Travel from Baltimore: Discover Pennsylvania Dutch Country on a weekend

The Baltimore Banner wants to help its readers find joy beyond the region. Our “Discovery” travel series shines a light on some of the hidden gems inside and outside of Maryland that residents can explore in a day or weekend. We tell you where to stay, what to do and the best places to eat. Whether you’re a single person looking to get away from a charming city for the weekend, a couple looking for a fun day trip, or a family willing to cross state lines to keep your family healthy, we’ve got something for you.

My childhood memories of the Dutch wonderland are vague: I know there’s a giant ball pit, and that’s about it. But when I was looking for a low-key family trip over spring break, the 60-year-old theme park resurfaced.

Unlike other theme parks in the region, Dutch Wonderland is only designed for under-10s – I don’t see why a thrill-seeking 3-year-old can’t ride the biggest and scariest roller coaster. It’s also very affordable at around $40 a ticket, and surrounded by kid-friendly attractions. And the best part: it’s a 90-minute drive from Baltimore.

Dutch Wonderland was the main attraction on our weekend trip to Pennsylvania Dutch Country, an underrated gem for young families. Save your money for Disney when the kids are older; Get the theme park experience and some regional culture, close to home for a fraction of the cost and hassle.

The Country Inn & Suites by Radisson is a top-rated hotel within a mile of Dutch Wonderland. It’s a solid mid-range option – clean, with friendly staff and a good complementary breakfast. The area isn’t exactly picturesque: Meadow Park’s neighbors are mainly shopping malls, chain restaurants and hotels. We chose the hotel almost entirely because it was across the street from the park – and the indoor pool was one of my daughter’s favorite parts of the trip. It’s a great activity for those stressful two hours between dinner and bedtime. I especially appreciated the hot tub with a view of the main pool.

We noticed highway noise in our hotel room, so if you’re a light sleeper, I’d say bring earplugs or a sound machine. Tiffany, at the front desk, recommends booking the queen suite (with two queen beds and a pull-out sofa), as these rooms are at the back of the building, away from the main road.

Just 15 minutes from the Dutch wonderland, Strasbourg’s old-fashioned railway station looks straight out of a history book. The attraction does its best to romanticize train travel in the early 20th century, with ticket takers and hokey musical performances by biographical characters, like can-chai woman Fifi Leroux.

The locomotive looks like the “Polar Express” when it comes out of the snow. Even though we bought coach tickets ($28 per adult, $20 per child), the passenger cars still felt luxurious, with green velvet seats, wooden floors and ornate, and stained-glass windows — a time when people dressed up to travel. . It’s a long way from Amtrak.

A recorded narration guides passengers on the 45-minute ride through 4.5 miles of farmland to Garden City and back. We opted for the seasonal Easter Bunny train ride and had a visit from Peter Cottontail for the first half of the journey. Our preschooler was exhausted during the second half and fell asleep in my lap. Mom and Dad enjoyed the vacation.

We woke Kiddo up for dinner at the Fireside Tavern, located in a historic building around the corner from the railroad tracks. It’s an old-fashioned place that butters the rolls before a meal and gives you a breather afterwards. Plus, the kids’ menu (my personal barometer of how welcome my child is) includes things like my daughter’s favorite, grilled cheese with applesauce.

My husband’s half portion of Irish shepherd’s pie was more than enough food for one person. My baked salmon came dressed in a delicious strawberry and black pepper corn sauce with a side of Brussels sprouts and white rice pilaf. It was a fun meal at a reasonable price (our bill was around $75). Our only complaint was that my husband’s “Limoncello Mule” cocktail was too liquor-forward. He drank it again.

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For an amusement park that caters to young children, Dutch Wonderland opens surprisingly late: 11 am My son wakes up every morning at 7, he loves to go.

An Amish village five minutes away was the perfect way to fill that time, and gave us some welcome historical context on the region’s unique inhabitants. Admission includes a 30-minute guided tour of what was once an Amish family farmhouse ($13 for adults, $7 for ages 5-12, free for children under 4). I understand there are about 40,000 Amish people in Lancaster County, but the population is difficult to estimate because the Amish are not included in the US Census.

