Lancaster/Manheim PA area vacation

[Micka Mouse]

HI!
We are attending a soccer tournament in PA this July, and I want to make our vacation out of it. What are your suggestions for a family of 4?

We're staying in Lancaster over the weekend, then will have Monday thru Friday free. We'd like to go to Hershey Park. I tried to get a cabin at Hershey Campground, but they were sold out. The Hershey hotels are so expensive....are they worth it? What else is there to do? My girls are 14 and 11, active and adventurous.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

 

[pa. dad]

They're probably too old for Dutch Wonderland then so Hershey Park is good.
There's several minor league baseball teams in the area- Lancaster, reading, harrisburg, etc.
You may want to check out Shady maple smorgasboard or some mini golf places.
And if Hershey hotels cost too much, stay in lancaster and drive 20 minutes or stay in Harrisburg area and drive 10-15 minutes.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

depending on where you are staying in Lancaster it is just a short drive to Hershey Park. On a map of the area I live in Lititz and we have a family that lives near Hershey and drives to church each week. as much as I love Dutch Wonderland your girls are too old to enjoy that park. other than theme parks and soccer what do your girls like to do? if you can get a good deal Lancaster I would stay there and drive to anything you want to see. if you are AAA members stop and get a tour book of Pa and look and look for things your family will enjoy. before you buy tickets check and see if Giant supermarkets selling discount tickets as that is usually the best discount available to everyone.

 

[kopperdoodle]

HI!
We are attending a soccer tournament in PA this July, and I want to make our vacation out of it. What are your suggestions for a family of 4?

We're staying in Lancaster over the weekend, then will have Monday thru Friday free. We'd like to go to Hershey Park. I tried to get a cabin at Hershey Campground, but they were sold out. The Hershey hotels are so expensive....are they worth it? What else is there to do? My girls are 14 and 11, active and adventurous.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you!

Whenever we have gone to Hershey, we always stayed in the Lancaster area. ( about a half hour drive). (With your one day admission ticket, you can go in the park 2 1/2 hours before closing the night before "park preview"...we would go to the chocolate world about 4, ride the chocolate ride, look at the shops, do the 4D theatre ride, and then do the park preview!).
There is the Sight and Sound Theatre, American Music theatre, Fulton theatre, and others. In July, the Cherry Crest Farms Corn Maize will be up and running.(a lot of fun, and hard to get out of!). Strasbourg railroad, Strasburg Creamery (ice cream, sandwiches, nostalgic old-time candy store), Amish Farms (tour an Amish farm, house , school, etc.),Amish horse and buggy rides, horseback riding, lost treasure miniature golf and maze, outlets,etc. We enjoyed the family style restaurants especially "Good and Plenty" and "Plain and Fancy" ( also has a hotel, shops, tours, theatre show about the Amish). My family always found tons to do there. My son liked the area so much, he is in college there now!

 

[DisneyDiana]

Since it sounds like you will have some extra time during the week, I have to mention one of the most wonderful parks, Knoebels in Elysburg. It is not right in the Lancaster area but is an absolute must. It has award winning food and coasters and free admission and parking. You purchase tickets for the rides so you only pay for what you want to do. It is about an hour and a half from Hershey but is well worth it!

 

[scdak]

KopperDoodle gave some great suggestions, I thought I would add Turkey Hill Experience - I think its in Columbia, easy to get to from Hershey or Lancaster, ice cream to eat, "make", EAT MORE, cute movie, gift shop and did I mention EAT ice cream - we ate ice cream instead of lunch!

 

[Alexle2007]

We have season passes to Hersheypark and like to have mini vacations there. We typically stay the Comfort Suites in Hummelstown, about 10 min from Hershey. The Hershey Lodge is opening a new waterpark which looks pretty cool. Staying at a Hershey resort does get one hour early admission which is nice for getting on a few rides before the mob hits. There are some neat caverns right near Hershey. Gettysburg is not far so you could head that way for a night or two. If your girls like to shop, there are plenty of outlets in the area between Lancaster, Hershey and Gettysburg.

 

[Thing 1]

I Think you have a lot of ideas. We like the area so just wanted to mention our favorite. We have stayed in Lancaster and drove into Hershey, not far or hard. We really like Chocolate World. Our favorite there is the trolley tour. VERY well done. We enjoy the Amish tour but also just enjoy riding around the area on our own. We also did enjoy the Turkey Hill tour but did not have our kids and thought it was more kid than adult friendly. Our most favorite thing is the Sights and Sounds Theater. The plays are so well done! It is a religious based production but I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it. Have a good trip!

 

[nj disney family]

I second the Turkey Hill Experience. It's a little smaller than I thought, but all you can eat ice cream and ice-t for $10, not bad. For $5 more you can create your own ice cream and take it home with you (a pint I think).

 

[wdwrule]

I agree with all and especially knoebel's that disneydiana mentioned. Chocolate World's admission and parking is free. Hershey is a great area!

