hershey, penn

[findmewdw]

We are going to Niagara Falls in June. We're driving from Ky and are thinking about stopping at Hershey, PA. I don't believe there are tours of the factory now, but I do see that the Chocolate World ride will be reopening in May. We are a family of four with a 17 and 21 year old. We love chocolate, LOL, but trying to decide if this would be worth visiting for us. We would have loved a factory tour. Is the Hershey Park more enticing for younger children? Thought we could do Hershey and Gettysburg. Thoughts? Any other suggestions for places to visit close to the route or quick detour. Thanks for your responses.

 

[lorijohnhill]

It's been about a million years since I've been there, but lived right near Hershey Park in my early teen years. Our family loved it! We had season passes every year and spent most of the summer at the park. Chocolate World was always fun as well.

 

[disnerella]

We did Hershey, Gettysburg and DC (Capitol, White House, Museums...) just last summer and we thoroughly enjoyed it! We still talk about it and how much fun it was.

Our kids were ages 6 and 8 then and the Chocolate World part seemed geared to younger children. Ours loved it. We did the whole thing in about 6 hours (including all the tours). The adjacent theme park, however, is geared to both younger and older kids / teens and you could spend considerable more time there!

Ps. If you love history - consider booking the personal guide tour at Gettysburg where the ranger drives your vehicle and gives you the tour. Highly recommended.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[tazdeb]

Id say Hershey park is comparable to a 6 flags. Whats neat is as you walk in they give you halloween size candy. A few good coasters and shows. If your into history Gettysburg is a must do. Make sure you take a guided tour. We took a private tour that took 4 hours and was well worth it.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

It's not chocolate, but turkey hill has a tour of their ice cream factory not too far away.

 

[ibob52]

I still remember the *Turkey Hill* cookies-n-cream shake .. I got at Hershey Park

 

[Alexle2007]

We were just at HersheyPark this past Mother's Day weekend. We have been season passholders since DS was 4 and he is now 9 and can finally ride the "big" roller coasters. We love it there and during the summer the waterpark is awesome! There is plenty to do for younger children. We meant to check out the updated Chocolate World on Sun but we made our rounds through the roller coasters and then headed out to see Captain America. Highly recommend a visit there!

 

[Zim]

Hm, I don't know where you are in Kentucky, but Hershey and Gettysburg seems kind of seriously east of out of your way? If that's your route for one reason or another, yes I highly recommend. I live in Gettysburg so feel free to PM me any questions. It is a nice little town, certainly a historical experience. Garry Owens Irish Pub and Restaurant is a must and I highly recommend Gibson's Photographic Gallery - he does wet plate photos from an actual civil war era camera. Yes, he has the costumes of the era for you to wear - it's like an authentic version of the Old Tyme Photo places on the boardwalk. It's not cheap but it's a priceless experience for a history buff. He even has a wall of fame because he flies out all the time to do celebrity and History Channel work. There is also a terrific battlefield tour on horseback. Although they are popular, I'm not impressed with the ghost tours in Gettysburg - and they are on every corner. I do recommend just walking the town - lots of shops and even the Gettysburg College campus has lots of historical signage (classes were actually in session and completely clueless when the troops came into town, it was chaos apparently). And always check current events because special events happen all the time - reenactment divisions come in, I frequently hear cannon fire from my deck.

We have gone to Hershey Park for years and love it. The water park inside the park (no additional fee) is excellent and the coasters are great. The park is beautiful - I avoid Six Flags in DC and Dorney Park in Philly because I think they're less clean and pleasant. I'd put Hershey Park more on par with Busch Gardens. Someone mentioned free chocolate at Hershey - just so you aren't confused - you must ride the Hershey Chocolate Ride in the building located just before the park entrance in order to get the free halloween-sized candy treats - they have someone set up on the ride off ramp handing out candy just before the enormous gift shop It's a very calm, slow chocolate tour cart ride anyone can ride.

