OT-Hershey park- advice?

[scjo68]

I am taking my dd to Hershey park at the end of August. It is our first time. I found the Hershey boards, and while they were very informative, they don't seem to get the traffic that the Dis does, so I thought some of you might be able to offer some thoughts. In true Dis-obsessed overplanner style, of course!

We are staying at the Hershey Lodge, and are doing the Breakfast in the park. We just take a shuttle there, right? Then we are in the park for the extra am hour?

How long should we plan to be at chocolate world? I assume we can take the same shuttle from the hotel?

The Zooamerica- it's free through the park entrance right? How long would we want to spend in the zoo?

Rides- I know the big coasters will have big lines. My dd doesn't do huge rides, like RnRC, but likes BTMR, Space mtn, those kinds of moderate coasters. What rides would you head for early, to try to beat the lines? For instance is there anything that is not too exciting, but due to slow loading, we should still try to hit ealy? (I'm thinking something like Dumbo, etc.)

Thanks!

 

[Desnik]

I am taking my dd to Hershey park at the end of August. It is our first time. I found the Hershey boards, and while they were very informative, they don't seem to get the traffic that the Dis does, so I thought some of you might be able to offer some thoughts. In true Dis-obsessed overplanner style, of course!
I run the Hershey Boards and the hershey info site. Glad you found the boards, and your right we don't have a lot of posters, but believe me there are a lot of lurkers!LOL I can "see" them. I just am not sure why many are not posting.


We are staying at the Hershey Lodge, and are doing the Breakfast in the park. We just take a shuttle there, right? Then we are in the park for the extra am hour?
Yes, the bus from the Lodge will take you directly to the park, then you will be there for the early am entrance and breakfast.
How long should we plan to be at chocolate world? I assume we can take the same shuttle from the hotel?
How long you spend at Chocolate World is up to you. An hour or 4. If you do all the stuff there is to do there. You could easily spend 3 hours. They have the Factory Works, Chocolate Tour ride, 3D show and Trolley Tour. As well as food and shopping. Chocolate World is right next to the park so no need to get on a bus agin.
The Zooamerica- it's free through the park entrance right? How long would we want to spend in the zoo?
Again, it depends on how much you like the zoo. It is free and the entrance is in the park(there is also another entrance for visitors not going to the park) We usually don't spend too much time here. We actually skip it now. A good way to get a "sneak peak" is while riding the monorail/tram in the park. It goes right over the zoo and you can get a good look at it from there.
Rides- I know the big coasters will have big lines. My dd doesn't do huge rides, like RnRC, but likes BTMR, Space mtn, those kinds of moderate coasters. What rides would you head for early, to try to beat the lines? For instance is there anything that is not too exciting, but due to slow loading, we should still try to hit ealy? (I'm thinking something like Dumbo, etc.)
Usually, if we have people with us that want to do the "big rides" or coasters we head to the back of the park first and work our way to the front. I bet your DD will love the coaster The Comet. My DD likes the same rides at Disney and loves the Comet. As far as slow loading times, the Skyview has to be the slowest loading ride ever!LOL I would also hit thr Reeses ride early because everytime we go there it is closed. So if you see it open jump in line!
Thanks!

Hope my answers help! Have a great time. If you want to see pics of the rides just check my info site and click "rides". the link is in my siggy.

 

[scjo68]

Thanks!
So, you are Webmaster Nikki?

I really enjoyed reading your boards, and I did find them very informative. I actually started with about 100 questions, and after reading your info, narrowed it down to just a handful. I found your picures very helpful, and dd and I figured out together which rides look good for her. Now I know which to hit early, so that will help.

I have kind of procrastinated gathering specific info for this trip, though we do have our ressies. Most of the posts on the Hershey board look like they are from last year, so I thought I'd get quicker answers here. I promise after our trip, when I actually have some info of my own, I will jump on the HB to answer any questions I can.

Thanks!

 

[Nie0214]

I don't remember the Zoo being anything special. I used to go to Hershey every year (but haven't been since I was 15 or so). It is rather small, you could probably tour the whole thing in a half hour. If you skip it though, you won't be missing much.

I Hershey though. It is such a nice park (or was 7 years ago!).

