Story Land Tips & Tricks (from Long-Time Season Pass Holders) - New Hampshire

We’ve been going to Story Land for forever it seems - I went yearly as a child back in the 80’s and 90’s, and now we’ve been season pass holders for the last 10+ years. This may be our last year as season pass holders as our kids are getting too old to make Story Land trips a regular occurrence, but we’ve learned a lot over the years and I thought I would share some of our tips, tricks, and hacks with you. | This post is not sponsored. Contains personal opinion/reviews and affiliate links |

Disclaimer: This post shares opinions and tips based on our personal experiences. Please be aware that you may encounter things differently and things are subject to change. Please do your own research.

Story Land is a family-focused story book themed amusement park in Glen, NH.

Consider Season Passes

If you’re a New Hampshire local (like us), or come up to the area at least 2-3x a year, Season Passes are definitely the way to go! They can pay for themselves in just two visits. Make sure to pay attention to levels of passes when purchasing as some have blackout dates and some have different perks - like discounts for food, merchandise, free “Buddy Passes,” or tickets to Living Shores Aquarium next door. It’s also really nice not feel pressure to do or see it all when we’re at Story Land because we know we can catch something next time; it gives us a lot of flexibility to just come for a few hours when we want.
PRO TIP: Buy season passes ahead of time for the following season on Black Friday! That’s typically when prices are lowest.

Buy Day Tickets Ahead (if not Season Pass Holders)

If possible, NEVER buy tickets at the gate - always buy ahead online. Buying ahead gives you the best deal on day tickets. Sometimes they can be be 50% or more off depending on current offers, though you may have to buy a week or more in advance to get the best deal.

“Final Three = Next Day Free!”**

Story Land often has a promotion where if you first enter the park in the final 3 hours of operation you can come back the next day for free! This is a great way to get some extra time in the park, especially if you’re from out of the area and staying in a hotel locally.
**NOTE: We have seen this offer come and go over the years — some years they offer it, some years they don’t. Do your research and confirm with customer service in writing if they are currently honoring that offer and how best to use it with dated tickets before you try to use it.

Paid Parking

New last year, Story Land is now asking you pay to park in certain lots (namely the ones surrounding the park), though free parking is included with Season Passes. Parking across the street in the dirt lot is still free and there is a pedestrian tunnel under the road to safely cross. (Personal note: I am really disappointed about this change - I don’t think they should be charging for parking.)

Bag Policy

Make sure to check Story Land’s bag policy before coming. It’s new in the last few years, but be prepared for security to check your bags on the way in and limitations on the size of bags brought in (exceptions can be made for diaper bags or medical supplies). And just like before, Story Land still does not allow glass bottles/containers or hard sided coolers brought in.

Now that I don't need a diaper bag these days I pack light and simple - a Lululemon Belt Bag with wallet, phone, keys, and hand sanitizer. That's really all you need and it's small enough to wear on almost all rides.

Story Land is Cash-Free

Starting a few years ago Story Land became a cash-free park. This means they ONLY accept credit card/debit cards for payments at all places (food, gift shops, concession stands, etc) in the park - so make sure to bring your plastic with you ;) If you forget or don’t have a credit card, there are machines in the parks that can transfer cash onto pre-paid gift cards that can be used instead.

Pack a Lunch

This is an easy way to save big if you come frequently - make sure to pack your lunch to avoid paying for over priced food and drinks in the park. You can leave your lunch cooler in your car and go out* and have a “parking lot picnic” (*don’t forget to get your hand stamped on the way out so you can re-enter the park!) or you can bring your lunch into the park with you as long as it fits in with Story Land’s bag policy and doesn’t contain glass containers. When our youngest was a baby we used to always eat our lunch on the train - that way the baby could take her time finishing her bottle while my oldest ate her sandwich and no one felt like we were missing out on anything - we’d just ride the train in circles until everyone was done.

