Beaches- Sesame Street Activities and Upgrades

     After having returned from another incredibly fun vacation at Beaches Turks and Caicos, I wanted to do a full of review of the Sesame Street activities and upgrades offered by the Beaches resorts. Most of the upgrades are available at all the Beaches locations and in my experience at Beaches Ochos Rios and Beaches Turks and Caicos, they were very similar.

Charlie, Will, Me and the Sesame Street characters.

     Before I review them, a general tip regarding the characters is that your access to them will depend on the resort and how busy it is. When we originally visited Beaches Turks and Caicos, the characters would visit with the children after each Sesame Street show.  This no longer happens at the resort. The reason being that there are a lot of children and a very real danger of little people getting step on or hurt. Last year, in Ochos Rios, the characters spent up to ten minutes after the shows taking pictures and visiting with the children.

Charlie cuddling with Cookie Monster after the Sesame Street Show.

     Your best bet for some free time with the characters is to hang out by the main pool at the resorts. In Turks and Caicos, characters often visited children at the Italian pool during the day. Just be warned that you are not allowed to touch them if you are wet but will still be allowed to take pictures with them.

Visiting Grover by the pool.

    Besides these options, most of your time spent with characters will be at one of the following activities:

Sesame Street Stage Show - Included in cost of vacation

    The Sesame Street stage show takes place almost every night at the resorts as long as it is not raining. The show changes each night of the week and tends to be quite entertaining. Some people arrive quite early to save seats but don't worry too much about doing that as most of the children sit directly in front of the stage and the characters are so large you can see them from anywhere. The shows are quite short usually running about 15 minutes. Before and after each show, children are allowed and encouraged to mingle and dance on the stage. Twice last week, there was an organised children's dance party after with a host and helpers. This was a great addition from previous years and a tradition I hope Beaches will uphold.

Big Bird's Beach Party Show

Chicken dancing at the Kid's Dance Party after the show.

Sesame Street Day Camp - Included in cost of vacation

     The Sesame Street day camp is available for children 24 months to 5 years old. There are also camps for younger babies and children older than 5 but they do not feature the Sesame Street characters. The camps are open all day, except during a staff dinner break, and close in the evening. This is a great way for your kids to get to spend time with the characters. Cookie monster runs a cookie baking seminar for the camp that you can also attend with your children which is quite fun. Other activities include tea parties with Abby, bird watching with Big Bird and Rubber Ducky hunts with Ernie. Some people use the daycare more than others but I found with this vacation, Charlie was asking to go to the Sesame Street activities on a daily basis. After the specific character activities, I would often pick her up and head to the pool until the next one.

Baking cookies with Cookie Monster

Sesame Street Parade- Included in cost of vacation 

     Once a week, each resort hosts a Sesame Street parade.  I have personally attended 3 parades in the past 2 years and can attest that they were all quite different. Most recently, I was shocked at how large the parade at Beaches Turks and Caicos has become. Don't expect anything close to Disney parades but do expect a fun island experience. In the Turks and Caicos, if your children want to be IN the parade with the characters, they need to be dropped off at a kid's camp by 5:30 pm on the night of the parade. Children not attending with the kids camp are not allowed to join in and parents are not allowed to participate in the parade. That being said you can watch the parade and then follow behind it. In addition to the characters, the parade features local dancers and musicians. The parade ends at the Italian Village concierge lobby, where the characters, guest and islanders dance and mingle.

Musicians in the parade in Turks and Caicos.

Will and Ernie walking in the Parade.

    In Ochos Rios, which is a smaller resort, the parade is smaller and more intimate. Children are invited with their parents to gather in front of the hotel before the parade and offered free face paint and parade supplies like hats and masks. The parade then proceeds through the resort with each character walking with two children. In many ways, I preferred the parade in Ochos Rios and felt it was much more suitable to toddlers and young children.

Charlie getting her face painted for the parade. 

Will and Oscar enjoying cotton candy at the parade. 

Sesame Street Birthday Party- $250-350 

     Our first year at Turks and Caicos was Will's 4th birthday and we booked a Sesame Street birthday party. The party was held at Mario's in the Italian Village around 3:00 pm. When booking the party, we were told that the characters were not available at lunch or dinner time thus the party needed to be between those times. We arrived to find a table set for 8 children with food that had been waiting on the table at least half an hour. Once the children sat down, Elmo arrived and led a few dances and then Will blew out the candles on his Elmo cake and Elmo left. When booking the party, we were told the Will would receive a special gift from the character. Elmo gave Will a small stuffed dolphin that was available for sale in the gift shop for under $10. To say the least, we were underwhelmed.

    I have since witnessed slightly better looking parties and have learnt that you can insist the parties take place at better restaurants or even on the beach at lunch or dinner time. That being said, there is nothing particularly special about the party besides the cake and the short character visit.

    Each resort also hosts a birthday party for Elmo once a week that is the exact same as described above but with many children which makes it a lot more fun. My advice would be not to book a private party but to simply order your child a cake on the day of their birthday. There is no extra cost to attend Elmo's birthday party.

