“It’s a kingdom for kids….Dutch Wonderland!” If you’re local to the Lancaster, PA area you can probably sing along. Every time I see an ad on TV for Dutch Wonderland their catchy jingle sticks with me for hours. I’m singing in off and on now while I type! My family has had season passes to Dutch Wonderland for the past two years and my kids have so much fun there. We just went today with my Mom and it was another great day in the park.
I’m going to include some pictures of our favorite attractions, but first I have to tell you a few things I love about Dutch Wonderland. First, it’s a family-friendly park that’s perfect for those of us with young kids. There are really no ‘big’ rides at this park. Everything is suitable for small kids, although there are height requirements but on most rides smaller kids are good to go as long as they have an adult with them. There aren’t any huge roller coasters or big wild rides so it’s definitely a family crowd. All of the park customers are there with little kids so it’s a great family atmosphere.
Dutch Wonderland is well laid out with rides spread out at a good distance to keep any one area from getting too crowded, but the park is the perfect size. You can easily enjoy all of the attractions in one day. That’s perfect if you’ve got little kids that don’t like to walk too much. Another thing I love is that the park is really well shaded. Might seem silly, but when you’re riding rides for hours in the sun it gets pretty uncomfortable. There’s always a shady spot nearby at the park and we really stayed comfortable all day today despite it being a pretty hot and sunny day. I think both of these highlights, the layout and the shade, make it a perfect choice for little ones and for bringing grandparents along to have some fun with the kids.
Now onto the rides! My kids’ favorite ride is the flume ride. This is probably the longest line we usually wait in but it’s worth it. It’s everyone’s favorite! You don’t get drenched but just splashed enough to have some fun. Some of our other favorites Dukes Dozers and the Frog Hopper. They also LOVE Huck Finn’s Leapin’ Frogs (bottom left pic) and that one usually gets multiple go-rounds.
Something else that makes Dutch Wonderland great is that they offer a lot of entertainment outside of the rides, which are perfect little breaks from standing in line or spinning around! They have a couple of dive shows that run throughout the day and if you go you definitely want to take one of these in. They’re SO cool. You just might get wet, which can sometimes be a welcome cool-off! We also really enjoyed The Wonderers, a cool musical band that we saw strolling the park a couple of different times today. They’re a lot of fun and get some great guest participation going on. We also took a breather at the Bubba Bear and the Badland Band amphitheater. I needed it after spinning on the Turtle Whirl!
Though we just went for the rides today, Duke’s Lagoon is fun, perfect sized water park area for little kids. There are changing rooms available so you can get your swimsuits on and splash around while you take a break from the rides. It’s a perfect way to spend a hot summer day!
Check out the Dutch Wonderland website for complete information about the park. You’ll find everything you need to know about what food options are available inside (lots of goodies!), what you can and can’t take into the park with you, and the price of admission. I personally love that ages 2 and under are free. Let’s face it: kids that age don’t last too long in a park anyway, so it’s nice to know you haven’t spend money on their ticket when they’re sleeping in a stroller! If you’re local or within driving distance to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA, make a trip with the family and check it out this summer! My family absolutely loves it. You can keep up to speed with all the latest Dutch Wonderland news on their website, and by following on Facebook and Twitter.
Dutch Wonderland has generously offered to give away a family 4-pack of tickets to the park, good for the 2013 season! This giveaway is open to US residents ages 18+. Please make sure that you’re able to get to the park this year to use the tickets should you win before you enter. The giveaway will end on July 5, 2013. You can enter to win [HERE].
I was provided with Dutch Wonderland tickets to offer as a giveaway to my readers and was not compensated in any other way for this review. The opinions in this post are 100% mine. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
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