Any tips for Hershey Park?

[Snowysmom]

We are going to Hershey Park soon. It is our first trip and I was wondering if any one has any tips to share, such as where to go first, places to eat in the park, how is the Chocolate World attraction, etc. We have 2 teenagers who are looking forward to the coasters. Since I am pooh sized and not a daredevil, I prefer the quieter and easier to get into rides. I am used to going to Disney where we can hit the ground running because we know the lay of the land. Thanks.

 

[merrily]

We went to Hershey park for the first time a few weeks ago. We did the preview plan where you buy your ticket for the next day and you can go into the park the night before at 7:30pm (when park closes at 10 or 11) at no additional cost. This worked out great for us. It gave us a feel for the lay of the land. I found this park a little confusing to navigate so this was very helpful. We did the preview on a Sunday night and the crowds were non existant! We rode all the rollercoasters and a few of the other rides from 7:30-10 with little or no waiting. The newest coaster is Stormrunner. We waited about 10 min. at night. The next day the wait for that ride was 2+ HOURS! So if you like thrill rides, I would head to that ride first thing in the morning! The other nice thing about the preview plan is that since you will have already purchased your tickets you won't have to wait in line in the morning which definately speeds things up. No matter what you decide to do, you should have a great time!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

We went yesterday and had a great time! We went for only one day, and it was a very full day, especially with our 2 hour drive each direction. We had discount coupons from our village foundation, though, and admission was only $21/person. We've also done the preview plan in the past, which was good if you would otherwise buy your tickets at the gate.

Yes, have your teens go to Storm Runner either first thing in the morning or later at night. For us, at 9:30 last night the wait was still pretty long, probably 35-40 minutes. We'd gone earlier in the day and waited 45 minutes. We'd tried to go first thing in the morning, but the ride went down so we had to go later after the crowds were higher.

Lightening Racers is a very good wooden coaster--smooth and fun. I couldn't get my 10yo to ride it, but my 13 and 16yo's loved it. My 4yo was able to ride Superdooperlooper, his first loop coaster. My 10yo did that since he didn't want to be shown up by his little brother, and he loved it!

The food selection is very good, better than many amusement parks. The prices are horrible, though. I don't see how people can complain about WDW and Universal with the prices that Hershey has. Eat a good breakfast first and consider eating one meal offsite, assuming you have time in your schedule and can tear yourself away for a couple of hours. We did splurge a bit more than normal since it was my DH's birthday and he doesn't like to miss a meal.

We went to Chocolate world last summer on a weekend afternoon and the line was bad, but that was probably as bad as the crowds get.

How long will you be in Hershey?

T&B

 

[kimwim8]

DH and I were at Hershey Park a few weeks ago. We went on a Sunday, and it didn't seem very crowded. We did Stormrunner right away in the am, and it was GREAT. Definitely worth any wait. We did all of the coasters within 2 hours of getting there. No long lines at all.

There is a section of the park where it is ok to wear swimsuits, and outside those sections you have to have shorts or a tshirt overtop of your swimsuit. I just wore a one piece bathing suit with shorts throughout the park.

Chocolate World was ok. There is one ride that was free, but most of the other stuff in there were for an additional fee. It's a good place to get out of the heat. Or a good place for you to wander around while the teenagers hit the thrill rides.

Have fun! And try not to compare it to Disney! In my opinion, there is NO comparison!!

 

[Snowysmom]

Thanks for your help. We are only going to be in Hershey Park for the weekend and I do know that Saturday will be horrible but hopefully Sunday will be better. We only have those 2 days. With my older DS's schedule, we have to go over a weekend. We may visit Chocolate World on Friday since we won't be getting in until late afternoon. We have purchased discount tickets from AAA so we won't have to wait in the ticket lines. They definately want to do Storm Runner so I will steer them towards that early or maybe it would be better to wait until Sunday evening. It is so confusing to go to a new park and figure out "how it works!"

 

[Tigger&Belle]

You'll have Saturday to get your bearings and will be an expert by Sunday. I wouldn't wait until late Sunday to ride Storm Runner, because it could go down for technical difficulties or you might want to ride it more than once. Great Bear is another coaster that we liked a lot.

Two days is perfect. It's a much bigger park than what I thought it would be (been 9 years since we'd been there) and we just couldn't do it all in one day.

T&B

 

[MICKEY88]

if you like watching shows at all I highly recommend the rock show which is in a very nice air conditioned building..

it's a nice break from the heat...

 

[Kallison]

I just walk around going - Well at Disney...........until everyone gets mad at me, so I don't go anymore.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

LOL. Only one tip. Whatever you do, don't win a 6 foot plush gorilla at one of the carnival style games.

