Hershey Park

[ZoeBell]

I'm going to Hershey Park with my daughter and a couple of her friends for the One Direction concert in 2 weeks. We are spending 2 nights at a Hampton Inn. Concert Friday, going to the Park on Saturday and home Sunday.

Any money saving tricks out there for this park?

We will eat breakfast at the hotel and planning on spending a good part of the day at the park then leaving for a nice lunch outside of the park then coming back for the evening. Then picking up a pizza or something cheaper on my way back to the hotel. Or should we suck it up and eat the overpriced food and just spend the day at the park and eat a nice dinner when we leave for the night?

I know it costs $$$ to travel anywhere but 6 months ago it sounded like a nice little get away. But when you add everything up it turns out quite costly.

Thanks for any tips you may have...

 

[Donnainnj]

We will be there too. Park Friday, concert Saturday for us.
I found this, in case you didn't know
http://www.hersheypark.com/general_info/insider_tips.php
Hersheypark Concert Deal

Ride the day away at Hersheypark before you rock and roll all night! Hersheypark offers a special discounted admission price of just $38.95* to concert-goers when using a Park ticket the day before, day of, or day after a concert. Concert-goers can present their concert ticket at the Hersheypark Front Gate on one of the three days to receive the discount, or they can buy their Park ticket at the Giant Center Box Office when they purchase concert tickets. Concert special admission tickets do not qualify for the Preview Plan. *All purchased tickets are subject to $.85 amusement tax.

 

[brian95]

we went last year july 4 we always ate outside the park to save money try brickers pizza we loved it. there also is a texas roadhouse there if you like that kind of place, I do

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

We are here and the food was great

http://bellaitaliahershey.com/

 

[Alexle2007]

We're season passholders to Hershey and for lunch we just grab a bucket of Boardwalk fries ( the stand is near the Great Bear and then go inside to the food court area to enjoy them in the air condition) for lunch and then eat dinner when we leave the park. I tried to talk my DS6 into something different last weekend and he didn't go for it.

 

[Jewel1310]

You can ask for a glass of water at the concession stands. It will be tap water, but it will be free. They will usually put ice in it. Have a great time!

 

[Halbleib1]

You can buy a meal plan for around 14.00. It includes a mug that you can get refilled for 99 cents. If you are eating in the park I highly recommend you buy the plan. Prices are higher than Disney for food. Even outside the park prices are higher at nearby places because you are in a tourist area.

Boardwalk fries is gone. They are still serving fries at that location but they are nowhere near as good.

Just in case anyone with little ones can use this: You can bring in drinks and some food if you have little ones so long as it is in a plastic bottle or juice box. No cans allowed. For adults in the past they limited you to one or two water bottles and no food. We have season passes and I have two little ones and have no problems bringing in a few snacks and juice boxes. I pack them in a ziplock bag with an ice pack and they stay pretty cool in the diaper bag even without a cooler. I don't know what the current policy is for adults without little ones though.

You can also pack a picnic to eat outside the park. They have picnic tables near the old stadium. They use to have some grills in the parking area as well.. When we would go and stay all day we always packed a picnic for lunch at the very least.

 

[Malibustyle23]

Do you already have tickets? If you are set on two days and don't have your tickets yet I would just buy a one day pass. All regular price tickets have a preview option that you can enter the park the day before for "free" a certain amount of hours before they close. The time varies by day and season.

I would rather pack a lunch than leave the park and return. Hershey seems like it is an all uphill battle and the parking lot is so big that I would just spend the money in the park or pack. I'm lazy and I'd rather stay at the park the entire time. If you look at time as money you would waste alot more spending the time to leave, eat and return than just staying and overpaying.

 

[Marshay]

We bought a discounted ticket through my sisters school (she is a teacher) and were still able to use the park preview option, so it's not just for regular price tickets. You just show your ticket at the gates.

Also we actually used the park preview on a Wednesday night, then went to Hersheypark for the full day on a Saturday. You don't have to use it just the night before. However the free parking deal associated with the preview is only good for the next day. So we just parked at Choc World for our preview night since you get 3 hours free anyway, so it worked out to only paying for parking once but visiting 1 full day and 1 evening (7:30pm-10pm).

We also did the meal deal and all loved the Smokehouse option -- pulled pork sandwich was yummy with steak potato fries!

Good luck!

 

[kmb584]

We go to Hershey for 2-3 long weekends each summer and I love the food at both Houlihan's and Fuddruckers with Houlihan's being my favorite. Both places are much more reasonably priced than the park and much, much reasonably priced that our hotel (either the Hotel Hershey or Hershey Lodge).

