Editor’s Note: This trip report was reformatted in 2022 to match the current style, including photo galleries and ride counts. Older trip reports, however, detailed every ride of the day, whereas newer reports only touch upon a handful of rides. In order to preserve what I wrote, you will still find each ride detailed below.
Earlier this month I made my first-ever visit to Storybook Land in Egg Harbor, N.J. It was such a fun experience for me as it made me harken back to the days of visiting a park here in Maryland called Enchanted Forest, when I was a child. Sadly, that park is now defunct, but my memories are still very much alive of that wonderful place. If you’d like to read more about my first impressions of Storybook Land, check out the blog titled, “Storybook Land – A Tale of ‘Enchanted‘ Memories.”
After sharing these memories online, I got a lot of positive feedback, not only other enthusiasts, but my family as well – namely my father, Bill. You see, he also has memories of visiting Enchanted Forest, as a child and then later on, taking my brother and I. Enchanted Forest isn’t the only park he enjoyed with a fairy tale and/or nursery rhyme theme, however. Dutch Wonderland, in Lancaster, Pa. is one of his favorite parks to visit. We went numerous times as a family and now, he takes my niece, Dalila, and cousin, Dan. So it goes without saying that upon seeing my photos of Storybook Land, his interest was piqued.
Sam Also Shows Interest
Sam also expressed some interest in going to this small park. The more and more I talked about it, the more and more she wanted to visit. Obviously, the Bubbles the Coaster credit was something she wanted to earn, but she was also very much into all the fairy tale and nursery rhyme exhibits I showcased in the blog linked above.
One night, while driving home from dinner, Sam and I decided to make plans to visit Storybook Land again before the end of the year. Before I bought tickets, however, I wanted to see if my parents would want to join us. Since my father is retired, he agreed to go. My mom, however, was unable to attend as it would be a late night for her getting back and she had to work early the next morning.
I went ahead and bought our tickets that night. We would have to wait until the week after Christmas to visit, though. The parks had filled all of its reservations for the week of Christmas, so we reserved for Monday, December 28, 2020. Oh well! We’d have to wait. No biggie. Good for Storybook Land, though. It’s good to see the park doing well.
Exploring the Park
During the Day
Since the park opened at 4:30 p.m., we had a bit of light left before it would become dark. Now, this park looks beautiful with its Christmas light display, but I really wanted to run around the park for a bit so Sam and my dad could see the many exhibits found throughout the park. I made sure we stopped by the Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (above), Alice in Wonderland, Moby Dick, Sleeping Beauty, Little Red Riding Hood, and countless others before night set in.
We walked past all the rides, knowing we had plenty of time to get to them before the park closed at 8 p.m. We walked up to most of the park’s exhibits, hit every interactive button we could see, and watched what played out before us. I didn’t even spend this much time with these exhibits on my first visit, instead trying my hardest to film the park before the sun went down. It was nice seeing all the little details the park put into each exhibit this time.
Throughout the Evening
As the sun began to go down, we decided to check out the back end of Storybook Land. I didn’t really venture back that way on my first visit, but I’m glad we did this time. Not only did we see the Christmas Light show across from the Storybook Seaport, we also saw the goats! Yes, goats!
Approaching a tall wooden structure, I noticed there were two goats at the top. Both were standing there staring at us. It’s like they wanted something. Oh, food! Coming down from the top of the structure was two rope and pulley systems with small food bowls attached. Two vending machines at the base of the ropes let guests send food up to these hungry fellas. We decided to go ahead and feed them.
Here’s the funny thing. When you go to place the food in the bowl, the goats start biting the cords and try to pull it up themselves. I don’t think that was intended. I’m pretty sure the intent was for you to pull the cords and raise the bowls up to them. But nope! Those goats are in a hurry to eat.
3 Adults Become Big Kids
Once we made our rounds, it was time to ride! Bubbles the Coaster and Tick-Tock Drop were the rides Sam and I were most looking forward to. Best of all, my dad planned on getting on both of the rides with us too. I couldn’t tell you the last time I rode any kind of ride with my dad. I was looking forward to it, as was Sam.
Old Tymers Car Ride
How fitting that we began with a ride featuring this name? This old time car ride was one I did not get around to during my first visit, so I wanted to make sure I rode it this time. We made Sam drive and she did okay, I guess. She does have a drivers license, but one might not suspect that having been on this car ride with her. I’ll stop before she beats me up.
