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- Hello, I'm Alexis. Welcome to Capitol Momma! I'm always out having fun with my little ones, exploring all that there is to see & do in the DC Metro area for kids. Join us on our adventures!
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Dutch Wonderland – Summer 2019
Dutch Wonderland is a 48-acre amusement park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It is truly a “Kingdom For Kids” with over 35 fun filled rides, attractions, games, and shows. The park is designed for smaller children so it has been a perfect fit for my family the past few years. My daughters talk about it all year long; it is that special and memorable to them! We visited for our third time on Monday and as always had so much fun!
One of the reasons I love Dutch Wonderland is because the park is small and easily manageable with young children. I have found that less is actually more with little ones. Here kids can walk the entire park and won’t complain that their legs are tired and demand a piggy-back ride. We have always visited on a Monday and the lines and wait times are zero to minimal. Kids are much happier when not having to wait in lines! You can even stay on a ride for several rounds if there is no one in line, which is common here! Weekends are more crowded but you would most likely never wait more than 20-25 minutes at most for the top attractions. And even though it is small, we still never do everything in one visit!
This was Teddy’s first time on the rides and he was amazed! When we visited last summer, he was only 9 months old so he was just watching his big sisters and taking it all in! There are many toddler rides at Dutch Wonderland; some you can go on with them and others they can ride by themselves. These were Teddy’s favorites (he is 20 months old): Duke’s Dozers (pictured above), Panda Party (pictured below), Merry-go-Round, Leapin’ Frogs, Balloon Chase, Turtle Whirl, and Off-Road Rally.
We went on rides for a couple of hours; with no lines, you can do a lot in a short amount of time! My girls favorites were Merlin’s Mayhem, Pipeline Plunge, Kingdom Coaster, Frog Hopper, and Kite Flight. Then we caught “The Adventures of the Frog Prince” show in the Aqua Stadium. There are diving boards and platforms high atop the castle where the performers do quite impressive jumps and dives into the pool down below. Kids can also meet the characters after the show.
After the show, my kids were ready for lunch so we grabbed a bite to eat from one of the food stands (there are many located all around the park). They offer all the typical amusement park fare: pizza, hotdogs, hamburgers, fries, chicken nuggets, soft pretzels, ice cream, etc. They also offer salads and healthier sandwich options at the Bean Sprout cafe. You are not allowed to bring in picnic lunches but you could keep it in a cooler in your car and eat outside the park in the picnic pavilion.
After lunch, we went to Duke’s Lagoon to cool off in the water! I recommend paying a little extra for preferred parking that is right in front of the entrance to 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 2-7. 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.
Dutch Wonderland is about a 2 hour drive from the DC area, so it makes for an easy day trip. There are many options for accommodations nearby as well, if you wanted to stay a night or two. They also offer a “park preview”, so your tickets are valid for the last 3 operating hours the night before your planned full day visit. We are already looking forward to visiting again next summer!
Tickets are normally $44.99 but with promo code summerblog19, you can save $5 per ticket. Click here to purchase.
A Day at Dutch Wonderland
I had heard from several friends that Dutch Wonderland was the perfect place for little kids, so I wanted to make sure we experienced it this summer. My family spent the day there earlier last week and had the best time! It exceeded my expectations in every way and I’m sure we will make a return visit next summer!
Dutch Wonderland is located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania about 2-2.5 hours from the DC area. We drove up in the morning and arrived when they opened at 10am and then drove home later that afternoon. Everything was very easy and convenient for an outing with little kids. Dutch Wonderland has general parking for $5 or preferred parking for $15. We opted for the preferred, so we could park right in front just steps away from the entrance. The quaint amusement park is surrounded by farmland where you can see cattle grazing the fields. They have 35 rides, shows, and an awesome splash park called Duke’s Lagoon.
The rides are geared towards smaller children – my almost 4 year old and 6 year old could go on pretty much all the rides. There are several rides that the whole family can enjoy together too.
The park is incredibly clean (yes, even the bathrooms) and well-kept. All of the employees were so nice and helpful. The park offers so much and all within a pretty small area – very walkable with small children in tow.
The park has charming Amish touches throughout, like the iconic giant pretzel that also makes for a good photo opp.
My daughter loved playing in this horse and carriage! There is also a life-size cow replica that kids can “milk” and an animatronic display of Amish life.
In addition to all the fun rides, Dutch Wonderland offers several great shows throughout the day. We loved the “Adventures of the Frog Prince” performed on the aqua stage. “A theatrical high dive show encompassing all the magic, mystery, costuming, set design and special effects of a fairytale, plus world class diving.”
After we had gone on all the rides, watched a show, and had lunch we headed over to Duke’s Lagoon for some water fun! This area is also very clean and has lots of seating for parents surrounding the splash park. The kid-sized water slides are great for little ones. There are attentive life guards making sure the children wait their turn to go down the slides.
Before leaving for the day, we stopped in the gift shop so Clara and Mae could each pick out a toy. They have a great selection and I found that the items were not over priced. Dutch Wonderland was a great experience for our family! Add it to your summer bucket list for sure!
Use code CapitolMommaSBlog17 to save $4 per ticket or click the link here.
General admission is $41.99, 4-day advance tickets $38.99, 7-day advance tickets $35.99. All tickets include a preview pass – Enjoy the last three hours of the park the night before you visit for a full day – FREE! Preview after 3:00 pm when the Park closes at 6 pm. Preview after 5:30 pm when the Park closes at 8:30 pm.
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POSTED IN: Day Trip with Kids from DC, DC day trip, Dutch Wonderland, Dutch Wonderland Discount Code, Family amusement park, Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania, Traveling with Kids
POSTED IN: Day Trip with Kids from DC, DC day trip, Dutch Wonderland, Dutch Wonderland Discount Code, Family amusement park, Lancaster, PA, Pennsylvania, Traveling with Kids
Dutch Wonderland + Discount Code!
The countdown to summer break is on! We just have one more week of school left and my girls are ready for some fun in the sun! I’ve been planning lots of trips and local adventures so we can make the most of it. One thing we are really excited about is a trip to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA – just a 2 hour drive from the D.C. area. We haven’t been before but I’ve heard so many great things from friends. After our visit, I’ll be sure to share our experience and tips with you all!
Dutch Wonderland has offered all my readers $4 off per ticket with promocode: CapitolMommaSBlog17! Click here for a direct link to purchase the discounted tickets for $37.99 (Reg $41.99). Offer expires 10-8-2017.
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POSTED IN: Discount Code, Discount Code Dutch Wonderland, Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, PA
POSTED IN: Discount Code, Discount Code Dutch Wonderland, Dutch Wonderland, Lancaster, PA