This is part two in a multiple part series. Make sure and read Part 1.
When the 1986 season came to a close Sesame Place had a small variety of walk around characters. Bert & Ernie, and Big Bird had arrived and would stick around forever. Green Honker and Pink Honker also had showed up at the park, and stayed at the park until 1992.
For the 1987 season Sesame Place brought in Cookie Monster. The early Cookie Monster walk around character appeared to have darker fur than the current costume, but otherwise looked very similar. Cookie Monster had an animatronic likeness at the park early on and had his own ‘play element’ at the park, a climbing attraction called Cookie Mountain.
Prior to the opening of Sesame Place, costumed Sesame Street characters had appeared on traveling ice shows, Ice Follies and Holiday on Ice, and shortly after Sesame Place opened they began appearing in the traveling stage show Sesame Street Live, which still tours today. This meant that the work deciphering the full bodied character had often been done prior to the inclusion of the character at the Langhorne, Pennsylvania park.
This is a bigger deal that it sounds. After all, before this no one knew what Cookie Monster’s feet looked like.
1988 Sesame Place decided to add another monster, this time lovable furry Grover. The 1988 season also introduced Prairie Dawn. It was a very big year at Sesame Place. The park had really started expanding and had added Sesame Neighborhood, a giant outdoor main street. It is a wonderful replica of Sesame Street, right down to Oscar’s trashcan and Big Bird’s mailbox.
Grover had existed as a Muppet prior to the debut of Sesame Street. Like many Muppets he started with a different name and voice and eventually they found the character we know and love. By season two of Sesame Street he was the lovable character we are all familiar with on television and when he was introduced at Sesame Place he was one of the most popular (and merchandised) characters on Sesame Street.
Prairie Dawn debuted on television in 1971 and started appearing in Sesame Street Live productions in 1981. Her addition at Sesame Place was a very welcome one, as she was the first undeniably female character at the park. Prairie’s role on the Sesame Street television show has diminished over the past decade or so, but she remains an integral part of the line up of characters at Sesame Place. Prairie is known on Sesame Street for her talents at putting on shows, and it isn’t any different at Sesame Place. Right now, if you see the Sesame Place ‘Neighborhood Birthday Party Parade’ you will not only see Prairie, but you will hear her in between songs saying things like “places everyone!” and “cue the next number” which tends to bring a small bit of nostalgia back to many of the moms and dads as they remember her elaborate pageants where Herry Monster would play the sun and Cookie Monster would play a cloud.
In 1994 she had her own stage show at Sesame Place, The Perils of Miss Prairie.
1989 brought Sesame Place a third Honker, Purple Honker. Since the Honkers had the same head and body, this was just a matter of trying out a new color.
Purple Honker appeared alongside his Honker friends for meet and greets as well as the performances of the Big Bird and Company stage show which would feature 2 Honkers.
As 1991 came to a close, Sesame Place had 9 characters at the park. Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Grover, Prairie Dawn, Cookie Monster, Purple Honker, Pink Honker and Green Honker all called Langhorne home, but there are more to come. Count on it.
Thanks to Jenn Martin, Greg Hartley, Jeff Davis, and Donna Viola Beck for providing information for this article.
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