A Hauntingly Merry Journey (10/17-11/8)-updated 11/28

[Wood Nymph]

Once we arrived back at the station we were invited back to the stage area where a couple of performers searched for an evil-doer who had been stalking them. They ended up performing an elaborate juggling act with glowing lights and balls and, of course capturing the evil-doer and unmasking him, ala Scooby Doo cartoons. It was a very fun and entertaining show.

I'm not a fan of scary haunted houses. But this train ride sounds like something I would love to do.

 

[mickey916]

That train ride sounds like fun! We would've loved it! The donkey looks so sweet.

The donkey was so sweet!

Joining in! DH and I would love to spend a couple months in FL when we retire...we are thinking Jan-April and then coming back to CT.

We would like to do that too eventually. Right now we can't be away that long due to aging parents that we don't want to be that far away from for so long.

This past year we went for a quick trip in January and it was so lovely and made all the difference in our moods to get out of the cold for just a bit.

I think it would help the long winter tremendously. Really hoping we can go even for a shortened trip.

haha! Those look pretty good!

They were so fresh and delicious!

I love that your boys still want to travel with you. That train museum looks really cool and something my DS would have loved. There is something special about those old steam trains that is so cool.

I love that they still want to travel with us too. Every time we go I'm so grateful to get in just one more trip with them. With DS-27's interest in steam engines we have had many trips to various railroads. They are awesome to see in action.

Too bad your dinner was disappointing!

Yup but at least the rest of the day was good and we had many more delicious meals to come.

I'm not a fan of scary haunted houses. But this train ride sounds like something I would love to do.

I'm not a fan of them either but this was just the right amount of scary, more funny than scary.

 

[mickey916]

10/19 Lunch at the Chocolatier Restaurant​

As I mentioned in my intro, when DS-29 decided to join us, his one priority was visiting Hershey Park. When the kids were school-age, we visited Hershey park almost every summer and have great memories of our trips. My sons and I are huge coaster fans and the coasters at Hershey Park do not disappoint.

The park was scheduled to open at noon. In order to maximize our park time, I suggested we eat our main meal of the day at 11:00 and then head to the park. DS-27 really wanted to give the Chocolatier another try. As a background, we had dined there a couple years ago and had a weird mix up that affected our overall opinion. We had ordered the signature ferris wheel sampler of appetizers and they didn’t bring it to our table. When our meals arrived we pointed out we never got the appetizers. They offered to bring it out after our meals but we decided not to do that. Then, the people next to us, who had a ferris wheel of appetizers on their table, pointed out to their server when their bill came that they never ordered it and didn’t eat any of it so they wanted it off their bill. We’re pretty sure that was our ferris wheel. Why they didn’t say anything back when it was brought to their table, is beyond me.

Anyhow, I made an 11:00 reservation with hopes of successfully ordering the ferris wheel appetizer sampler again. We arrived right at 11:00 but the stairs to the restaurant were cordoned off. We found an elevator up to the restaurant and were greeted by the hostesses. I mentioned the stairs were blocked off, which came as a surprise to them. Turns out they forgot to open the stairs when the restaurant opened.

We were promptly seated at a regular table but there were many interesting ride themed tables available.




We ordered the ferris wheel sampler as our appetizer and this time it actually arrived at our table! The menu of items recently received an update so it included different appetizers than the ill-fated one we ordered before. This one came with Cuban Eggrolls, Chicken Tenders, Mozzarella Moons, Root Beer Glazed Bacon Bites, Fried Pickle Dip & Chips.



Here’s a top down view of the wheel of yumminess:



You can see the mozzarella moons on top and here’s DH doing a cheesepull for the camera.



The moons were quite large, very hot with a nice crunchy coating and lots of cheese inside. We all thought they were very good.
Next we each tried a half of the Cuban eggrolls.



These had a nice crunchy exterior with diced corned beef and pickles inside and a mustard sauce. We all also enjoyed these.

While we received four of most of the appetizers, we actually got 6 of the root beer glazed bacon bites. These were more like pork belly than bacon.



