My family adventure in Hershey, PA – Hershey park review

We were approaching the last two weeks of July and my husband I were struggling to come up with a family friendly mini-vacation.  We have two children ages 6 and 10 and wanted to find a location that was within driving distance and would keep them entertained for 2-3 days.  My husband had mentioned Hershey Park located in Hershey, Pennsylvania.  

He started talking about the great times he and his family had at Hershey Park when he was a child.  He spoke about fond memories of the park and the surrounding area.  There was much mentioned about Hershey’s Kisses and Reese’s Pieces.  Every time he would say the words his eyes would light up and he would seem to go off in some sort of trance.  Roller coasters, thrill rides, music and chocolate sound like any mans dream vacation.  After seeing how excited he got I figured this had to be a good idea for our family vacation. 

            I let him do all of the planning for the trip since that is his area of expertise.  He booked us a room for Sunday at the Hershey Lodge, which is the official resort of Hershey Park.

  We planned to arrive on Sunday afternoon and depart on Wednesday.  This we figured would give us enough time to explore the park and the surrounding attractions offered by Hershey. 

            On Sunday we left NYC around 1:15 pm and arrived at the front door of the lodge around 4:30 pm.  So if took us a little over 3 hours to get there, which was fantastic timing.  The google map instructions said the trip would take 3.5-4 hours from door to door.  Pulling up to the lodge we were impressed by its size.  You could tell by the large amount of cars in the parking lot that there were many quests staying there.  We parked the car in the convenient check-in spots and all went inside the main lobby.  The first thing you notice when entering is the large openness and classy décor of the lobby.  My eyes gravitated towards a massive fireplace that was in the center.  Of course it was not running with it being July and all.  To the left of the lobby was a special check-in area for children.  I took the kids over there while my husband got on the long check-in line. 

            If we had one complaint for the whole trip it would be the check-in procedure.  We must have arrived at the same time that every other guest was checking in.  My husband waited on the line for about 30 minutes.  He was getting a little impatient at this but this proved to be the only snag of the whole trip.  When he finally got up to the front desk his frown immediately turned to a smile when he was handed four Hershey’s chocolate bars and a large box of Hershey’s Almond Chocolate bars.  The later was a gift from Reilly Fies the lodges Public Relations Coordinator.  At check in the clerk told us that after 6:30pm we could go to the park for a special preview until closing.  Then we could return the next day and be admitted one-hour earlier than the general admission time.  She said that was a privilege of staying at the Hershey Lodge.  

            I got really excited at this news since we were all very eager to get on some rides and plan out our strategy for the next day.  We hurried to the car and drove around by the pool area to be closer to our room.  Our room was located on the 5^thfloor and overlooked two of the three pools found on the grounds of the lodge.  The room was very large and well appointed with well-made furniture. 

  There were two queen beds that were made up with chocolate colored comforters and pillow sets.  As a matter of fact there was a slight chocolate scent present in the room.  Even the soap and shampoo found in the bathroom had a pleasant chocolate aroma too them.  Being very happy with the accommodations we decided to change and get ready to head out to the park for our evening preview. 

            We were told that the lodge offered free shuttle service to and from the park, which was an added bonus.  That was the next line we had to wait on.  In front of the lodge there was a medium sized line-up for the shuttle bus.  It was hot and humid out but the lodge had huge cooling fans set up outside that provided a nice cool mist.  We eventually got on a bus and it took around 10 minutes for us to be dropped off in front of the park.  The line to get in was very short since we already had our tickets.  The attendant marked them for the evening preview and handed them back to us for the next day.  Upon entering the park I was immediately reminded of the family friendly atmosphere usually found in parks like Disney World.  In amusement parks such as “Six flags Great Adventure” with roller coasters and thrill rides that family friendly atmosphere is usually missing.  Not here in Hershey Park. There were nicely designed shops that reminded me of a little village.  There were also many trees and several ponds and lakes that really gave the park a “Park-Like” feel.  We ended up going on several rides that didn’t have any lines.  We also scoped out the park to plan our attack for the next day. 

            After a pleasant night sleep in our quiet and comfy room we woke up and decided to get breakfast from the CocoaBeanery a small café located in the lodge lobby.  I got us some breakfast croissants and drinks and took them back to the room. They were very light, fresh and delicious.  After washing up and getting dressed we went down to the lobby to get on the shuttle bus.  We arrived at the park around 9:15 am, which only gave us 45 minutes before general admission.  If we had to do it over again we would have arrived earlier.  Having this special early admission was a great timesaver.  We were able to get on the most popular and newest ride SkyRush.  Later on in the day the line for this ride would be huge so we were glad to get on it early only waiting 10 minutes in line.  Neither of my kids wanted to ride the Sky Rush so the attendant let my husband and I take turns without waiting on the line again. 