 

[Convert]

How old is your daughter? I work at HP's sister amusement park Dutch Wonderland. It is gearted towards younger folks -- 8 or so and under. If your daughter likes BTMRR, she'll like our coaster. But we just have one.

My DS, who is 5, likes DW but since he's grown up at WDW, he is starting to like HP a bit more. They have bigger kid rides like Reese Extreme Challenge (a good imitation of Space Ranger Spin!) and The Comet is a GREAT wooden coaster.

Anyway, have a great time at HP!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

We went to Hershey a few years ago and had a great time. We ran out of time for the trolley tour, but I wish we had done it.

The best part...when you drive by the real factory, roll down your windows. It smells like chocolate! I also loved the street lights!

Have fun!

 

[daleswife]

Advise is to send giant hershey bar care of daleswife in WV........LOL, J/K Have a blast and eat all kinds of chocolate!!!

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Advise is to send giant hershey bar care of daleswife in WV........LOL, J/K Have a blast and eat all kinds of chocolate!!!

This reminded me! The chocolate really did taste better! I think it is fresher. We had Take 5's for the first time when we were there. At home they just don't taste as yummy!

 

[jlstwinmommy]

We go to Hersheypark every year. We only do the chocolate ride in Chocolate World. I would advise doing that later in the day, maybe on your way out of the park. Even if it has a line, it moves pretty quickly. We usually ride chocolate world right before leaving town so I can buy any candy we want and not have it melt. I agree the chocolate is fresher and tastes much better there.

If you want to do any of the water park rides (new last year), head to that section when they open at 10am. Those rides get really crowded pretty quickly. During the early entry (sweet start), they usually only open Comet Hollow and the front of the park (which is the carousel and a bunch of kid rides). My kids like this because we use the time to ride the Comet and the Super Duper Looper (if it is open, it wasn't this year when we went).

We usually stay at the Hershey Lodge. I so love that hotel. I've never done the breakfast in the park thing, we usually eat breakfast at the Hershey Hotel which I think has the best breakfast buffet ever (chocolate croissants and belgium waffles with chocolate, mmmmmmmmmm)

Have a great time in Hershey!

 

[RMulieri]

Any questions pm me..I live in hershey

 

[MindyLuvsMickey]

We were just at Hershey on Monday. The crowds weren't terrible, BUT the waits for the two newest coasters were outrageous. I think Storm Runner was an hour and Farenheit was 2 hours. We waited for pretty much everything, including ice cream.

It's funny. I said to my husband "why is it that I'm willing to wait for ice cream at Disney but not at Hershey?" LOL I guess it's that we are at Hershey so frequently (several times each summer) I only get to Disney once a year, if that.

Make sure you wear good walking shoes. Hershey is a very hilly park.

 

[Desnik]

Thanks!
So, you are Webmaster Nikki?

I really enjoyed reading your boards, and I did find them very informative. I actually started with about 100 questions, and after reading your info, narrowed it down to just a handful. I found your picures very helpful, and dd and I figured out together which rides look good for her. Now I know which to hit early, so that will help.

I have kind of procrastinated gathering specific info for this trip, though we do have our ressies. Most of the posts on the Hershey board look like they are from last year, so I thought I'd get quicker answers here. I promise after our trip, when I actually have some info of my own, I will jump on the HB to answer any questions I can.

Thanks!

Yes, I am Webmaster Nikki!! I am so glad you found my sites helpful! We would love to have you on the HP boards!

That also goes for everyone who posted great advice here. Would love to see some of you over at my Hershey Boards.

FYI, Hershey will be adding to the water park area next year. They will have a big wave pool and so much more! They will even have cabanas for resort guests that you can reserve around the pool!!

 

[jenb1023]

I live about 20 minutes from Hersheypark and we have season passes so we go several times a year. My DD is almost five and enjoys every roller coaster she is tall enough to go on. At WDW, she loves BTMRR. Your DD would most likely enjoy the Super Dooper Looper, the Comet and the Trailblazer and if she is tall enough Lightning Racer. The Looper lines are always short. The Comet line can be long - it is an old coaster but people still love it. I usually just keep an eye on the line. If you are going on a Saturday, it will be pretty crazy busy and the lines for the most popular attractions and water area can get really long. Chocolateworld is free to get in and is before the park entrance so you can go there on a non-park day if you want to. The ride is free but the 3d show and Factory Works are not. Zoo America is ok - my dd likes it - you can easily zip through there in an hour or two. It is free from the park but has a separate entrance to go just to the zoo which you can pay for on a non-park day.