However if this is sort of a drive out of your way simply for these two stops, have you considered Cedar Point? That's in Sandusky Ohio and it is a veritable coaster mecca. I think it is up to what 18 or 19 coasters? Really an incredible theme park if you are a coaster fanatic and just south of Niagara Falls, really.

 

[Moomduck1]

The tours of the real factory stopped around 1973 or something like that. The one they have now is fake, but still enjoyable. For a 17 and 21 year old, it is not worth it. It is definitely geared for younger children (singing cows) and it will be super crowded in June. The candy that's sold there costs more than if you waited for a sale at a local store. That said, we still love to go there when we are in Hershey. It's free. It's right next door to the amusement park. Which your kids will want to go to once they see it. There are a lot of roller coasters and some other rides there. The lines might be long in June so you might want to time it so that you are there at opening and/or closing to make the most of the day. There's also a water park. You would need to plan on at least an entire day here. Gettysburg is also a lot of fun. We did a segway tour through the battlefields that was narrated that we really enjoyed. I would think that kids your age would really enjoy that. You could spend at least 2 days doing different tours there. You can take your car through the battlefields and stop and read the monuments if you want a free tour. I recommend some sort of guided tour.

 

[Moomduck1]

However if this is sort of a drive out of your way simply for these two stops, have you considered Cedar Point? That's in Sandusky Ohio and it is a veritable coaster mecca. I think it is up to what 18 or 19 coasters? Really an incredible theme park if you are a coaster fanatic and just south of Niagara Falls, really.

I didn't realize that you weren't passing through the area until I read this. You could also stop at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland if your kids are into that. We enjoyed it. We saw a ballgame as well as the ballpark is in walking distance. We haven't been to Cedar Point but friends who have been there rave about it. It's great if you like coasters.

 

[aprilchem]

The chocolate world ride is fun - I went to graduate school at Penn State, and we used to go all the time in graduate school. I've brought my children a few times and they love it as well. One experience I'd suggest is the "make your own chocolate bar" experience - we had a great time doing that!

 

[kymom99]

Gettysburg is cool. I think you all will like it. We stopped at Hershey World on the way home from Gettysburg and just spent and hour or so there. It was worth it I think. We live in Ky too.

 

[SMD]

My sister and I did Gettysburg (my pick) and Hershey (her pick) on a trip in our early 20s. She was bored senseless at Gettysburg. The small town itself might have been more interesting to her than the battlefield. It didn't take very long, especially if you read the signs fast and have longer legs for walking. Chocolate World is basically the tour. They stopped any kind of real factory tour over 40 years ago. The ride itself is a really long Epcot dark ride, though it may have changed. We just sort of reveled in the cheesiness. Everything else there costs money, but if you really like Kit Kats or Almond Joy and want to buy t-shirts and throw pillows it's fun. It's also a novelty to drive around and see all the streets named after chocolate and the street lights are shaped like chocolate kisses. Hershey Park was closed when we were there. We heard that when it's open, Hershey Park is free for that last hour. That might have been fun, seeing how much you can do for free in a theme park in an hour, even if it's mostly kiddie rides. What we actually liked more was stopping at convenience stores and looking at the snacks (we're from the west coast). There are so many brands of chips that we don't get there. There were also at least a dozen limited flavor Hershey bars that at the time hadn't made it here yet. And then we drove through Amish country to see buggies with headlights driving on the street and pictures of the Intercourse sign and all those things that tourists do.

 

[clori]

My kids were 9 and 13 when we went. We all enjoyed the Visitor Center. Yes the factory tour was geared for younger kids but we laughed and enjoyed it for what it was. We loved the Trolley Tour. It's always fun to design your own candy bar and even my dd9 who doesn't really like chocolate was okay at the chocolate tasting. We also enjoyed the Hershey Chocolate Museum - I think it was there where we did another chocolate tasting and we made our own chocolate bars. We also did two activity booklets. The Hershey Gardens were nice to walk around though we primarily did the kids area and scavenger hunt. We also did the zoo which was nice but nothing special. Of course we also spent 3 hours one night at Hershey park followed by a full day after. Hershey Park was fun but crowded. You could always do all the Hershey things except for Hershey Park.

