can easily make a day of riding the railroad and climbing around the trains at the museum. Go a little further down the road into town and stroll the shops, there's a great ice cream shop! Also between the RR and town, there's a deli called Isaac's that has a great kid's menu and great sandwiches for the parents.

Suki

Oh,there is no way I would recommend doing Sesame Place and Dutch Wonderland in one day. They are both great fun for children 3 - 5 years old. But both can keep them busy for a full day. It would be complete overload to do both.

The recommendation of Lititz for the 4th is a great one.

Strasburg RR is fun too. It's about 8 miles long I think. There is a train museum nearby as well with big steam trains so if your kids like trains, they will think this is cool. We stayed at a farm right in this area one time, and had a lot of fun. There is a good ice cream store in Strasburg.

Suki

SuCo27, apparently great minds think alike!

brmsimmons

Easton, where Crayola is, does fireworks and a daytime festival on July 7 called Heritage Day to celebrate the day the Declaration of Independence was read there. If you are near the Allentown area for the 4th my vote for fireworks watching would be Bethlehem. A particularly good spot to watch there is the municipal library which is on a hill overlooking the valley where they shoot the fireworks from.

pcarter

I meant to say is one day at sesame and one day at dutch wonderland enough. Each on a separate day. or would I need two in one of those places and if so which one?

Suki

I think that one day for each is enough, but that's spoken as someone who lives in the area so I never spent 2 days at either place.