1. There isn’t free chocolate everywhere.  Sorry folks, but the only free chocolate you will find is on the exit from the Chocolate Tour ride at Hershey’s Chocolate World.  In fact chocolate isn’t cheaper at Hersheypark either.  Candy is the same price you’d find at your local stores and actually somewhat higher in some cases.  What you will find are products your local store may not carry.  Chocolate World and Hersheypark often showcase new to the market items so if you find something you’ve never seen before and love it, buy a bunch.
  2. Hersheypark is not flat and walking can be difficult.  This is very true. The park covers 110 acres which is larger than Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and has high points and low points that challenge even fit walkers.  The park entrance is in a high spot and you can continue along on the higher route by passing around Comet Hollow and going into the Music Box Way section.  The low points of the park are Comet Hollow and sections of Minetown.  Many years ago steep steps led out of these two areas but now they are steep paths that are wheelchair accessible.  If you have problems with slopes, pay very close attention to the park maps which are marked with the word STEEP when the incline is harder to navigate.
  3. You can’t see all of Hersheypark in a day.  Some people may be able to visit all portions of the park, but not if they are going to be riding rides and certainly not if they want to visit the Boardwalk water park area.  With over 60 rides (including 12 roller coasters in 2012) and 110 acres of sometimes tough walking, you just can’t see it all in one day.  So what do you do if you only have one day?  Visit www.hersheypark.com and take a look at the map, the ride descriptions and anything else you might like to see.  Have everyone make a list of their top 5 choices and start there.  Come to the park early and stay late (evenings offer the shortest lines for nearly all rides) to fit as much as you can in during your one day.  Do not visit in August when crowds are at their peak.
  4. Hersheypark is expensive. Yes, this should come as no surprise to anyone, but Hersheypark is expensive.  Research all options on the website, with AAA, with Giant Food Stores, to get the best deal on your park tickets.  Average ticket price without discounts is $64. Expect parking to be $10-12.  Expect your average meal for an adult to run you $12.  Expect drinks to be $3-5 a piece – unless you get the refillable mug for around $8 which you can refill free with water and ice all day.  Games are $2.  You are talking $100 per person for a day easily.  Be prepared.
  5. Hersheypark is HOT. Holy cow is this true.  Black asphalt is the pathway of choice at Hersheypark and that means Hot! Hot! Hot! in the summer sun.  Beware your children’s feet if they are in flip flops.  They may end up with a burn on their toes.  Hersheypark has very little shade left due to park modernization and new ride additions.  They do try to offer shade cloths, misters and other things to help with heat and sun, but they are few and far between.  ZooAmerica is one exception to this and it is a nice shady rest in the afternoon during the summer – well, if you don’t mind the “animal” smells.  Best things to do are bring sunscreen, wear a floppy hat, lift an umbrella, drink lots of water and visit the shops and indoor cooled areas to keep the heat at bay.

Bonus 6th thing:

Hersheypark is shoulder to shoulder crowded on Saturdays late June through mid-August.  Yes, in good weather this happens.  Waiting hours for a kiddie ride, no place to park your stroller, lines down the block for bathrooms, most attractions at the Boardwalk waterpark are at capacity and closed to new visitors.  That is Hersheypark on a Saturday in late June through early August.  Want to beat the crowds?  Go during the week Tuesday – Thursday in the evenings.  (Daytimes are full of summer camps and tour buses.) Or visit in May or early June before school lets out.  Yes, some things may not be open but you will have a much more pleasant travel experience.  If you must travel on a Saturday during the busy season?  Stay late – and be prepared to wait in line for a very long time.

Macaroni and Cheese at Chocolate World

Macaroni and Cheese at Chocolate World

We all know that eating at an amusement park can take a huge chunk of change out of your pocket.  Here are some tips for easing the pain while visiting Hersheypark:

  1. Purchase a meal voucher to get a discounted meal and a refillable mug.
  2. Use your refillable mug to get water and ice refills for FREE during your whole trip.
  3. Use your season pass to get a 15% discount on most food and drink.
  4. Visit Chocolate World as soon as it opens for day old cookie bargains for a delicious snack before you enter the park.
  5. Share meals.  Many meals at Hersheypark are too large for one person, this includes kid’s meals.  Not sure how much food you will get?  Watch what others order before you buy and see what the portion sizes are.  Nothing worse than paying top dollar for food and wasting half of it.
  6. The best healthy beverage bargain is at the milk vending machines.  A 16oz bottle of milk is $2.00, compared to a tiny box of milk for nearly a dollar more..  Be warned though, the chocolate milk is full of sugar but still better than soda since it at least contains some protein and calcium.  White milk is a healthier choice.
  7. Leave Hersheypark (get your hand stamped) and use the free shuttle at Chocolate World to go to downtown Hershey to eat lunch at a local restaurant.  Hershey offers everything from pizza and subs to high end dining.  Shuttles run during the summer season only.
  8. Eat at Chocolate World (get your hand stamped to return to the park) – try the macaroni and cheese side dish or the soup in a bread bowl.  Filling food at slightly less than park prices.
  9. Pack your own food and leave it in a cooler in your car. (No outside food is allowed in Hersheypark.)  Use the pavilions and picnic tables in the parking area and around Hersheypark Arena for your feast.  To save time, send one member of the family out to find a spot and set up the feast and then text/call the rest of the family when it is ready. Finding a spot is usually the hardest part.
  10. In the mood for ice cream?  Soft serve ice cream at the Turkey Hill outlets is much cheaper than hard ice cream anyplace else in the park.  Small soft serve cones are generally enough for most people and you can split one serving between two people if you ask for a spoon and an extra cone.  Though if you must have hard ice cream, Cold Stone Creamery dishes up large portions of amazing ice cream for not much more than the other ice cream places.  Ask for more spoons.

2011 Stroller prices

Updated for 2011 as of 5/1/11:  I did not make it to Knoebels in 2010 to update these prices but here they are for 2011.  I’m keeping the 2009 prices but crossing them out if they’ve changed just so you can see the difference.

The strollers at Knoebels are very similar to those at Hersheypark.  They also rent wheelchairs and wagons.

Here is a sign posting the list of prices:

2009 Knoebels stroller prices

2009 Knoebels stroller prices

In case you can’t read the photo, single strollers are STILL $4, double strollers are $12 $10.  Electric wheel chairs are $35 $30 and push wheel chairs are STILL $6.  Wagons are $6 $5.

(Original post dated 7/13/09)

Safety check sign at Chocolate World

It’s a tourist trap!  It’s expensive! 

I hear that a lot about Chocolate World.  I can’t do anything about the fact that it is a tourist trap but I can help with that expensive part.  Here are the things you need to do to make a trip to Chocolate World both fun and free:

  1. Eat before you get there. Chocolate World is full of things that will make you want to buy them if you are hungry.  There is all that candy and a food court complete with and ice cream stand.  It is tough to resist but you can do it if you eat before you arrive.
  2. Plan to only spend 2 hours. Parking is free at Chocolate World for the first 2 hours.
  3. Leave your wallet in the car. You can’t spend what you don’t have.
  4. Take your camera. Take great pictures of your family doing the free activities and in front of the other things you might want to do another time.  There is a great sign for pictures as you walk toward the entrance to Hersheypark.  You can take pictures there even when the park is closed.  Take a picture of you in the car during the tour ride so you won’t want to purchase their picture.
  5. Take the Hershey’s Great American Chocolate Tour Ride.  This ride is free and you get a free candy sample at the end.  You can ride it as many times as you want if you really like the candy sample.  Warning:  At one point in the ride a chocolate smell is piped in.  If you didn’t listen to #1 then hopefully you listened to #3 ’cause the kids will want more.
  6. Try the Hershey’s Kisses Packaging Experience.  This always reminds me of I Love Lucy.  The actual packaging part of it is free, you have to pay for the extras like the badge and photo and all that stuff.  Take your own pictures and skip the extras.
  7. Window shop in the shopping areas.  Yes this can be tough, but it is great to look at all the neat stuff you could buy but won’t.
  8. EXTRA TIP:  Before you go on your trip, buy a handful of on-sale Hershey’s candy at your grocery store and take it with you to satisfy the craving for chocolate.

So if all that looking but not buying bothers you, then budget and only bring a $20 in with you or whatever.  They do have ATMs but you should just stick with cash on hand. You can also check Chocolate World’s website for discounts and coupons.  These are more common in the off season when Hersheypark is closed.

I confirmed with Hersheypark Customer Service that you can apply the purchase price of your 2011 Springtime in the Park single day admission to the purchase of a Hersheypark Season Pass.  Make sure you keep your ticket stub with you when you apply for your pass.  For information on the season pass office, check my post here.

Inside Hersheypark Season Pass Office

I was really late getting my season pass to Hersheypark this year – like I waited until 2011.  Generally I take advantage of the fall discounts to get my pass but some things prevented that from happening so I went in February.  As you can see from the photo I had the place all to myself.

If you are considering a Season Pass to Hersheypark but aren’t sure if it would save you money, check out my post here on that very topic.

If you decide you want a Season Pass you will at some point need to visit the Season Pass office (unless you had a pass from last year and are using the same photo and then they can mail it to you for a surcharge.)  When the park is not open you park (for free) in the Chocolate World Parking lot. The Season Pass office is where the old Museum used to be.  As you approach the park entrance from Chocolate World the Season Pass Office is to your left on the other side of tram circle behind the guest services building.  There are signs.

