I have visited most of the amusement parks throughout the state of Pennsylvania during my life. At this point time in time, the only ones I have yet to visit that feature operational roller coasters include: Bushkill Park, DelGrosso’s Amusement Park, and Idlewild & Soakzone. Had you asked me on Saturday, Sesame Place just outside Philadelphia would also have been on that list. Well, I’m glad to say, that is no longer the case. I finally got myself up to Sesame to ride their two coasters, Vapor Trail and Oscar’s Wacky Taxi.
My plan for the day was to get to the park around noon and spend a couple of hours riding the coasters and shooting some footage. Later that evening, I was hoping to meet up with Chance and Aaron from the YouTube channel, Cheapthusiast. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to hang out, but sadly, it wasn’t to be. We decided to catch up another time. This in turn freed up my evening and I made an on the spot call to head to Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) for the evening. That trip report should be published tomorrow.
Halloween Spooktacular's Final Days
If you’re wondering why it has taken me so long to visit Sesame Place, living just two hours away in Baltimore, I’ll be 100 percent honest. It’s been the price. Over the last few years, I would check out the park’s calendar from time to time. I’d always see prices ranging between $70-90. Now I’ve spent some money to ride smaller coasters, but never that much. That’s more than it costs to go to Sesame’s sister park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) for the day. Oddly enough, it was picking up the BGW platinum pass that ultimately gained me entry to Sesame with it being among the 11 parks I have access to. Little did I know, I’d be going just one week after buying that pass.
Last week, while sitting at my computer, I decided to look up Sesame Place’s calendar. That’s when I saw the park was still running The Count’s Halloween Spooktacular event on November 6 and 7. I had no plans and figured most people might be done with Halloween now that it’s November. I mean Wal-Mart and Carrie have both been in Christmas mode for a while now. I kept my fingers crossed that the park would be slow and it was.
Vapor Trail
Walking into the park my eyes immediately went to Vapor Trail’s bright teal and blue structure. It stood out like no other against the fall leaves surround the coaster. The paint also looked fresh. I should have known that Baynum Painting, who’s been busy at numerous parks repainting rides this year, took care of this ride back in the spring. That’s probably why it was down when Renee visited the park earlier this year with her brother, Brady.
Vapor Trail ended up being a walk on, with plenty of empty rows on the train returning to the station. I was waiting for the back row, but I could tell the young girl in the back with her mom wanted to ride again. I wasn’t going to make them move rows. I took a seat in front of them and sure enough, that girl had a blast back there. I did end up getting a back row ride a few minutes later anyhow after shooting some photos between rides.
Overall, Vapor Trail surprised me. With its long trails, I felt some pull going over the drop and around all the turns and helixes throughout its course. I fully expected Vapor Trail to meander around its 1,299 feet of track. Maybe it does feel that way in the front, but in the back, you’ll feel some minor forces, which was more than I expected.
Oscar's Wacky Taxi
With Vapor Trail in the books, it was time to ride Oscar’s Wacky Taxi. This coaster debuted in 2018, the same year I visited Quassy for the first time and rode Wooden Warrior. I loved that little coaster and its surprisingly strong airtime. I heard it was good from other enthusiasts, but I didn’t think it would be THAT good. I’ve been wanting to experience Oscar’s ever since to see if the same were true. And, it was.
As much as I love Wooden Warrior, Oscar’s surpassed. It feels like a more complete course, which is weird since Oscar’s track length is 34 feet shorter than Wooden Warrior’s. That stat surprised me. Both feel on the shorter side, sure. I just feel like Warrior feels shorter and less complete of a ride – like I need another element. Oscar’s feels like it does everything it needs to do and maybe that’s why it feels like it’s longer. Alas, it is not with Oscar’s Wacky Taxi checking in at 1,205 feet and Wooden Warrior at 1,239 feet.
In the airtime department, both coasters have it in spades, especially for a coasters of their size. I also give the nod to Oscar’s here, although I might be due to recent ride bias. It’s been over three years since my lone visit to Quassy. I managed four rides that visit, but only two on Oscar’s. I would have certainly rode it a few more times had I not decided to run over to SFGAdv. I did manage to get in a front and back row ride, however. For those wanting to know, the airtime is much stronger in the back, although it was pretty good in the front too.
Final Ride Counts
Oscar’s Wacky Taxi (2)
Vapor Trail (2)
A Park with a Lot of Charm
Ultimately I spent two hours at the park, most of which was spent between Vapor Trail, Oscar’s Wacky Taxi, and the gift shop. What I did see of the park, it has a lot of charm, especially for someone who grew up watching Sesame Street. They’ve done a stellar job theming, especially around Oscar’s. Between the ride station, the trains, and the surround area, there are little fun nuggets of information and throwbacks to the show that you’ll just love. Two of my favorites were seeing Slimey the worm on top of Oscar’s head on the front car of the train. Then, on the back, the license plate that read, “I love trash.”
Now, as much as I loved the park, I can’t say I’d want to pay that $70-90 entry price to visit. My advice is to look out for any ticket deals, like the one currently being offered by the park online. The park’s Christmas Flash Sale saves you 70 percent on tickets, taking one day tickets prices down from $89.99 to $24.99. That’ll save you and your family a lot of cash. I’m not sure how often the park runs these deals throughout the year, but it would be insane not to take advantage of them. Season passes are also a great option if you think you’ll be visiting more than once. Or if you have that platinum pass like I do, take advantage of that.
If you have kids, this place is a no brainer. But… if you’re like me, a coaster enthusiast who has no problem tapping into their childhood memories, this park is also a must visit. It took me way too long to get up to Sesame Place, but I have a strong feeling that I’ll be going back with some of the site’s other Flight Crew members, especially since I’ve been bragging about Oscar’s Wacky Taxi these last two days.
Sesame Place: Philadelphia Photo Gallery - November 7, 2021
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): Oscar's Wacky Taxi, Vapor Trail
