Hershey Park question for those who have been

[katieam1]

My family and I were thinking of going to Hershey Park this summer the only problem is, I have never been so I have no idea if there will be enough for my 3 year old and 2 year old to do. Should we wait a few more years?

 

[JOCAmom]

We go every year. We love it there.

There will be plenty for your young children to do. Lots of kiddie rides. There is also a zoo that is included in your park admission.

And there is also a water park included. It is right inside Hershey Park so no need to travel somewhere else. There is a large kiddie section with very shallow water.

And don't forget Chocolate World. There is a ride through there that my kids have always loved.

 

[pauly's girl]

We go every year also as we do not live too far away...about two hours! I waited awhile longer to take my children to Hershey Park....not that there isn't enough for them to do but in my opinion it is geared towards older children and teens. I took my children to Dutch Wonderland when they were two and three. This park is for the little ones. My children are too old now at 8 and 12 but we have alot of great memories there!! Good luck with your decision and have a great vaca!!

 

[N.Bailey]

We've taken our kids everywhere since they were little. The only park we were disappointed in when they were really little was Kings Dominion in Virginia. While a great park, it was not geared toward the littler ones. At least back then it wasn't (I've not been in ages so that may no longer be true).

Your kids will have a blast at Hersey and you will not be sorry you took them at this age. There is more than enough to keep you all busy for the whole day. Take the kids and have a great time.

Buy your tickets from any Giant grocery store for a discount on all adult tickets. The 2 year old will get in free. I don't believe Giant offers a discount on a child's ticket, but I could even be wrong about that since we've been past that age for almost 10 years now. At that however, even if you don't save on the 3 year old's ticket, it's so much nicer going thru the pre-purchased line upon entering the park. You'll save over $10 off each adult ticket you need and depending on when you go, you may also get a free parking ticket and/or possibly a free refillable mug at Giant when buying them. Then you pay $1.00 to fill it each time you purchase a drink. You can buy the tickets ahead of time if you find out Giant has the mugs (they don't give the mugs, they give coupons to get the mugs at any stand in the park and the 1st time it's filled free of charge). The parking ticket however is limited to May and June only (I believe anyway).

 

[iNTeNSeBLue98]

I think we took DD to HP when she was about 5. We went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg when she was about the same age as your child, and my company used to go to Dorneypark each year so she was there from age 1 or 2 as well. You can be sure that there will be plenty to keep your toddler entertained.

Hersheypark is lovely and there is always the diversion of Chocolate World to escape to the A/C if it's hot and humid. The zoo is also a nice distraction from the rides and crowds (if any).

There are so many new attractions at HP, that I don't think you will be disappointed with the activities available for a 3 year old. Have you visited their website? There are 27 attractions designed for kiddies, including those in the Boardwalk waterpark area.

 

[Pixiedust34]

There is a park not far from Hershey called Dutch Wonderland. It is nicely geared for families with little kids. You might want to check out their website too.

 

[monkeybug]

There is a park not far from Hershey called Dutch Wonderland. It is nicely geared for families with little kids. You might want to check out their website too.

Dutch Wonderland would be perfect for little kids like yours, and it's now owned by Hershey. In the Fall and Winter, when they do Candy cane lane and Halloween weekends, you can buy a ticket that gets you admission to both parks. I don't know if it's available during the Summer, or how expensive it would be then, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[jazzielady]

There is a park not far from Hershey called Dutch Wonderland. It is nicely geared for families with little kids. You might want to check out their website too.

Dutch Wonderland is perfect! The best part about it is that there are no teens running around like idiots with no supervision.

HP is nice too, kiddie rides scattered throughout the park, rather than confined to one area.

 

[wdwfan16]

HP is great for little kids. The have mini rides for the little ones. For example they have a mini swing that looks just like the adult one.

You may want to consider Dutch Wonderland.

 

[rotlex]

We live an hour or so from Hershey, and make it a point to get there a few times each year. It's a very fun park, with a LOT to do for kids of all ages. We have a daughter, 7, and a son, 16 months, and both had some great times at the park last year. I don't think you can go wrong with it, it's a very family friendly place.

 

[Octoberbride03]

My family and I were thinking of going to Hershey Park this summer the only problem is, I have never been so I have no idea if there will be enough for my 3 year old and 2 year old to do. Should we wait a few more years?

My best fiend goes every year sometimes twice. She has a 5yo and a 3yo. Both have always enjoyed themselves at the parks. So i think there will be plenty for your younger set to do.

 

[katieam1]

Thank you all who replied! I was a little bit iffy about the park but now i think it is a good idea. I will also check out Dutch Wonderland it sounds perfect. My parents are also going with us and bringing my sister who is 15 so I knew there would be something for her but my kids I always am iffy about things I have never done before. I don't like to be disappointed when we get there. I will check out the tickets from the stores I think that sounds like a great option! Thank you!

I was also thinking Maine or Myrtle Beach but not sure if those are right for my kids at this age either, we have a September trip to Disney planned so I wasn't sure if we should do two trips to Disney again this year so then the thought of Hershey came. We are thinking June so my mom is done with the school year, it's hard for her to get time off while school is still in session.

Also, where do you stay when you go there? I noticed they promoted the hotel. Which looks nice with the spa! , but do they also have camp grounds too? My parents have a motor home so that is where they will want to stay. I am not sure how to begin planning this!

