The hotel and grounds are huge and exquisitely cared for, and staff was very friendly and helpful. Our room was large, easily fitting 2 Queen beds and 2 cribs, and the bathroom had a shower AND a jacuzzi!! The breakfast buffet was great and plentiful, though it's pretty much the same stuff every day so it got a bit boring by the third morning. We had dinner in the hotel restaurant (Cafe 24 Hundred) two of our three nights because we were just too exhausted and worried about dragging the kids to a restaurant and having them melt down and get them back in the car to get home. The dinner menu had a lot of options, our meals were superb, and prices weren't too bad.
They have a golf course and fitness center and daily kids programming - things like arts and crafts and movie time - some activities were free and some had an extra charge. And the cookies. Ohhhh the cookies - you'll get warm delicious chocolate chip and walnut cookies when you check in (and can get more when you check out if you ask nicely!).
The DoubleTree is one of the pricier Lancaster hotels, but for me, because of the great indoor pool, service, and lovely rooms, I felt it was totally worth the splurge and can't recommend it highly enough!!
Other Family-Friendly Lancaster Hotels to Consider (with pools/playgrounds):
- Bird-in-Hand Family Inn (indoor/outdoor pools, playground, mini golf, tour neighboring farms)
- Eden Resort (indoor/outdoor pools, outdoor kids water zone & playground)
- Wingate by Wyndham (includes passes to adjacent water park & free breakfast)
- There are tons of options offering a more local feel and experience, as well, even staying on a working Amish farm!! Check out Discover Lancaster's list of accommodations!
We brought our double wide stroller and found the park to be extremely accommodating - it is designed for families, after all! Bathrooms had changing tables (but bring your own changing pad!) Most rides had stroller parking areas. We ate lunch at the large Mill Stream Eatery and while most parked their strollers outside we didn't have a problem squeezing ours in and finding a spot at a table (it was PACKED at lunchtime though, consider eating off-peak hours!). No outside beverages or food are allowed, and they check bags and strollers before entering the park, but we didn't have a problem bringing all of our reusable water bottles and some snacks for the toddlers. There was a wide enough selection of food and snacks that we didn't really have a problem. Hot dogs, chicken fingers, pizza, the usual suspects. I found Bean Sprouts (view menu here) had the healthiest options, the Chicken Pesto Chango was delish!! Their website says to consult a manager on the day of your visit regarding food allergies, I imagine you would get the green light to bring your own food in that case.
They are currently building Merlin's Mayhem, which looks like it is going to be one amazing rollercoaster!! However, it means a few other rides and attractions are currently closed due to construction. They are noted on their list of attractions, so you can plan ahead!
We went over Memorial Day Weekend and the longest line we had to wait was 30 minutes, most were more like 10 minutes and some we simply walked onto! My son's favorite ride was the Double Splash Flume, and he was really fascinated with the animatronic dinosaurs on Exploration Island, as well! My personal favorite was the Joust Family Coaster, which my son rode once with me and once with my husband. Our most memorable ride was definitely the Turtle Whirl since all 5 of us rode together and took a selfie video with all 3 kids screaming - it's HILARIOUS!!! You gotta check it out in our Lancaster Montage Video at the top of this post!!
You'll definitely want to schedule the whole day for Dutch Wonderland, and if you want to do Duke's Lagoon water park as well, I really recommend going for two days - one dry day and one wet day! There really is plenty to do, and you don't want to feel rushed. Bring a stroller or baby carriers and try to get naps in if you can. Our kids were too excited to nap, and crashed out hard in the car at 5pm, slept through dinner, transferred seamlessly to beds and slept through the night til 6AM! Nothing like a full day at Dutch Wonderland to wear the pants off your kids!! YES!!!!!
We are thrilled to be working with Dutch Wonderland on this review and to provide my readers with discounted tickets - just click here (code "Usjapanfamsblog17"!
Set on a 300-acre working farm, they operate an "adventure farm" during the summer and fall months with "agri-tainment" for the whole family. From a little tractor-pulled little wagon train to huge air filled bounce pillows to mommy-and-me swings, it's one crazy fun activity after another! My personal favorite was the Hay Chute Slide which we enjoyed riding tandem with the kids (hiking up the huge hill has an added bonus of being a great glute workout LOL!!). There were lots of hands-on things the kids could do, like building houses with huge lincoln log-like planks, pumping water to race boats, and petting some small farm animals! And their 5-acre corn maze opens July 1!