Consider Baby Wearing Over a Stroller

I have been doing Story Land for years - with babies, pregnant, not pregnant, with toddlers, with pre-teens, etc. - and I am solidly in the camp “no stroller.” Personally I find it so much easier to just have everything on my person and not have to worry about watching a stroller or coming back for a stroller if we decide to get off at a different train stop, etc - and not to mention it’s much easier navigating crowds and the giant hill in the middle of the park (which is avoidable if you choose to go around - but it’s a nice shortcut) without a stroller. Story Land also isn’t a huge park, it’s very walkable and doable without a stroller for most people. I always wore our baby/toddler in a front carrier and then carried a backpack as a diaper bag that had all the essentials - diapers, lunch, bottles, etc. Obviously everyone has their own preferences and if you decide to use a stroller or wagon that’s totally fine but this is what I found to be the best for our family in this park.

Plenty to Do and See with Infants or While Pregnant

If you’re pregnant or have an infant it will limit what you can do - no rollercoasters or thrill rides for example. However there is still a reasonable amount of things to see and do - make sure to check the ride information boards at each ride to see if it’s suitable for infants or pregnant women and obviously use your best judgement and advice from your doctors on what you can/can’t do. It’s better to play it safe.

Walk Up to Cinderella’s Castle, Then Ride Down

This is a simple tip I’ve realized over the years - WALK UP to Cinderella’s Castle, and then ride the Pumpkin Coach DOWN. Most people feel the need to ride up to Cinderella’s Castle to get the full effect, but if you don’t mind doing it a little backwards you can walk up to the Castle (over a really pretty bridge, mind you), meet Cinderella, and then get in line to ride the Pumpkin Coach back down. The line at the top to ride back down is almost always considerably shorter than the line at the bottom to ride up - and often there isn’t even a line at the top at all!

Take Your Own Picture with Cinderella

At Cinderella’s Castle you can stand in line to meet her and get your photo taken by a staff photographer, which is available for purchase afterwards at a little desk by the exit. Thankfully though you can take your own cell phone photo while you’re there and aren’t obligated to buy the Story Land photo which is rather expensive.

The Roar-O-Saurus is ROUGH

The Roar-O-Saurus is the wooden rollercoaster in the back of the park; it has highest height requirement of all the rides at Story Land and is meant for older kids and adults. It’s a great wooden roller coaster and quite thrilling - but be warned it’s ROUGH riding it. The ride is very jolting and “jittery.” There are signs on the loading dock warning you to take everything out of your pockets and leave it in cubbies on the platform because they will be shaken out (my husband can attest to that… his wallet shook right out of his pants pocket once!). They even have a white board tally behind the operator logging how many items have been lost so far that season on the ride.
(Personal Note: Unfortunately this ride hurts my neck so I typically don’t ride it.)

EDIT Fall, 2025: Be warned - as of October, 2025 they will no longer let you even wear RX glasses on the Roar-A-Saurus. I usually don’t ride this ride because it bothers my neck, but my daughter needed someone to ride with her on our last trip of the season so I agreed to go on it with her. I was surprised and disappointed that I was told I could not wear my glasses on the ride, which has never been an issue before. I tried explaining that I am legally blind without them (literally, I am) and I’ve never had to take them off in all the years of riding it but it was non-negotiable on their part. We decided to get off the ride at that point because I can’t be parted from my glasses.. it was very disappointing. I understand where they’re coming from that they’ve had too many people loose items on this ride, but properly fit RX glasses will not fall off and it’s unfortunate they won’t allow even those on the ride anymore.

Pack Your Swimsuit for Moo Lagoon

New in the last few years is Moo Lagoon - a splash pad/water slide park located where the old Oceans of Fun splash pad was. If you’d like to take advantage of Moo Lagoon make sure to wear or bring your swimsuit to change into. Appropriate swim wear without buckles or anything that can “catch” is needed to use the water slides - and they don’t allow you to wear glasses of any kind on the waterslides, including eyeglasses.
One thing to note is that the entrance stairs to the three tallest slides is outside of the main Moo Lagoon area. This makes it tricky to always have eyes on your little ones so keep that in mind.

