DH, DD and I went to Hershey for the first time in a couple of years with my friend from work and her "crew". We were looking forward to checking out the new Boardwalk section. The whole park was sooooooo crowded

It was the week before schools went back and maybe earlier in the season was better, but the crowds were unreal.

We hardly got to do any rides. DH and DD love the "wilder" rides, by I am a real chicken, and there wasn't all that much to do, especially w/o DS to keep me company......lol. Really can't even compare it to WDW, that's for sure. Of course, when my kids were younger and we couldn't take them out of school, we suffered the Disney crowds and heat of August and that was no picnic either. Still, there is more to do for those of us with tamer tastes and the last week of August is (slightly) less crowded as far as summer crowds go.
It was crowded all summer long! DS and I have made about 15 trips this summer and didn't once enjoy the Boardwalk. The nice thing about being 1/2 hour away is being able to leave when the crowds get to ugly.
I think Hershey's Boardwalk was a bigger success than they anticipated. The crowds were unreal and I don't think they stay open after the "season", which is a shame because the weather has been beautiful. It would be nice to only be a 1/2 hour away, but Philly is a good area, reasonable rides to Hershey, Poconos, Jersey shore, etc.