If you're a parent or grandparent of a little one you'll appreciate the difficulty sometimes in finding a place that's create for toddlers and younger ones.
Dutch Wonderland, located in the rolling hills of
Lancaster, PA, is a little slice of yesterday or what we thought yesterday was looking back from today. The park is a theme park of wonders for kids 2 to about 8 or 9. Older kids get could bored quickly, but here is a whole park of wonders for little tykes. This makes for a great day trip or a weekend if you want to relax a little more and take in what Lancaster has to offer. There are multiple ways to get there from NOVA, but we enjoy taking the more scenic route up 15, over the Point of Rocks through Frederick and Gettysburgh, before hooking a right through York and finally crossing the
Susquehanna River and heading into Lancaster.
So what about the park? Now owned and operated by the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company, yes that Hershey, Dutch Wonderland was started in 1963 by Earl E. Clark as a place for families to gather and enjoy their weekends. (Our kind of place!) Over the years it grew from a few rides to a 48 acre park with over 30 rides and shows that will delight your little one. You'll be delighted by the slightly slower pace and lower costs that the traditional amusement parks the NOVA denizens trek to each year. Don't look for the newest upside down, strapped sideways, and reaching record heights rides to challenge you, but there are many rides that will delight your little one. You never know what will capture their fancy, for us it meant about half a dozen trips to the top of the
Fun Slide.
There is a great kids water park called Dukes Lagoon for Duke, Dutch Wonderland's dragon mascot. First opened in 2003 and refreshed a couple years ago is again targeted at the smaller kids. Don't expect a wave pool and a 80 ft drop slide, but there are dozens of water elements and slides that even your one and two year olds will be able to enjoy. Not that I have to tell any of you with small kids, but unless you're able to do Dutch Wonderland commando style you can easily spend a whole day here and with the water park a 2nd day can easily be added if you want to spend a weekend in Lancaster.
There is plenty to do and places to stay in Lancaster. More than we can cover today, but there any number of hotel and bed and breakfast options with a couple miles of the park. If you check around you can easily find a package that includes your stay and tickets. Less than a mile from the park are the
Lancaster Outlet stores if you have any energy left after leaving the park. Lancaster is probably most know for its concentration of Amish and to me that means good food! If you have the time a trip to
Miller's Smorgasbord is a must do. Only about three miles from Dutch Wonderland, Miller's has been serving up its from scratch goodness since 1929. Bring your appetite and call ahead for reservations. The location is huge, but it still fills up every weekend. Miller's doesn't look as old school at this picture anymore, but the food puts to shame any buffet style restaurant in the NOVA area. Food is served buffet style with a wide variety of traditional foods and though you'll want to go back for seconds and thirds make sure you leave room for their dessert bar where the warm chocolate pecan pie and Pennsylvania Dutch shoofly pie are crowd favorites. So if you're looking to put a smile on your little one's face and want to get out of the hustle and bustle for a weekend head up to Lancaster.
If you're a parent or grandparent of a little one you'll appreciate the difficulty sometimes in finding a place that's create for toddlers and younger ones. Dutch Wonderland, located in the rolling hills of Lancaster, PA, is a little slice of yesterday or what we thought yesterday was looking back from today. The park is a theme park of wonders for kids 2 to about 8 or 9. Older kids get could bored quickly, but here is a whole park of wonders for little tykes. This makes for a great day trip or a weekend if you want to relax a little more and take in what Lancaster has to offer. There are multiple ways to get there from NOVA, but we enjoy taking the more scenic route up 15, over the Point of Rocks through Frederick and Gettysburgh, before hooking a right through York and finally crossing the Susquehanna River and heading into Lancaster.
So what about the park? Now owned and operated by the Hershey Entertainment & Resorts Company, yes that Hershey, Dutch Wonderland was started in 1963 by Earl E. Clark as a place for families to gather and enjoy their weekends. (Our kind of place!) Over the years it grew from a few rides to a 48 acre park with over 30 rides and shows that will delight your little one. You'll be delighted by the slightly slower pace and lower costs that the traditional amusement parks the NOVA denizens trek to each year. Don't look for the newest upside down, strapped sideways, and reaching record heights rides to challenge you, but there are many rides that will delight your little one. You never know what will capture their fancy, for us it meant about half a dozen trips to the top of the Fun Slide.
