They say you never forget your first love.  So it is with my 4 1/2 year-old daughter Sadie and everyone's favorite furry red monster, Elmo.  Sure, Sadie has become enamored of the Disney Princesses, the Octonauts, and, more recently, Katy Perry (don't ask), but through it all, her love for Elmo has never faltered.  There's just something about him that both captivates and engages her, and she always gets excited when she knows she'll be seeing him at a party or event.  So of course Sadie was beyond thrilled when she learned we'd be returning to "Elmo's House," aka Sesame Place.

Located just a quick 90-minute drive from New York City in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, Sesame Place is the nation's only theme park based entirely on the award-winning television show Sesame Street.  The park spans 14 acres and features more than three dozen interactive activities, including water attractions, whirling rides, an action-packed roller coaster, choreographed live stage shows and even a daily musical parade starring all the favorite Sesame characters.  As I related in my previous review, Sesame Place is the perfect first theme park experience for your kids.  It's completely manageable in terms of size and, other than the roller coaster, there's really no ride or attraction even the tiniest of toddlers can't enjoy.

We first visited Sesame Place two years ago, when Sadie was only 2 1/2.  Any concerns I had at the time that she might be too young for a theme park were quickly dispelled when Sadie walked through the front gates of Sesame Place and let out a gigantic gasp as she spotted the elaborate hedges shaped into all of her favorite Sesame Street characters just waiting to greet her as she arrived.  Sadie's enchantment with Sesame Place only increased throughout that first day, and as soon as she learned she'd be welcoming a baby brother earlier this year, she couldn't wait to bring baby Ben to Sesame Place!  Well, she got her wish last month when we made a return trip to Langhorne to revisit Sesame Place with our newly expanded family. 

It had been some time since our first visit to Sesame Place, so I was curious to see how Sadie would react to the attractions and characters this time around.  I'm pleased to report that I think she enjoyed it even more as a 4 1/2 year-old than she did as a 2 1/2 year-old.  The water attractions were rendered all the more appealing by the fact that Sadie is now taking swimming lessons and is not as intimidated by the water as she was a toddler, so she gladly braved Slimey's Chutes and Sesame Streak with my husband and splashed around like a confident big kid in Ernie's Water Works.  She even ventured much further into the Count's Splash Castle than she did on our first visit, though she was still not happy about having water dumped on her head!  The biggest change I noticed was how daring Sadie had become in tackling the dry attractions at Sesame Place.  Sure, she still loved the tamer attractions such as the Sunny Day Carousel and Ernie's Bed Bounce, but she got an even bigger thrill out of climbing to the top of Cookie Mountain several times over, spinning our teacup like crazy on Grover's World Twirl and punching her way through the Monster Maze.  And, much to my surprise, Sadie insisted on riding Blast Off, a true "big kid" attraction that repeatedly bounces riders up to the sky and back down to earth.  The verdict?  She loved it!  But the biggest shock of the day came when Sadie asked me to take her on Sesame Place's very grown up steel roller coaster, the Vapor Trail.  I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted, so off we went.  I would love to say Sadie adored this ride, but she actually got completely freaked out on it (understandably so) and was quite shaken up by the end (as was I - this thing was fast!).  But wouldn't you know, my brave little big girl was so proud of herself for going on the roller coaster and instead of letting it put a damper on her day, she wore the experience as a badge of honor.  Such a trooper!

As for Ben, well, he didn't really go on any of the rides, but he shared Sadie's joy in experiencing the Sesame characters at our Dine with Elmo & Friends lunch.  We hadn't taken advantage of the character dining during our first visit, so we thought it would be fun to treat Sadie to the experience the second time around, and it turned out to be a very wise decision.  The character dining experience at Sesame Place is incredibly casual and relaxed.  The setting isn't fancy - meals are served buffet-style in a cafeteria-like dining hall - and the food isn't anything to write home about, but you aren't there for the ambiance or food.  Rather, you're there to get up close and personal with as many Sesame Street characters as possible in one setting, and in that regard you'll do quite well.  Although the characters wander throughout the park for photo opps during the course of the day, the character dining experience allows you to avoid having to hunt the characters down or wait in line to take pictures with them.  Instead, as you eat, Abby Cadabby, Cookie Monster and the Count circulate throughout the room and stop to take pictures at every table, while Elmo and Big Bird are available for photos at designated locations (poor Big Bird is too tall to wander around and Elmo, well, he's so famous that people come to him rather than vice-versa!).   The characters also perform fun song and dance routines throughout the lunch, which Ben found quite entertaining - especially when Elmo came over and patted him on the head!  Sadie loved the character dining, and I loved seeing the grin on her face each time a character came over to see her.  At $27 for adults and $18 for kids age 24 months and up, the lunch is actually a pretty good deal considering you'd likely spend at least $10 per person on food for lunch anyway, and this way you avoid having to wait in line to meet the characters and get to dine in an air-conditioned room, which is a huge plus on a hot summer day! 

All told, our second trip to Sesame Place was a huge success, and we'll definitely be returning when Ben gets a little older so that both he and Sadie can truly experience the park together.  Sesame Place is open on weekends from now through October 28th, and from November 17th through December 31st they'll be open on select days for their annual A Very Furry Christmas event.  For more information or to purchase tickets to Sesame Place, visit www.sesameplace.com.

Disclosure: My family received complimentary passes to Sesame Place and a complimentary dining experience in order to facilitate this review. The opinions expressed herein are, as always, entirely my own.