Hershey Park is Sweet, But it is Important to Read This Before You Go...
Written: Aug 05 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Clean, friendly people, lots of nice rides, great pinball machines!
Cons: Expensive food and drinks.
The Bottom Line: How sweet it is!
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| shoehorny's Full Review: Hershey Park |
Review of Hershey Park (August 5, 2002)
My family and I just got back from vacationing at Hershey Park located in Hershey, PA. I read some of the other 61 Epinions reviews before mine and I figured I would give my two-cents worth (about all the money I had left after this trip!)
I’ve always dreamed of visiting Hershey Park. When some of our friend’s suggested we vacation together this summer at Hershey Park I thought this was a wonderful idea! They left making the accommodations up to me. I checked around on the internet for some information – paying a visit to the Hershey Park web site provided some very useful information concerning rates, hours of operation, attractions, and various options. Next, I checked with AAA to see if they had any specials going. AAA set us up with hotel accommodations at the near-by Howard Johnson’s in Harrisburg, PA. According to AAA, this hotel was right down the road. When we got there, we found it was actually about a 20-minute drive. Also, AAA signed us up for a package deal where we could stay at the hotel for $159 per night, which includes the hotel room with twin double beds, two adult tickets to Hershey Park, a sample box of Hershey chocolates, and breakfast. After doing some snooping around, we were able to get a room with a king sized bed at the same hotel for only $72. The admission to the park for a two-day pass cost $50 at the park, and the continental breakfast at the hotel was still free to all guests.
We got to the hotel on Thursday evening at about 8:30PM. We initially had planned to drive to the park to get there 2 hours before it closes to get a free preview of the park. However, it was late and we were all hungry, so we just went out for a bite to eat.
The next day, our friends in the room next door joined us and we went to the park together. It was a rather quick drive to the park, and getting through the parking lot was a breeze. I hate it when amusement parks charge patrons for parking! This sucks! It cost us $6 for each car ($8 for a camper). I would much rather pay a higher admission price to the park than pay for parking! We parked our cars in the over-sized lot, and choose to walk to the park (vs. taking the tram in) since we had strollers stuffed with baby supplies and babies. It was only a short walk, but the sun was pounding down on us, and the day promised to be a scorcher.
We zipped right through admissions, despite having been searched by the park’s security guards for weapons, alcohol, and illegal stuff. We choose to purchase a two-day pass for about $50 each. There are several coupons available via AAA, and other discounters that you can use to reduce the price of a daily ticket, but if you’re planning on staying for two days, the two-day pass is your best bet.
As we entered the park, we were greeted by some of Hershey’s product characters. The entrance to the park is nicely decorated with flowers, and cozy little shops selling gifts and trinkets all garnered with Hershey emblems. Off a bit in the distance, one of the shops was continuously playing the Pennsylvania Polka.
One of the first rides we came upon was the horse carousel. It was both big and beautiful and the music was dazzling! The kids all wanted to go on rides, so we went about finding appropriate rides for the kiddies. There are many rides available for kids of various ages. Each ride has a sign in front indicating the appropriate kid’s size ranging from a Hershey Kiss for small tots to Jolly Ranchers for the bigger kids. Lucky for us, the small kid’s rides all had relatively short lines where some of the roller coasters had extremely long lines ranging well past an hour wait!
The morning to early afternoon sun drained all of us. We heard rumors of there being lots of water rides in the park. There were several water rides, but no water park. At one point, we were walking along the sidewalk in the park. A small marching band was parading through the park on the left side, so we went right. I was keeping my eyes on the band, not paying attention to what was going on to the right of me when WHOOMP! A wall of water plastered me! There was a splash zone on the sidewalk caused by a log flume on the right side of the sidewalk. It certainly cooled me off! (You might want to bring a change of clothes to the park).