It's not the best place for strollers since it's mostly grass covered with some hills. We left our stroller in the car, but you can manage with one, especially if it's all-terrain or if you stick to the main path. The bathrooms were nice, with changing tables, and there were plenty of food options and picnic table dining out in the sun or under cover. It was pleasant temperature when we went, but a rep mentioned they have huge fans with misters going on hot days to help cool guests off.
I highly recommend setting aside a good 4 hours or so to spend here, and know that you and the kids will be exhausted after a good half or full day of running around outside!
The Strasburg Station is just a mile down the road from Cherry Crest Adventure Farm, so I can't recommend pairing these two together highly enough!! From Cherry Crest you can actually watch the train barrel down in front of you (I've got a great clip of this in my Lancaster Montage Video), it's quite exciting and a great way to get the kids psyched for a ride later in the day!
I saw some people fold strollers and bring them aboard, but I would recommend leaving yours in the car and carrying or wearing babies. It's a fairly short ride, 45 minutes round trip with a few stops but if doing the roundtrip from Strasburg you just stay on for the entire journey, which makes it nice and easy! The audio commentary is interesting and informative, and the sound system was great - we had no problem understanding them (unlike the subway in NYC haha!!).
We had coach tickets and found the coach cars to be plenty nice. Upgrades are just a few dollars to experience First Class, Open Car, Dining Car, etc. They also offer some cool packages such as a combo with Cherry Crest Adventure Farm and unlimited rides on the Strasburg Rail Road! They also have A Day Out with Thomas, check their schedule for when he'll be around!
There are cute children's rides and activities at Strasburg Station, as well as a cafe and other places to explore if you have time before or after your ride on the train. There's also free parking.
We then took the tour of the one-room one room school house and homestead. Its been a visitor landmark in Lancaster for over 50 years. It's been authentically created and filled with items you would see in a real working Amish school and house these days. I found the tour absolutely fascinating, hearing about their lifestyle, touching on everything from schooling (only 1st through 8th grade!!), to marriage (no white wedding dress!), to clothing, and of course church (they take turns hosting service in their homes). Again, the tour was tough with the little ones - not stroller friendly so if you have wild ones you may not find this the best family activity for you. We had to cut the tour short and do the walk of shame out of the building since our kids wouldn't stop screaming and running around trying to jump on beds and destroy the place. I hope to come back in a few years when our kids are old enough to appreciate it!
Other Amish / Pennsylvania Dutch Experiences & Activities to Consider:
Everything is made from scratch, their Angus beef is raised on John Smucker's farm, milk is from Oasis (a local farmers co-op), and in season produce is sourced from local Amish and Mennonite farms. Many of their most popular dishes date back to Grandma SMucker, and all recipes are approved by the Smucker family!
It was stroller friendly with ramps and two huge dining areas with tables and booths and of course, high chairs and boosters. You can go with the buffet or order from a regular menu.
Other Pennsylvania Dutch Smorgasbords to Consider:
- Boulders Miniature Golf
- Bounce Kraze
- Choo Choo Barn
- Corn Cob Acres
- Country Barn's Barnyard Kingdom
- Go 'N Bananas Family Fun Center
- Hands-on-House Children's Museum
- Lancaster Central Market
- Lancaster Science Factory
- Lancaster Playground
- National Christmas Center
- National Toy Train Museum
- North Museum of Science and Nature
- Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
- Refreshing Mountain Adventure Center
- Rockvale Outlets
- Sickman's Mill Creek Tubing & Kayaking
- Sight & Sound Theater
- Skyzone Trampoline Park
- Tanger Outlets
- Tiny Town
- Turkey Hill Experience
- Verdant View Farm Tour
- Waters Edge Mini Golf
Other Local Dining Experiences:
Disclaimer: Although we received complimentary admission to some of the above mentioned activities in exchange for our honest review, all thoughts and opinions are our own and completely unbiased.