My family took me to Hershey Park, about 20 years ago, and the then barely 8 year old me asked my dad for some change to play the toss game where you try to toss a tiny ring onto a tiny bottle top. No one ever actually wins.

Well, I did.

My parents had to cart a 6 foot, plump and rather heavy plush gorilla around for the rest of our trip. It was squashed into the back of their rented car (our luggage had to ride in the backseat on our laps).

Oh the look on the face of the valet at our hotel when he opened the deep trunk expecting to find luggage and instead had a stuffed gorilla pop up at him.

The gorilla still resides in my parents basement, and also played the role of the "cyclops" in 1990 my audio/visual class project; a video I made about The Odyessey (as in Homer). He later played the role of various giant monster creatures in other students projects...

I was such a dork.

 

[Kim&Chris]

Do yourself a favor and buy a big bag of their Kettle PopCorn.......it is pure heaven! The most delicious popcorn I've EVER had!!!!!!!!

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by EsmeraldaX
LOL. Only one tip. Whatever you do, don't win a 6 foot plush gorilla at one of the carnival style games.

My family took me to Hershey Park, about 20 years ago, and the then barely 8 year old me asked my dad for some change to play the toss game where you try to toss a tiny ring onto a tiny bottle top. No one ever actually wins.

Well, I did.

My parents had to cart a 6 foot, plump and rather heavy plush gorilla around for the rest of our trip. It was squashed into the back of their rented car (our luggage had to ride in the backseat on our laps).

Oh the look on the face of the valet at our hotel when he opened the deep trunk expecting to find luggage and instead had a stuffed gorilla pop up at him.

The gorilla still resides in my parents basement, and also played the role of the "cyclops" in 1990 my audio/visual class project; a video I made about The Odyessey (as in Homer). He later played the role of various giant monster creatures in other students projects...

I was such a dork.

that is so funny...

I can just picture the valet

 

[MICKEY88]

ohhhhhhh

up in the foods area above the sidewinder, there is a smoothie stand, I had a blueberry,mango smoothie....the best smoothie I've ever had

 

[Pooh67_68]

Smoothies! did you say smoothies? I just love smoothies and we are going on 8/18 I will be on the look out for the stand. Don't tell my husband, as he will try and keep me from getting
one (LOL) I always have to have at least one whever we go that sells them.

 

[KingsFanInRI]

If you will be there from the 23rd to the 28th and are any kind of a music lover at all, DO NOT miss the Coats. They are an a cappella band from the Seattle area and do a tremendous job with what we call modern a cappella. They have their own music, as well as covering stuff like Rawhide, I Can See Clearly Now, Sunglasses at Night and even She Blinded Me With Science.

 

[Snowysmom]

Thanks for all the tips. The smoothies sound really good and I will be sure to visit there! I laughed at Esmeralda X's story about the stuffed gorilla. 2 years ago we went to Six Flags in Agawam and younger DS wanted to play a game of knocking down all the bottles with one ball. Well, he did it and we ended up going home with a 6 foot iguana. One person took a picture of DH carrying it around. I now have lizard mascot in my living room! He is a great conversation piece. I will steer younger DS away from the midway games. No more huge stuffed creatures!

 

[Otto's Doll]

This is how we ended up leaving Hershey when we went at the end of June...

I NEVER really thought that people actually won on that "toss the ring over the bottle top" game!

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by KingsFanInRI
If you will be there from the 23rd to the 28th and are any kind of a music lover at all, DO NOT miss the Coats. They are an a cappella band from the Seattle area and do a tremendous job with what we call modern a cappella. They have their own music, as well as covering stuff like Rawhide, I Can See Clearly Now, Sunglasses at Night and even She Blinded Me With Science.

the coats are awesome, I used to go every night the week that they are there

 

[Breezy_Carol]

Thanks for all the info. We may be going on August 21.

 

[MICKEY88]

Originally posted by Breezy_Carol
Thanks for all the info. We may be going on August 21.

entertainment the 21st is...

The Mahoney Brothers “Jukebox Heroes”
6:00, 7:30, & 9:00 PM
Enjoy this all-live musical event with incredible show stopping performances performed by the Mahoney Brothers. It is sure to create an evening of unforgettable music for all ages.

they are pretty good if you like that type of music..50's 60's...

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by Otto's Doll
This is how we ended up leaving Hershey when we went at the end of June...

I NEVER really thought that people actually won on that "toss the ring over the bottle top" game!

LOL! We should start a club!