 

[MagicaDeSpell]

We stayed in Strasburg, PA at the Clarion Inn last summer and I'd recommend it. We made a day trip out of Hershey to take the trolley tour, seeing ZooAmerica, the Hershey "factory tour," and the museums. Outside of Hershey, I second the Sight & Sound Theater. My kids also loved the Strasburg Railroad and the Railroad Museum across the road from them.

If you want to rub elbows with the Amish and Mennonites in the area, without the touristy stuff, I recommend a meal or two at Katie's Kitchen on 896, near Sight & Sound Theater. It's Amish owned and it was packed with older Amish couples both times we went. The food was excellent and affordable, and the staff were very friendly. Everyone was very understanding of a couple of overtired children.

We plan to go back for a short trip sometime soon to see Samson on stage, we enjoyed it that much.

 

[noahdove]

I took my grandchildren to the Turkey Hill experience last August and we ALL
had an awesome time.. I also took them to Easton Pa to the Crayola factory
and again, it was great time. I go to Bird in Hand area of Lancaster at least twice
a year and I have never ran out of things to do. My grandchildren love it as well. Sight and
Sound is fantastic and very memorable. If your girls like to shop, there are 2 outlet malls there
and lots of shopping to be done. The Amish will be busy with their work so you will be able to
experience their work habits...very fascinating to say the least. No photos of them tho..
Bird in Hand has a great family restaurant, and a super ice cream shop just a walking distance down the
road.. We stay in a lovely inn right on Rt.896 and it is so ever peaceful. I request "our" room
every time. Don't be afraid to hit the back roads for a little education and peaceful serenity.
Hershey is great and not too far. There is also, Longwood Gardens to the east of Rt. 30 past
Lancaster itself. Beautiful...Ok, that's my speech...can you tell, I LOVE Smoketown, Bird in Hand area???
Yep, I do... enjoy no matter what you decide..oh, yes, ask for the little yellow map of the area
as it's very handy to take in the sights.

 

[jenhum]

I live in Lancaster and we have season passes to Hershey- it's definitely not a bad drive if you want to avoid Hershey prices. That said, the town of Hershey is just adorable. And Hershey Lodge is opening a really cool indoor mini water park that might make it a really fun place to stay. If you stayed there you could also take advantage of the early entrance, because July is definitely a really crowded time and there will be long waits for the big rides. Definitely do Chocolate World too, it's fun- I love the trolley tour. Since your kids are older, you may also enjoy The Hershey Story museum, which has more of the history of Milton Hershey and the town.

In Lancaster, I'd definitely check out the Central Market (open Tues, Fri and Sat, least crowded on Tues). Lititz is cute town to walk around. I think the Strasburg Railroad is fun, but my DD is 7, so your girls may be a little old for it. The Strasburg Creamery is a great little old fashioned lunch/ice cream/store spot, and if you're in Strasburg you'll likely see the Amish out and about. Most of the touristy Amish stuff is in Bird in Hand and Intercourse. Sight and Sound is really very cool if you are Christian (they are all Bible based shows, but really well done). The Fulton will be doing Footloose in July and they do high quality shows in a beautiful theater downtown.

If you like to shop, there are outlets in Lancaster and Hershey. King of Prussia (I think it's the biggest mall in America) is only an hour away. If you wanted to do a fun day trip, or even overnight, there is an Amtrak station in Lancaster and Philly is ~$30 round trip- it's a quick, easy trip.. Baltimore is about a 1.5 hr drive if you wanted to explore the harbor area.

 

[scdak]

I second the Turkey Hill Experience. It's a little smaller than I thought, but all you can eat ice cream and ice-t for $10, not bad. For $5 more you can create your own ice cream and take
it home with you (a pint I think).

Wait a minute - you are supposed to take it home with you Sorry, it didn't make it any further than the parking lot since we were staying in a hotel and didn't have a freezer LOL, but it sure was good!

 

[texasroni75]

We stayed at the Jellystone campgrounds at their cabins in Quarryville, PA. It's about an hour to Hershey Park from there, and Amish country (family style restaurants, quilt shopping, and visiting cute towns like Bird-in-Hand, PA) and Strasburg RR stuff not to far away either. When we didn't camp, we'd drive a little bit away from Hershey Park and stay at a chain hotel (Holiday Inn, or whatever - the further from the park, the more reasonable the rates).

 

[Magnetgirl25]

We live in the area. There is a ton to do . You could spend a day and a half at Hershey Park. Take advantage of buying your tickets the evening before and being able to get in the next day. There is a cute little ameusment park up north in Elysburg called Knoebels. That is a free ameusment park and you pay as you go on rides. Lancaster has a lot to do with in itself. There is Sight and Sound theater, spooky nook sports where there is a rock climbing wall etc. Have fun!! You are not that far from the poconos either. You have Camelbeach which is an outdoor water park, bushkill falls etc. Gettysburg is not that far either.