Sesame Place

This article is about the chain of theme parks. For the original Philadelphia theme park, seeSesame Place Philadelphia.

Sesame Place

Owner	United Parks & Resorts(US) Sesame Workshop(license) Tokyotokeiba Co. Ltd. (Japan)
Operated by	United Parks & Resorts (US) Tokyotokeiba Co. Ltd. (Japan)
Theme	Sesame Street
Website	Sesame Place (United Parks)

Sesame Placeis atheme parkchain based on thechildren's educational televisionprogramSesame Street.In theUnited States,it is owned and operated byUnited Parks & Resortsunder an exclusive license fromSesame Workshop,the non-profit owner ofSesame Street.

History

In the United States,Anheuser-Buschwas the park's original owner, operating it under itsBusch Entertainmentsubsidiary. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch was purchased byInBevto formAnheuser-Busch InBev,which then sold its theme park division toThe Blackstone Groupin 2009. Under new ownership, from 2009 into 2010, children's areas in Busch Gardens and SeaWorld parks were converted to Sesame Street-themed areas. SeaWorld Orlando, however, was the lone holdout until its Shamu's Happy Harbour area was converted into, and reopened as, "Sesame Street Land" in 2019.

Parks

Sesame Place Philadelphia

Main article:Sesame Place Philadelphia

Sesame Place Philadelphia was the firstSesame Streettheme park to be operated in theUnited States.It opened in 1980.

Sesame Place (Texas)

A second Sesame Place park opened inIrving, Texasin June 1982. The $10 million Texas park was located on 30.3 acres (12.26 ha) nearState Highway 183,and differed from the Pennsylvania location in that most attractions were indoors. The Texas park never reopened after the fall season ended in October 1984 and was shut down permanently in January 1985 due to unprofitability and declining attendance.

Tokyo Sesame Place

A park inTokyo, JapantitledTokyo Sesame Placeopened on October 10, 1990, and was the firstSesame Streettheme park to operate outside the United States. It shared no connection with the US parks and was owned and operated by the management of the nearby Tokyo Summerland water park - Tokyotokeiba Co. Ltd.

When compared to the US parks, this park was a lot smaller with simple child-friendly attractions and playground equipment, and was mostly elevated. Attendees entered the park through a steepescalatorthat would reach up to Big Bird's mouth.

Tokyo Summerland announced the closure of Tokyo Sesame Place in September 2006 and closed as planned on December 31 of that year. The owners' citied changes in the business environment and restructuring for its closure.The place was originally intended to be used for future development within the Tokyo Summerland complex, but since 2024 the site has remained disused.

Sesame Place San Diego

Main article:Sesame Place San Diego

In 2017, a fourth location was announced, to open "no later than" mid-2021.In 2019, it was announced that Aquatica San Diego nearSan Diego, Californiawould be replaced by a new Sesame Place theme park by Spring 2021. However, due to theCOVID-19 pandemiccausing construction to pause, the park did not open until the following year in March 2022.

OtherSesame Street-related parks and areas

Parque Plaza Sesamo

In 1994, aSesame Street-themed amusement park called Parque Plaza Sesamo (based on the Mexican co-productionPlaza Sésamo) was opened inMonterrey, Mexico.According to TEA's Global Attractions Attendance Report, Parque Plaza Sésamo is one ofLatin America's highest ranking theme parks by attendance, with 1.2 million visitors per year.

On May 18, 2022, the park announced that it would rebrand as Parque Fiesta Aventuras for the 2022 season following a two-year period of closure. The reason for the rebranding was not disclosed by the park, but is likely that the park terminated its license to use the Plaza Sésamo branding and characters.

Universal Studios Japan

Universal Studios Japanhas aSesame Streetthemed section in their Universal Wonderland themed area.

Sésamo Aventura

InSalou,Spain,PortAventura Parkhas a Sesame Street-themed area called Sésamo Aventura, which opened in 2011.