The best part of the holidays for me is making memories at festive Christmas events throughout the season. A Very Furry Christmas is the adorably themed Christmas celebration held at Sesame Place Philadelphia, the original theme park dedicated to the popular PBS show Sesame Street. We’ve been to this event before, but were excited to check out the recent updates to the park and see how those merry monsters were celebrating Christmas this year!
Day tickets to A Very Furry Christmas are relatively low in price compared to other theme park admissions, and we purchased ours during an online sale which gave us a 2-day visit for $40 per person. This means we can plan to return within the next four months. On this visit we also opted to buy Preferred Parking in advance, which was definitely a nice convenience but is overpriced at $45 per car. Food and merchandise at Sesame is pricey, so while you may save on the park tickets, be sure to budget for items you’ll be tempted to purchase while you’re there… especially since there’s a new place to shop in the neighborhood!
The new Sesame Place Store just opened in Fall 2023 and is an excellent addition to the park. Wisely situated at the edge of the parking lot before the ticketed admission entrance, it’s available for all souvenir-seeking shoppers — even those without theme park tickets. We had such a great experience in this store. It’s bright and easy to navigate, and at 6,800 square feet it’s the largest Sesame-themed store in the world! And as someone who usually feels no guest service compares to that in Disney Parks, I was blown away by the friendly staff who were so eager to go above and beyond to help us!
In the Sesame Place Store, you’ll find a wide variety of Sesame Street-themed merchandise that you can’t find anywhere else, like adorable Christmas ornaments, logo apparel, and mountains and mountains of plushies! (They even had the legendary “Guy Smiley” in plush form!)
For a limited time, you can also see the World’s Largest Elmo Plush, which is currently on display in the new Sesame Place Store. This gigantic Elmo (which was made by Just Play for Toy Fair and is on loan to the theme park) sits near the toy section in a roped-off area, with signage reminding curious kids to look with their eyes only. It’s a must-see attraction and a great photo op if you’re “in the neighborhood!”
Steps from the new Sesame Place Store is another adorably themed new addition. Take time to enjoy this “street” full of “buildings” inspired by famous architecture of Sesame Street’s home city of New York and the nearby city of Philadelphia. (The Muppet version of the Philadelphia Museum of Art is so realistic you’ll expect to see Rocky running the steps!) These structures are only facades, but their whimsical theming and well-crafted details made me wish I could step inside.
We got our shopping in early, but you don’t have to go through the new store to get into the park. Whether or not you do, you’ll find the security entrance just to the right of the Sesame Place Store. After going through security, you can head to park admission where you can purchase tickets or scan your pre-purchased tickets on your phone. Our entry was super easy and everything else about our day was impressively seamless.
Sesame Place decorates for A Very Furry Christmas with tons of sparkling Christmas lights, so in my opinion the park looks best when the sun starts to set. But since it generally closes at 6 or 7pm this time of year, we chose to go in the early afternoon and enjoy some fun and food before the lights began to really shine.
Speaking of food, I’ve never been a fan of the food at any of the Sea World Parks (which owns Sesame Place,) so I wasn’t expecting much. But we were really hungry so we went to eat right away and found a cozy spot at the recently re-themed Big Bird’s Burgers and Bites. The menu isn’t gigantic, so we sampled a few of the main items and were pleasantly surprised at how good it was! In my opinion, the best part about this eatery was the toppings bar for the burgers. We piled on shredded lettuce, crisp onion slices, tangy pickles, and ripe red tomato slices, all of which were impressively fresh! The chicken fingers were the basic frozen variety but they tasted decent so we gave them about an 8 out of 10. The cheeseburgers, fries, and adorable Big Bird cupcake were great, and all got a 9 out of 10 from us. We later tried the funnel cake and hot chocolate from Cookie Monster’s Foodie Truck, and while the cocoa was delicious, the funnel cake had no flavor and was a waste of money. Big Bird’s Burgers and Bites made up for it, and I hope this experience is a sign that Sesame Place is trying to step up its food game!
If you haven’t been to Sesame Place in a while, you’ll really enjoy the renovated area named Sesame Street Neighborhood which was unveiled in 2019. This space was recreated to better resemble the newer set that has been featured on the Sesame Street series since 2016.
The designs and theming are so well-done that you’ll want to take time to enjoy all the familiar details, like Big Bird’s nest, nods to the late Mr. Hooper, and the apartment building that has what may be the most famous stoop in the world.
The rides at Sesame Place haven’t changed a whole lot, but we still had fun riding a few. Limited-time seasonal events like A Very Furry Christmas often attract more visitors, especially on a mild-weather day like the day we went. So although the park didn’t feel overwhelmingly crowded, there were definitely some lengthy ride lines. The long line to meet Santa at his Workshop led us to skip the attraction entirely. Santa’s Furry Workshop is open for the majority of the day, but it still continuously had a steady wait time of an hour to an hour and a half. Sesame does offer a fast-pass kind of option for this particular event, but at $75 I feel it’s entirely too cost prohibitive for most families. They definitely need to find a new system or implement some sort of virtual queue to improve upon the lines at certain Christmas events like Santa’s Furry Workshop.
A fun perk of visiting Sesame Place at Christmastime is meeting characters in their festive holiday attire. We met several Sesame Street icons, including Big Bird in his nest, Elmo, Bert, and Ernie.
A Very Furry Christmas also offers meet-and-greets with other Christmas characters like Rudolph, Clarice, and Bumble from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer!
All the iconic characters got together at the end of the evening for a fun parade that heads right down Sesame Street. There’s lit-up floats, dancers, and songs sung by furry friends with beautiful messages of love, hope, and peace. I truly enjoyed this parade but the highlight of the Christmas celebrations at Sesame Place was probably seeing the park aglow in the happiest hues of holiday lights. Once the sun set, we were better able to see all the twinkly lights lining the buildings and strung across the street.
Even the iconic apartment building at 123 Sesame Street was lit up beautifully!
Sesame Street’s rich history has made it one of the few shows that transcends generations, so the opportunity Sesame Place offers guests to feel immersed in this iconic street is a treat for both my child and me. A Very Furry Christmas was just delightful for my family, and I highly recommend it. Wishing you all a very furry — and Merry — Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
What Lara Wrote 