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My Irony Meter Must Be Broken Today
Jun. 11th, 2008 09:28 amSesame Place is a Sesame Street themed amusement park located in Langhorne, PA. (I had to dig to find the city. The "General Info" page just says "Sesame Place is located 30 minutes north of Philadelphia and 90 minutes south of New York City" which is, you know, not really helpful.) Its owned by Busch Entertainment Corporation, which is a division of Anheuser-Busch (you know, the beer company - their stock ticker symbol is BUD). Its apparently been around since 1980, although it has grown a great deal in recent years. It does apparently boast a full scale reproduction of the famous Sesame Street street set. Also, the vast majority of the rides are geared to the five-and-under set.
Here's the part that really gets me: The price. From the website: "Children 23 months and younger are free. Children 24 months and older $47.50 + tax." In other words, children ages 2 and up are the same price as adults. For a family of three to spend a day at the park it would cost $142.50 for admission, plus $13 to park, plus gas. Also, you can bring "snacks" but not a picnic lunch, so you need to buy all your food and drinks inside the park.
What sets off my irony meter is, of course, the fact that Sesame Street (the TV show) was originally developed to help low income, at risk kids get up to speed and ready for school. I'm still a fan of the show, despite Elmo and the relentless marketing, but for whatever reason (maybe because I'd love to take E there as a stop on the way to Pennsic, but our middle class family certainly can't afford the admission for the day) this whole thing: the price, the BUD associations, the entire package - strikes me as just a step too far.
Here's the part that really gets me: The price. From the website: "Children 23 months and younger are free. Children 24 months and older $47.50 + tax." In other words, children ages 2 and up are the same price as adults. For a family of three to spend a day at the park it would cost $142.50 for admission, plus $13 to park, plus gas. Also, you can bring "snacks" but not a picnic lunch, so you need to buy all your food and drinks inside the park.
What sets off my irony meter is, of course, the fact that Sesame Street (the TV show) was originally developed to help low income, at risk kids get up to speed and ready for school. I'm still a fan of the show, despite Elmo and the relentless marketing, but for whatever reason (maybe because I'd love to take E there as a stop on the way to Pennsic, but our middle class family certainly can't afford the admission for the day) this whole thing: the price, the BUD associations, the entire package - strikes me as just a step too far.
