Hershey Park Deals and advice!

[irishsharon]

I am planning a trip to Hershey park .We will be there for three days two nights. It will be dh and myself our 12 & 8 year old plus my brother and his daughter (who are coming for a visit from Ireland!).dh and I will be picking up the bill for this trip so I was just wondering if anyone could share some budget friendly advice on tickets,food in the park and outside the park and anything else we should know. The last time I was at Hershey was 25 years ago!

 

[chrissy92972]

We go once a year with my son's school, because otherwise we cannot afford it. His school pays our admission and food.

Food in the park is very expensive, in my opinion more expensive then Disney. My suggestion is eat before entering and then head back to the car for a picnic lunch. They check bags on the way in, you are allowed 1 water bottle per person.

Outside there are tons of restaurants. If you turn right as you exit the park and head down the main road you will find Panera, various supermarkets, restaurants, etc.

Right outside the park near the entrance is Wendy's, Dunkin Donuts, and Red Robin.

The website will tell you all of the costs for tickets etc, but remember parking fees also.

Hershey Chocolate World is a nice little tour for free. However the other things in the same building all cost money.

Don't forget sunscreen there is very little shade. Also the water area is included. Lockers cost extra if you need one.

Chrissy

 

[lauti]

Buy your tickets I advance using a promo code or buy them at Giant supermarkets in the area.

 

[danygirl]

Look for discount tickets from the boy scouts of central pa. Google fir the link. Great price discount and the scouts make money.

Food in the park is pricey but ok. There is food in the water park as well. The zoo is small but cute. Chocolate world has better food prices and better food at their restaurants. My kids are in their late teens and the chocolate work ride is stiill a fav.

 

[OasterP]

Definitely look for discounts, whether through a grocery store, online, or hotel packages. Do not pay full price.

Parking is pretty insane honestly (cost wise). They do have a nice tram that takes you from the parking lot to the park (though it's not THAT far of a walk otherwise), and it comes regularly. We pretty much have never waited, and we have a stroller.

Food - I would probably do what someone else mentioned and pack a picnic that you can come out and eat. I do know that you have unlimited in/out with your tickets, but I'm not sure if that would cover parking too? I'd have to check. But if so - there are nearby restaurants.

If you do want to eat in the park, just like Disney there are some places that are really pricey and others you can get a decent meal. There is a Subway that costs pretty much what any other subway costs (I believe - it's definitely not far off if it is).

Depending on how much you drink I'd buy the refillable "mug". It's this huge plastic jug almost that you can buy and refill for your trip for .99 a refill. And it really is large.

I know another poster said they check your bags (and they do), but I have always brought in apple slices or almonds, and I always bring a water bottle. They did however question a Gatorade I had once. They let me keep it, but just said it really isn't allowed.

Hershey Chocolate World is SO much fun. My son is 3 1/2, and we have season passes so go often, and he can not get enough of the free ride. Truth be told I've seen it 1000's of times and I still love it. The other attractions in chocolate world do cost money. Oh they have a s'mores campfire thing outside of Chocolate World a lot that is free.

There is one ice cream place (Turkey Hill) that costs less than the other ice cream on property and is a huge serving. I can't remember exactly where it is, but it's there.

Like others have said, the water park is included, and it's fun. They have quite a few fun rides there. Just an FYI - they are (or were in the past) pretty strict about wearing your bathing suit outside of the water area (if not covered by clothes).

Oh and if you have time, they have dolphin shows and a zoo that is also free.

If you like "character" meets/photos there is always a Hershey Bar near the carousel. He/she is usually across from the carousel near some kid rides.

If you have any particular questions let me know - I don't even like rides and I love it there!

 

[aprilchem]

I am planning a trip to Hershey park .We will be there for three days two nights. It will be dh and myself our 12 & 8 year old plus my brother and his daughter (who are coming for a visit from Ireland!).dh and I will be picking up the bill for this trip so I was just wondering if anyone could share some budget friendly advice on tickets,food in the park and outside the park and anything else we should know. The last time I was at Hershey was 25 years ago!

Not sure where you live, but I am in Va. and I just saw really good discount coupons at Wawa. I think it was $14 off per person for admission tickets? This wasn't too long ago - maybe last week.

 

[irishsharon]

Thanks everyone for the great advice! What is the cheapest way to get tickets?

 

[pamkev]

How many days do you plan to stay in the park? If it's more than a day then the best deal is there 2 or 3 day ticket. One nice thing they have is you can preview the park starting at 7:30 pm till the park closes as long as you have a tickets for another day. Example you arrive in town on Monday night around 4 get settle into hotel go have a nice dinner arrive at park around 7:15 ish with tickets in hands they will let you into the park around 7:30 till it closes and you still have your ticket. If you save the parking ticket and you go back the very next day and show that parking tickets along with your park ticket which will be marked preview you don't pay for parking again. You can only preview once.