 

[PaulaSue]

OP, We have season passes most years, we live very close

My suggestion as a parent of 3 older girls is to skip HP and do Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA. (45 minutes away)

HP owns it now and it is much more kid friendly (ex Disney like little kid rides). Hp is MUCH more thrill rides (some kiddy rides but more rides like you need to be 8-9 to even be tall enough to ride) In the last 3 years they added more water areas but they will be too small for most of those also.

Any more questions just ask.

 

[JOCAmom]

Hershey has their own campground. And there is a KOA campground in Elizabethtown. It's about 20 minutes away or so. We stayed at the KOA one last year and it was very nice.

If you decided on the hotel route, try pulling up a map and checking surrounding cities. You can often get a much better deal while only being about 15 minutes from the park. This year we are staying in Mainstay Suites in Grantville.

 

[puffkin]

Dutch Wonderland is right across the street from an Outlet center and there is another one a mile or two down the road if your parents and sister don't want to do the park all day. Either park would be fine for your kids. There is a lot to do at both for that age group.

 

[Kitzka]

Wanted to mention to the OP-Hersehy is VERY hilly. We have taken DD every year since she was 3 and it was very hard for us to walk around when she was younger due to the hills (and sadly my lack of fit-ness). Just an FYI.

Lara

 

[andrews_dad]

There is a park not far from Hershey called Dutch Wonderland. It is nicely geared for families with little kids. You might want to check out their website too.

I have season pass to both. Dutch Won might be the place for you with 2 and 3 year old. I have a 2 year old and a newborn. We like Dutch. Free parking at Dutch for all. All kiddie rides. Thomas Train show. A choo choo to ride. Some mini-versions of bigger kid stuff like Pirate Ship (space ship), coasters, log flumes, etc... all for little ones. Park is compact and easy to navigate. Some more shade that Hershey. Water area at Dutch is nice and built for little ones. It is the best. If you want to do both, they have combo tickets at Hershey and Ducth are sister parks.

 

[brockash]

I grew up in that part of PA, and always loved going to Hershey Park, and we go back usually every couple of summers, because I still have famiy there. We went back this last summer and took my ds-7 at the time and dd- 2 and 3 months. Honestly, it was kinda a bummer, because my 2 year wasn't able to go on a good amount of rides, and a good number of the ones that she could go on, adults couldn't go with her, so she didn't want to go anyways (even with my ds going with her.) I think part of it is that I'm really used to WDW now, and this was the first park, other than WDW/DL that we took her to, so I'm sure I'm just used to more. If it were me, with only have a 2 and 3 year old, I'd probably wait a year. Another option is they have another park (not in Hershey, but in Lancaster, very close) called Dutch Wonderland, which is designed for young kids. We used to go there a lot when I was younger too, and it was a lot of fun, so you may want to consider that. You could always get on both of their websites to see exactly what they both have ect. I will say the first time we took my ds to Hershey Park, he was 3 1/2 and was able to ride a good amount more than what my dd was able to do last year. Hershey really is a great park, and IMO, so much better than any kind of Six Flags or the like that I've been to, and I think will be great to take my dd to in the next year or so.

 

[3prettyprincesses]

I agree with the some of the other posters, Dutch Wonderland is perfect for younger kids. The whole park is geared toward younger kids and it's really cute and fun. They also have a water park area called Duke's Lagoon with lots of fountains and splashy areas for kids that are your kid's ages. I'd skip Hershey then because there won't be a whole lot for them to go on. When mine were that young, we'd just go to Dutch Wonderland (it's cheaper too and parking is free unlike Hershey and food prices are reasonable). Now that they're older, we're doing Hershey Park but truth be told, we still did Dutch Wonderland last year (mine at the time were 9, 8 and 6) and still loved it. It's a very manageable park, not too large and plenty to do. Don't miss the Frog Prince water show, it's so cute! Also, there's a slush puppy stand by the water park that is soooo good on a hot summer day!

http://www.dutchwonderland.com/

ETA: Hershey isn't too far from Dutch Wonderland. Another option could be just doing Chocolate World (you don't need to pay admission for that as it's seperate from Hershey Park). We've done that, it's pretty cute...there's a chocolate ride (like a clamshell ride shaped like a chocolate kiss) that shows you how chocolate is made. There's also a 3-D chocolate show that's cute too. And a cute little conveyor belt area where you kid can pretend to work. Did I mention the whole place smells like chocolate? It's such a delicious smell in there! Chocolate World doesn't take long to do so you could do Dutch Wonderland first and then hit it after. Just a thought!

http://www.hersheys.com/chocolateworld/

 

[Piglets Mommy]

Hershey Park has plenty for little ones to do, but as others have said, with kids the ages of yours, I'd do Dutch Wonderland instead. It is PERFECT for little ones, and there are a lot of other things to do in the area on other days too. There are quite a few campgrounds around, as well as hotels in all price ranges. The only thing is that your 15 yo Sister might get a little bored there...more for her to do at Hershey. If it is just your immediate family, I'd do DW in Lancaster, if your parents and Sis come, do Hershey. If you go to Hershey, either do the campground if you are camping, or a hotel a few miles away...you will save a lot of $$$ that way over staying at Hotel Hershey or Hershey Lodge.