Priceline Hotel: 3.5* Trenton-Princeton (Princeton-Monmouth Junction) Hyatt Regency

[bbhaley]

This is my first time using PRICELINE...and my first post! I thought I'd post since everyone else's posts are what helped me figure out this whole Priceline thing.

I was looking for something close to Sesame Place but after unsuccessfully bidding up to $65 for 3+ stars in Langhorne/Levittown, I decided that being further away was acceptable if I could get something around $50 a night for a 3.5* hotel.

1st bid: $41, 3.5*, Trenton-Princeton West

2nd bid: $46, 3.5*, added Langhorne-Levittown (since I knew this would be unsuccessful)

3rd bid: $51, 3.5*, added Mount Holly

Subtotal: $153 for 3 nights

Taxes & Service Fees: $31.50

Distance to Sesame Place (per MapQuest): 24 minutes (the only downside)

[yellowdog]

Welcome to BetterBidding and congratulations on your success!

Thank you for sharing your win with the board :)

Great to see that you found the board useful for your stay.

Please use the site's HOTWIRE and PRICELINE links to start future purchases.

Yellowdog.

[bbhaley]

P.S. Thanks for the reply. And I did use the site's PRICELINE link!

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your win with the board and using our PRICELINE link to begin your bidding.

This is one of my favorite hotels in the area, so from that perspective, you did quite well.

As i just returned from Sesame Place last week here are some tips if you've never been:

-get there before the gates open, try for 10-15 minutes before, then hit the most popular rides (which get the longest lines) first

-if you intend to spend the entire day, do the most popular things in the morning, then the "open" things (with no lines, such as the cargo net climbing, open play space, open pools, etc.) during the peak daytime hours when lines are longest, then about 2-3 hours before closing time the lines really start to thin out

-food is expensive (kids meals: $9) inside the park and lines are long... do consider packing lunch and exiting the park and eating in the designated picnic area. Even if not for the price of food, avoid the long lunch lines

-keep your valuables at home or in the car (and out of site) so you can go on rides and not have to worry about something getting stolen

-if you have kids who are 'stroller age' do bring an umbrella stroller as they'll get tired thoughout the day and easy to wheel them to the next activity then have them dragging their feet

-the shows are good for the kids (and a chance to relax for the adults)... the Beach Party one is good for the kids, the Elmo one was a bit of a waste of time (although my youngest enjoyed seeing Elmo)

-bring extra (dry) clothes for the ride home... depending how long your trip home is and the age of your children, bring pajamas as they'll be wiped from the day and will likely fall asleep on the ride home, so easier if their in pajamas already to have them go right from car to bed

Enjoy your stay.

[bbhaley]

This is awesome! Thanks so much for the great tips. Do you remember which are the rides that have the long line-ups? Is the park going to be busy on Friday too?

[thereuare]

I have no idea how crowded the lines will be on Friday, but it's supposed to be one of the first nice days after a long rainy stretch, so may be a place locals head for the day....

Sky Splash (towards the left when you enter) with the big yellow duck is one of the most crowded, from there we went to Slimey Chutes immediately adjacent to it since there was no line, did that 2-3x as my daughter liked it, then headed towards the back of the park where we went on Sesame Streak a few times as the line for "doubles" was quick so we just kept going again and again. Elmo's Blast Off (a dry, non-water, ride gets crowded too as it only holds 12 people at a time) so that may be another one you want to hit very early or very late. When we went last year i had read that Big Bird's Rambling River gets crowded too, but we didn't even like it, so didn't bother this year (basically sit in an inner tube and very slowly go around a look (probably took 15-20 minutes))

Another tip is to try to plan your wet/dry activities in groups... you don't want to be dry then go on a wet ride, then a dry ride, then wet, etc, etc.

The "Count Splash" area is also new and a good "open" area to cool off when lines get long during the day (as is Sand Castle Beach and the Teeny Tiny Title Wave pool)

Also, the "cargo net area" and other dry activities (near Big Birds Balloon Race) is easy to miss, we didn't find it until very late last year and our kids had fun there (depending upon the age of your own kids) so we made sure to get to this area a little earlier this year.

Plenty of maps once you get there, but if you haven't already, it's a good idea to check out and/or print a Map to get an idea of where things are before you arrive. Also, find out what shows you want to go and what time they are so you can plan around them. They have a parade too, which we didnt' bother with this year... lots of lining up on the side of the street waiting for what didn't amount to much, imo.

Have fun.