If you are only going to the park for one day the cheapest way to get tickets is like a poster said above google pa boy scout dutch council hersheypark and you will get the best rates.

 

[QVCshopper]

I bought 80 20-oz Pepsi items at Giant in PA for $74. Using a special rebate offer found in stores and online, and sending to two address, that will net me four tickets to Hershey Park. Not bad for 80 Pure Leaf iced teas and 4 tickets.

 

[kymom99]

We didn't go to Hershey park but we went to chocolate world yesterday! They give 3 hours complementary parking if you are only going there and not the amusement park. We did the free tour and bought some things. It was a nice side trip and it was inside, so it was cool.

 

[msmama]

I saw something in Hershey on groupon getaways (didn't look very closely).

I'm staying near Hershey for a night as I drive across PA and weekends hotels are pretty pricey.

 

[disny_luvr]

As someone already mentioned, purchasing tickets through the PA Boy Scouts Dutch Council is probably your best bet for the cheapest tickets. If you don't want to do that, go to Giant (there is one on Rt. 39 north of the park and one on Rt. 743 south of the park) to purchase tickets. If only doing the park for one day, definitely do the preview night before; it is included with your one-day admission.

Eating in the park is expensive but there are definitely some good deals. There is a dining plan available. I don't know the specifics but I am sure it is on their website. I do know the dining plan includes a refillable mug. Refills are only $.99. We often buy a whole pizza at Famiglia. It is pricier than buying a pizza at a pizza shop but I don't think it is unreasonable and it is more than enough for our family of four. Many of the meals come with a sandwich, fries, drink but you can purchase the sandwich separate if you don't need/want the whole meal. There are a few places where you can purchase Turkey Hill ice cream. Order a kids cone or dish. It is huge and cheap; maybe $2.00 and change. There are several places to eat outside of the park, too - Wendy's, Red Robin, Houlihan's, Chipotle, etc.

If you have any other questions, ask. There are a lot of us on the DIS that live here or visit frequently.

Have fun! We went last night and had a blast!

 

[w84no1]

We are staying less than 2 miles away, do you pay to park per day or each time into the lot? I would love to be able to take a break midday and return later that evening.

 

[Alexle2007]

We have season passes so we are frequent visitors and stay overnight for a quick weekend getaway.

We always stay the Comfort Suites in Hummelstown. It's about 10-15 minutes from the park but comes with a free breakfast.

For lunch, we typically just get a bucket of fries from the fry stand near The Great Bear and then get funnel fries over by the giant Ferris wheel and that holds us over until we leave and have dinner offsite. You can also get the refillable mugs filled with ice water. I do that a lot to cut down on soda consumption.

We love the water park and spend most of our time there. dS7 likes the rides but he is over them quickly. Maybe because he is only a Hershey Bar and can't do the larger coasters yet.

There's plenty of restaurants around- Applebee's, Chinese buffet, Pizza Hut, Bob Evans, Hoss's closer to the Comfort Suites.

Parking is for the day. So you can go in and out and show them your parking stub, I believe. It's one of the perks of being a season passholder of free preferred parking so I am a little iffy there.

This is our 4th year as season passholders and we love it there!

 

[disny_luvr]

We are staying less than 2 miles away, do you pay to park per day or each time into the lot? I would love to be able to take a break midday and return later that evening.

You pay to park each day. If you re-enter the parking lot on the same day just show your parking ticket stub and you won't have to pay again.

 

[w84no1]

Thanks guys, we leave tomorrow for a week at Hersey.

 

[mrsap]

We are also going to Hershey Park and will be there for 4th of July weekend. We were also told by our friends about Boys scout/Girl Scout tickets, and we went that route as well. It was definitely the biggest savings we were able to find compared to the other offers out there. Our tickets also mention we get a 'Preview day', which means we can show our tickets the night before our first park day, and will be allowed to enter 2 1/2 hrs. before the park closes! We will definitely take advantage of that ! We typically go for 3 days, which for us is more than enough. (One or two park days, one day Chocolate World) We Love that free ride too... I think because it reminds us most of a Disney ride!!! lol There are dry rides, as well as a 'water park' area. They liked the little Zoo too. We ate in the park twice, and I agree, it's expensive, which we expected. We typically go out to dinner at one of the local restaurants and then go back at night. There is a great Italian Restaurant, Villa Rosa, I believe in Grantville. My little ones really enjoy our time there!! Hope you have a great time!