"Why won't my kid sit still? Let's ask Mr. Noodle!"
Even though the topic title sounds like I’ll be performing a finishing move on a beloved character on Sesame Street, rest assured that I actually like Mr. Noodle! When my son settles in to watch Elmo’s world, I also sit waiting for the moment when Elmo comes up with a question on something and the best person he can think to ask is the same guy who was ineptly trying to explain “hopping on one foot” or “combing your hair” a previous time. Good call, Elmo. That’s DEFINITELY the guy I’m going to for information. But it’s often quite amusing to see, so I tell my brain to shut up, stop being logical, and enjoy watching Mr. Noodle get baffled by tape. My son loves it, so I must love it as well. This is one of the cardinal rules of fatherhood.
Living in New Jersey, we’re just a stone’s throw away from Sesame Place. I have friends who go to Sesame Place so much the season pass is a no-brainer, so I figured let’s give it a shot even though the numbers didn’t compute in my head. Amusement parks are for older children, I’m thinking. Not just because strapping a toddler to a loop-dee-loop roller coaster is generally a bad idea, but because the primary thing to do at an amusement park is WAIT to do other things. It requires a level of patience that I as a full grown adult struggle with at times, and my son has yet to fully grasp that patience even starts with a “P”. So in short, this could get interesting.
It actually went better than I thought it would go, believe it or not. He only qualified for a few rides which included the merry-go-round and the lines weren’t so bad for that. I almost demonstrated in a very Mr. Noodle way why they prohibit picture taking while standing on the ride. It wouldn’t have been my crowning achievement if I’d had lost my balance and gotten taken out by a colorful plastic horse.
As the day progressed, we had been able to time things out fairly well. We’d arrive at character appearances and shows just as they were starting so we could just roll up with the stroller and experience instant Sesame fun. My son got to see the parade of all the characters down the main street of the theme park, and he is still too young to be asking the question of why Elmo seems so much bigger in person and yet Big Bird is the expected size. This saved me from having to come up with an explanation that involved Elmo and the other smaller characters getting zapped by Abby Cadabby making them bigger for the parade so that everyone could see them better. Come to think of it, that’s a good one. I’m keeping that in my back pocket.
Sesame Place actually has a live Elmo’s World show, which after seeing it is patterned EXACTLY like the segment on the TV show, complete with a visit from a young actor pretending to be Mr. Noodle’s lost long cousin (who is also conveniently named Mr. Noodle) and a chorus of Jingle Bells with the topic of the day subbed in for every word at the end of the show. This sounds like something my son would enjoy immensely, but my concern is that it would require him to sit stationary in one place for an extended period of time. This is a feat in which success or failure is directly proportional to the number of Teddy Grahams we thought to bring with us, and we’ve already burned through a portion of our supply waiting for the merry-go-round. On the other hand, there aren’t many other things he meets the height requirements for, and we paid ten bucks to park just to get in here! We’ll give it a whirl.
I’m proud to report that my son made it through the show. I didn’t have to dart towards the exit signs that I had calculated the shortest routes to beforehand (one of them would have required a zip line to get to effectively). He did have to be repeatedly passed back and forth between my wife and I, the Teddy Grahams are long gone, and the guy in front of me probably wishes he could say a few choice things to me (if not for his kid sitting next to him) because my boy kicked him in the back of the head a handful of times, but darn it all we got to see a live Elmo’s World and he never actually melted down.
As we left the park, I thought to myself how we were going to handle things once he’s older and refuses to stay in his stroller or in a lap. A different strategy will have to be employed. Hmm… maybe I should have asked Mr. Noodle.