Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

Planning a vacation in June, probably 4 days (tues-fri or wed-sat). What are some must see things in the area, restaurants (especially with a DS with a lot of food allergies), where to stay, etc. Any help would be appreciated, TIA!

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

Such an adorable place! The food in DW is not good at all. They may be upgrading this year...I hope they were under new ownership last summer when we went and I think they were making changes.

They road that DW is on has lots of chain restaurants. We didn't do an authentic Amish restaurants but there is Good N Plenty and I think Cracker Barrel among others.

There are also farms to visit in that area.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

We were there last summer and there is no shortage of places to eat, shop, and stay on the main road Dutch Wonderland is located on. We lived in Cracker Barrel but I highly recommend Millers one night for dinner. Huge family restaurant and amazing food. Very worth it!!! Have a great trip!

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

we love DW! it's so clean and perfect for young children. hands down our favorite restaurant in the are was Good n Plenty-definitely worth trying! have fun, it's such a nice place to visit!

ETA we stayed at Homewood Suites and Eden Suite. both were great-nice distance, not too close not too far. both were updated, very clean and had a lot of room for us. Eden had a really nice pool area with a little sprinkler play area that my kids absolutely loved!
re-read your post again-my DS only has dairy allergy so it's not terribly hard to feed him but i do bring a lot of my own stuff b/c it might be hard to avoid a lot in restaurants no matter what. he just gets plain foods when we go out to eat. i wish i had more advice on that!

Message edited 2/2/2012 10:35:08 PM.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

I've been there 2x and am going back this July.

Last time I stayed at the lovely Fulton Steamboat Inn but this time I'm going to try the Country Inn & Suites across from DW. It's well-rated, cheaper, just across from the DW and offers a free continental breakfast.

This time we'll also visit the Miller's Smorgasbord and Bakery restaurant and call in advance for reservations!

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

LOVE LOVE LOVE Dutch Wonderland.

We didn't go last time but Cherry Crest Farm looks fun. Strasburg Railroad is right next door and we plan to go there as well.

I did not really enjoy Kettle Village. I also was not a fan of the food in Lancaster.

Personally I would make DW/Lancaster a weekend trip.

If I were making it a longer vacation, I would probably go to Hershey and/or Philadelphia.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

We went last year when DS was about 18 months. We stayed at Eden and loved it! They have a great water play area for kids. There are lots of restaurants in the area. We took a tour of Amish country that was very nice.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

Hands on House is a cute little museum full of pretend play stuff. Highly recommend it. We did an amish buggy ride tour. Interesting, very informative. Kids liked riding in the buggy. Millers has good food. Kitchen Kettle Village is somewhat boring. They have a playground there though. Strasburg Railroad is fun!

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

Millers looked good but we didn't get a chance to go. We went to cracker barrel, and the restaurant in the Eden hotel, both good. We went to fuddruckers which was gross. We also went to good n plenty but honestly I hate eating family style with strangers. The food was pretty good though.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

Best Western Eden is great for June because of their outdoor sprinkler park. They even drinks there so it feels like a "vacation". The suites are very nice and so is the lobby. The suites have a kitchenette so you can bring some of your own food. They are expensive but you can spend a warm day just around the pools.

Cherry Crest Farm is so cute. The animals even look a bit different there than the petting zoo animals we have here on LI. They allow the kids to hold baby chicks :) I suggest getting coupons for it though it helps with the admission fee. They have picnic tables so if you need to bring your own food it wouldn't be a problem.

Miller's is a staple when it comes to Lancaster. It's a buffet so nothing is "gourmet" but it's traditional american type cooking. The salad, fried chicken and desserts are really good. Plain and Fancy is also owned by them. Definitely get a reservation for Miller's or go "off hours" (not after 5 pm for dinner) It can get really really crowded with bus tours.

If you stop at the Visitor's Center, get the free magazine called "Wake Up-Lancaster" they have coupons in it for the popular restaurants/and things to do. You can often pick that magazine up at Miller's as well (and there is usually a coupon for Miller's right there)

There is also a really nice inn called The Inn at Leola's Village for a more romantic stay :)

Dutch Wonderland is definitely a great little amusement park for toddler/preschoolers.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

We went two summers ago. LOVED it.
Such a clean/great park.

We stayed right across the street at the Country Inn and Suites. It was perfect! Clean, Free Breakfast, Nice Pool (indoors).

We went for 3 days (2 nights). We did "A Day Out With Thomas" at Strasburg, LOVED it.
We also did the train museum, which was "Ok".

We liked Kitchen Kettle Village as well.

Re: Tell me about Dutch Wonderland

Maybe I'm a snob, but I hated food in that area, I am not used to eating food from chains, and authentic Amish food was lackluster, and I kept looking for veggies, all these farms and no one serves veggies? We actually figured out we can get better variety in the downtown area, so we drove there for healthier meals. I used yelp to find food.

If you are staying that long def stay at Eden, it was a paradise for DS, we could have done a whole weekend only staying at the hotel and had good time.

We also really liked
Hands on House
ChooChoo Barn (great for rainy days)
Amish village with the animals