As another poster mentioned, Hersheypark is very hilly. I can commando tour WDW but a hot day at HP really takes the energy right out of me.

Hope this helps! Feel free to PM me if I can answer any more questions for you.

 

[WDWDecember]

The zoo is kind of boring. The Boardwalk is awesome- I'd go there first and secure a locker.

 

[scjo68]

Thanks, everyone! This is just the kind of info I need!

Convert- my DD is 10, so Dutch Wonderland is probably a little young for her. My ds is 4, so next time, DW would be good for him. This trip is just Mom/Daughter. She is growing up so fast- gotta get these things in while she will still go places with me!

Daleswife- I'd love to send you chocolate, but I'm afraid it would melt while shipping. I'll be sure to eat some for you, though : )

 

[taliategan]

Our family went to HP for 1st time last year. We went with friends who live in Harrisburg area. We are actually going back this upcoming Monday. Our friends' daughter were older than ours, so we split up several times during the day. I had no plan at all when I entered the park. The park was difficult to negotiate if you do not know where the rides/attractions are you want to go. I think it would also be hard to go through the whole park in one day, even if the crowds are light. There are a lot of coasters, and they are scattered through the park. Our waits were not bad, although we were there on Monday and the weather forecast was not good. The crowds really thinned out by nighttime, and the almost all rides were walk on at that time. I was on their web site this morning. I would suggest that you try to map out some plan to pick some rides and try to locate them on the park's map. Also, there are some entertainment/shows in various locations in the park during the day. If your family is interested, the locations and times of the shows are on the web site.

 

[kimbo0569]

We just got back from Hershey this weekend (Fri thru Sunday) - this is our 3rd year in a row. We did the zoo the first year and it was nice but nothing major...so we skipped it the last two years. We usually do Chocolate World the first day and the last day. My girls love the factory tour ride (they call it the "cow" ride..lol) and they love to do the Hershey Factory Works. Then we hit the park for 2 days...we have one day to do the dry rides that they want to do and then the next day we hit the "Boardwalk area" first because it does get crowded over there and my youngest isn't too keen on water rides.
Unfortunately, we've done 2 day passes the last two years and still have not made it on to alot of the rides. I think next year we've got to come up with a better game plan.
Our last day we usually do Chocolate World one last time and do our shopping then, then hit the 3 hour drive home....

I think this has become our next favorite place to "tide us over" til our next Disney trip. We haven't stayed at the Hershey resorts. We usually stay in Harrisburg since it's only about 10-15 minutes to drive to the park.

 

[brockash]

I'm from Lancaster (it's about a half hour from Hershey,) and miss it so much. I'm a little jealous, but hope you have a wonderful time. It's a wonderful park. When I was little the only amusement parks I ever went to was really Hershey Park or Disney. Boy was I dissappointed when we moved and I entered the "real world" of places like Six Flags We used to go to Hershey every year, but I haven't been in about 2 years, so there's not much I can help on Chocolate World, really could only take you like a half hour or you could spend half a day (depending on how much you want to look around.) There's a little ride there that's interesting, and shows how chocolate is made. I have seen that Hershey itself has grown a lot over the last few years. As far as the zoo; it's a typical zoo, nothing special, so if you don't have much time, I might skip the zoo all together. However, the nice thing is that there's a walkway from the amusement park to the zoo. I really don't remember certain rides that were really horribly long. I do remember the water rides used to be pretty long on hot days (the water rides are towards the back of the park.) You might want to consider starting there and working your way back to the front (might be less crowded?) Hopefully this helped a little. I hope you all have a wonderful time

 

[scjo68]

Another question- the Breakfast in the park- does anyone know where that is?

Has anyone done it?

 

[jenb1023]

Another question- the Breakfast in the park- does anyone know where that is?

Has anyone done it?

I've never heard of a breakfast in the park being offered. It is probably a perk offered only to those staying at the Hotel Hershey or Hershey Lodge.