Season Pass Office Sign

Here are some things you need to know about the Season Pass Office:

  • Until April 4th they close at 1 on Saturdays and are not open on Sundays.
  • The pass office closes at varying times depending on the day of the week and the date. Check the park website for exact dates/hours here.
  • They are incredibly busy (like line out the door) during Springtime in the Park and for the first several weeks of the regular season – especially on weekends.
  • They have only two service windows (with a third I have seen open only on very busy days.)
  • There are no bathrooms in the Season Pass Office.
  • You will have to fill out information cards for EVERY pass.  (The person processing your pass will also need to key in that info for EVERY pass.)
  • You can order season passes online with a surcharge but you will still need to wait in line to have your picture taken and your card issued.  You can’t take your voucher to the gate for admission.
  • It takes about 10 minutes to process each pass/group of passes up to about 4.  On heavy days they sometimes will hand out the forms to fill out while you wait – bring a pen, they won’t have them.
  • You will have your photo taken and it will be awful.  Be prepared.  (Or better yet, get your pass during Hersheypark in the Dark while you are wearing your costume – we really like to do that.)
  • Every person who gets a pass will get a value booklet for Hersheypark.  You can see what coupons are in it here.  (If you get the combo pass with Dutch Wonderland you will get a booklet for that too and you can see those details here.)
  • The people who work in the Season Pass Office have always been very nice – but the process can take awhile so the people waiting in line often are not very nice.

My suggestion to you is that if you can possibly manage it, get your passes BEFORE Springtime in the Park (April 16th) or after SPringtime in the Park ends (April 25th) and before the Regular Season begins (May 6th.)  Weekdays are best since most people have to bring children and kids are only out of school on Saturdays and Sundays.

The Ferris Wheel

Have you been thinking of getting a season pass to Hersheypark, but you aren’t sure if you’ll get your money’s worth out of it?

Here are some questions to ask:

  1. How many days during the regular season will I visit Hersheypark?
  2. Will I attend Springtime in the Park?
  3. Will I attend Hersheypark in the Dark?
  4. Will I attend Christmas Candylane?

Now that you know the answers to these questions, here is some information for you. These calculations are based upon the adult (9-54) pricing and do not reflect discounts that might be available through Giant grocery stores or AAA.  They assume a $26.95 admission for Hersheypark in the Dark (2010 price, will probably rise) and $10.95 admission for Christmas Candylane (2010 price – has been fairly steady):

  • Price of a 2011 season pass (which includes free parking and entry to all HP events including Springtime in the Park, Halloween in Hershey and Christmas Candylane and ZooAmerica year-round): $142.00 (this is only a $2 increase from 2010 by the way)
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day in 2011: $63.95
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for two regular season days in 2011 (not buying a 2 day ticket): $147.90
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for two regular season days in 2011 (with a two day ticket): $91.50
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for three regular season days in 2011 (not buying a 3 day ticket): $221.85
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for three regular season days in 2011 (with a 3 day ticket): $130.50
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day and all seasonal events (Spring, Halloween and Christmas): $158.50
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day plus Springtime in the park: $100.90
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day plus Hersheypark in the Dark: $100.90
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day plus Springtime in the Park and Hersheypark in the Dark: $201.80
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day plus Christmas Candylane: $84.90
  • Total cost (w/parking) to go to HP for one regular season day plus either Springtime OR Halloween AND Christmas Candylane: $185.80

So the breakeven point for 2011 has gone down to two regular season visits – if you don’t purchase the 2 day ticket.  If you purchase a 2 day ticket the breakeven is a little over 3.   Attending off-season events lowers this even further depending on how many of them and which ones.

If you are coming in from out of town and will visit over 2 days, you should consider some of the other ticketing options such as consecutive day tickets, sunset admission and preview plan admissions which are discussed here.  Most likely you will do better with these than with a season pass.

Here are the high level perks that go with the Season Pass.  Some of these will save you quite a bit of money – like the food and beverage and parking discounts so they should be kept in mind.

Here is what your Season Pass will entitle you to:

  • Parking is FREE all year when the park is open with a season pass. It generally costs $10 to park so this is a big savings all year long. It’s great to be able to flash that pass at the lot entry and have them say “Have a nice day” without handing over any money.
  • You get 15% off of all food & drink purchased in the park. This adds up on entrees that run $10 and up. You can get a soda refill in a souvenir cup for under a dollar!
  • You get unlimited free admission to HersheyPark during the regular season PLUS unlimited free admission/parking for all of the following:

Springtime in the Park ($26.95 in 2011)

Hersheypark in the Dark ($26.95 in 2010)

Christmas Candylane ($10.95 in 2010)

  • You get a coupon booklet with useful coupons for each person with a pass. These currently include more than one coupon to get an admission for a friend for a much reduced price.  See the coupons included for 2011 here.
  • You get free admission to ZooAmerica all year with a season pass. This is a great bargain for families with small children who like animals. You can visit in the off season and take your time strolling through the zoo in every season. Believe me, it is a different experience when the zoo is open and the park is closed. Regular admission is from $8-10 depending on age.
  • 3 free newsletters a year which sometimes include coupons

Still not sure?  Read on.