We ate lunch at a pizza place just outside of the splash zone. The pizza was good, but expensive: Approx. $20 for a pie, $2.50 for a soft drink, and $3 for a bottle of water! Our friends also ordered some salads, but the lettuce and vegetables were brown or wilting. One of the best treats in the park was the ice cream served at the ice cream stand located in the Mine Town arcade attraction. Coconut Almond ice cream with sprinkles – loaded with chunks of Hershey chocolate – yum, yum!
Speaking of this arcade (one of several within the park), they have some real classic pinball machines such as Comet, Cyclone and the super, oversized Hercules pinball machine all setup for $0.25 play! What a treat!
Some of the rides at the park included several roller coasters (we went on the wooden Comet – what a blast!). There was a roller coaster ride called “Super-Soaker” that allowed people below to shoot huge water guns up at riders of the roller coaster. It also allowed riders to dump several gallons of water on people below. There were water log flumes, slides, and other splash down rides within the park. Another cool attraction was the Hershey’s Kissing tower – a huge rotating elevator takes you up this tower to give you a bird’s eye view of the park and the neighboring chocolate factory. There were also train rides, a gondola, and a monorail ride. There were several Ferris wheels, and many kiddy rides.
Adjacent to the amusement park is the Hershey zoo. It is a free visit with the price of admission to the park. Within the zoo was this cute little maze where you had to find the answer to several animal related questions, than escape the maze. My wife and I had a race to see who could complete the maze in the least amount of time…. There were also various animal exhibits showing nocturnal animals, tigers, birds, etc. The zoo was neat and clean and shady – we enjoyed it.
Also adjacent to the amusement park is Hershey’s Chocolate World – a tourist attraction that allows visitors to learn how Hershey’s chocolate bars are made. This is a great attraction to visit to escape the hot sun and it is a must see! Visitors get to ride in a car that takes you through each stage of the chocolate making process. At the end of the tour, each visitor is given a free sample chocolate bar (aside from the chocolate in the ice cream I ate, this was the only chocolate I ate during my entire vacation).
Last, but not least, was the Hershey’s museum, also adjacent to the amusement park. This park cost an additional $6 (only $5 with a coupon) and was well worth the visit. My favorite piece in the museum is the Apostle clock that displays a moving scene twenty minutes before each hour. There is also a chocolate making demonstration, a kiddy playroom, and many artifacts concerning the chocolate factory, American Indians, and the Pennsylvania Dutch people.
We did not get a chance to tour the Hershey gardens this time around, but I heard it has a beautiful display of flowers. The weather outside was simply too hot to endure another day in the sun. The park is open year round and I heard they have a nice Christmas display in December.
There seems to be an abundance of motels, restaurants, and other vacation areas nearby Hershey Park. It seems that the closer you are to the park, the more expensive everything is. There is also an outlet mall nearby, but the last thing I wanted to do while on vacation is shop.
Getting to the park from NJ via the PA Turnpike was a breeze! Once on the turnpike, we moved along at over 70 mph (I hope the PA patrol is not reading!) The ride was scenic, and quick. Signs for turn-offs were well posted. There are also many other attractions nearby (such as the PA Dutch Country area).
I’ve been to dozens of amusement parks before. In comparison, Hershey rates as good in quality. The people who work there are very friendly and helpful. The park was clean and well maintained. It was logically laid out with just about the right mixture of attractions, food courts, shops, and displays. I believe the park could use some more shady areas for those people (like me) who are not sun worshipers. A couple of times they closed down some rides due to storm warnings in the area. During one of these times, I was next on line to ride a roller coaster that I waited in line for over half an hour. I appreciate the park’s concern for my safety, but I would have appreciated some advanced notice that they were considering closing the ride.
I would recommend Hershey Park for a one-day visit. I would not want to spend a week at the park, like I would want to for Disney World, FL or Lake George, NY. We did have fun and we enjoyed our two-day stay, but the heat was a bit much in the hot summer time. I would recommend that Hershey include a water park (with a tidal pool, a lazy river, and other swimming attractions) in their next expansion. Also, why not have those product characters hand out samples of chocolate at the door? Thanks for reading my review and have a nice summer!
Recommended:
Yes
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shoehorny
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