For the past four years, during our summer vacations, we'd head to Lancaster, PA, the land of the Amish, exclusively to have fun at Dutch Wonderland. However, now that the kids are growing up, we decided to change course and visit Knoebels. A few days before the trip, my husband read a comment online that said that once you go to Knoebels, you never want to go back to Dutch Wonderland, but that depends a lot on your tastes. My kids really enjoyed Knoebels, but they also miss the rides and the family atmosphere of Dutch Wonderland. Plus, the times we went there, they got to see Thomas the Train at the Strasburg depot.
But back to Knoebels, this is an amusement park located in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, not far from Bethlehem or Harrisburg. The place has a long list of rides, including those for the little ones, the older ones, and family rides, with water, without water, scary rides, and those not appropriate for those with a fear of heights. It also has a campsite outside the park, but I personally would wait until my kids are 8 or 9 to take them camping there, as there are many groups of families with teenagers who decide to spend a few days at the campsite, and it's very noisy. Perhaps in a few years, we'll also be encouraged to spend the night at Knoebels.
However, it's a good idea to stay in a nearby hotel or head to Danville, which is 20 minutes from Knoebels, where you can spend the night in one of the many hotels in town. On this trip, we were left wanting to try Mom's Dutch Kitchen, but that will be for the next time we go. I think the excitement of getting to spend the day at the park put us off eating.
Inside the park, there are also several places to eat, and the prices are very reasonable; they're not as expensive as other family-friendly attractions. What caught my attention the most were the roller coasters, which, of course, I didn't go on because I didn't have the courage! I think my 6-year-old son stole my courage...he's double his courage and rode both roller coasters! Of course, accompanied by Dad. Meanwhile, Kenny, my youngest son, took me for a ride on a train. This ride is incredible! The small train passes under the roller coaster structures and leaves the park toward the forest, where you can admire the beauty of nature. During the ride, it goes through a small tunnel appropriate for the size of the train. 🙂 It's a very nice ride...the first two times...but by the fourth time, when Kenny convinced me to go again, I wasn't sure if I was in Knoebles or in DW!
I don't know if it's because it was so hot or if it's always like this, but the lines for the rides weren't long and the wait time was tolerable. Our eleven hours at the park weren't enough time to ride all the rides, so we'll have to return again to ride the Ferris wheel again. We hope to do so before the end of summer.
Oh! I forgot to mention that Giant stores in the Elysburg area sell Holsum brand breads that include a $1.4T4.00 discount coupon for an all-day pass. There's no entry fee to Knoebeles, and you can buy as many tickets as you want separately for each game. However, if you decide to spend the whole day like we did, it's worth buying the all-day pass, which can be used for all games. It costs between $20 and $30.50. Many people even bring coolers with food and drinks and leave them on the picnic tables where they can return again and again to refuel. That was our method of staying dry :-)
Will we definitely return? When? I don't know. I just hope I can still take at least one of my children on airplanes, which proves he's still young 🙂 And of course, as parents, always look for the opportunity to speak to them in Spanish, whether during the trip, at the park, during meals, at any time! It's the best way for them to maintain that heritage.