Going on a girl's weekend to Hershey & Easton Pa. Any tips?

Hey starann - we're in the same town! I'm in Lower Saucon, out past Giant off Flint Hill, so the "end" of Hellertown! Small world. 2 Disney freaks in Hellertown - this could be dangerous!

I would personally skip LV Mall, too much traffic, not the safest anymore, and like someone else said, the inside mall doesn't do anything for me anymore. Just my opinion. I vote for The Promenade (of course because I work there!) - much more upscale, clean, safe & tons to eat & shop. There is a Red Robin there that is good for families & kids. It's only 10 min. west of Easton. There is the Palmer Park Mall in Easton on 25th Street which is small but I actually like it - good stores, not crowded.

No one gave a driving time from Pitt to Easton - I'd say 5.5-6 hours. Can anyone else confirm/deny? How ironic DH has a meeting in Pitt on Thursday & is flying from ABE. He said no way was he driving that far for a 2-hour meeting. I've never driven it but a friend that is from Pitt said it takes her 5 hours from Allentown, which is 20 minutes west of Easton.
 
Personally, I would advise skipping the Zoo at Hershey. Since you are coming in the summer, it's going to be hot and crowded and most of the animals are outside and sleepy during the summer. It's a nice break from HersheyPark and it's included in the price of admission to the park, but I wouldn't pay for it. There really isn't that much to do.

I would also avoid the Kit Kat Cafe within Chocolate World. I ate lunch there on Friday and it really isn't fabulous.

By the way, there is a nice Disney Outlet at the Hershey Outlets just down Hersheypark drive from the park.

Do bring your shopping money because there is so much to buy at Chocolate World - all the new flavors of kisses are out for fall - candy corn, pumpkin spice, caramel apple to name a few. Fun!
 
Ah, Musikfest! My LEAST favorite time of year! :lmao: Seriously, we live about 5 blocks from the action, and it can be a very long week for us. We have to stay home in the evenings because our neighborhood is popular for parking, and we only have on-street parking here. Then we get the noisy fest-goers late at night, who throw their garbage on our front lawn as they walk to their cars. We try to grin and bear it, but it gets old fast.

We walk down a few times during the week, but we don't eat down there (too pricey!) I miss the good old Musikfest days, when all the concerts were free, and they didn't have credit card companies and insurance companies and all those junk vendors lining the walkways. :headache:
 
how about Sesame Place, that is in PA and i believe owned by Hershey?

Sesame Place is horrid!! Did it once, and never again. Dutch Wonderland is owned by Hershey. It's in Lancaster. I haven't been there in 11 years, but I've heard that it's still a lot of fun for little ones.
 
OP: If you are staying at the Hampton Inn on route 248 (easton-nazareth highway) the hotel is really nice. My inlaws always stay here when they come to visit. Pretty new, very clean, nice indoor swimming pool and a nice morning meal. There's an applebee's, mc donalds, burger king, arby's, red robin within a couple blocks. I hope that you have a great trip.
 
Thanks everyone. Glad to hear that the hotel is nice. Is there a Build A Bear in the Mall? <My girls love that and I'm sure DMIL would buy them each a new animal. We haven't been to one in a while. We'll have to go to the outlets in Hershey befor we drive back. I don't want to miss the Disney Outlet.
 
There is a Build A Bear in the Lehigh Valley Mall. I believe there is also a Club Libby Lu if that interests your girls.:)
 
Thanks everyone. Glad to hear that the hotel is nice. Is there a Build A Bear in the Mall? <My girls love that and I'm sure DMIL would buy them each a new animal. We haven't been to one in a while. We'll have to go to the outlets in Hershey befor we drive back. I don't want to miss the Disney Outlet.

It's really just a regular Disney Store. Some of the newer stores there are not outlet stores.
 
It's really just a regular Disney Store. Some of the newer stores there are not outlet stores.

That's ok. We don't have a Disney Store around us in NC any more and even visiting Pittsburgh, we have to drive across the city to get to one, so any Disney Store is a treat for us.
My girls love Friendlys restaurant. Is it by the hotel or by the mall?
 
That's ok. We don't have a Disney Store around us in NC any more and even visiting Pittsburgh, we have to drive across the city to get to one, so any Disney Store is a treat for us.
My girls love Friendlys restaurant. Is it by the hotel or by the mall?

There is a Friendly's outside the Lehigh Valley Mall, on MacArthur Road. There is also a Friendly's on Airport Road, off of Route 22. If you are going west on route 22, take the Airport Road South exit and the Friendly's will be right in front of you, past the light.
 
I don't really think the LV Mall is any less safe than any other mall. Sure, it is packed with teens on the weekends, but what mall isn't? I like that mall. I like the Promenade shops, too, but they don't have a Disney Store!
 
Sesame Place is horrid!! Did it once, and never again. Dutch Wonderland is owned by Hershey. It's in Lancaster. I haven't been there in 11 years, but I've heard that it's still a lot of fun for little ones.

it seems there are a few of you out there that HATE sesame place. what is so bad about it? i ask, because we had that on our radar.
 
My DMIL, DDS and I are going to see the Crayola Factory and Hershey's World of Chocolate next weekend. Anybody ever been and have tips for us?
The girls are 6 and 9.
thanks

Hotels are quite pricey at this time of year in Hershey area. We were there just this weekend with our girls ( JONAS BROTHERS CONCERT :woohoo: ). We stayed at Hilton Garden Inn in Harrisburg which is less than 10 minutes from Hershey. It is new and very nice and located in a nice office/retail park complex. It had both an indoor and outdoor pool; nice outdoor patio area with tables, lobby with fireplace (nice touch at night) our room had micro, coffee maker, fridge & a king bed which comfortably slept me & 2 DDs & we requested a rollway for DH (it was bed quality - not folding type) cost $155 which included tax per night. It was a steal compared to what my sister & neice paid at the Hershey Lodge ($300!! per night for virtually identical room) It is adjacent to Harrisburg Mall which offers a good selection of options for 'eats' at its food court and also movie theatres and there is also an Applebees located within the mall's parking lot too. And there is huge Bass Pro Shop super store ( similar to Cabela's mentioned by poster here ). You just need to watch the road signs to get you to / from Hershey area because it can get just a bit confusing but the desk employees are very helpful in telling you exactly how to find your way. Also, there is a new Homewood Suites located in same office/retail park as well.

We skipped the amusement park at Hershey this time but did tour Chocolate World & DDs, neice & sister did 3D movie and said it was very cute ( it's a 25 minute show ). At the ice cream counter at Chocolate World they had huge sundaes that were less than $4 with variety of Hershey chocolate toppings - - definitely a hit and more than enough for 2 kids to share if they are not inclined to eat a large serving. You can park free for 2 hours next to Chocolate World too - just tell them you are visiting that and they give you a pass at parking booth. It is more than enough time to do tour & 3D movie.
 
it seems there are a few of you out there that HATE sesame place. what is so bad about it? i ask, because we had that on our radar.

When we were there, it was dirty, expensive, and the visitors were rude. I hate to sound like this, but there was a certain "element" there...loud, obnoxious, people yelling obscenities at their children...it was awful! Granted, this was 7 years ago, but it made enough of an impression on me that we never returned!
 












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