DS-29 and I enjoyed these but DS-27 and DH didn’t like the fatty texture. Next we each tried a chicken tender.



These were very good as well. The seasoned coating was crispy and the chicken inside was an actual chicken tenderloin, not processed chicken.

I didn’t think to get a separate picture of the fried pickle dip with chips but you can see the chips in the bottom of the first photo and the dip just above them to the right. It was basically a dill ranch dip with housemade kettle chips. DS-29 and I really enjoyed this dip as well. DH and DS-27 aren’t big fans of dill so DS-29 and I got most of the dip.

Overall this was not just a unique, fun display but the appetizers were very good. It was nice that there were at least four of each item so that we all got a taste. We were so happy to finally be able to try the ferris wheel sampler.

For our entrees, DH and I decided to share a Reese’s Take 5 Sandwich: Reese's Peanut Butter & Jalapeno Caramel Grilled Chicken, Hershey's Chocolate Drizzled House Bacon, Leaf Lettuce, On A Pretzel Roll



We both enjoyed this sandwich and it was large enough to share. The chicken was moist and we could taste a hint of the chocolate and peanut butter. Personally we would’ve liked more of both flavors but it was a good chicken sandwich.

Our sons both ordered the Chocolatetown Burger: Thick Cut House Bacon, Smoked Cheddar, Hershey's Chocolate Drizzled Potato Chips



They both really enjoyed their burgers. They thought the chocolate covered potato chips came on the side but they were actually on the burger. They both appreciated the very thick slab of bacon on their burger.

Overall we really enjoyed our meal. Our server, Savannah, was excellent. She was so attentive and friendly. In fact we all agreed she was one of the best servers we’ve ever had in a restaurant. This time was a much more positive experience and we’re very glad we went again. We gave the Chocolatier a B.

We finished our meal just in time to enter the park as it opened at noon.

Up next…coasters, coasters, and more coasters….

 

[LBURBERRY]

Following!! And I remember the paper fast passes too!! Seems like yesterday but a lifetime ago haha. Have a great trip.

 

[mickey916]

Following!! And I remember the paper fast passes too!! Seems like yesterday but a lifetime ago haha. Have a great trip.

Welcome!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

10/19 Lunch at the Chocolatier Restaurant​

As I mentioned in my intro, when DS-29 decided to join us, his one priority was visiting Hershey Park. When the kids were school-age, we visited Hershey park almost every summer and have great memories of our trips. My sons and I are huge coaster fans and the coasters at Hershey Park do not disappoint.

The park was scheduled to open at noon. In order to maximize our park time, I suggested we eat our main meal of the day at 11:00 and then head to the park. DS-27 really wanted to give the Chocolatier another try. As a background, we had dined there a couple years ago and had a weird mix up that affected our overall opinion. We had ordered the signature ferris wheel sampler of appetizers and they didn’t bring it to our table. When our meals arrived we pointed out we never got the appetizers. They offered to bring it out after our meals but we decided not to do that. Then, the people next to us, who had a ferris wheel of appetizers on their table, pointed out to their server when their bill came that they never ordered it and didn’t eat any of it so they wanted it off their bill. We’re pretty sure that was our ferris wheel. Why they didn’t say anything back when it was brought to their table, is beyond me.

Anyhow, I made an 11:00 reservation with hopes of successfully ordering the ferris wheel appetizer sampler again. We arrived right at 11:00 but the stairs to the restaurant were cordoned off. We found an elevator up to the restaurant and were greeted by the hostesses. I mentioned the stairs were blocked off, which came as a surprise to them. Turns out they forgot to open the stairs when the restaurant opened.

We were promptly seated at a regular table but there were many interesting ride themed tables available.

View attachment 1027110
View attachment 1027111

We ordered the ferris wheel sampler as our appetizer and this time it actually arrived at our table! The menu of items recently received an update so it included different appetizers than the ill-fated one we ordered before. This one came with Cuban Eggrolls, Chicken Tenders, Mozzarella Moons, Root Beer Glazed Bacon Bites, Fried Pickle Dip & Chips.