 

[wellesleyprincess]

Hoping to go Labor Day weekend, so I'm watching this thread

 

[danygirl]

I have never had a problem bringing a few snacks into the park - granola bars, fruit, etc. when they search your bag they are feeling around for other things. I just pack them in my towel for the water park. but they are sticklers for no cans.

Candy is the best snack value in the park - it is priced cheaper than you find in stores. so enjoy! and stock up before you go home. They have stuff you usually don't see at very reasonable prices.

my girls never tire of that world of chocolate ride, which is not in the park itself. They could ride it 5 times in a row! You get a free treat each time you ride.

drink the free water.

have a great time!!!!

 

[disny_luvr]

we went last year july 4 we always ate outside the park to save money try brickers pizza we loved it. there also is a texas roadhouse there if you like that kind of place, I do

Texas Roadhouse is actually in Palmyra, about 10 minutes east of Hershey.

We love Fenicci's in Hershey. It is right along Rt. 422 almost across the street from Houlihan's. There is also a Red Robin close to the park.

 

[disny_luvr]

I'm going to Hershey Park with my daughter and a couple of her friends for the One Direction concert in 2 weeks. We are spending 2 nights at a Hampton Inn. Concert Friday, going to the Park on Saturday and home Sunday.

Any money saving tricks out there for this park?

We will eat breakfast at the hotel and planning on spending a good part of the day at the park then leaving for a nice lunch outside of the park then coming back for the evening. Then picking up a pizza or something cheaper on my way back to the hotel. Or should we suck it up and eat the overpriced food and just spend the day at the park and eat a nice dinner when we leave for the night?

I know it costs $$$ to travel anywhere but 6 months ago it sounded like a nice little get away. But when you add everything up it turns out quite costly.

Thanks for any tips you may have...

Are you staying at the Hampton Inn along Rt. 422? If so, there is a great restaurant, the Hershey Pantry, right beside it. It wouldn't be ideal to leave the park to go eat there but you could eat there before the concert or after leaving the park for the day if you aren't there until closing. I know you said you'll be eating breakfast at your hotel but the breakfasts at the Pantry are amazing.

 

[ZoeBell]

Wow thanks for all the suggestions.

Yes I know about the concert/discounted ticket for the next day.

And I'm going with the suggestion of not leaving the park. You're right it does seem like a big hassle to leave and then come back. Now I'll decide if I want to pack something we pick up on the way and leave in the cooler or suck it up and pay in the park.

I will be sneaking in a few snacks..and water bottles(1 sealed bottle per person is allowed)

Our hotel is on Capital Drive? Now sure if that's the Hampton Inn close to the restaurant, but I'll be on the look out for it.

Thanks for the other restaurant suggestions!

 

[hncg57c]

Candy is the best snack value in the park - it is priced cheaper than you find in stores. so enjoy! and stock up before you go home. They have stuff you usually don't see at very reasonable prices.

Just curious, what kinds of candy are cheaper in the park? Do they offer these candies at Hershey's Chocolate World for the same price as at the park or not?

Thanks for all your suggestions. We will probably end up staying in the park for lunch.

 

[Iamthequeen]

I've never noticed that the candy is any cheaper in the parks than elsewhere, but I have not been in several years. The candy store at Chocolate World has many varieties that you can't find in most stores.

 

[Happyjen27]

We went last year and had a fabulous time. We stayed about 1.5 miles away from Hershey Park and that saved about 100/night in hotel costs. It was an easy drive.

I'm glad you're going to just stay in the park to eat. It's such a long walk to your car when you're in the park. And to make that long walk just to save a few bucks? No thank you. Time is money. The Subway subs were only upcharged by a couple of bucks, almost worth it to have it freshly prepared. Warning, food at this park seemed more expensive than at WDW when compared to what you get.

We were able to bring in a few bottled waters with no problem. We also brought some healthy snacks. I can always fall back on my son's peanut allergy when asked, but they didn't even care to ask.

 

[texasroni75]

We went to Hershey Park last summer. We stopped at Giant supermarket in Shippensburg on the way and got discount park tickets. Definitely don't order a pizza inside the park. It cost us nearly 25 dollars for one (not so tasty) pie! Wish we had just stuck to chicken nuggets and fries - much more filling. The soft-serve ice cream places in the park are pretty good though and not that expensive compared to other parks we've been to.

I didn't find the candy prices to be cheaper than outside the parks or at home. You do get a free candy/chocolate if you do the tour though

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Not a money saving tip but there is a great outlet outside mall right beside. Hershypark. There is even an outlet Disney store there too!