Where to Wednesday: A “Sweet” Hershey Park Guest Post

We’re thrilled to have a friend guest posting for today’s Where to Wednesday. Caren is always taking her kids on fun adventures and today she’s sharing awesome tips for Hershey Park. 

Sweet Tips for Hershey Park

By: Caren Villarreal

We just returned from our first family trip to Hershey Park and still have the giggles.  My children, Thomas (6) and Elena (5), have been lucky enough to experience several amusement parks – including Disney World – and I have to say that we had the most genuine fun at Hershey.  Maybe their ages and the pleasant weather had something to do with it, but it was also the clean, wholesome and manageable atmosphere of Hershey Park and the town of Hershey, PA that made for a great family vacation.  Here are few tips to keep in mind if you decide to give Hershey a whirl as well:

 Choose your dates of travel wisely to avoid crowds.  I followed the advice of other Moms and decided to plan our trip for two weekdays prior to the 4th of July.  We visited during the last week in June when many other families are still getting used to school being out and we found minimal lines for rise, accommodating restaurants, and light traffic.  I would imagine that crowds could be a concern during the busier months of July and August.  Fast Pass is pay-for option that may make sense during those times and can be purchased at the Park.  However, most restaurants in town do not take reservations between Memorial Day and Labor Day so some extra patience may be required at dinner time.

Staying on Hershey property has its perks.  There are many lodging options in Hershey, PA with an approximate average price range of $200 to $250 per night during the peak season.  We decided to stay at the Hershey Lodge, primarily because we thought it would have a Hershey-themed feel.  But although the chocolate scented hotel shampoo was delightful as were the free candy bars upon check-in, I must say that the main benefit of staying at the Lodge was being able to enter the Park at 6:30 p.m. for a “preview” just by showing our room key.  This allowed us to make the most of our travel day and to enjoy the town a bit while still getting to knock out some rides early-on and make a Wally World-style game plan for our “big day.”  Because we were guests of the Lodge we were also able to enter the park at 9 a.m. (an hour before it opened to everyone else) on the day that we used our regular admission tickets.  Note however, that Founder’s Way is the only section open during the 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. hour which is a great kiddie ride section located near the Park’s main entrance. We happened to ride most of the rides in Founder’s Way during our nighttime preview so did them again the next morning because those were all that were available. 

Wait until your kids are tall enough.  Hershey categorizes kids’ heights with candy names.  My daughter fell into the “Kisses,” category (minimum of 36 inches) and was tall enough to do almost every ride that she wanted to although some required that I join her. There’s not many rides for kids less than 36 inches so a trip to Hershey for them wouldn’t really make sense.  

That said, what’s really nice about Hershey is that they have miniatures of many standard big rides.  For example, my kids finally got to ride the swing Pirate Ship that they have been dying to do for many years and the runaway train style roller coaster. 

You can skip the water park and the zoo

Boardwalk, which is Hershey’s water park looked fun but is an entity onto itself and would almost require another day or half day in Hershey Park to fully enjoy.  Unless you are really gung-ho on water rides and don’t get a chance to do them anywhere else – and are tall enough for the cool ones – move on.  We got a birds-eye view of ZooAmerica from the Hershey Park monorail and were not impressed. Many of the woodland and other animals seemed to be inactive because of the heat. I feel like the Park would have done better with a petting zoo if they wanted to go that route. 

Parking

Several hotels have Park shuttles so that you may avoid the parking fee (average of $25 per day) and the l-o-n-g walk through the parking lot.  However, its $15 to park during “preview” nighttime hours and if you get your ticket validated upon paying you may reuse it the next day and park for free.   You may also park in Chocolate World (right next to the Park) for free up to the first three hours.

Allot a bit of time for attractions outside the Park  

Because we had time before our 6:30 p.m. Park preview, we made a visit to the Hershey Gardens which were stunning and also housed a fun butterfly conservatory.  In addition, we visited the Hershey Museum in the downtown area which was educational and gave my children perspective on their visit. There we participated in the Chocolate Lab which was overpriced but super fun. 

 The Lodge and the Hotel provide gratis tickets to the Museum and the Gardens.  Chocolate World, which contains the free “chocolate ride,” and pay-for attractions such as a really cool 4D movie is right next to Hershey Park and can easily be visited before or after your visit to the Park, especially if you have the Park “preview” option.  Allow 30 mins to 1 ½ hours for Chocolate World depending on how much you chose to do there.

Have a sweet time at Hershey Park!