Happily Ever After(noon) at Storybook Land

NOTE: This is an update to a post I previously wrote in 2021. There are a mixture of photos from 2021 and 2023.

This past week, we spent two nights in Atlantic City for the AC Airshow. This was our third year doing so, and the kids always have a great time. This year (at ages almost 7 and almost 5.5 year old) felt like our most successful. While I’m sad about the kids getting older, certain things DO get easier at least! The previous two years, we stayed at Showboat. This year, we stayed at Resorts. Overall, we liked Resorts a bit better, and it’s still a short walk to the indoor Lucky Snake arcade that we like to go to. Showboat does have the new indoor water park, but we’re waiting a bit longer before splurging on that.

I am thinking of writing a whole post just about the Airshow and AC with kids another time, so I’m just going to focus on our stop on the drive home here…

On the way home from Atlantic City, we stopped at Storybook Land in Egg Harbor Township. This was the same stop we made on the way home in 2021, and we were really happy it fit into our plans this year after missing it in 2022.

Storybook Land opened in 1955, and as the name suggests, the overall theme is fairytales and childhood stories. In addition to the rides, there are over 30 attractions for families to walk around and look at. Mary’s Little Lamb with an actual sheep to pet and feed and a little schoolhouse with old-fashioned desks was one of our favorites. And several of them even have buttons for you to push and listen to snippets of the stories while watching a scene with animatronic characters. Having your kids familiar with classic fairy tale stories isn’t necessary but definitely adds to the excitement! (My kids knew more this time and enjoyed pointing them out to us as they spotted them.)

I’ve now taken my kids at approximately 7 and 5.5 and 5 and 3.5, and they had a great time both visits. I would say that 3 to 8 is ideal, but I think it would be fun for any children ages 2 through 10 years old. (Possibly older if you have younger ones with you that the older ones will enjoy helping.) There are 18 rides, and my daughter could ride all but one of them during our visit when she was 3. In fact, both of them rode their very first rollercoaster at Storybook Land! Unfortunately, they were NOT fans and haven’t been on any rollercoasters since! While definitely tame for real thrill seekers, it’s a fast, bumpy ride for little ones. If you’ve been to Sesame Place, I’d say it’s a step below Vapor Trail in terms of scariness. (And a lower height requirement, too.) We sat that there’s a new rollercoaster being built too, that should open in 2024.

The rollercoaster was NOT a hit with my two, but it wasn’t anything a ride on the Zip Zap Racers couldn’t fix. And they enjoyed every other ride, so no harm done.

As usual, Henry’s favorites rides revolved around trains and cars. He got to drive the 4 of us around a track in and a Model T, and we rode the J&J Railroad around the park twice. We also rode the tram car – Candy Cane Express. (Sidenote: There’s a whole little Christmas section of the park.) He also loved the small train models display, complete with buttons to make them move.

I’d actually suggest you ride either the J&J Railroad or the Candy Cane Express early in your visit. It’s a great way to learn more about the park and get a feel on the rides your children are most interested in.

Charlotte’s favorites were the Turtle Twirl, Ferris Wheel, and Happy Dragon. Oh, and she ALWAYS loves a carousel!

And my favorite was probably Deep Sea Divers, purely because I got to see the expressions of true JOY and surprise on their faces!

Also worth mentioning … there’s a splash pad!

Overall Impressions from our two visits:

My husband and I were really impressed with how clean and friendly it was. All of the ride attendants were extremely nice, joking around with everyone. The entire place had such a laidback, wholesome, stress-free feel to it. And while I didn’t actually SEE any employees walking around cleaning the park, it was really spotless. Though that might be in part due to the fact that there are truly trash cans everywhere! Not in a bad way, but I even mentioned to Harry that I’d never seen so many trash/recyclable cans around a theme park!

The park has tons of tall, mature trees that provide a lot of shade. This makes a huge difference on a hot summer day. In fact, it felt ten degrees hotter when we went out to our car at the end of the day!

For a park that’s over 60 years old, everything seemed well maintained, and I appreciated the variety of rides. We go to Sesame Place often, and just about every ride there spins you around. It’s enough that I’ve actually started taking Dramamine before we go because I just can’t take so much spinning anymore! At Storybook Land, there were certainly rides that spin, but there other types too. There was even a construction site ride!

There’s a cute store that you walk through to exit the park, but that’s really the only store/merchandise in the whole park. I enjoy that my kids aren’t constantly asking to buy things! The only other souvenirs I saw within the main park were pressed pennies, and I loved that they were the old school machines that take 2 quarters and 1 penny. (Many of the newer ones are more expensive!)

Speaking of quarters, you might want to bring a few dollars worth since there are animals you can feed and a water shooting game back past the spray pad.

Food:

On our first visit, we ate at the McDonald’s less than 5 minutes away because we didn’t know what to expect. During our 2023 visit, we ate pizza, chicken fingers, BLT, salad and snowcones in the park. We also spotted ice cream, hot dogs, burgers, soft pretzels, etc. We found the prices to be reasonable for an amusement park, and we all said we’d eat there again. There are indoor and outdoor tables.

If you prefer to pack a lunch, you can do that, too! There’s a nice picnic area with plenty of tables to enjoy your own food. The picnic area is partially under a covered pavilion and then also out near trees for shade.

Bathrooms:

Super clean! And regular toilets, not automatic flushers. (Always a topic on conversation with my kids.) I also noticed on the map that one of the bathrooms has a designated nursing area.

Tickets:

You can buy tickets in person, but it’s easy to buy them in advance online. It’s a few dollars cheaper, and it’ll save you a little time when you’re there. No need to print if you don’t want to. They can scan from your phone.

They DO offer discounts for military, first responders, and medical professionals. Those must be purchased in person. IT works out to being $1 cheaper than buying online, $4 cheaper than the in-person prices.

Online tickets are currently $29.95.

Children under 2 are free.

Time/Hours:

Storybook Land is open daily from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. during July and August. It is CLOSED on Tuesdays. If you’re reading this post during another part of the year, check the calendar HERE.

We spent about 4 hours there both times we visited and felt like that was the perfect amount of time to do everything we wanted to without rushing. You could spend longer if you repeated rides or if there were lines. Luckily, we only waiting more than one turn on a ride ONCE the whole day. (Keep in mind, we went on a Thursday both visits.)

I definitely see us coming back to Storybook Land over the next few years! I had been excited to go, but I’ll admit I was a little nervous the kids might be unimpressed. We returned from Disney World just a week beforehand, and we live less than 10 minutes from Sesame Place. But they really loved it! I would highly recommend it for families with young children – whether you’re just looking for a fun day trip, or you want to fit it into your beach vacation.

TIP: Storybook Land also offers festivities for Halloween and Christmas!