Bubbles the Coaster
Next was Bubbles the Coaster. There was hardly anyone in line, so we made our way over. Seating every other row due to the pandemic, we had the train to ourselves. Although the train threw my dad around on the bunny hills at the end of the ride on the first lap, I’m glad he got on with us. It was fun seeing him enjoying the rides. He was even calling out Sam for being scared of Bubbles. She totally was.
Turtle Whirl
After feeding the goats and checking out the deer, Sam and I jumped on the Turtle Twirl. This was another ride I didn’t experience on my first visit. This is the kind of ride you do with friends though. My dad, however, sat this one out. Spinning rides have never been his thing.
Whirly-Bug
Once we wrapped up spinning around inside the turtle shells, we walked toward the front of the park so we could get our ride on Tick-Tock Drop. Along the way, however, we stopped at some of the exhibits we missed out on earlier. Things like the train gardens, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and Santa’s reindeers.
As we made our way over to Tick-Tock, we stopped and rode Whirly-Bug. We didn’t intend to ride the small ferris wheel, but we said, “Why not?” It was fun.
Tick-Tock Drop
It was finally time for Tick-Tock Drop. I swear, this ride is one of my favorite drop towers. It’s not big and it doesn’t drop its entire height. It more than makes up for it with its unique ride, however. While doing a slow spin, Tick-Tock Drop gives a bunch of mini-drops throughout the ride duration. They happen at the top, in the middle, and then send you back up to do it some more. If you like that tickle feeling in your stomach on drops, this is your ride!
Although Sam and I loved Tick-Tock, my dad felt a little “blah” after riding. I think he thought he was getting one drop and then done. He didn’t get to see the ride cycle before we rode it since it was a walk on. He said the repeated up and down motions got to a him a bit. We decided to take a break for about half an hour. Some hot chocolate and desserts were in order.
Later in the evening, after striking out on getting a re-ride on Bubbles due to a long line, we made our way back to Tick-Tock Drop for our final ride of the evening.
J&J Railroad
Wanting to keep things calm since we just ate, we decided to go get a ride on J&J Railroad. I could be wrong, but I didn’t see the train operating on my prior visit. Maybe it was and I was just in awe of the rest of the park and didn’t notice. This visit, however, I wanted to ride the train and I’m glad we did it at night. Seeing the park from all angles with their Christmas light package was stunning. This park truly had the best Christmas lights of all the parks I visited throughout December.
Out on a Limb
On our way out of the park Sam mentioned wanting to get a ride on the Out on a Limb swing ride. The line was quite short and it was on our way back to the front of the park. We jumped in line and had a fun little spin on this awesome looking swing. It was fun getting to do a lot of these rides I skipped out on during my first visit. Doing them with Sam and/or my dad made the wait worthwhile.
Final Ride Counts
Bubbles the Coaster (1)
J&J Railroad (1)
Old Tymers (1)
Out on a Limb (1: Patrick, Sam)
Tick-Tock Drop (2: Patrick, Sam, 1: Bill)
Turtle Whirl (1: Patrick, Sam)
Whirly-Big (1: Patrick, Sam)
Raiding the Gift Shop on the Way Out
Sam and I loaded up on some Bubbles the Coaster and Storybook Land merch before we left. Sam said she wanted to get some things to help support the park more. She said she had such a great time and wanted to give the park some more money. She grabbed a pin set and a stuffed animal of Bubbles. I found a kids large shirt for Bubbles the Coaster and since Sam is on the smaller side, I knew it would fit her. I also grabbed a magnet for myself. I had bought the pins on my last visit.
All in all, the three of us had a wonderful time at Storybook Land. I went on a whim earlier this month and never expected to be back so soon. I’m glad I did, however, as seeing Sam and my dad enjoy the park just as I did for the first time was a great time. I fully suggest giving this park a try if you have little ones or can appreciate small park experiences.
I know I will be back again one day. My Aunt Cheryl, my dad’s sister, is also really interested in visiting this park. All these years later, it would be fun to take her out to a park like she used to do with me. When that happens, you best bet I’ll have another blog on here talking about how much fun we had. And even though she claims to be retired, if my dad rode Bubbles, I’ll totally call her out if she chickens out on it.
Storybook Land - December 12, 2020
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CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): n/a
Sam
Captain
New Credit(s): Bubbles the Coaster
