Sesame Place manages to balance character entertainment, amusement park rides, and water attractions.
This has been the case since opening day in 1980 when they had some water attractions that combined athletics and water.
Herry’s Hand Over Water was a creatively designed jungle gym. Kids hung on to the rope bars and rings trying to make their way across; or they’d splash down. Bert’s Balance Beams was a series of beams that criss-crossed a net and jets of rising water. The Amazing Mumford’s Water Maze was a series of cargo net tunnels and splashing water… and yes, it was amazing.
In the mid 1980s more water attractions began to pop up. Splash attractions like The Count’s Fount and Little Bird’s Bird Bath opened along with quite a few water slides. For adventurous bigger kids there was Runaway Rapids, Zoom Flume and Big Slipper, whereas the younger set found thrills on Rubber Duckie Rapids.
In 1990 they took water fun to another level. Big Bird’s Rambling River was built on land that had been parking spots. This 1,000 foot lazy river added almost a 1/3 more physical space to the park. A few years later they named that side of the park Sesame Island and added The Good Ship Sesame icon entrance as well as the very complicated (and adorable) splash zone, Ernie’s Waterworks.
Perhaps the pinnacle of Sesame Place’s water fun opened in 1995. Sky Splash takes riders down six stories on the way to a giant pool of water. The ride is topped by an 8 foot high Rubber Duckie that you can see from nearby roadways. The opening of Sky Splash was a gala event. In the preceding weeks Sesame Place put out a call to find twins, triplets and quadruplets to celebrate Sky Splash. The opening was also attended by the cast of the CTW show “Ghostwriter” and the very first ride was taken by Barry Willams, known to television fans as Greg Brady.
Sesame Place usually names attractions after different Sesame Street Muppets and in 1996 it was Slimey’s turn to have an attraction. Slimey’s Chutes is a double side inner tube slide giving a child a chance to slide with mom or dad.
In 2009 Sesame Place took a colossal step forward in providing splash fun as Count’s Fount, Little Bird’s Bird Bath and Little Bird’s Rapids all bid farewells in exchange for the massive new The Count’s Splash Castle. This attraction boasts over 90 play elements with the centerpiece being a 1,000 gallon bucket that tips over frequently splashing all below.
Today the park features no less than nine water attractions ensuring a fun time for anyone with a bathing suit.
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