Going to Hershey Park, PA any suggestions or tips?

[danwiora]

I will be traveling in two weeks to Hershey Park i was wondering if anyone who has been there before has any tips or suggestions thanks.

[yjgirl32]

Give yourself two days. With crowds and the addition of some water rides it will allow you to relax and not be upset with the crowds. Must do Chocolate World- it's free and you get free samples at the end of the ride. The zoo is small but a nice leisurely walk. Have a great time!

[walstib]

If you just have one day, treat it like WDW and create a plan of which popular rides you want to hit first. I never wait extra for specific rows on a coaster, but sitting in the first row of Great Bear is definately worth it ! The Reese's Challenge is very similar to Buzz and is a lot of fun. I agree with checking out the zoo also, it creates a nice little calm break in the day.

Have fun !

[5togetherWDW]

I don't know about the original poster, but I also plan to go to Hershey for the first time in many years, and, due to our schedule, I can only spend one day there. I would love to hear tips from those who have been more recently -- how early do you need to arrive for shows?, are any can't miss?, are there any ways to avoid the steep hills? -- that sort of thing. There is such a wealth of information on WDW, here -- having that kind of inside Hershey tips would surely make planning a one day trip easier. (I have read up on the Hershey website what I can, but we all know that official site don't alway have the best tips.)

[gerald72]

Hi,
I live in Hershey and work at the chocolate factory. I lived here my whole life.
Any specific advise you need?
The other answers seem like good ones. There is Hersheypark, Chocolate World and ZooAmerica. You can probably knock out all three in a good day.
Maybe you want to check out the trolley tour of the town or the Rose Gardens near Hotel Hershey. There is also a brand new Hershey Museum on Chocolate Avenue.
When are you going? It's raining right now. Where are you staying?
Enjoy your time in Hershey.

[Lorraine444]

Hi,

Hershey is a very non stressful park. It's a good size, but not like the one's in Disney. We just went last month & had a great time. It was for my brothers company employees. The pretzels are really yummy! Make sure you take the train ride around the park, it's relaxing. The coasters are huge, too huge for me but my son & brother loved them! The 3d show is a good one too. If you're staying over night, I stayed @ the Best Western very close by. I've also stayed a few years back @ High Meadow campground, we rented a log cabin. Loved it although it was too much like camping & alot of work. For 2 nights (the minimun stay) it would be nice. Not expensive either. Lots of outlet shops, stay away if you don't want to spend the $$. I'm going to try & send you my pictures I have them on Kodak.

[Lorraine444]

Oh, I guess you can't post attachments.

[imaprincess!]

We live about 1-1/2 hours from Hershey and go quite often. Do the water rides early enough that you have time to dry off! We have done the river rapids, etc. later in the evening and we were freezing once the sun went down!

[mouseketeer mom]

Hershey Gardens is a nice escape from the park if you're looking for a break. Its right by the Hotel Hershey and has a butterfly house that has 100's of different kinds of butterflys. Chocolate world is a must do, and the park is much easier to "do" than Disney. 2 days ought to do it. When we went, we stayed at the Hershey Lodge in the York Peppermint Patty bldg. They were holding a big meeting about new candy coming out, not even in the stores yet, and they gave a bunch of it to my kids to try. That was so exciting to them. It was neat to see it in the stores a few months later!

[rookie]

How do you deal with the waterpark stuff - take a change of clothes with your swimsuit or what?

[OleDoleDoffin]

How do you deal with the waterpark stuff - take a change of clothes with your swimsuit or what?

What we have done (we have family in the area) is that the boys wear their swim trunks as shorts with a T-shirt, and I as the only female have a tankini with shorts on the bottom and just slip a T-shirt on over the top. A woman with a regular swimsuit could just add a pair of shorts. Then we just slip off our outside clothes and stick them in a locker.

Be warned that you have to have shoes on, even if they're just flip flops, to ride the nearby non-waterpark rides. My eldest son hates flip flops and had to open up the locker to get his sneakers out to ride the whitewater ride - and of course you have to feed more coins into the lockers every time you open them.....

[jax86]

don't know if it's still there, but we loved tidal force!!!

[cherbie66]

I LOVE Hershey Park! I usually go once a year. The Really Big 3D show inside Chocolate World costs a few bucks and is really cute! We do it every time. We usually do Chocolate World first then go into the park because by the time we are done the park we are too tired to stick around for anything else.

Last year a friend and I made a (long) weekend of it and visited the park one day then the Chocolate Spa and Hershey Gardens one day (the butterfly house is awesome and a must do). The chocolate spa is super nice! We got massages and pedicures and it was a great experience! We also went to Indian Echo Caverns which is near by and kind of neat. We traveled a bit and saw some drive in movies also because there are none close to us. It was a GREAT weekend and not overly expensive either.

[Sportster]

My wife and I have season passes for Hershey. Tidal Force is still there. Canyon River Rapids is no longer there. They removed this ride to make room for the Boardwalk - The Seaquel (wave pool and lazy river ride). Like most parks, folks tend to gravitate towards the rides in the front of the park, including the Comet coaster. They also flock to Farenheit, since it is new-er. Sotrm Runner is my favorite and does not get a line until well after opening. There are some great rides towards the back of the park in the Midway America area. Lightning Racer and Wildcat - 2 great wooden coasters. On hot days, the Boardwalk tends to get very busy from noon thru the rest of the day. They have ample changing areas if you wish to bring a change of clothes. Swimwear (modest) is generally allowed on most rides - shoes are a must. Very clean park with friendly workers. They have alot of entertainement as well. Chocolate World is cute, especially for little one's. Plus you get a small sample after the ride.