Hershey Park?

[AlexandNessa]

I am not really sure where to post this, but I was wondering if anyone has been to Hershey Park (Hershey, PA) lately? The last time we were there was the day Princess Di died.

We are going to plan a long weekend there early summer and plan to stay on-site at either the Hershey Lodge or Hotel Hershey. Any tips or tidbits would be appreciated. I don't know if anyone has stayed at either hotel, but they make Disney on-site hotels look pretty cheap!

TIA

 

[Nevergrow'nup]

We went a few years ago and had an awesome time!! You can get discount tickets at an area grocery store (Maybe Giant Food??) But the best tip is their twilight special. The day before you are going, you can get in after 6-7 PM and stay at the park until closing for free!! This is when we ride all the big coasters, very little or not wait lines. You also only pay for parking for 1 day. It's like getting 1/2 day free. This worked for us because we have older kids. If you were going with younger children who need to go to bed early it probably won't work. There is also the factory tour outside the park with a movie theater and shopping. Oh yeah, there is also a zoo, Zoo America that is included in your park admission. We haven't done the Zoo in many years but I'm sure someone else here can help. Can't help with hotels as we are a camping family. Hope you have a great time!!

 

[AlexandNessa]

Thanks for the great tip. We will probably arrive later in the afternoon, so we will be sure to take advantage of the "twilight hours!"

 

[PaulaSue]

Have a Great Time!!! We usually have season passes (not this year we went to Disney) I have never stayed at the hotels so no help there.

 

[clarabelle]

I went there a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it.
I would bring towels/ swimsuits and water shoes and put them in a locker. As you may remember they have entire water sections where many rides get you wet -not sort of wet -but WET. Including your shoes.

 

[PaulaSue]

Do the water rides, not many of them actually but a few, FIRST thing in the morning or the lines are VERY long!!! On a warm day of course. Otherwise you are looking at the 2 hour wait on the weekends anad not much shorter during the week.

 

[samijam]

We went to hershey last summer for a long weekend. Very nice park clean and plenty to do. AAA offers discount tickets and it was a good discount. We also got lucky Dave Mathews was playing at the theater at Hershey and it was not sold out so we went Great show. The shows were cute, lots of coasters my son liked that a lot. Very nice trip also their is plenty to do outside of the park within a short drive.
Enjoy your trip



4/26-5/3/06 POFQ here we come!!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

We actually stayed at the Hershey Lodge at the beginning of this month. It was nice. The place was crowded since its also a convention center but it honestly had no effect at all on any of the amenities.
Its a nice place. The lobby is beautiful! It is much more kid friendly then the Inn at Hershey. There is a playground, indoor and outdoor pool.
Beds were comfy. Pillowcases had hershey kiss design on it, as well as the wallpaper in the bathroom.
Its a non-smoking hotel. Unfortunately, my in-laws were with us and MIL complained to maid about not being able to smoke - maid she "Oh no problem, I'll get you an ashtray. If you want to smoke before I get back just put water in a cup."

Oh, small fridge in bathroom under counter. No mini bar - which was nice since I had relatives in 2 other rooms that I was paying for. Then your typical hair dryer, iron and ironing board, cable tv.
It was a nice place and I would definitely stay there again. We went to Hershey Chocolate World but nothing else was open. We were there for a relative's birthday party so it was a tourist event (even though I made it one).

Have a great time and let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[diskids2]

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions......

We go to Hershey every year and have gone for the last twelve years. We always stay at the Hershey Lodge.

Hotel Hershey v. Hershey Lodge

Cost - Hotel Hershey is more expensive.

Sits on top of a hill overlooking hershey park. Not walking distance IMHO to park. Lodge is also not in walking distance and is farther away - can't see park from Lodge.

Family Friendly - I think both are family friendly, although I think the lodge is more family friendly based solely on cost. More couples tend to go to the Hotel Hershey.

Restaurants - I can't comment on the Hotel hershey - we've never eaten there. As for the lodge. There are limited choices, depending on your likes. There is Lebbie's. They serve a buffet breakfast (around 12 dollars per adult - less per child) which is a traditional breakfast buffet - pretty good - nothing wonderful. Lebbie's also has a dinner buffet - we've had that once, again pretty good, nothing to write home about.

Another restaurant is Forebay Lounge - upscale, steaks, dress nice, etc. Pretty good.

They also have a cafe called the Beanery. Muffins, bagels, desserts, coffee. We eat breakfast there when we don't go to Lebbie's. Tables exist, but it can get very crowded. You can buy your bagels, etc and eat at the bars in the lobby or on one of the sofas. There are also a few tables outside on the patio.

One more restaurant is upstairs and they serve dinner and snacks. It is a bar atmosphere. At one point, they have a cigar thing going on. We have had drinnks there after the park and cheese platters when we go with other couples. Nice.

The last restaurant is Bears Den. Burgers, moz sticks, pub food, lots of large TV's and it is a sports type restaurant. We eat there at least once every trip. They also have a breakfast buffet here. same food as lebbies.

