Sesame Place San Diego – A Splashy World of Fun
You know that anything affiliated with Sea World will be done well and this place certainly turned out to be a hidden gem that we will be returning to. Don’t expect heart pounding, near death rides at this place, but instead you’ll find slides and rides for all ages. The lines were virtually non-existent which makes for endless rides. The longest line we encountered was about 15 minutes for the Cookie’s Monster Mixer which was probably the most exhilarating raft ride. If you get to the park early make this your first stop since this was the only real ride that developed a line, which was no more than 20 minutes. Other raft rides were Oscars which seats 4 and was perfect for adults and kids over 42 inches tall. This slide was tall but not very fast, mostly just a windy ride to the bottom. The Honker Dinger Dash was by far my favorite slide. It lets you race your kids down a slide, belly first, face first at pretty gnarly speeds. The line for this goes fast with 6 riders at a time. Burts Topsy Turvy was probably the fasting ride at the park. We took on the enclosed slide and was unexpectedly awesome since it was dark with led lights all the way down. The speed was good and definitely enough to make your tummy tingle but not enough to freak out the little ones. If they are a bit timid, jump on the open air slide instead since it allows for an upright and slower ride. When you need a break there is a nice lazy river that offers free single and double tubes. The water was super clean and the tubes were well maintained as well as plentiful. There were tons of other rides but these were my definite favs.
Along with the water rides there are quite a few dry rides including a short roller coaster that as an adult I actually found rather entertaining. Once again, zero lines allowed the kids to go on and on, over and over. Mid-day was the Sesame Street Party Parade that ran through the park and got everyone dancing and grooving to some high energy music.
Overall the cleanliness of the park was fantastic. The staff was super nice and attentive. It just felt safe.
Tips:
- There is no free water and bottled water is about $4-5. The food is reasonably priced with a decent selection. No outside food or drinks are allowed
- Lockers are plentiful but about $25. We didn’t find leaving stuff around a problem. Theft didn’t seem to be a problem at all. Near the wave pool there is lot of seating and people left all sorts of bags there
- Don’t worry about drying off since you can jump on any dry ride soaking wet
- Bring a dry sack for your phone!!! My phone drowned in the lazy river and didn’t survive.
- Some rides do NOT allow cotton shirts or clothing so dress in water appropriate clothing.