Story Land in Glen, NH: Bringing Mother Goose to Life!
Written: Aug 03 '02 (Updated Nov 05 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: reasonable prices, familiar themes, fun rides
Cons: teens will be bored unless they are into watching their younger siblings' excitement
The Bottom Line: A family oriented fun park that is an enjoyable day for people with children under 10.
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| AliventiAsylum's Full Review: Story Land |
I've been going to this park since I was a little kid. The park first opened long before I was born - in 1954. It is still run by the same family after all of those years. Although there have been many changes through the years, it is still a great place for me to bring my own kids.
Story Land contains 16 rides and 4 shows that will appeal to a wide variety of ages. I would not - however - recommend this as a park for a family of teens. While a teen might get a kick out of being here with a younger brother or sister, chances are they will be uncomfortable otherwise.
The theme at Story Land is all the stories we have known since we were children: Mother Goose, The Woman Who Lives In A Shoe, The Three Bears, Little Miss Muffet, Baa-Baa-Black Sheep, Mary Had A Little Lamb, The Three Little Pigs, Peter Rabbit, and a whole bunch more. There are a wide variety of themed walk-through areas that are not rides or attractions that follow these various themes. I remember The Woman Who Lives In A Show from when I was little in particular. There's a "tuffet" to sit on and get a surprise.
There is a train circling the park. The "C.P. Huntington Train" stops at three different locations, so you can use it to get to a different area, or take it full circle to just enjoy the ride. There are five identical Civil War era replica trains and up to three of them may be on the track at the same time.
The Polar Coaster is a fairly mild roller-coaster ride. It will be thrilling for those from about 6 to pre-teens. Children must be at least 36 inches tall to ride.
There is the Dr. Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride for those hot days. Be warned - you will get wet, probably soaked! Children must be at least 36 inches tall to ride this. There is also a log flume ride. Instead of being themed to the old west, it has an Oriental theme and is called "Bamboo Chutes". Children must be able to walk onto this ride by themselves and will be seated between their parent's legs.
I love the Antique German Carousel. It is different than the usual carousels in that the horses are rocked manually back and forth instead of up and down. It also rotates clockwise instead of the traditional merry-go-round counterclockwise direction.
Other rides available include: Antique Car Ride, Alice's Tea Cup Ride, Buccaneer Pirate Ship, Cinderella's Horse-Drawn Pumpkin Coach, Story Land Queen Boat, Swan Boats, the Dutch Shoe Ride, a guided tour of the Los Bravos Silver Mine, Great Balloon Chase, Slipshod Safari Tours, and Turtle Twirl.
Children under 48 inches must be accompanied by an adult on all rides.
There are play areas for the smaller ones like my son (who is 2) and who may not want to accompany the older ones on the rides. Some of these are located right next to the bigger rides, making it easy for families like ours when I am traveling alone with a wide gap in ages. I can keep an eye on my older two on the ride while sitting with my younger one in the play area.
We enjoyed the four shows as well. One was about growing plants in a garden. There are two story-telling shows where people are selected to be "guest performers" and help tell the stories. This can be great of the "guest performers" are really into it. The last show is about working in a laboratory. My kids really got a kick out of this one and thought the "Professor" was hilarious.
There is a wide variety of food available in the parks. Some of it is typical theme-park style: hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, tacos. There was also a baked potato place (which I liked a lot), peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, as well as salads. There were snacks such as popcorn and ice cream available, as well as healthy snacks such as baby carrots. I found the food prices to be fairly reasonable. However, you are allowed to bring food into the park. There is also a picnic area outside of the gate in case you don't want to lug a cooler through the park with you.
There is an ATM and lockers available at the entrance to the park. There are also strollers available for free on a first-come, first-served basis. Throughout the park are rooms known as "Mama's House". These rooms are the perfect place to get out of the hot sun to feed the baby if you want to, as well as change them. It is comfortable and quiet.
Story Land is located on Route 16 in Glen, NH a little bit north of North Conway, NH.
Admission is $19 per person - age 3 and under are free. There is a special plan where you can pay to enter the park after 3 PM and receive a complimentary admission any other time during the season. If you are staying nearby, this works great! For July and August the operating hours are 9 AM - 6 PM. If you are coming any other time between Memorial Day and Columbus Day they are generally open from 10 AM to 5 PM weekends only.
Thank you to DiverPam for adding this to the database for me! I can't believe it wasn't here before now.
Other sites to see in New Hampshire:
Attitash Bear Peak Ski Resort ~ Bretton Woods Ski Resort ~ Canobie Lake Park ~ Cranmore Mountain Ski Resort ~ Franconia Notch State Park ~ Kancamagus Highway ~ King Pine Ski Resort ~ Loon Mountain Ski Resort ~ Madison Boulder Natural Area ~ Mount Washington Cog Railway ~ North Conway, NH ~ Polar Express Event ~ Shawnee Peak, Bridgeton ME ~ Six Gun City ~ Whale's Tale Waterpark ~ White Lake State Park ~ White Mountain National Forest ~ Wildcat Mountain
Some places to stay in New Hampshire:
Attitash Mountain Village - Bartlett NH ~ Comfort Inn & Suites - North Conway NH ~ Hampton Inn - Concord/Bow NH ~ Yankee Clipper Motel
Places to eat in New Hampshire:
Bea's Cafe, Conway NH ~ Cafe Noche, Conway NH ~ Decades Steakhouse, North Conway NH ~ Delaney‘s Hole in the Wall, North Conway NH ~ Harts Turkey Farm, Meredith NH ~ May Kelly's Cottage, North Conway NH ~ Merlino's Steakhouse, North Conway NH ~ Moat Mountain Smokehouse, North Conway NH ~ Muddy Moose, North Conway NH ~ Peach's Restauran, North Conway NH ~ Red Parka Steakhouse & Pub, Glen NH ~ Yankee Smokehouse, West Ossipee NH
Books about the area:
Appalachian Mountain Club White Mountain Guide ~ 50 Hikes in the White Mountains
© 2002 Patti Aliventi
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
AliventiAsylum
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Member: Patti Aliventi
Location: Mount Washington Valley, New Hampshire
Reviews written: 2076
Trusted by: 687 members
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Now writing reviews to pay for the "out of network" costs of our health insurance...
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