Sesame Place San Diego in Chula Vista recently opened and is the first installment on the West Coast as well as the second in the country to offer Sesame Street’s family theme park.
As our family of four took a spin on the lazy river, my seven-year-old observed: “This is the life.” She was right and I could see us returning when searching for an indulgent family-friendly day that offers amusement plus enrichment, mirroring partner SeaWorld’s Sesame Street offerings. (Fun fact: The first Sesame Place is outside Philadelphia and opened in 1980.)
The park feels high quality, bright, fun and clean with lifeguards dotted everywhere at the water attractions plus made available are rows of colorfully sized lifejackets, changing spaces, lockers, as well as stroller and wheelchair rentals.
During the press conference, leadership shared how the park was designed to be immersive for the entire family. It felt easy in the way that both parents and children are content, from lounging in beach chairs while the kids go up and down waterslides or discover an exciting water play structure to enjoying snacks in the sun with a hint of chlorine in the air.
It’s also nice when your littlest can ride rides and your oldest is thrilled too. Plus there are photo opportunities galore with beloved Sesame Street characters popping up here and there with welcoming arms.
Throughout the park you can explore rides, water attractions, interactive activities as well as participate in events such as “Storytime with Big Bird,” the new “Welcome to Our Street” show at the theater plus the award-winning “Sesame Street Party Parade.”
One surprising attraction is Cookie’s Monster Mixer.
An enormous yellow mixing bowl structure is tilted on its side and connected to a short but double-dipping blue waterslide, beside numerous flights of stairs with tall wooden fencing sides. At the top, (I like to jog—albeit slowly—in the mornings, and yet after one jaunt up I was still sporting sore calves for a couple days), you can board a double water tube with a buddy and slide down the slide to enter the bowl. Then slip back and forth up the sides until you make your way to the bowl’s bottom. You go through a waterfall at the end into the waiting pool.
Check out a clip of the ride:
I watched a man and his daughter do the waterslide multiple times. (I’ve wondered how sore they were if at all.) And when our family first witnessed the ride, my four-year-old said: “What’s happening here?”
You’ll have to go try for yourself.
Learn more about the park including Halloween and Christmas events as well as season passes.
Sesame Place San Diego
2052 Entertainment Circle
Chula Vista, CA 91911
sesameplace.com/san-diego
