Diggerland
535 North Route 73
West Berlin, NJ
We were invited down to Diggerland USA in Berlin, NJ to enjoy their Fall Festival. My oldest Sean has been there with his father, but this was the first time for my 3yo and 13mo. It’s about 2.5hours away from here and worth the drive. Our album of pictures is available HERE on Facebook.
We didn’t even tell Sean where we were going. When we pulled in he started yelling in excitement that we were there, telling Shane how excited he was that it was Shane’s first trip there.
The parking is extremely close and Jim was able to make several trips out there without blinking an eye. The boys both stood in the parking lot while we unloaded the stroller, baby, etc. and stared wide eyed at all the great rides. Sean was pointing everything out and telling Shane all about every ride.
The Fall Festival included a new open area of the park. It included a pumpkin patch where the children could pick out their own small pumpkin and decorate them (one pumpkin per child). We left them in the drying area after decorating, though the car was so close we could have zipped them out there quickly.
There was a hayride in the Fall Festival, which the children always love. Next to the hayride was a pumpkin launching area which was an additional $5 for 3 pumpkins. My boys were unable to launch more than a few feet, so obviously it was done for the novelty of it. My husband launched one of the pumpkins in hopes of winning a $5 arcade game card. He didn’t actually win, but the boys and he all had lots of fun launching the pumpkins. There was also a hay maze, which I just realized we forgot to do! There is just so many rides and things to do, that we couldn’t possibly have gotten to them all.
The boys were able to ride on tractors, including digging up their own hole and playing tractor bowling. Many of the tractors have been put away for the season, so the lines were longer than expected when we went. The staff explained that they were unprepared Sunday for the crowds, as the park was busier than it had been in quite some time. I’m sure they’ll adjust the staff and availability of tractors for the remainder of their Fall Festival this month. More information on the Fall Festival is available HERE.
Believe it or not, Sean and I did the high rise ropes course. He had me go ALL the way to the top. I overheard another mother talking to her child before going up, and I heard her voice the entire time in my head “You will not fall. You will dangle like spiderman, but you will not fall.” I’m not going to lie….I was pretty darn nervous up there. Once Sean realized the level of difficulty, he thankfully decided to choose the less difficult obstacles (or maybe it was just my prayers being answered).
The compact park allowed us to easily walk from one attraction to the next. I would have been happily comfortable walking in flip-flops (though not on the ropes course). It was also quite stroller friendly, though be sure to bring your sunscreen. Even in the cooler months, the shade is sparse there, so you’ll want to protect everyone’s skin. Food is not allowed in the park other than baby food and food prices inside the park varied. If you’re on a tight budget, you could consider “tailgating” in the parking lot, zipping out to the local lunch places, or just plan to eat before/after you leave.
Before arriving at the park, you should review the rides appropriate for the various age groups and heights. Most rides my 3yo could go onto with an adult, though there were some where he could not. My five year old could go with me on most, but there were a few he could go alone. My 13mo was able to ride the barrel train alone (though we walked along it just in case), and there’s a really nice playground for the smaller kids to enjoy.
I definitely recommend getting there when the park opens so the lines are small. Due to the unexpected crowds, we did miss some rides. It just means we’ll have to return as soon as we can! The entire ride home, both boys were asking when we’d be going back. It’s definitely going to be a trip we’ll do every year!
