Story Land: The Most Magical Place in New England

Story Land in Glen, New Hampshire is a staple in the childhoods of New England residents. A fairy tale theme park located in the picturesque New Hampshire mountains, I grew up visiting Story Land and have fond memories of spending time with my family there. With Baby Bentley on his way in late August, I was determined to get a family trip in while we are still a family of 3. Story Land was the first place that came to mind! Kingston is 20 months old (and was at the time of our visit), and I knew this would be the perfect place for him. Toddlers can ride almost everything, and I knew he would love the atmosphere of the fairy tale theme. Being 7 months pregnant, I was also excited that this park was incredibly pregnancy friendly. Story Land in located right near North Conway, so we planned a trip to visit that area! 

We set out for our trip to Story Land that morning very early, stopping for breakfast at a buffet down the street. When you arrive at the park, you are greeted my cheerful buildings and fairy tale characters. Kingston was incredibly excited! He couldn't wait to get through the doors. 

Once inside, we had the choice to go left to the antique car ride and some rides geared towards the older set, or to go right into the fairy tale village. We chose to go right and were greeted by the same Humpty Dumpty statue that my sister and I have pictures next to from when we were little. We had to get a picture with him! Then we headed into the Little Dreamers Nursery Rhyme Play Area. 

This area is pure magic. Despite the age of the park, everything is in great condition, and I was blown away by how clean and maintained everything was. We visited the Old Woman who Lived in the Shoe and her giant yellow boot, the house of the 3 Bears, Granny's Cottage where the wolf lived, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater's giant pumpkin, Georgie Porgie's pie, the Itsy Bitsy spider, the little Red Hen, and more. There were so many fun fairy tale props to interact with and they made for some great photo opps! 

K was fascinated with the spider that went up and down!

The next part of the park was one that was new to me, and also one that Kingston was smitten with: the Storybook Animals! In this area, the animals from our favorite fairy tales and nursery rhymes came to life. We got to see the 3 Little Pigs, Baa Baa Black Sheep, Peter Rabbit, the Billy Goats Gruff and more. K was obsessed with each one, but the "noats" were his absolute favorite. I loved the theming of the 3 Little Pigs houses. It was such a cute set up, and very unique!

We stopped for a photo opp with one of these adorable statues that they have throughout the park. I love that they have always provided great places to take pictures like this one. They are scattered throughout the park.

At this point, we hopped on our very first ride for the day, the Antique German Carousel. Kingston was so excited to choose one of the beautiful horses to ride. One of my favorite features about Story Land in relation to bringing your toddler, is that every ride has a policy where you can give them a thumbs down signal and they will stop the ride completely. We didn't have any problems with the rides, but this was comforting to know that they would stop it without question for us if there was one. 

K loved the carousel, and after we hopped off, we headed straight to the pirate ship and play area. Here they have a phenomenal pirate ship play area with several climbing areas, squirting cannons, and photo opps. We played while we waited for the pirate ship to dock and then we hopped on this fun themed boat ride. Kingston joined in helping everyone row the boat. Every aspect of this park is so well done. It honestly reminds me of Disney World's Magic Kingdom. I was so impressed with all of the theming. 

When we were done with our pirate journey, we headed over to Los Bravos Mining Co. Here we purchased a mining kit for Kingston because he is rock obsessed and he went to work digging all of his rocks out. Then we went into the Los Bravos Mine and took the tour. This attraction was something I had never done before, and it was fun. We went through tunnels and "caves" and got to see many different animatronic features inside. 

The day was absolutely gorgeous and at this point we were in the mood for some refreshments, so we stopped to get some icecream. The girls got Dole Whips (which if you are a Disney fan, is a big staple there). We were so impressed that they offered them here! I also had to stop and take a picture of the amazing set up they have for parents traveling here with infants. Located all over the park are these phenomenal stations for nursing mamas, napping babies, and for the all around well being of your little one. All of these areas, as well as the bathrooms, are super clean and well maintained. Next year when we are traveling with a nursing baby Bentley, I will absolutely be taking advantage of these cozy areas! Story Land gets big props for being so welcoming and accommodating to breastfeeding mamas.  

Kingston did some serious ice cream tasting while we waited for everyone to use the restroom and grab a snack. He was in heaven!

We had to make a very important stop to my absolute favorite part of the park when I was a child: the cow!! This cow has udders (or "gutters" as I used to refer to them as a child) that you can milk (it's water). I would say this is one of the most memorable mini attractions of the park. K loved squirting the water and got a good laugh out of it. It was such a perfect day to be there because it hadn't yet gotten too crowded. We were able to visit everything without any lines or wait times. 

