Land of Make Believe located in Hope, NJ is the perfect NJ day trip. A true NJ amusement park, it featured rides, food, and a water park that the whole family will love.
Growing up in New Jersey, we went to Land of Make Believe once a year or so, but I truly believe that it’s such a hidden gem. Located in a gorgeous area, lines are generally short, prices are reasonable, and kids have a blast.
Best for ages 2-12, Land of Make Believe features a water park with large slides, wading pool, and a lazy river, amusement park rides, a train and so much more. It’s not huge and the layout is perfect for little legs – you’ll be able to hit the whole park in one day and not feel like everyone is getting tired and cranky.
If you’re thinking about heading to the Land of Make Believe any time soon, I can’t recommend it more. Keep reading to find out everything you need to know before going.
Things to know before going to the Land of Make Believe!
- ONLY Discover cards and cash are accepted. ATM’s are available outside as well. Grab extra from the ATM’s for food and snacks inside.
- You will not be allowed into the water park if you do not have a bathing suit, unless for religious reasons.
- The park is stroller and wheelchair accessible, but strollers are not allowed into the water park area.
- Shirt, shoes, and pants, shorts or a skirt are required to ride rides. You can not ride in a bathing suit, so make sure you have extra clothes if needed. The boys were able to ride the rides in bathing suit bottoms and a t-shirt, but I had to wear clothes on top of my bathing suit.
Basics:
Address:
354 Great Meadows Road
Rt. 611, Hope, NJ 07844
Land of Make Believe Ticket info:
- Kids Aged 3-18 : $34
- Adults Aged 19-61 : $34
- Senior Pricing – Ages 62+ : $31
- Children 36 months and younger are free, but will only be allowed on Off Road Safari Adventure, Carousel, Train, and Water Park + two more rides.
- Parking is free.
- There are absolutely no refunds.
**To buy tickets, you must purchase with either cash or a Discover card. No other card is accepted, but there are 2 ATM’s you can get cash from. Inside the park only cash is accepted at most vendors.
You can also pre purchase online.
I’ve definitely seen Land of Make Believe coupons online, on Groupon and similar sites, in school coupon books, and on flyers at places like Quick Check. They also offer reasonable season pass prices – $125/person
What are Land of Make Believe hours?
- Open 10-6. Water park closes at 5:30 and Amusement rides close at 5:45.
- Open for the public WEEKENDS ONLY starting Memorial Day weekend (including Memorial Day Monday) through 3rd weekend in June.
- Open for the public DAILY from June 20 through Labor Day. The Park will also be open on the weekend after Labor Day.
Wheelchairs and Strollers:
The amusement park is accessible to both wheelchairs and stroller but they are not offered at the park. You can not bring strollers into the water park and there is stroller parking right outside of the water park entrance.
Land of Make Believe Rides
Rides are a huge attraction to the Land of Make Believe. The best part is that most of the rides are accessible for most ages. Below you’ll find all of the Land of Make Believe rides and height requirements.
Note: you MUST wear shirt, shoes, and pants or a skirt in the amusement park to ride the rides. They will not let you on a ride without these, and it is strictly enforced.
Land of Make Believe Rides for Any Height (with or without a wrist band):
- Train ride
- Hayride
- Carousel
- Off Road Safari Adventure
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 30″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 30″ height. This is held pretty strictly, so I would make sure your kids reach this height at least.
Ride with an adult
These rides can be ridden by children 30″ or taller accompanied by an adult.
- Rockin’ TUG
- Jump Around Frog
- Magic Dragon
- Samba Balloon
Ride Alone
These rides can be ridden by children 30″ or taller alone.
- Dixie Car (only children, 48″ max height)
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 32″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 32″ height.
Ride with an adult
These rides can be ridden by children 32″ or taller accompanied by an adult.
- Flying Pirate Ship
Ride Alone
These rides can be ridden by children 30″ or taller alone.
- Red Baron (children only, no one over 53″)
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 36″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 36″ height.
Ride with an adult
These rides can be ridden by children 36″ or taller accompanied by an adult.
- Thriller Roller Coaster (their site dictates under 36″ requires an adult and over 36″ can ride alone, so minimum height might be closer to 30″)
- Drop & Twist
Ride Alone
These rides can be ridden by children 36″ or taller alone.
- T-Rex
- Jump Around Frog
- Magic Dragon
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 38″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 38″ height.
Ride with an adult
These rides can be ridden by children 38″ or taller accompanied by an adult.
