Groundbreaking...

Image from eBay

It seemed appropriate that the above image should kick off this blog.

It shows a group of children, from the New Approach Method day care, breaking ground on what would become Sesame Place.

That was June 27, 1979.
33 years later we have a groundbreaking for this blog.

Well, hackneyed wordplay aside, let me tell you why I am starting this project.

I have lived much of my life close to Langhorne, Pennsylvania. As a kid I visited Sesame Place a few times and created some very vivid memories.

As I grew up I grew out of Sesame Place.

But, I was still interested in it. I would always read the newspaper articles about what was "new this year" and watch the TV commercials carefully looking at what changes I could spot.

On a rare occasion where I could chaperone a younger cousin or a niece I volunteered quickly and enjoyed looking at how the park would evolve over time.When I became a dad, I made sure that my wife and I took our son to Sesame Place before he could even crawl.

Image from Themeparks.About.com

This weekend I was riding with my son on the Sunny Day Carousel and I thought about how there used to be a giant Big Bird head where the carousel now stands.

Then I remembered a bridge that you once entered through his mouth.

The bridge had been gone for years, leaving just the giant head (until finally that was replaced by the carousel.)

Image from amusementpic.com

When I got home, I Googled every combination of "big bird bridge sesame place" and found very little info scattered across many different sites.

Now, hopefully the history of Sesame Place can now live on here on this blog. Let me be honest with you, even with the rose colored glasses, I think it's safe to say that Sesame Place has IMPROVED over the years.

The 3 acre 1980 park was not as polished as the 14 acre park that stands today.

Still, it's fun to look backwards.

Do you have memories of Sesame Place you want to share? Maybe you have a picture or video that you want to share or even just a link to something I haven't posted yet.

Please share it. Together we can make use the Big Bird Bridge to link the Sesame Place of the past with the Sesame Place of today. Wow, sorry. No more hackneyed wordplay, I promise.