We went on a handful of rides next. The adults (minus this pregnant Mama) rode the Polar Coaster and had a blast. We went on Splash Battle: The Pharaohs Reign and had a blast getting wet! Then we hopped on the Slipshod Safari Tour. Kingston loves pointing out his favorite animals, espeically the "nyno". Uncle H even sat in the gorilla cage for our tour. It was so fun. The adults honestly had just as much fun as the toddler throughout the entire day! I'm pretty sure I exclaimed "this is the funnest day ever!" at least ten times!

We rode the Great Balloon Chase, a ferris wheel made up of hot air balloons, the Whirling Whales, and the Farm Tractors. The Farm Tractors were amazing. Kingston was able to chauffeur Mama and Dada all by himself, steering the tractor and pushing the buttons. This ride also has a photo feature which you can purchase at the end. He thought it was a blast! 

Not only does Story Land offer great rides and attractions, they also offer shows! While we waited for the Farm Follies show to begin, we played in the Oceans of Fun Sprayground. This area is so fun. The theming is beautiful and so well done. You have the option to play on a giant splash pad or go inside of a huge yellow submarine. K thought it was great! 

We also played a the Crab Crawl and Kingston won this awesome giant turtle! He loved him. We were planning to visit the Roar-O-Saurus, a huge new coaster that Story Land put in for the older set, but unfortunately it was down. Kingston still enjoyed seeing the animatronic dinosaurs that adorn the area in front of the coaster. In fact, he didn't want to leave to go to the show because he loved them so much.

When we did finally get him away from the dinosaurs, we enjoyed the Farm Follies show about singing and dancing vegetables, animals, and a scarecrow. It was a very unique show and K couldn't take his eyes off of it. Personally, I thought the scarecrow with the X'ed out eyes was incredibly creepy, but the animatronic aspect was amazing. If they replaced the scarecrow costume with a regular person dressed in farm clothes, I think the show would be 5 star! 

After the show, we had a slight mishap. My father left his cellphone in the theater and when he returned to look for it, it was gone. This put quite a damper on things, but it was great to see how efficient the staff was. They were so kind and quickly did what they could to find his phone. We were so relieved when they located it! While that ordeal was going on, Todd and I took K to the Loopy Lab, an interactive play area with balls that fly in every direction. He loved it. This was the perfect place for toddlers and older children alike. The last time I had been to Story Land, this attraction was Voyage to the Moon! 

After the phone was found, we made our way to have something for lunch. We ate at the Friends Around the World Food Fair. I wasn't very impressed with the food choices, as most of it was not pregnancy friendly. I would have liked to see some healthier, less processed options. That being said, they do have many different places to eat within the park, we just weren't impressed with the one we chose. We did enjoy the juggling act that we got to watch during lunch however. I also like that they allow you to bring outside food. So, if you wanted to, you could just pack lunch for the day!

The next stop we made was to the train! We went on a phenomenal train ride around the park. K was losing steam (no pun intended) very quickly at this point. When we got off, we headed to the Dutch Shoes. 

After this, K pretty much begged to get in his stroller. He was asleep almost immediately! This allowed the adults (besides Mama and Glam*Ma) the chance to ride some of the rides K couldn't do. They did the Bamboo Chutes multiple times and loved it. Then they did Dr. Geysers Remarkable Raft Ride which they also enjoyed. We spent the rest of the trip visiting and purchasing souvenirs in the various gift shops. 

We had an amazing and full day at Story Land NH! We didn't get the chance to do everything (Dada was sad about not being able to take K on the Antique Cars), but that just gives us another reason to come back next year. The adults had an absolute blast, and Kingston had an incredible time. The park was clean and well maintained with exquisite attention to detail. Everything was so well done. I can't wait to go back, and I look forward to seeing some of the other shows, trying some of the different eateries, and eventually trying the Roar-O-Saurus!

If you are ever in Glen, NH, Story Land is a must! I'm actually relieved that we chose to do Story Land instead of a Disney trip this year. It was the perfect sized park for all of us, and we can't stop talking about the trip. Don't forget to check out their website and Facebook page! They have so much to offer here!

Disclosure: We received complimentary admission for the purposes of this review. This in no way influenced the thoughts and opinions within this post. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own. Thank you Story Land!!