View attachment 1027112

Here’s a top down view of the wheel of yumminess:

View attachment 1027113

You can see the mozzarella moons on top and here’s DH doing a cheesepull for the camera.

View attachment 1027115

The moons were quite large, very hot with a nice crunchy coating and lots of cheese inside. We all thought they were very good.
Next we each tried a half of the Cuban eggrolls.

View attachment 1027114

These had a nice crunchy exterior with diced corned beef and pickles inside and a mustard sauce. We all also enjoyed these.

While we received four of most of the appetizers, we actually got 6 of the root beer glazed bacon bites. These were more like pork belly than bacon.

View attachment 1027116

DS-29 and I enjoyed these but DS-27 and DH didn’t like the fatty texture. Next we each tried a chicken tender.

View attachment 1027117

These were very good as well. The seasoned coating was crispy and the chicken inside was an actual chicken tenderloin, not processed chicken.

I didn’t think to get a separate picture of the fried pickle dip with chips but you can see the chips in the bottom of the first photo and the dip just above them to the right. It was basically a dill ranch dip with housemade kettle chips. DS-29 and I really enjoyed this dip as well. DH and DS-27 aren’t big fans of dill so DS-29 and I got most of the dip.

Overall this was not just a unique, fun display but the appetizers were very good. It was nice that there were at least four of each item so that we all got a taste. We were so happy to finally be able to try the ferris wheel sampler.

For our entrees, DH and I decided to share a Reese’s Take 5 Sandwich: Reese's Peanut Butter & Jalapeno Caramel Grilled Chicken, Hershey's Chocolate Drizzled House Bacon, Leaf Lettuce, On A Pretzel Roll

View attachment 1027118

We both enjoyed this sandwich and it was large enough to share. The chicken was moist and we could taste a hint of the chocolate and peanut butter. Personally we would’ve liked more of both flavors but it was a good chicken sandwich.

Our sons both ordered the Chocolatetown Burger: Thick Cut House Bacon, Smoked Cheddar, Hershey's Chocolate Drizzled Potato Chips

View attachment 1027119

They both really enjoyed their burgers. They thought the chocolate covered potato chips came on the side but they were actually on the burger. They both appreciated the very thick slab of bacon on their burger.

Overall we really enjoyed our meal. Our server, Savannah, was excellent. She was so attentive and friendly. In fact we all agreed she was one of the best servers we’ve ever had in a restaurant. This time was a much more positive experience and we’re very glad we went again. We gave the Chocolatier a B.

We finished our meal just in time to enter the park as it opened at noon.

Up next…coasters, coasters, and more coasters….

What a cute set up in that restaurant! The Ferris wheel is so unique love it!
Sounds like everything was really good I was surprised the see a B grade.
So does Hershey park do special things for Halloween too? I didn’t know it was still open.

 

[Mikey15]

Following along for the journey!

Our own driving route takes us by some of these places, so I’m curious to see your interesting stops!

 

[mickey916]

What a cute set up in that restaurant! The Ferris wheel is so unique love it!
Sounds like everything was really good I was surprised the see a B grade.
So does Hershey park do special things for Halloween too? I didn’t know it was still open.

It was really good but in the end it was a little above average food so we gave it a B. We had to leave room for our anticipated A level restaurants in Disney! Yes Hershey Park has Hershey Halloween Dark Nights with scare actors, haunted houses, cool decor and trick or treating for kids. I will show some of it in my next update! It is only open on weekends in October.

Following along for the journey!

Our own driving route takes us by some of these places, so I’m curious to see your interesting stops!

Welcome! It was a much improved driving route for us.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Overall this was not just a unique, fun display but the appetizers were very good. It was nice that there were at least four of each item so that we all got a taste. We were so happy to finally be able to try the ferris wheel sampler.

The restaurant looks really cute, and the sampler looks delicious. But I agree with your sons about the fatty pork.

It's hard to understand why that table didn't tell the server that they didn't order the sampler when you were there years ago.