Sesame Street Catamaran Cruise- $30 per child, $60 per adult

     This year in Turks and Caicos, we decided to participate in the Sesame Street Catamaran Cruise. I must admit, I was shocked by how much fun it was. The cruise leaves early in the morning and lasts about 2 hours. The cruise is limited in the number of participants and your children get to spend a lot of time with  Elmo and Zoe on the cruise.

Elmo and Will getting ready to board.

     When we departed from the dock, I was a little concerned with how choppy it was. Staff aboard had everyone sit and cruised quite quickly into a much quieter bay. By doing so, they were able to stabilise the boat enough that all the kids could get up and dance with the characters as well as play games with them. The characters roamed around the boat and spent quite a lot of time with each family. There was also quite good food on the cruise and the children were given a small sesame street toy from the characters.

More dancing! 

Playing hot potato with Elmo.

     In a moment of absolute genius, one of the families had purchased a birthday cake for their son before the cruise and brought it on board. The whole boat shared the cake and sang happy birthday to the child. This is a much smarter solution especially if you are at the resort with only your immediate family than attempting to throw a 4 person birthday party.

Charlie and Zoe enjoying the ride. Moments later they both got very wet.
 

    I highly recommend the catamaran cruise for kids up to 10 years old.


Sesame Street Tuck-In- $85 for one child plus $30 per additional child 

     Between the hours of 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm, you will often spot the characters en route to various hotel rooms. This is to participate in the character tuck-in which I must admit is by far my favourite up-grade. The characters arrive in your room with an assistant who is there to read your children a bed-time story and lead them in a bedtime stretch. The characters actually get into bed with your kids and listen to the story and then kiss them goodnight and tuck them in.

Story time! 

     Will and Charlie loved this surprise. You can request characters from a list at the resort but due to size issues Big Bird does not participate. In a wonderful surprise, we had Bert, Ernie and Abby Caddaby attend our Tuck-in in Ochos Rios and there was very little room left in the room due to the sheer size of the characters. I have found the tuck-in is a great way to end your trip and love to book our favourite characters for our final night at the hotel.

Charlie and Abby playing dolls in bed. 

Sesame Street All-Access Photo Shoot- $50 

     Twice a week, you have the option of attending the Sesame Street all-access photo shoot. This is the only time you will ever get a group photo with all of the characters. The proceeds of the photo are donated to the Sandals Foundation which I previously reviewed here.

Our group photo from the Sesame Street All-Access Photo Shoot

     I also recommend taking the opportunity to attend this event once while you are at the resort for two reasons; (1) the group photo will be given to you in an 8 x 10 commemorative frame is worth the cost and (2) the pressure to find each character for your child to meet will be over. When we participated in the photo shoot at Ochos Rios, we were the only family who had booked and were given the entire session to spend with the characters. The group shot we have is fantastic and one of my favourite vacation photos.

Charlie and Big Bird attempting a high five at the photo shoot. 

     Be warned, the resorts are quite protective of this event and will not allow your children to participate or visit with the characters unless you have booked the shoot. At Turks and Caicos, they also request that you do not bring personal cameras. This policy was not in place in Ochos Rios and I was able to capture some incredibly cute moments particularly with Charlie and Abby Caddaby.

Charlie and Abby practising their fairy poses.

    At the photo shoot and anytime you meet the characters, it is helpful to tell them what your children like or don't like. For example, telling Zoe the ballerina that your child loves to do ballet will often entice the character to start ballet dancing with your child. I also find carrying on general conversations with the characters makes your children more comfortable around them. Just know they will nod and motion to participate in the conversation but the characters do not speak.

The kids sneaking up on Ernie to tickle him after the photo shoot. 

Sesame Street Character Breakfast- $12 per adult, $16 per child or $49.99 per family of four 

     At each of the resorts we have visited, we participated in the character breakfast. This event is extremely fun for adults and children. Most recently at Turks and Caicos, the whole event was led by a very energetic and fun woman named Roxy who kept the party going. The key is to arrive on time and feed your children immediately. Once the kids have eaten, the characters are introduced and each character visits your table besides Big Bird who you meet on the way in to the breakfast. This again is due to his height.

Saying hello to Big Bird before breakfast. 

     Once the characters have met the children, the breakfast turns into a dance party complete with conga line. Children are invited to walk and dance with the characters and their is a sufficient amount of time spent with each character.

Cookie monster is the best dancer of all the characters.

Abby and Charlie twirling on the dance floor.

Roxy, the fearless conga line leader.

     Besides the photo shoot, the breakfast is by far the easiest way to meet and get your photograph with each character. We had so much fun at the character breakfast in Ochos Rios that we attended it twice and then also attended it this year in Turks and Caicos. Children are also given a small sesame street toy at this event.

     No matter which of the above you chose to attend, the Sesame Street characters will be a big part of your children's vacation and a good way to remember the trip. Last week, there were many times when I teared up a little watching the kids interact with their favourite characters and I must admit getting a hug from the characters was fun for me too.

     If you do head to Beaches, make sure to tell the crew that we say hello and we will see hopefully see them again soon.