Hershey, PA any advice for deals,must sees?

[Shellydm]

Hello,
This year I don't think we can afford Disney World (my first choice). I was thinking of a road trip to Hershey,PA. It's probably around a 8 hour drive from our house.

I am thinking about mid to late march for about a week or a little less.

Are there any good family friendly hotels to stay at or places where you can get package deals for Chocolate world and a hotel?

I think Hershey Park will be closed still in March but I am so open to hear of other must see things there for a family. My daughter is 8.

Thanks so much!

Shelly

PS last year we went to Gatlinburg and got so much advice thanks to you all here! Thank you!

 

[Cristy]

Hersheypark will open for a couple of weekends around Easter which is in late April this year, so you are correct in saying the park will be closed in March. However, ZooAmerica is adjoining the park and that will be open. The ChocolateWorld attraction is free and is available all year. They also sell souvenirs there, including candy some of which is only available there, not in stores. Hershey Gardens will be open and they have a children's garden you could check out. If you like Hockey, the Hershey Bears are in town for games on the weekends in March. If you are in town April 2, Disney on Ice (Princess show) will be at the Giant Center, Hershey. Opening night tickets are $15. Ice skating rink and skate rental is available at the Giant Center during the day. Ski Roundtop is a short drive. They have ski lessons and tubing. There are hotels in the area with indoor pools; The Hotel Hershey,Hershey Motor Lodge, Holiday Inn Grantville, Holiday Inn Harrisburg-Hershey, Sheraton on Lindle Road. Prices should be more competitive with it being "off season". The Hotel Hershey has children's activities too, but everything there is pricey.
May still be cold in PA during March. I remember last year - March coming in like a Lion and going out like a Lion (instead of a lamb)- Meaning horribly cold and windy. Hope this helps.

 

[ljcrochet]

We have stayed at an great bed and breakfast on a working dairy farm about a half out away from hershey park.

 

[Jerseymomof2]

I live in NJ and we go to PA for day trips all the time. It's a little far from Hershey PA but if you want to do a few day trips There is the Crayola Factory. My 7 yr old Loves it and I think it is worth it. Also there is Great Wolf Lodge. It's and indoor water park another awesome place to go to.
Have a great time!

 

[rnorwo1]

We have stayed at an great bed and breakfast on a working dairy farm about a half out away from hershey park.

This place looks so great! We are also planning a trip to Hershey, but just as one stop on a road trip. This would be a great place to stay a few nights to visit Hershey and Lancaster and then just take a relaxing day on the farm before heading onto other stops.
Thanks for posting OP, I hope to get a few ideas as well!

 

[MSSANDRA]

We were there last summer and stayed in Lancaster and toured both there and Hershey. We enjoyed Chocolate World but while it is free to get in, some things do cost extra. We did the trolly tour and it was sooooo fun and worth it. The 4-D movie was not. The huge Hershey cup cakes were soooooo worth whatever price we paid for it. In Lancaster we did the sights and sounds theater to see Noah's Ark. It is a Christian Theater but I can not imagine anyone not enjoying the amazing productions that they put on. Not cheap but very worth while. We did a buggy tour of the Amish county side and really liked that as well. It was under 20.00. We also did the Turkey Hill Ice Cream tour. It was ok, and you get all you can eat ice cream for about 10.00. We stayed at a Courtyard by Marriot in Lancaster. It was just ok. Reasonable price but small rooms.

 

[tlh0726]

not Hershey but close by Gettysburg Battlefield

 

[Arkansan]

If you like to shop, Hershey has an outlet mall. It is good, but Lancaster County has TWO outlet malls, both on Route 30 just a couple miles from each other. The ones in Lancaster are much bigger and have a greater variety of stores. PA has no sales tax on clothing or shoes.

Philadelphia is only a little over an hour from Hershey. You could take a day trip and see the Liberty Bell and Betsy Ross' house. Or the Philadelphia Zoo. I think it is the oldest zoo in the US. May be weather dependent, however, as more of their exhibits are outdoors than Zoo America in Hershey.

