My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Since I get so much great information on here I wanted to pass along my review of our trip. I tried to make the title LIF search engine friendly.


We went to Lancaster last week and stayed for 5 days and 4 nights. It was fantastic and had it not gotten so hot, I could have stayed another day. It was DH, DS (32 months) and I.

Eden:
We stayed at Eden for 4 nights in a villa. The villa was clean, comfortable and spacious. With a toddler having a kitchen really came in handy (although I was only willing to make breakfast). There was no rushing to get ready so we could go out and eat. Having a kitchen made it so we could take our time in the morning getting dressed and eating. I brought what I needed with me for breakfast, mainly oatmeal, milk, fruit, eggs, bread, cheese, and cereal, oh and yogurt. As long as DS had a solid breakfast I didn't worry as much about the crap he'd eat for lunch.

Kitchen had full-sized appliances. Bathroom had a tub. We had double sinks with ample counter space.

We requested a gate for the stairs when we got there and they brought it right away!

Outdoor sprinkler area was fantastic and DS really enjoyed it. Even on a 90+ degree day it didn't feel overly crowded and we were able to get chairs. And towels.

I would stay here again. But, just remember that it's not a luxury hotel so there are certain "luxuries" that are missing. Since we were in a villa, there was no one to take our bags to the room. This is something I always expect so it was weird but no biggie. Also, they don't turn down the beds in the villas unless you request it. And the bath products aren't great. I took note of these things and just wanted to pass it along. I guess I expected a little more but then remembered it's still a best western in Lancaster. BUt again, I would not hesitate to stay there again.

Dutch Wonderland:
At a little over 2.5, it was perfect for DS! Because he is over 36 inches, he was able to go on almost every ride. I don't think it's worth it if they are smaller. He had a blast and is quite the thrill seeker! He loved the roller coaster and went on 5 times!!! There were almost NO lines and if there were, they moved quickly. Perfect for a toddler. The park was pretty clean and organized. Really a spectacular place for the toddler/preschooler set.

We ate lunch at DW and honestly it was pretty bad and overpriced. We did not try the new restaurant though, Merlin's, so that may be better. A mexican place is there too but I don't think it was open.

For DS who went on just about everything, and multiple times at that, 5 hours was more than enough time. We went around the park more than once. You definitely do not need 2 days for DW. I will say though that we didn't do Duke's Lagoon bc the high temp was only 73 when we were there and it was cloudy so maybe add an hour for that.

Day out with Thomas/Strasburg:
We spent most of 1 day doing this. I didn't think we would but we did. We took the 10:45 Thomas ride which was nice. Spent time taking pictures, walking around. We had lunch there (which was pretty bad). After lunch we took a regular ride (45 minutes) on the steam engine which was nice. Took pics with Sir Topham Hatt. And we spent time shopping in the Thomas tent where ther had everything Thomas. I wouldn't recommend buying actual trains there as they were way overpriced. You can buy them for less on Amazon. But, they had cute t-shirts, balls, magnets, lunch boxes, plates, cups, etc to buy which we did since it's hard to resist, lol. Then we had some ice-cream and that was that, it was about 3ish.

DO NOT waste your time going to the Thomas store at the Choo Choo Barn IF you are at Day out with Thomas as Day Out with Thomas has much more merchandise. After hearing so much about the Choo Choo barn store we were really disappointed with what we saw.

Strasburg is a cute town. We stopped at a cool toy store and got some things.

There are cool things to do that we didn't get to - the Railroad Museum of PA across the street, the Toy Museum, etc. Plenty to do in the area.

Kitchen Kettle:
IT was nice for something to do. DH and I enjoy shopping and looking around so if you like that, you'll enjoy it. Don't need to spend more than an hour or two. We ate in the area too at Kling House.

Food:

Kling House (Kitchen Kettle)
This place was really cute. The service was great and they have a good menu for all tastes. It was nice to sit and watch the Amish buggies and traffic whicle enjoying a leisurely lunch. Had good lemonade amd I enjoyed my lunch as did DH and DS. I would eat there again.

MIller's:
It's a buffet. Doesn't have the variety that a Florida buffet has but overall it was better than average but not outstanding. I enjoyed it, DH said it was ok.

Good N' Plenty:
We all enjoyed this. You have to be willing to talk to other poeple though, I think that's part of what makes the experienece. The food was good. Again, you have to be willing to try new things. I would go back.

Cracker Barrel:
We ate dinner and lunch here. We'd never had Cracker Barrel and we really enjoyed it. DH particularly enjoyed his $14 ribeye steak cooked medium rare. We couldn't believe how inexpensive this place was.

OK, tired of writing but hope this helps someone.

At

My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

We were there last week too and we stayed in a villa as well! I wonder if we were neighbors..

A bellhop did offer to take my bags for me as soon as we showed up, but our room wasn't ready yet. I thought the place was great, no complaints at all.

I'll just add to your review that Duke's Lagoon is great. I personally HATE IT because I have 2 kids that run faster than the speed of light and there are 20394839573948201894 other kids running around at the same time so it sends my anxiety level into overdrive, but the kids love it and it thoroughly wears them out so everyone gets a good night's sleep. And a few times I got good and soaked following my kids around, which was quite refreshing since it was a 95 degree day.

ETA: My villa did not have full sized appliances in the room. I had a small fridge, a microwave and a sink. I didn't need anything else so it didn't bother me. We stayed in a 2-bedroom villa.. My girlfriend and her family stayed in a 1 bedroom villa and did have a full kitchen.

Message edited 6/27/2012 1:58:25 PM.

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

This is awesome...we are going soon so thanks!

Question for those who stayed at Eden- what time is check in?
And- can you get in the room any earlier than the set check in time?

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Great review! I can't wait to go.

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

We were there last week too and also stayed at the Eden Resort. I just booked another trip there for September. It was too hot to enjoy ourselves... Eden is great. A lot to do and plenty of space... They do need to make the playground a little more toddler friendly though.

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

We were there too. I wonder if all of us were sitting next to each other at the pool
and did not realize it!

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Re: My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

great review! One of the things I can't wait to do with DD when she's old enough to have fun

My Lancaster - Eden - Dutch Wonderland - Day Out with Thomas Review

Nice review! I have Dutch Wonderland on my radar for my 3yo DD. Hopefully we'll get there this summer.