Don’t Sleep on the Live Shows!

The live shows at Story Land are always fun too - there’s usually several different shows a day, throughout the day. They have musical shows with live singing, a farm follies show with characters and animatronics, Daniel Tiger shows, and more. In past years they used to have a magician show which we really enjoyed (and I hope they’ll bring back again). Make sure to check the schedule to see what shows are when. The shows can be great for downtime and cooling off in the AC on hot days too!

Add-On Experiences

Story Land also offers some add-on experiences like a Character Breakfast or Tea with Cinderella. These are booked and paid for in addition to your day ticket or Season Pass. We’ve done the Cinderella Tea with both of our kids and even packed play dress-up princess dresses for them to put on over their clothes for the tea party. It was definitely a cute experience to give them when they were younger and the Cinderella Tea was pretty reasonably priced in my opinion. (We haven’t done the Character Breakfast yet.)

Be Wary of Rain Park Closure

Years ago Story Land would sometimes close the park early for really bad weather - I’m talking like lighting and hail kind of weather. These days they seem to close the park a lot more often due to weather - sometimes just for what seems like moderate rain. This is something to keep in mind when you make your trip there - if it’s a rainy day there is the possibility the park will close early. The good news is that if the park does close early you should be able to request a rain check ticket to come back another day - make sure to stop into Customer Service and ask.

Happy Hauntings

New last year was Happy Hauntings which are special themed weekends in October. They offer trick-or-treating, seasonal food offerings for purchase at the concession stands, seasonal decor, a new themed live show, and some rides open. We went once last year during Happy Hauntings and it was very cute and our kids had fun but we felt as though the ride offerings were extremely limited — personally I don’t think I would buy day tickets to the event because you’d miss out on so many rides that are closed for the season, but as a Season Pass Holder it was a fun way to end our season.

Disclaimer: This post shares opinions and tips based on our personal experiences. Please be aware that you may encounter things differently and things are subject to change. Please do your own research.

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Etsy Sale Through June 3rd

We’re joining the spring Home and Living Sales Event over on Etsy, everything in our shop is 10-20% off now through June 3rd! Happy Shopping :)

Giving Backyard Maple Sugaring a Try

We’ve lived in New England all our lives, but I’m ashamed to admit we’ve never tried maple sugaring ourselves until now. We have several family friends that own large-scale sugar shacks so we’re familiar with the process and had some great resources to ask questions. We kept it very small scale and simple, but you can get more technical with the process to make really consistent, great maple syrup. If you want to try this at home, I’d recommend doing your own research first to make sure your syrup is made safely and well. | This post contains affiliate links |

I didn’t take too many photos of the process but we started by tapping the trees. We drilled into sugar maples at a slight upward angle so the sap will drip out, tapped in special metal spigots (also called spiles) with hooks, and hung buckets to catch the sap. It's important to do this at the right time of year when the sap is running, usually late winter/early spring when the days are above freezing and the nights are cold.

Once we got a total of 5 gallons of sap, which only took a day or two, we started boiling. It’s a good idea to boil outside as it takes a while and makes a lot of steam and you probably don’t want that much moisture inside your house. We used a stainless steel pot on a propane stove ring in our driveway to boil. Once the liquid was reduced by half, we added more sap, and just kept boiling it down until it was a good color/consistency.

Serious maple sugar makers would reccomend you use a hydrometer to test the water content of your syrup to make sure it's at the right consistency. However, we totally just winged it and kept reducing until it looked pretty good. We prefer a lighter, more honey-tasting syrup so we didn't reduce it down to a dark amber syrup.

It takes a lot of sap to make a little syrup. We boiled down about 3+ gallons of sap to get the maple syrup you see in the jar. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time, but it was a fun experience for the kids and now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Mmmmm, pancakes!

Disclaimer: This was a very quick overview on the process we did to make maple syrup. If you decide you would like to give it a try, I recommend researching it on your own and asking an experienced producer for advice before starting.

