This is part three in a multiple part series. Make sure and read Part 1 and Part 2.
1992 heralded the debut of The Count and Elmo at Sesame Place. The Count was the one featured most prominently in the park brochure. “Old friends (and new) are waiting to meet you! The Count and Elmo join the Sesame Street family at Sesame Place! Youngsters can meet them as well as some of their other favorite pals… Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, Grover, Prairie Dawn and The Honkers in the popular Sesame Neighborhood area.”
The long running Big Bird and Company Musical Review stage show was modified to include Elmo and The Count as part of the show. The Honkers did appear in the show for the rest of the year, but when 1993 rolled around The Honkers were phased out. They would make sporadic appearances and appeared on print media, but the large amount of characters being added to the roster made them less and less prominent until the costumes eventually wore out.
1993 marked a massive expansion of the park with a giant new section called Twiddlebug Land. Designed after the sketch about the creatures that lived under Ernie’s windowsill this section of the park features larger than life versions of very small things to give the illusion that the guests have all been shrunken down to Twiddlebug size.
The new land featured a giant record player, bathrooms shaped like shoe boxes and milk cartoons and a giant water slide topped with a rubber duckie the size of a Volkswagen.
The new land also debuted two walk around Twiddlebugs. A rotund blue Twiddlebug and the taller leaner pink Twiddlebug. According to the Muppet Wiki they are named Thomas and Tessie Twiddlebug and are the parents of the Twiddlebug children.
These Twiddlebug costumed characters were phased out around 2000, but the Twiddlebug Land remains a popular section of the park. There are topiaries and signage with the characters throughout the area. For the Very Furry Christmas event a special train ride goes through the Twiddlebug Land and featuring dozens of cutouts of Twiddlebugs in their gingerbread factory.
In the queue there is a monitor with animated Twiddlebugs who will speak directly to the kids in line and interact with them.
In 1994 the roster of characters continued to grow. Oscar the Grouch was added to the park. Originally Oscar was added as a puppet. The puppeteer would be inside of an over-sized garbage can and people would meet and greet with him as well as see him in the parade. In 2012 a full walkaround Oscar started appearing in the park. he wears his trash can almost like a skirt and will often crouch down into it for pictures.
Telly Monster also made his park debut at the time. The giant pink Muppet appears in many shows and meet and greets to this day.
Finally, 1994 brought Rosita to the park. The popular Spanish speaking Muppet had debuted on Sesame Street just a few years prior. Her television character originally had wings and so did her Sesame Place character. Rosita was envisioned as somewhat of a fruit bat. The idea was later dropped and the puppet and walkaround characters were redesigned.
Jumping ahead two years, 1996 brought Zoe to Sesame Place. Zoe debuted wearing lots of jewelry but no clothes. Today she sports her ballerina tutu at Sesame Place.
Sesame Place had several unique characters debut over the next several years. Stay tuned!
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