Sesame Street Learn & Play — Attraction in East Rutherford

This place was disappointing.

My kid LOVES Sesame Street and we go to Sesame Place in PA pretty often. This seemed like a fun alternative and worth exploring as a more low-key option.

We went on a Sunday with 4 adults and 2 kids (kid under 2 years old was free) as an activity with the grandparents.

Here are some of the underwhelming features:

A basic indoor playground. We didn’t come to go on a slide. 2 rooms with a “craft”- (one for a basic coloring sheet of a butterfly, and the other of a piece of paper to glue on parts of a face of a character from some scraps) A theater that shows a 10 minute show (This was cute!) A kid friendly supermarket for pretend play, which we were kicked out of after 10 minutes to make room for other kids. Considering this is the only actual play area, other than the playground, that is not so cool. A quick photo op with Elmo, after waiting in a 20 minute line. Big bird was coming out an hour later, but we weren’t waiting considering there was nothing else to do there. The “bike shop” is a window to look into and a hand crank to watch a wheel turn.

Some redeeming qualities: The place looks very cute and fits the Sesame Street theme. My daughter met Elmo, and was allowed to take a picture and give him a hug. The theater was fun. They made sure our parking was validated so that we didn’t get charged for the event parking, since there was a game at the stadium The staff were very nice.

10 min (show)+ 10 min (grocery play)+ 20 min (waiting and meeting for Elmo)+ 20 min (2 basic crafts)= 1 hour of fun

Considering you need to pay for every child over 2 years old and every adult ($26 each), I am not sure it was worth the 1 hour of fun. My kid NEVER asks to leave a place before closing time or without a lot of convincing. She told us that she wanted to leave after 1 hour and 10 mins.

All in all, my daughter left with a big smile on her face and ready to explore what else American Dream had to offer. However, we paid $130 for this… our mistake. I guess we...

The experience is truly not worth the price. First off it is super hot in there which probably explained the fussy Attitudes we encountered. We went on opening day. You know the day that they should put their best foot forward. Elmo's World scanner was not working so the interactive portion of seeing you drawing come to life didn't exist. The smaller kids play area was quite underwhelming. Knowing your audience are generally under the age of 4 you should have a more interactive component aimed for smaller kids. The bike shop had 3 hands on components and 2 were not working as intended (the bike pump and the wheel one.) The grocery store was very cute and once in I feel this was the only element that was well thought out. The wait was about 20 mins. The staff did not control how long people were in the store so this made the wait even longer than necessary. Parents were clearly aggravated between the heat and the lack of staff intervention.

As for the characters, when we were there Big Bird was escorted across the hall from the sesame Exhibit by 5 staff members who acted like body guards. I think it's ridiculous to push parents and kids out of the way for the mascots. Like common sense would say to have a room on the back of the area where they can change. If you are coming to the public then factor in time to stop for the kids who are getting excited to go in. It's a free thing you can do that would make the experience special for them, if not that then at least wave back the kids. Elmo's staff member wouldnt let Elmo stay behind for 1 additional child to take a photo. The kid ran up to Elmo, waving staying hi and was met by coldness. This is your main character, I get it's hard to stay excited but geez wave back give a hug.

Overall underwhelming, over priced, definitely needed an extra 2...

I’ll be honest: I wasn’t expecting much from this place, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised. It was a great experience for my 3 year old, and I wish there was something like this available when my older two kids were younger. This would be a great activity for any kid who can walk and enjoys play kitchens, coloring, and going to the park. My child loved it and as a parent, I appreciated that it wasn’t so big a place so I could always have an eye on him, and the activities were so age-appropriate (it was clear a team of parents designed this) and fun but educational (sorting, coloring, music, kinesthetic activities). Kids under 6 would like this; I think older than that wouldn’t be as entertained.

The grocery store was a HIT- it’s like Supermarket Sweep for 3 year olds 🤣 The kids get to choose a cart, go shopping, scan their items, and return their items using a sorting activity. There was also a kitchen to make your own play sandwich. My kid loved this activity the most and we went twice.

There was also a meet and greet with Cookie Monster - staff will take pictures using your cell phone.

The movie was a great touch. Only a few minutes long but you don’t have to stay the entire time. Very casual, lots of space to dance and move and make noise because that’s what kids do, and even instruments to sing a long.

My son also likes the jungle gym area with two slides, a fun rope bridge, giant magnatiles, and some other activities. There were two rooms with coloring activities, but I think one sometimes has crafts according to the signs.

We went on a Friday morning around 11am, and it was not too crowded at all. Marcia was very helpful! Overall a great experience. We will definitely take our...