 

[mickey916]

The restaurant looks really cute, and the sampler looks delicious. But I agree with your sons about the fatty pork.

It was really cute!

It's hard to understand why that table didn't tell the server that they didn't order the sampler when you were there years ago.

I still don't get it. I've had servers bring the wrong food to my table many times and all I say is "oops! that's not ours." That's all they needed to do, very weird.

 

[mickey916]

10/19 continued...Warning: Lots of Coaster Talk!​

When we were planning this trip I was concerned that the park would be crowded since it was only open for the weekend and had a Halloween overlay. I told my sons that if they wanted to be certain to ride the coasters without long lines, they would have to buy Fast Track passes. I was actually able to buy our park tickets on sale for $50 each and the Unlimited Fast Track passes for an additional $105 a piece, which actually seemed like a really good deal, compared to Disney and Universal. (We bought the Fast Track passes for just the boys and me since DH doesn’t ride coasters.)

We entered the park as soon as it opened and were greeted by the candy characters in their Halloween costumes.



We headed directly to the Candymonium coaster, one of the newer coasters. It is the tallest, fastest, longest coaster in the park, reaching 76 mph. It is super smooth and very fun.



We headed next to Skyrush but it broke down with riders stuck on the first hill. So, we headed to the Great Bear coaster which is a steel inverted loop coaster (where you hang beneath the track). DS-29 and I absolutely love this coaster and always ride it several times. It also makes a cool roar as you ride through the loops.

We headed back to Skyrush to discover it was up and running again. This is a winged seat coaster with riders seated four across. It has 5 zero-G airtime hills. We rode Skyrush a few years ago when it first opened and it had a strange lap restraint that really hurt our thighs. It actually earned the nickname “Thigh Crush”. Fortunately the restraints got redesigned in 2024 and we were eager to ride it. It was a much improved ride with the new restraints!

Our sons then rode the Sooperdooperlooper. This coaster was the first loop coaster on the East Coast. It is a family-friendly ride and was our boys’ first loop coaster many years ago. I decided to sit this one out to keep DH company while they rode since this one hurts my neck.

From there we headed to Fahrenheit. This coaster has a really steep 121 foot first lift followed by a more than vertical 97 degree drop. It’s a fun coaster but doesn’t make any of our top three. It’s probably our #4 favorite.

Next we headed to try out the newly really designed Wildcat coaster, Wildcat’s Revenge. This was originally a wooden coaster that we tended to skip because it banged us around. The wooden coaster was rebuilt with steel tracks and reopened in 2023. It boasts the “world’s largest underflip”. As we boarded the coaster, the ride operators were super stringent about people removing all items from pockets. We even saw a few people get kicked off who had cell phones in their pockets. The ride operators had eagle eyes! The new version was way smoother than the wooden version. We all really liked it! Here’s a cool picture of it later at night.



Our boys then rode the wooden coaster, Lightning Racer. This is a dual track coaster where the red, “Lightning” side and green “Thunder” side race each other. They only had the Thunder side running so it wasn’t quite as fun. This ride is showing its age and probably is due for a refurb.

One of the things we noticed about visiting Hershey in the fall is that they seem to have prioritized staffing the headliners. Most of the kiddie rides were closed as were the tamer rides such as the ferris wheel and monorail. This left almost nothing that DH could ride. After the Lightning Racer though the four of us did take a ride on the steam train.

We got in line for the Storm Runner next. Even with the Fast Track pass, the line took 40 minutes, as they were only running one side of that coaster as well. The Storm Runner is a launch coaster that goes from 0 to 72 mph in 2 seconds as it launches you up the first steep hill. My sons love this coaster but I feel like it bangs my head around a bit.

Speaking of coasters that bang your head, my sons rode the Jolly Rancher Remix coaster next. This coaster used to be the Sidewinder and was rethemed a few years ago. It is a forward and backward loop coaster with a music track and a tunnel that smells like Jolly Ranchers. My sons said it had a Halloween overlay with Halloween music and a wolf howl at the top of each hill. I skipped it and both of my sons complained afterwards that it hurt their heads so I was glad I did.