- Tornado (ride alone at 48″)
Ride Alone
These rides can be ridden by children 38″ or taller alone.
- Flying Pirate Ship
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 42″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 42″ height.
Ride with an adult
These rides can be ridden by children 42″ or taller accompanied by an adult.
- Sidewinder
Ride Alone
These rides can be ridden by children 42″ or taller alone.
- Rockin’ TUG
- Grand Carousel
- Drop & Twist
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 46″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 46″ height.
Ride with an adult
- Tilt-A-Whirl (under 46″ with an adult, over 46″ can ride alone)
Land of Make Believe Rides with Height Requirement of 46″
These Land of Make Believe rides require a minimum 46″ height.
Ride Alone
- Tornado
- Sidewinder
- Scream Machine 360
Other attractions at The Land of Make Believe:
- Boardwalk Style Games with Prizes ($)
- World War II Plane cockpit kids can explore
- Maze in Santa’s Enchanted Village
- Old MacDonald’s Farm House with live animals
- Old fashioned hayride pulled by tractor
- The Black Hole (This ride is reserved for parents & children 8 years and older.)
Land of Make Believe Water Park
The true drive to taking your family to this NJ amusement park is that it has a killer water park for kids of all ages. While the rides are fun, they might not keep the attention to kids much older than 10-12. But the Land of Make Believe Water Park will please the whole family for hours.
The Land of Make Believe Water Park consists of a large wading pool with slides, a splash pad type playground, a lazy river and multiple (I counted 5) water slides.
The Pirate’s Cove Wading Pool goes from 1-18 inches deep and has multiple, soft slides of varying heights. There is also a large pirate ship kids can climb up and use any of the 6 sides to get back down, with water spraying all over.
There are also different water creatures for littles to climb on – from a squishy turtle that sprays water to a little whale and seal to floating crocodiles and snakes. Like the entirety of the water park, the wading pool is very well staffed and looked over by experienced life guards.
Next, there is a playground with water spraying and dumping everywhere, 3 levels high. A large bucket periodically dumps on waiting buccaneers and there’s even a spot of a photo opp where kiddos can sit next to Blackbeard himself.
NOTE before going to the Land of Make Believe Waterpark
The ground in this area is concrete and rough. If littles take a spill, they will undoubtedly scrap whatever hits. My oldest took a tumble while running and scraped both knees and a foot. Not enough to discourage revisiting, but something to remember.
Finally, if you find yourself looking for a little relaxation, grab a tube and go down the lazy river. With both double and single size tubes in varying sizes, the whole family can cruise on down together.
(We grabbed a double and the 2 year old sat on my lap and the 4 year old sat next to me and we were fine.)
The water is only 28″ deep so it’s pretty shallow, but you’d never know. As you drift down, expect to be sprayed occasionally, go through waterfalls and bumpy rapids, as well as waves. You can easily navigate to avoid all of these though.
Notes about the water park:
- There are no available life jackets and they are not allowed to be brought in. The water isn’t very deep and there are plenty of lifeguards, though.
- You MUST wear proper swim attire in the water park.
- There are no coolers or strollers allowed in the water park.
- The bridge to take you from the wading area to the lazy river entrance gets really hot in the sun, so you might want to bring an easy pair of flip flops or water shoes.
There are lockers that you can rent at the water park – they aren’t necessarily cheap. A large locker is $8 and a small is $5 with a $10 key deposit that will be refunded if the keys are returned by 5:30 pm.
There is also a men and woman’s changing room and restroom right at the entrance where the lockers are.
Food at the Land of Make Believe
There are plenty of food options for kids at the Land of Make Believe, all with decent quality and shockingly reasonable prices for an amusement park.
Most of the locations are what you would expect to see at a carnival. Hamburgers, hot dogs, fries, nuggets and snacks like candy corn, cotton candy, ice cream, and lemonade.
The pizza is in Santa’s Barn and air-conditioned!
Can you bring your own food?
You can also bring your own food – there are designated picnic areas (not shaded) away from the areas for customers buying food (most under shade).
We did a mix of both – we bought a burger and fries (the fries were great, burger was better than expected!) for a total of $6 and brought drinks and snacks to share. It’s a great way to chill out and relax before heading to the rides.
All in all, the Land of Make Believe is a great NJ amusement part for parents of littles – especially if you don’t want to spend an arm and a leg. Looking for something a little more low key (and free)? Check out Turkey Brook Park which has a splash pad for littles.
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