Storybook Land in New Jersey: A Day of Family Fun

If you’re local to New Jersey or Philadelphia, within driving distance, or if you vacation there, you may have heard of Storybook Land in Cardiff.  My family vacations nearby at the beach each summer and we’ve taken the kids a few times.  It’s definitely one of our favorite summertime adventures. We recently visited and had another great day!  Let me tell you all the things we love about Storybook Land!

Storybook Land is family-friendly.  This park is for kids.  There are no huge roller coasters or rides geared just for adults.  It’s all about the kids here!  My kids are 6 and 3 years-old and they were both able to go on every ride.  My little guy wasn’t too small for anything which is awesome because he gets a little upset when his big sister gets to go on rides that he can’t go on.  All of the staff at the park are so nice to the kids, helping them on and off the rides.

The park is very clean and just fun to explore.  There are lots of cool nursery-rhyme themed rides and attractions.  I love it when the kids recognize a scene from their favorite storybooks!  It’s a beautiful park too.  Some of the landscaping and gardening is just awesome.

The park is easy to navigate.  Couple things here: The park is flat, so no big hills to get up and down.  It’s really easy to hit all the attractions and come back to anything you want to do more than once.  It’s the perfect size for little kids.  We hit every ride over the course of maybe 5 hours.  And when you have little ones sometimes that’s really all they can handle.  You feel like you got your money’s worth, not missing out on anything, but not overdoing it with the kids and paying for it later.  Finally, and this may seem trivial but it’s a big deal to me, there’s ton of shade at the park.  I hate standing in the beating sun and so do my kids.  We went on a hot day but were totally comfortable in the shade of all the big trees throughout the park.

The last time we went we had to park in what seemed to be an overflow or secondary parking lot.  I was a little worried it might be crowded, but it wasn’t at all.  The park is laid out so well, it’s so spacious.  We didn’t have to wait to get on anything.

The rides are fun!  Isn’t this why we go?  Of course!  My kids hauled us on the roller coaster and every spinning ride in that park.  It was fun, and there were plenty they could go on alone, too.  My favorite attraction is the Alice in Wonderland cave and maze of cards!  We ran through there twice.  The black lights in the cave are so cool!  The train ride was a great way to see the whole park and take a little breather from all the spinning.  And the kids had a blast getting wet in the Storybook Seaport.  We didn’t take bathing suits but that was no problem.  Kids are allowed in with their clothes on and don’t get totally drenched.  Just wet enough to cool off and let the sun dry you before getting on the next ride. If all that weren’t enough they have some animals here and there!  We enjoyed the pretty peacocks and if you have a few quarters in your wallet you can feed goats at Billy Goat’s Gruff and give some food to the deer also.  We spent quite a lot of time making sure they got plenty of snacks.

Storybook Land lets you bring in your own food. This is such a nice perk for us.  Some parks don’t allow you to bring your own food in, or you have to go back to your car to get it.  At Storybook Land you can bring in drinks, snacks, a cooler, whatever you want!  There are some benches throughout the park if you want to take a break and snack on one of them.  Or, they have a great big pavilion with a roof that you can sit in and enjoy your lunch in the shade.  No need to reserve it.  Just have a seat and dig in!  If you choose to eat there they have some great eateries.  We had lunch at one of them and though I ordered pizza for myself, they did have some salads and fruits if you waned a healthier choice.  Me, I like pizza!

Parking is free.  No additional charge to park your car at this park!  I love that they don’t hide costs like this and jack up the price of a visit.

Storybook Land is open from March to December.  Outside of the hottest summer months hours are more limited, but they are open plenty during the fall.  It would be a great place to visit in the fall!  They have some seasonal Halloween events and Christmas events, too!  Check out their calendar for details.

Admission prices for the 2012 season are very reasonable.  Kids 2 and under are free, and tickets for everyone else are $22.95.  This gives you full access to every attraction. I definitely think you get your money’s worth at that price and since you don’t have to worry about paying for parking and you can bring your own food, you can make an affordable day out of it.  Trust me, the kids will love it.  My husband and I had some fun of our own on the rides!  Who knew a tea cup ride would take me for such a spin?!

Follow Storybook Land on Facebook and Twitter to be the first to find out about their latest news and promotions.  Sometimes they announce discounted tickets you don’t want to miss!

Storybook Land has generously offered to giveaway a family 4-pack of tickets to the park for the 2012 season!  You can enter to win [HERE].

I was provided with complimentary tickets to Storybook Land to facilitate this review.  The opinions in this post are 100% mine.  You can read my full disclosure policy here.