Have a fun trip! It is a great part of the country!

 

[lile8rocks]

You could also do Dutch wonderland in Lancaster they have a combo special with Hershey park. We also do the herrs factory tour which about an hour from Hersehy.

 

[dsnymomof4]

We took a weekend trip to Hershey last year and the park wasn't open but enjoyed an afternoon in Chocolate World. We also spent some time at Indian Echo Caverns. You can take a tour of the caverns (there are a lot of steps to get to the cavern) and they also have a play area and some farm animals - which the kids really enjoyed feeding. It was really nice. We usually stay at the Country Inn & Suites - they have rooms that sleep 6 and free hot breakfast.

 

[Shellydm]

Thank you everyone for all the info and time you spent sharing the wonderful info!

I can't wait to start planning and looking into all your suggestions! Thank you!!

Shelly

 

[Sagginit]

i havent been in a few years but love it out there. i also vote for indian echo caverns, for buggy rides: http://www.abesbuggyrides.com/, i went in the fall and did this corn maze with a friend and it was awesome! they also have a petting zoo from what i remember http://www.cherrycrestfarm.com/. there are farmer markets and while the real amish wouldn't let you in their house, when i was a kid we did a tour of a mock up amish house that was museum like and educational.

ok and if your kids will let you go, this one is for mommy and daddy http://www.nissleywine.com/ .

i like lancaster but like others said it may be really cold in march so if you go definitely check the weather and pack warm layers. which direction are you coming from? if you let us on the board know your route we can also let you know of other things to do on they way there.

 

[KaLyn]

The other have all given great suggestions! But please note that PA in March is cold, I know because I live here. It typically snows here until early April or so. Actually a few years ago it snowed here on May 1st! No big blizzard or anything but there were flurries in the air! Be sure to plan accordingly!

 

[GraysMom]

You could also do Dutch wonderland in Lancaster they have a combo special with Hershey park. We also do the herrs factory tour which about an hour from Hersehy.

Dutch Wonderland opens for short weekend days on April 26, however many of the rides are more geared towards younger kids. DS8 would be bored to tears on their rides, but OP's DD8 might prefer gentler rides.

I've always wanted to do the Herrs tour!

Knoebels Amusement Resort in Elysburg may be open for short weekend days at the very end of April or beginning of May (they don't have their calendar posted yet). They have a much wider variety of rides and tons of delicious foods at very reasonable prices. They have rides to appeal to all ages and levels of daring

 

[racechick8293]

Lancaster is a great trip, as are the smaller towns, such as Intercourse. IMO, the smaller towns offer a more authentic look at the Amish culture and life.

 

[GraysMom]

OP, not sure where you are driving from, but have you considered Washington DC? We took DS8 there last May and we all loved it! Hotels in the city are expensive but the Metro is clean, on time and we felt safe on it (but we didn't travel on it at night so I can't speak for that time of day), so you could stay outside the city at hotel near a Metro stop. When we were researching our trip there was one Metro station, I think it was north of the city, that had a hotel with a Metro station in it's basement.

The Smithsonian museums offer free admission as do the monuments. We especially enjoyed the Udvar-Hazy branch of the Air & Space Museum that is located out near Reagan Int'l Airport. They have one of the 4 space shuttles in existence and tons of cool aircraft and space artifacts. We also went to the National Zoo (also free), National Air & Space Museum, Museum of Natural History (minerals and gems were one of DS's favorite exhibits), The Washington Monument (still covered in scaffolding), the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Memorial, WWII Memorial and the White House. We took an Old Towne Trolley Tour to see the Washington Cathedral, Embassy Row, and a few other areas I don't remember (I had a horrible cold for the whole trip).

It will typically be 5-10 degrees warmer in DC than in Hershey at that time of year as well.

We did go to the International Spy Museum that was a separate admission but worth the price if you like spy stuff. We got off the Trolley tour at Union Station and had dinner there before taking the Metro back to our hotel. DS loved riding the Metro!