            After riding on Sky rush we spent the rest of the day bouncing from ride to ride with some lunch and dinner mixed in.  The park is big but it doesn’t feel too big.  It is broken up into sections such as “Minetown and The Hollow”.  This makes it easy to navigate your way around the park and to make sure you don’t miss any rides.  The park also does a great job with displaying the height requirements for each ride.  They use different types of Hershey Candy Bars or candy to represent the allowed heights.  For example our daughter measured up at a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  So whenever we went up to a ride we would simply look for the Reese’s logo.  If it was there she was allowed on that particular ride. 

            After spending several hours going on many rides and roller coasters we made our way over to the Boardwalk.  This area includes many rides as well as a large water park. Admission to the water park was included with the admission to Hershey Park.  This was a great bonus and surprise.  Other theme parks, I wont mention any names charge a separate fee for admission to their water park.  This was just further evidence that the people at Hershey Park are doing a great job at promoting a family friendly atmosphere.  After cooling off in the water park for a bit we then tried to get on the remaining roller coasters and to hit some rides for a 2^nd and 3^rdtime. 

            By this time it was getting dark and the park came to life with all of the colorful lights and sounds.  My husband took my daughter to ride many of the kiddy rides that were available while my son and I went on the rides that she was too small for.  It was a great plan.  Throughout the day I really enjoyed seeing the smiles on my kids faces.  At the end of the day they were both exhausted so much so my husband has to put our daughter on his shoulders as we were rushing to catch the shuttle bus. 

            The next day which was Tuesday we decided to take it easy and frankly we were all a little exhausted from all the rides and walking that were done at the park.  After breakfast and a swim in the pool we went to the Tanger Outlets that were about a mile or two away from the Lodge.  We spend about an hour there checking out some the stores. Around noon we headed over to Hershey’s Chocolate World. This is located right next to Hershey Park.  They offer free parking for 3 hours, which is more than enough time to spend there.  Chocolate world offers some free and paid attractions.  The main attraction for us was Hershey’s Great American Chocolate Tour Ride.  This is a ride that takes your through an animated world and shows you how chocolate becomes chocolate.

  The ride caps off at the end with a free mini-chocolate bar.  Needless to say we went on the ride twice.  After that the kids did one of the paid attractions which was Hershey’sKisses Packaging.  

They donned Hershey’s factory worker hats and went in and picked and packed their own kisses.  This part was free.  At the end they offer to sell you a custom Hershey container with a picture of your children on the front.  And yes it’s filled with Hershey Kisses.
They also offer an attraction that allows you to make your own custom chocolate bar. It is called HERSHEY’S CREATE YOUR OWN CANDY BAR ATTRACTION.  We would have done it for the kids but they make at least one adult pay.  At $14.95 per person we found that to be a little too much.  They should allow the adults to escort their kids without having to pay.  We then went over to the huge gift shop where you can buy everything and anything related to Hershey’s.  We got some gifts and my husband was happy to find sugar free Peppermint Patties. 

            After leaving chocolate world we then went over to Hershey Gardenslocated across the street from the park.  Admission to the gardens was included with our stay at the Lodge. Wow the perks just kept coming on this trip.  My husband is a huge gardener and fan of landscapes, flowers, trees and pretty much anything involving nature.  The kids and I were not as excited but we decided to tag along.  I am so glad we did.

The gardens had a butterfly house that was open when we visited.  If you have never been to a butterfly house I suggest you go.  It was amazing to be surrounded by all of these beautiful and colorful creatures.  They flew around our heads, landed on our shoulders, and sunned themselves on nearby flowers.  It was a truly beautiful experience.  After that we walked around the many different gardens, ponds and other features.  Their tremendous rose garden was in bloom and it was just breathtaking.  I am really glad that we took the time to visit the gardens. 

            By the time we were done with the gardens it was dinnertime.  We went out to a local restaurant and then headed back for an evening swim in the indoor pool.  The next day Wednesday was our last day.  We had one more set of complimentary tickets and they were for “The Hershey Story.”  This is a museum and shop located about 5 minutes away from Hershey Park on Chocolate Avenue.  This was a very nice museum, which told the story of Milton Hershey and how he built his chocolate empire from very humble beginnings.  The kids enjoyed it as well since there were some great interactive features and movies.  We had a very relaxing time there and it was a great way to end our time in Hershey. 

            All in all from our stay at Hershey Lodge to all of our experiences with Hershey Park and the other attractions I would highly recommend this as a great family friendly vacation destination.  The people over at Hershey Park Lodge are outstanding when it comes to customer satisfaction.  They proved to be very knowledgeable and considerate to fulfilling all our needs during our stay.   Hershey Park was not only exciting but also very relaxing and clean.  The staff and attendants at the park went out of their way to make us feel welcome.