We rode the only other remaining wooden coaster, the Comet next. It is the oldest coaster in the park and was our sons’ first coaster they rode as kids. You do get some air time on their “bunny hills”. We ride it mostly for nostalgia.

Having experienced the majority of the coasters it was time for something to eat. Like the Halloween party at Magic Kingdom there were all kinds of food booths with Halloween-themed treats. My original plan was to try a few snacks as our dinner. We really weren’t that hungry though and everyone was craving one of Hershey’s specialty shakes from Simply Chocolate, so loaded shakes served as our dinner!



DS-27 and I got the Chocolate Peanut Butter King Size Shake: A chocolate peanut butter milkshake with peanut butter candy pretzels and a peanut butter blondie



We both really enjoyed this shake. The shake itself was creamy and full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor. The peanut butter blondie had a great flavor and texture, a little chewy but soft. Even the chocolate dipped pretzels were tasty! It was also very cute with the peanut butter cup spider!

DH and DS-29 ordered the Chocolate Overload King Size shake: Chocolate shake with chocolate drizzle, chocolate chip rim and pretzels topped with a fudge-stuffed brownie



DH says, “If you’re a chocolate enthusiast you can’t get any more chocolate than this. It is as chocolatey and rich as it gets. This is not a casual chocolate snack. If you have this you are at maximum sugar capacity for hours.” He and DS-29 loved it but both felt a little queasy afterward. The chocolate brownie with fudge filling was like a lava cake and the chocolate shake was creamy and rich.

Believe it or not, even though our bellies were filled with milkshakes, we continued on our coaster-riding quest by heading to the Lafftrak ride that had a special Shaq-a-lious overlay for Halloween. Despite having a Fast Track pass, this was another line that took a really long time. We’re not really sure what was going on but there was an elevator that let off in the ride loading area which had people constantly arriving with some sort of booklet they needed stamped and they all were able to get right on the ride. The rest of us just stood in line as the elevator kept bringing up people. Our only guess is that it was some version of VIP or disability access.

This ride is a wild mouse type indoor coaster but the individual cars spin, very reminiscent of Primeval Whirl. The usual version of the ride plays a laughing soundtrack. This special overlay had big colorful Shaq heads and an incessant recording of Shaq saying “Welcome to Laff Trak, bwahaahaahaahaa.” After 45 minutes in line, it was pretty old by the time we rode! When you go up the first hill, you actually go through Shaq’s mouth. The ride itself is very fun.

At this point we had ridden every coaster with the exception of the kiddie coaster, the Cocoa Cruiser. The Halloween Dark Nights had started so there were scare actors walking around and really cool lighting and displays.



DH was very happy because there was an area with flames shooting off and it kept him warm while we were re-riding Wildcats Revenge.



There were also haunted houses but we didn’t go through any of them since we were more interested in rides.

DS-29 and I took one more ride on the Great Bear before the coasters closed at 9:00 pm and then we made our way out of the park. Chocolate World looked really cool all lit up.





Our sons and I once again really enjoyed our day at Hershey park. The coasters are all so fun. This is such a beautiful park that is clean and easy to get around. DH enjoyed seeing all the overlays but there wasn’t really much for him to ride. I do think however Hershey Park is better to visit in the summer when all the rides are open, instead of just the headliners.

I asked my sons to rank their top three coasters. Here’s our rankings:

DS-29’s favorites: 1. Great Bear, 2. Stormrunner, 3. Wildcat’s Revenge
Nate’s favorites: 1. Candymonium, 2. Wildcat’s Revenge, 3. Storm Runner
My favorites: 1. Great Bear, 2.Wildcat’s Revenge, 3. Candymonium

DH didn't want to be left out so he gave me his favorite places for holding stuff while we ride: Fahrenheit, Candymonium, and Stormrunner, haha!

Up next…exploring Hershey and Lititz before returning to a favorite dinner spot.