Garden is In (Finally!)

Here in New England we seemed to have a very late start to spring this year… after all the snow didn’t even melt from our yard until May 2nd! The rest of May has been generally cool and rainy and didn’t give us a chance to rototill and prep our garden until now. I finally planted the garden with our older daughter today and fingers crossed it does well this year! Last year our garden was a bust… we inadvertently overdid it with adding woodash the year before and nothing grew. But thanks to soil testing with UNH we have since re-set the pH and other imbalances and things should be off to a better start this year!

L.L. Bean Spring/Summer Round Up

Warmer weather is coming and it’s time for a wardrobe and gear refresh! Here I’m sharing some of my favorite warmer weather and outdoor picks from L.L. Bean for Spring and Summer.
| This post contains affiliate links |

L.L. Bean Spring/Summer Round Up

Scroll to the right to see more ->

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Spring has Sprung!

I've been very busy around the house lately, working on a lot of spring cleaning and garden projects.  
It seems like there isn't enough time to get it all done... raking, weeding, mulching, planting our veggie garden, cleaning out the closets and donating/consigning our unwanted warmer weather clothing... just a few of the things on my to-do list.  Whew.  

But you certainly can't beat lilac season!  These beauties are from our next door neighbor and a reminder to stop and smell the roses (or lilacs) no matter how much there is to get done.  

Happy Spring from Birch Landing Home!  

Restock at The Straw Cellar

I've just dropped off another order of our handmade ornaments to The Straw Cellar in Wolfeboro, NH!  Even though it's not Christmas-season, it's always a great time to get ahead on gifts and our ornaments are now again in-stock there.  

While you're at The Straw Cellar, don't forget to check out all the other wonderful New England-made goods they carry!  

Young Toddler Easter Basket Ideas

Today I thought I'd share what we'll be putting in our little one's Easter Basket.  My goal was to spend less than $20 and fill it with practical and fun items.  | This post contains affiliate links |

Our little girl is only 15 months old, has more than enough toys, and doesn't eat candy yet so I was a little stumped as to what to put in her Easter basket at first.  After some thought I decided to fill it with some items she needed anyway and a few things to use outside once the warmer weather comes (someday soon, I hope).  

I started with the Easter basket I made for her last year (you can read my post on making her Button Easter Basket here).  First I filled the bottom with paper Easter grass - having a toddler and a dog, it's so important to use the paper Easter grass over plastic just in case any gets eaten.  The paper grass is also a lot more eco-friendly.  

I love what I found to put in her basket!  

In her basket:  

• Owl Lunchbox by SkipHop.  She desperately needed a new lunchbox (hers broke) and this owl one from Amazon was just the cutest.  There are many other animal styles to choose from too if owls aren't your thing.  
• Purée pouches by Plum Organics.  What toddler doesn't love snacks?  We picked these up last time we were at Target but they can be found at just about any grocery store or purchased by the case from Amazon.  
• Baby Farm Animals board book by Golden Books.  We actually got this book for free from the local library (they were clearing out duplicates) but you can usually find inexpensive board books on Amazon or on sale at your local book store.  
• Child's Watering Can.  We got this from the Dollar Store, but these can also be found at your local pharmacy.  (Similar one here.) 
• Egg-Shaped Chalk.  These came from the dollar bins at Target, and I love them because they're easy for little hands to hold.  (Similar ones here.)

Since I got the board book for free I spent right around $15 for everything - wahoo!  

Other basket ideas for a one-year old or young toddler:  

• puzzle
• socks
• crackers
• crayons
• busy book
• sunhat
• bubbles
• educational placemat
• teether
• rubber playground ball
• shovel and pail for the beach

All of these items can be done for a girl or a boy, and are easy to tweak if you wanted to tailor it more to your own child.  I hope I've given you some ideas of what to put in your little one's Easter basket - Happy Easter!  

Looking for more Easter ideas?  Check out our other Easter posts:  

• DIY Button Easter Basket
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