Making the Most out of Sesame Place with an Autistic Child
How to Plan a Trip to Sesame Place
First things first, you'll want to start planning for your trip. Depending on where you're coming from, either plan to drive or fly (and then drive). As we're located not too far, we opted to take a drive. I booked our hotel through the Sesame Place website as they partner with several local chains.
We stayed at the Comfort Inn, but you can see all of the partner hotels here: Sesame Place Partner Hotels
The benefits of staying in a partner hotel:
- Lowest price on park tickets
- Kids eat Free at Dine with Elmo & Friends
- In-Park Discounts
We went during the week as Sweet B had some time off between the end of summer camp and the beginning of the school year.
What to Purchase In Advance For Your Trip to Sesame Place
Aside from your hotel reservations, you can purchase your park tickets. By booking through the Sesame Place website, you can also get a package deal for your hotel and park tickets. This is what we ended up doing by taking advantage of the Stay and Play Hotel Package deal.
Other things that you can purchase in advance include dining experiences with the characters.
I would highly recommend this.
We opted to get two dining experiences: Breakfast with Cookie & Dinner with Cookie. They are now called Breakfast with Elmo & Friends and Dinner with Elmo & Friends.
The dining experiences allowed Sweet B to enjoy her food but to also get acquainted with the costumed characters.
It also allowed me the opportunity (at breakfast) to explain to a few of the characters that Sweet B is on the spectrum. And that was amazing. Two of the characters in particular, Bert and Abby Caddaby, were particularly attentive and patient. This, for me, set the stage for the rest of the day.
Where to See the Characters at Sesame Place
That brings me to the photo opportunities. At various times, characters are roaming the park. You can also set up a photo voucher for Smile With Me 1-2-3 online.
Sweet B did very well with her character meetings, though I think this is mostly in part to having the opportunity to fully interact with them at breakfast.
Sesame Place also runs two parades and has several other places that you can meet and see characters.
The Rides and Other Attractions at Sesame Place
We always look for a park that has a water park as that has always been one of Sweet B's favorite things. Depending on the time of year that you go, Sesame Place has it's own water park. We saved that for the middle of our day during our trip.
Ultimately, however, her favorite ride ended up being the roller coaster- Vapor Trail.
Other ride highlights included:
- Elmo's Cloud Chaser (swings)
- Elmo's Flying Fish
- Flying Cookie Jars
- Peek a Bug
- Monster Mix Up
- Blast Off
- Sunny Day Carousel
You can see a list and pictures of all of the rides and attractions here: Rides at Sesame Place
Why Sesame Place was the Best Place to Go
Even at the age of 10, Sesame Place was the best place when it came to picking an autism-friendly travel destination.
The park isn't too big and the lines were never too long. The staff was accommodating and understanding.
About the author:
I'm a stay at home mom aspiring to be a work at home mom, and unofficial step mom of two. I enjoy singing with my church choir, spending time with my family, cooking, baking, crafts, and watching Jeopardy. Read more of my tips and advice on my blog: Kori at Home
