NH Attraction: Family Adventure at Story Land

Need a little fairy tale magic in your family’s life? Look no further than Story Land in Glen, NH. Celebrating its 58th year of providing families with young children a treasure chest of memories in New Hampshire’s beautiful White Mountains, Story Land is not your average amusement park. Geared toward children ages 2-12, Story Land provides a gentler approach to your usual family attraction. The people of Story Land know just how to cater to a family with young children; parking is free, as are strollers, the pet kennel service and all shows and attractions. Moms looking to feed young babies or change diapers can drop by Mother Goose’s area, which has changing stations, bathrooms and rocking chairs as well. They even allow guests to enter the park for the last three hours of operation for the day and have it count as their admission for the next day. And at a price of $27.99 for ages three and above, (Seniors 60+ are $25.99, Active Military is $24.99 per person and ages 1 and 2 are free), you don’t have to break the bank to have a memorable family outing.

This year was my family’s second time visiting Story Land. We took advantage of the last three hours of operation on a Monday and visited some of the attractions that tend to be more crowded in the early mornings. We then went back the next day and spent a full eight hours enjoying everything we could! There are 21 family-friendly rides designed so that parents can enjoy them with their children, and I’m fairly certain we saw all of them that day—some of them twice! The pace of Story Land is not breakneck by any means. It’s a travel back into the fairy tales of your childhood, visiting old storybook friends and gently taking you to the dreamy, fairy tale-filled parts of your imagination that we developed as young children. I loved experiencing it all alongside my three girls, from saying hello to Mother Goose and Old Mother Hubbard, walking through Alice in Wonderland’s area and riding the teacups, traveling on the huge pumpkin coach up the hill to Cinderella’s castle where she was waiting to greet her young friends and watching the girls scream with glee as they got soaked on the new Splash Battle ride. Story Land even has a small area with live animals where Chicken Little, Baa Baa Black Sheep, the Three Little Pigs and the Three Billy Goats Gruff live!

I personally loved the Antique German carousel, and my girls’ favorites were the Flying Fish, Bamboo Chutes (a flume-like water ride), the Crazy Barn, Farm Tractors, Antique Cars and Dr. Geyser’s Remarkable Raft Ride. The Huff Puff & Whistle Railroad comes by all areas of the park often, offering a respite to weary feet. Some families ride it at the beginning of the day to scope out what the park has to offer, and some use it as transportation to different parts of the park (which comes in handy when you’ve been there for eight hours—phew!). Four different shows are offered: the Royal Hanneford Circus, Molly Molecule, Blake Daring’s Adventure and Farm Follies, a short musical about gardening, which my girls adored. There’s also Dr. Geyser’s Mini Geysers, sprays of water shooting up from the ground in which to cool off, Little Dreamers Nursery Rhyme Play area, a play area just for toddlers, the Loopy Lab, a building full of climbing and fun foam ball action, and the Oceans of Fun Sprayground. It’s not easy to find a place that will please your three-year-old as well as your eight-year-old, but it wasn’t a problem at Story Land—they have something for everyone.

The food offerings are many and varied, and the prices are very reasonable for amusement park fare. You can acquire your usual popcorn, snow cones, caramel corn, ice cream and fried dough, but various stands scattered around the park also offer other delicious menu items such as breakfast foods (bagels and French toast sticks), fried Oreos, PB & j, baby carrots and fruit slices with yogurt dip, Italian sausage, Philly Cheese Steak and roasted nuts, just to name a few.

After a long day and a half of visiting all the different rides and attractions, we left Story Land tired but extremely happy. Each one of us in my family took away special memories and will return again, just to be a part of that fun and magic that Story Land so easily provides. We all give Story Land two very enthusiastic thumbs up—that’s ten thumbs! A surefire family hit! If you’re ever in the area, stop by for a spell…you won’t be disappointed.

Story Land is a seasonal park and is open Saturdays & Sundays through Columbus Day. The Park reopens Memorial Wknd. Find out more information at www.storylandnh.com.

– Jessica

* We did not receive monetary compensation for this review. Jessica received four tickets from Story Land free of charge to facilitate this review. This will in no way sway our opinion of the product or service.
 The review is in our own words and is our opinion. Your results and opinions may differ.