After all of my traditional holiday plans were cancelled this year, my family started to look for new and fun ways to keep the holiday magic alive. We’ve been annual pass holders to the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens family of parks since I was a small child, and although we weren’t able to visit any of the parks since the shutdown, we still get all the email updates for all the parks. A few weeks ago, my dad read an email from Sesame Place about how they’re celebrating the holidays this year and he discovered their all-new Furry & Bright Christmas Drive-Thru Experience. It was the perfect way to bring the holiday magic to life while still staying safe from the comfort of your own car.
The event starts around sundown. You start by driving up to the toll booth at the entrance to the park just like you would if you were going to park and visit on any regular day. From there, you change your radio station to the event’s soundtrack, which happens to be a compilation of a variety of Sesame Street Christmas songs before you pass under the event sign and start your way on a guided path through the parking lots. This part of the route features topiaries, lights, Christmas signs, former park parade floats, and even a few furry friends that wave as you pass.
After making it through the parking lots, you pass right by the classic Sesame Place sign with two giant Elmo and Cookie Monster nutcrackers out front right. You then go through a light tunnel before turning onto one of the park’s backlots that goes right behind Oscar’s Wacky Taxi (a newer rollercoaster on the lefthand side of the park’s entrance). At the end of the service road, you enter the park itself and follow the parade route right down the main Sesame Street. This time, instead of waving to the characters as they pass, your favorite furry friends are set up on different themed parade floats in their holiday attire and waving to you! The whole gang was along the route- Elmo, Cookie Monster, The Count, Rosita, Zoe, Abby Cadabby, Oscar the Grouch, Bert and Ernie, Grover, and Big Bird. Right before leaving the park, you get to wave at the jolly old man himself: Santa Claus.
It may not have been the biggest Christmas event I’ve gone to, but I certainly enjoyed the Furry & Bright Christmas Drive-Thru Experience. I grew up going to and loving Sesame Place so it was a lot of fun to be able to revisit the park, especially now that I’m older. It was also so fun to see all the characters in their holiday attire! The entire route took about twenty minutes and was perfect for families with young kids and, of course, kids at heart.
I recorded the whole experience from the car, and will be uploading my entire POV with a vlog from the day to my YouTube channel, Terrifically Toni, on January 9th (I upload new videos every Saturday and have more fun holiday adventures to share before then!). I also will be sharing shorter clips from the event on my TikTok page. For more information on the Furry and Bright Christmas Drive-Thru Experience, be sure to visit the event page on Sesame Place Pennsylvania’s website. The event runs select days now through January 10th and tickets start at $45 per car.
Have a terrific day and see ya real soon,
All images in this post are stills from recorded video content for Terrifically Toni on YouTube and TikTok. This post is not sponsored and contains entirely my own opinions.