Staying at Lodge or Hotel allows you use of the busses. This is the most important reason that I stay at the lodge. The traffic can back up on busy days and it can take over an hour to park. I take the bus, go back and forth when we want. I have not waited more than 10 minutes for a bus, ever.

Also staying at the lodge or hotel allows you early entry. Although, most of the "big" rides do not open until 10 or even 10:30. I agree with previous post, the lines get long on the water rides, and we do them in the morning, go back to the hotel, and come back at night.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Thanks so much, everyone!

Does AAA offer a discount on either of the hotels? It seemed online that if you made the reservation, you could show up with your AAA card and then if the discount was available when you checked in, they could apply it? That seems a little odd.

And, thanks for the offer to PM, diskids2. I will probably have to take you up on that!

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Dupe post - sorry

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

I was told AAA and AARP. I told them I didn't have any but someone else in my party might. I was told not to worry, just present the card upon checkin and the discount would be applied. So maybe that's their standard procedure.
We ended up not having either so it didn't matter. My ILs looked kinda miffed when I asked them if they belonged to AARP (they've been retired for 15 years).

 

[puffkin]

ZooAmerica is included with admission to the park. It makes for a nice break during the day. It is small, but it has a few cute exhibits.

 

[PaulaSue]

Also staying at the lodge or hotel allows you early entry. Although, most of the "big" rides do not open until 10 or even 10:30.

Wow I never heard that before. I am usually there every week before opening and never saw them open the gates much before 10, 5-10 minutes. When they have ropes to section off the park like Disney.

Where do you enter from for early entry?

 

[pat fan]

AAA offers discount tickets and it was a good discount.

Is it through a local AA? I called my own local AAA office and they said they do not offer Hershey tickets. They did say to try the local office as mine offers tickets the the basketball HOF and other branches wouldn't as it is a "local" attraction. We are planning on going this summer for a weekend and camping at the KOA.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Thanks everyone. I wound up calling 1-800-HERSHEY to talk to an agent because we weren't exactly sure where we wanted to stay. We wound up at The Lodge because the restaurants seemed more our style (sports bar ). Also, wanted to add that it was cheaper to call directly than to book online. The rates are going up for the summer soon, and we wound up getting a King Room for $249/night for booking now (it's $269 online now, and the reservationist said it will be $275 soon). We would still be able to get the AAA discount (10%) on check-in. Our dates are June 16 - 19. It should be a nice long weekend for us.

Also, the agent advised me to get our park tickets at the front desk as that would save us $11/ticket, and the tickets would then be $30.95.

 

[diskids2]

Early access to select rides and attractions at HERSHEYPARK with HERSHEYPARK SWEET START - guests may enter HERSHEYPARK at 9 AM daily,
one-hour prior to regular Park opening to enjoy select rides and attractions in Founder's Circle and Comet Hollow.*

I took that straight from the website. I entered right at the turnstile. Just went up to the front. One other time, I entered around the back of the few gift shops before the turnstiles. There is a gate from behind, the same place you enter after you have done breakfast in the park.

Any other questions, just let me know.

 

[diskids2]

One more thing to add, take advantage of the preview package. You can enter the park the night before and it is "free". When the park is open until 10 /11 pm, you can enter at 7:30 (we have entered as early as 7:15). This is a great savings. We usually buy a two day pass and get the extra night before. We have a 3 1/2 hour drive to Hershey, so we leave at 6 am. Stop at Blue Mountain Diner (off 78 West) and arrive at Hershey around 11 am. We check in (most times are room is not ready, but we ask for a room where the people have already checked out and nicely request that housekeeping do that room first - they always accomodate us). We give them our cell phone number and go to the pool. Sometimes we put our bathing suits on in the morning before we leave home, other times, we change in the lockerooms. We enjoy the pool and when the room is ready, usually around 1pm, my DH brings the bags in, then I go in an unpack, the kids are still in the pool. We have lunch at the snack bar by the pool (nachos, hotdogs, etc.). Around 3 pm, we shower, change, then take the shuttle bus to Chocolate World, have dinner at (It used to be called Pippins - has a new name now - acutally for several years, but I always call it Pippins) anyway - it is before the turnstiles - hamburgers, etc. Then at 7:30 we go into the park on the preview.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Thanks, diskids2. Do you buy your park tickets at the front desk? The reservation agent told me to do that, but I don't know if that will work with the preview package. Do you know if the front desk offers discount on the multi-day tickets or just the one day tickets?

Thanks again!

 

[diskids2]

Thanks, diskids2. Do you buy your park tickets at the front desk? The reservation agent told me to do that, but I don't know if that will work with the preview package. Do you know if the front desk offers discount on the multi-day tickets or just the one day tickets?

Thanks again!

I buy the tickets at the front desk my first day there. Then, I just show my tickets to the agent at the turnstiles at 7:30 pm the night before and they stamp it preview.

Any other questions, just let me know.