Another day we spent in Gettyburg. I was worried my 9 year old would be bored and she kept saying she didn't want to go. It turned out she loved it. We did the visitor center first seeing the indoor exhibitions and getting the free junior ranger booklet. Then we purchased an audio guide book/cd and listened to that as we drove around stopping at places that we felt were interesting stops. On the way back to our hotel in Harrisburg we went to the Turkey Hill Experience where you get unlimited free samples of ice cream and ice tea. Most of the attractions were geared for younger visitors but still fun to walk around and see. Then for extra cost you can make your own ice cream which we also enjoyed. We stayed in Harrisburg the entire trip. Other places we went to include an Indian Cave and a few different science museums (using our local science museum membership recipricality). We had planned on going to the National Clock Museum but never made it there.

Of course we also spent a day in Lancaster. We did the Amish Experience tour that included a movie, bus ride, school house/house tour, and horse and buggy ride. We had lunch at an Amish restuant. I think my youngest got bored on the bus tour until we stopped at a roadside stand where she could pet mini horses. I think that was all we did that day since we spent the evening with local family.

 

[kymom99]

I'll add in Gettysburg we did a private tour in our car. It isn't as expensive as it sounds and it is worth every penny.

 

[Mickeyluver37]

The Turkey Hill Experience close by is pretty new and I've heard good things about it.

I think just stopping into Chocolate World is worth a stop. Parking is free for 3 hours, and they have a decent amount of food there. It would be well worth it to just stop for ice cream or a cupcake! They do also have "real food" if you are there at lunch time. The ride is being redone for 2016 but yes, it's an all ages ride. We also loved the make your own chocolate bar. The 3D movie is ok, and I wouldn't do the chocolate tasting again for the price.

 

[FreesiaE]

We are going to Niagara Falls in June. We're driving from Ky and are thinking about stopping at Hershey, PA. I don't believe there are tours of the factory now, but I do see that the Chocolate World ride will be reopening in May. We are a family of four with a 17 and 21 year old. We love chocolate, LOL, but trying to decide if this would be worth visiting for us. We would have loved a factory tour. Is the Hershey Park more enticing for younger children? Thought we could do Hershey and Gettysburg. Thoughts? Any other suggestions for places to visit close to the route or quick detour. Thanks for your responses.

I live in KY and you are very much going out of your way. The fastest route up to Niagara is via Ohio.

 

[findmewdw]

It's not chocolate, but turkey hill has a tour of their ice cream factory not too far away.

Ooh, that does sound good! I will check into this tour.

 

[findmewdw]

I didn't realize that you weren't passing through the area until I read this. You could also stop at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland if your kids are into that. We enjoyed it. We saw a ballgame as well as the ballpark is in walking distance. We haven't been to Cedar Point but friends who have been there rave about it. It's great if you like coasters.

Thanks, we are traveling through Ohio to get to Niagara Falls. The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland sounds fun. My kids have talked about visiting Cedar Point. Their friends love it. My DH and I really don't care for roller coasters anymore, however. Our kids can hit that park with their friends. LOL!

 

[findmewdw]

I live in KY and you are very much going out of your way. The fastest route up to Niagara is via Ohio.

Yes, we are going through Ohio on our way up, but we were thinking about returning a different way, if we can agree on interesting places to visit. My DH loves history and Gettysburg has always been on his list to visit, we just never seem to make it there. Our daughter will not enjoy Gettysburg, however. So trying to come up with ideas for everyone. We've thought about driving down the Canadian side home and visiting Michigan on the other hand. Thanks everyone for your suggestions!