There are no Amish people in the village, or at least there weren’t during our visit. They don’t like being photographed because of their religious beliefs, and frankly, I don’t want tourists looking at me either. Driving through rural Lancaster, you will easily see many Amish people.

After the tour, we wandered around the grounds, which displayed miniature recreations of an Amish village. My daughter loved meeting the pigs, goats and small horses at the farm and made it her personal mission to try out all the buggies, greyhounds and horse drawn vehicles that were everywhere around town. We bought locally made treats at the village’s mini market, including a delicious chocolate peanut butter fudge from the Pa Fudge Company.

Then it was time to go to the theme park. Think of all the things you hate about theme parks: they’re usually expensive, crowded, long lines, excessive rides, and bad food. Dutch Wonderland is neither of those things.

When we went in April, tickets were $39.99 per person, about half the price of a regular ticket to nearby Hershey Park. And since we stayed at a hotel across the street, we didn’t have to pay the parking fee ($20) or wait in line for cars to enter the parking lot. That took about 15 minutes, as my sister-in-law, whose family joined us that day, paid $5 for designated parking.

The park is compact – it only takes about 10 minutes to walk from front to back – so we managed just fine without a stroller. Our daughter and her 3 year old cousin shot from ride to ride with little fuss. Even better: most lines were less than five minutes long.

Children taller than 36 inches can ride on most rides. Dutch Wonderland uses a color-coded height chart, making it easy for 3-year-olds to climb the green attractions. One note of caution: our preschoolers are allowed on the Sky Ride (a venerable ski lift) with an adult, but we felt like they would fall out of their seats if we didn’t hold them.

The park was decorated for Easter during our visit, but the theme changes seasonally. The water park, called Duke’s Lagoon, opens Memorial Day weekend and is splash pad style — meaning parents can let kids run around without worrying about the dangers of pool drownings.

Pro tip for parents: Head to the Penley Pub at the back of the park for an impressive selection of beer, cider and seltzer ($9-$11), including local brews from Lancaster Brewing and more. There’s a four-drink limit – more than enough if you’re supervising kids – but you can carry your open container into the park. The pub also serves regional specialties, including giant pretzels and pretzel-themed snacks.

If you prefer to eat outside the park, hidden among the sea of ​​chain restaurants around Dutch Wonderland is Lancaster Brewing’s “Tap Room,” which offers a variety of its own beers and strong pub food, including pierogis (Polish potato dumplings, $11.50) and Korean-style wings. (Ours was spicy, $14). It also has a kids menu.

To kill some time on the last day of our trip, we made a last minute decision to hit up the National Toy Train Museum about 10 minutes away.

This is a low-commitment attraction: no advance tickets are required, and children under 4 are free. My daughter loved pushing the buttons that activated the various features of the display, like a hot air balloon going up and down. After finishing the exhibition, she joined other preschoolers as they played with a wooden toy train set up in the guest room.

The Turkey Hill Experience — a one-of-a-kind museum run by the Pennsylvania-based ice cream company — is about 20 minutes west of Dutch Wonderland back in Maryland.

You get unlimited ice cream and iced tea samples from the entree ($13.50), but we opted for the “Taste Lab” ticket, where you can mix your own ice cream flavor ($22.45).

In the lab, each person was served a large cup of vanilla or chocolate ice cream base, which my son immediately began eating. Then we are guided by adding flavors like sprinkles, syrups and mixes. We were warned that overdoing it or adding too much could ruin your ice cream, but we went overboard anyway. Even though our ice cream was borderline inedible by the end, we enjoyed it.

After the sugar pick, we went on a tour of the exhibits, such as virtual ice cream mixing stations, a slide and playhouse, and a simulated cow’s udder. Our preschooler, predictably, passed out on the trip home.

rachel.mull@thebaltimorebanner.com