Monthly Archives: August 2020

Over the past few years, Dutch Wonderland became one of our favorite summer traditions and we have made such great memories there! We first visited in 2017 when my daughters were ages 4 and 6 and returned for our fourth time this week. You can read about all our previous visits here – 2017, 2018, 2019. All summer my daughters were asking when we could go and I told them I wasn’t sure if it would be possible this year due to Covid. I was excited to hear that the 48 acre amusement park in Lancaster, PA reopened on July 18th. After reading about the safety measures (see below) I felt comfortable and decided that we would plan our visit!

We have always made it a day trip since Dutch Wonderland is only a 2 hour drive from the DC area. We left a little before 8am and arrived right at 10am when they open. The park had a tent set up outside the castle entrance where we had our temperatures taken and bags checked.

Then we went inside and started going on rides! My husband took our girls ages 7 & 9 on some of the big kid rides while I took our youngest, Teddy on the toddler rides. He is obsessed with all things that go so he loved the Sky Fighter, Choo Choo Charlie, Duke’s Dozer, and Off Road Rally rides the most!

One disappointment on this visit was that Merlin’s Mayhem was not open. This is the newest and biggest suspended family roller coaster. Clara, my 9 year old was most looking forward to this ride as this is the best one for older kids. We knew before going that there were several rides that are not open due to Covid as listed on the Dutch Wonderland website but Merlin’s Mayhem was not one of those. The Double Splash Fume was another one that is more fun for older kids but for whatever reason was not open either. But the girls still had a blast riding the Flying Trapeze swings and Kingdom Coaster!

After we had lunch, we watched “A Dragon’s Tale” dive show in the Aqua Stadium. It is a super cute story and my kids were amazed by the talented divers. I highly recommend catching one of the shows on your visit. They are very entertaining and a great way to get your kids to sit down and take a little break from the rides. The stadium seats were marked with dots and instructions to sit at least 3 dots away from others to ensure proper social distancing.

It was a toasty, 90 degree day so after the dive show the kids were eager to head to Duke’s Lagoon to cool off. I recommend paying a little extra for preferred parking that is right in front of the entrance of the park. So then it makes it super easy to run out to your car to get your pool bag. There are changing rooms and bathrooms located in Duke’s Lagoon where you can put on your bathing suits and flip flops. Make sure to bring water shoes or flip flops for everyone in your family if you plan on going down the two big slides as they are required. If you happen to forget, they do sell flip flops in the store located just across from the water slides.

Duke’s Lagoon also has a few smaller slides for kids around the ages of 2-8 (one pictured above). There is no pool, so you don’t have to bring floatation devices. It is more of a splash park type set up with spray nozzles, jets, tipping buckets, etc. There is plenty of seating including chairs and tables with umbrellas. You can also rent your own personal cabana if you wish.

At the entrance of Duke’s Lagoon there was a staff member taking count of the number of people entering, to limit the capacity. Masks are also required in this area unless you are actively participating in the water features.

I’m so glad we were able to give the kids this fun experience in what has been an unusual and difficult summer for them. Although Dutch Wonderland looks a little different this year, it still brought out tons of smiles and laughs. This might not be the year to visit if you live a couple hours away, since there are quite a few rides that aren’t open. But definitely worth it if you are a local or live closer. However, we have all been spending lots of time at home the past 5 months so if you are ready and comfortable to venture out for some summer fun, then I definitely recommend a visit to Dutch Wonderland!

***Tickets are currently 50% off! Visit for just $22.99/person. Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.dutchwonderland.com/plan-a-visit/tickets-and-passes/

Disclosure: My family received complimentary tickets in exchange for this review. All opinions are my own.