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7 Tips to Maximize Your Experience at Diggerland USA

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We received complimentary tickets in exchange for our thoughts in this post.  All thoughts and opinions are our own. 

Have you heard of Diggerland USA yet?  It’s such a unique place unlike anything you’ve been to before. This amusement park is guaranteed to be a unique experience for the young and old members of your family.  Since Diggerland is just down the street from us, we’ve been here a few times. First, when they opened and then a few times since. Now that our oldest is 4.5 years old, we finally feel like we found the perfect age to go. Don’t get me wrong, even the little had fun at almost 2 on our recent trip, however, for maximum experience, we think we’ve found the best time.

Today, I wanted to share with you how to make the most of your trip to Diggerland. After going a few times, we think we have the expertise to let everyone know how to get the most for your money at Diggerland USA. For us, cost versus benefit is a big factor in where we go as a family. We know it is for our readers as well.

Watch our trip:

How to Maximize Your Trip to Diggerland USA

  1. Save on Tickets

    • Buy tickets online. You automatically save $5 on most tickets just for purchasing online.
    • If you are planning to go more than 2 days during the year, or during your trip, look into buying a membership BEFORE the season opening – you can typically purchase for around $50.
    • Check for Discounts on-line – Military, First Responders, and AAA members get discounts off tickets. Students who bring a report card showing straight As also do.  Additionally, seasonal discounts are offered like Free Mom’s Admission on Mother’s Day.

  2.  Get there Early, During the Week

    • Pick a day that you can get there around 10am and plan to spend at least 4 hours there.
    • Ideally, if you want to do every ride, you can maximize the full day of 10-6.
    • Go during the week instead of the weekend.  Weekday waits for us have been about 1/3 of the weekend wait times, especially on the more popular waits.

  3. Pack a Lunch

    • You can’t bring food into the park, however, the park has picnic tables set up outside the gates. There is a concession style stand there, but the prices are typical amusement park prices.  Save money by packing a lunch.
    • If you do want to buy lunch, we recommend getting the whole pizza combo that comes with a 16″ pizza and (4) 21oz drinks for ~$30
    • There’s also numerous fast food and sit down restaurants within 5 miles of Diggerland. You are allowed to come and go during the day of your pass as long as you have your wristband on.

  4. Have an extra adult for smaller kids under 36″

    • There’s only one actual ride that a child under 36″ can get on currently.
    • Many of the rides for kids 36-48″ needs adult supervision.  Even if babywearing a smaller baby, they will not let you be the adult on the ride with a child if you have a young child under the height requirement with you.
    • Once your child hits 42″ they can pretty much do everything with an adult helping them, so we preferred this height to go if paying to maximize the experience.

  5. Take a break while they play at the park

    • The Kid Zone is a large park with steps, slides, and activities built in throughout the area. There’s also four “baby-style” swing with a canopy. Benches throughout the area allow parents to relax for a bit in between rides while kids an still play.

  6. Wear tennis shoes/closed toe shoes

    • I really can’t stress this one enough.  A lot of the rides have this as a requirement, so if you don’t have closed toe shoes on, then you won’t be able to get on the ride.

  7. Coming from out of town? Check out the hotel partners which gives you a packaged deal with tickets and your hotel stay.

    • You can find those partnerships listed on the Diggerland USA website here.

BONUS TIP! Check for special activities going on at Diggerland USA.  Recently, WHYY was there and brought Buddy from Dinosaur Train with them! It was a special surprise and our littles were so excited.ama

5 Kid Friendly New Jersey Sites To Visit This Summer

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Today, we’re sharing with you 5 Kid Friendly New Jersey Sites To Visit This Summer!

This summer we will have a 4 1/2 and 2 year old, which means more summer trips with less hassle.  Both girls are carefree and down for adventure at any given time.  They love getting out of the house and exploring the world around them.  Since I haven’t lived in New Jersey my entire life, there’s a lot of things I haven’t seen, so it’s just as much of a joy for me as it is for the girls. Andrew also works crazy hours, so being able to do day trips is really important for our family to be able to get out and explore together.

We’ve slowly been exploring more and more parts of New Jersey and we thought we’d share some of our favorites so far with you!

 

  • Ocean City, NJ
    • Hands down Ocean City is one of our favorite things to do every summer.  We’ve gone to Ocean City every summer since having kids.  It’s our favorite spot shore place!
    • Must-Dos! Of course the beach! But after you’re done, grab pizza at Manco & Manco, Gelato at Shriver’s, and then finish out the day with rides and games at Gillian’s Wonderland Pier! Don’t forget the taffy!

  • Adventure Aquarium
    • This is the first place that I took Serenity as a baby. Andrew and I also had been here before we had kids.  We all have a love for water, so it’s just a fun place for us to go! There’s always a new exhibit opening for you to learn more about and it’s the perfect place to go for rainy day fun. Touch a Shark and a Stingray, watch the hippos swim, walk across the Shark bridge and get face to face with over 400 animals in their 760,000 gallon home at Ocean Realm. Pack a lunch to eat inside or outside (or grab one in the cafeteria).

  • Paw’s Discovery Farm
    •  A recently new family favorite New Jersey location. We love the abundance of indoor and outdoor play spaces available, along with the ability to have lunch outdoors, take a nature walk, and get up close and personal with lots of fun animals! Make a weekend trip by checking out the Children’s Discovery Museum and Kid Fit Cherry Hill, both partner businesses.

  • Diggerland/Sahara Sams
    • This was the girls’ first waterpark, so it will always hold some special memories for our family.  We first went here during a birthday party for a cousin, but have been back since and every time we go it’s so fun. I love the ability to combine the waterpark and Diggerland passes together for the ultimate indoor and outdoor experience. We plan to head back to Diggerland soon since Serenity is now tall enough for most of the attractions! Lazy river and the slides are our favorites at Sahara Sam’s, and the swing ride was a favorite for Serenity at Diggerland in the past.

  • Howell Living History Farm
    • We know how hard taking trips can be when they are not financially feasible, so we wanted to include a FREE option.  Yup, completely free. You do have the option to make a donation to support the farm, but it’s totally optional. This is a real working farm based in the late 1800s.  You can pet animals, see how the farm actually worked then and is still working now – like watch as they collect eggs from the chickens, and take to the kitchen to whip up homemade pancakes.  Every weekend they have a different activity going on to teach you as well. The weekend we went we learned how to make maple syrup, but there’s also activities like Saw Milling, Ice Harvesting, Lambing, Beekeeping, and more!

This year, we’re also planning to go to:

  • Hiking trails in southern New Jersey
  • Wildwood, NJ and Morey’s Pier
  • Cape May Zoo
  • Edelman Planetarium
  • Storybrook Land

Looking for more inspiration?  We’ve teamed up with four other local Jersey bloggers to get 5 of their favorite places to visit in New Jersey. We took a sneak peek and there’s a bunch of fun places to check out!

What’s your favorite kid-friendly location in New Jersey?  Leave a comment below letting me know. We’re dying to get out and explore more, but these are a few of our favorites!

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