Up to this point I’ve discussed the straight monetary reasons for getting a season pass. This section of the post combines thoughts on money and also usage of the season pass. If you’ve never had one, you may not have thought of some of these things.

Are you local? If you are local a season pass opens Hershey up as a wonderful mall alternative. When we just want to get out and about, we hop in the car and stroll through the park picking up an ice cream or catching a show.

Do you like concerts? Hershey brings a lot of bands to its amphitheater and you get in free of charge when you are in the park. An added perk we learned about last year was if there is a concert at the stadium, you can hear the music if you are outside Chocolate World. This is technically cheating, but there are many folks who bring lawn chairs to sit in the parking lot and take in the music. Frankly I don’t want to SEE most of those people anyway, just hear their music.

Do you like the park best at night? With a season pass you can come as late as you want and stay for only a few hours – if you arrive at 8 on nights they close at 11 you still get 3 hours of park time. If you have a season pass you won’t feel bad about coming for short periods of time only.

Do you like to ride roller coasters and other thrill rides? Here is one of my daughter’s favorite perks. If you like to ride rides, you can go to the park on days when the weather is threatening rain or rains in the AM and is not clearing until the evening. Many folks won’t plunk down money to buy a ticket on a drizzly or overcast day and the park will be nearly empty. You can show up for those two dry hours in the middle of a dreary day and ride till your heart’s content.

Do you like to walk for exercise? Hershey is a great place to get your miles in and some of those miles are darn tough. Plus you can cool off in the new water area this year when you’re done.

Do you have a pool membership but your kids only like slides and splashing, not swimming? Remember that a season pass to Hershey includes entrance to the Boardwalk – a giant water play area with a wave pool. You may save a great deal of money by ditching the pool membership.

Do your kids like animals? Your season pass includes free admission to Zoo America all year long. If you look at the price of a trip to the zoo you may find the season pass cheaper. Plus you can take your kids in every season to see how the animals’ habits and habitats change with the seasons. There is also Creatures of the Night in October that is super fun- with flashlights.

Do you like to visit The Hershey Story or other downtown Hershey places? There is a free shuttle to downtown Hershey that you can pick up at Chocolate World.  It drops you off at the municiple parking building which is a short walk (there is an elevator too) to ZooAmerica, The Hershey Story and other downtown sights.  This is something everyone can do with or without a pass, but using the park as a hub will save you some gas.

These are just a few of the “hidden values” to having a season pass.  Thanks for reading this post to the end!

Here is the list of the Season Pass perks (unlimited use) and coupons in the 2011 Hersheypark Season Pass Value Book.  You must show your pass to receive all perks and use all coupons:

Another challenge coming for coaster fans?

From the news on the web it looks like Hersheypark is once again going to go the viral marketing campaign route to gain interest in its new 2012 attraction.

If you want to know more about how they have done this in the past with Fahrenheit, check out the great Wikipedia explanation here of what actually happened to launch that coaster.

Apparently Hersheypark visitors started seeing some strange things back in the fall of 2010 when people in white lab coats from the Ride Institute of Technology started asking park members questions about certain aspects of ride design.  The information on those lab coats led these savvy park visitors to a website that appears to be the kicking off point for the 2012 attraction campaign.

So, if you’d like to get in on the ground floor of this campaign and you didn’t get to visit with someone in a white lab coat, check out the discussions on Screamscape.com here and visit the Ride Institute of Technology website (those lab coat folks) here to sign up for their mail distribution.  All you will get now is an auto-reply but that will probably change in the Spring when this campaign begins to heat up.

For photos on the demolition/building site, visit Keystone Thrills.

Have fun!

Christmas Candylane 2010Yes I was one of the 100 or so people (OK, maybe it was more like 300) who showed up on the very first day of Christmas Candylane this year.  If there wasn’t a football game going on in the stadium the place would have been deserted – as it was, when I left around 8:45 it was nearly deserted.

Since I like to keep people up to date on things going on at Hersheypark, I wanted to make sure I made an early trip to Christmas Candylane in 2010 since I barely made it there last year (or did I not go at all… I forget.)  Anyway, I had a really nice trip and since parking and admission were free with my 2010 Season Pass I felt I got my money’s worth.

Here are the highlights – and lowlights – from my trip:

  • Hot beverage souvenir cups with hot chocolate are available for $4.95 with .99 refills (minus 15% if you show your season pass) and unlike previous years when they had really fat cups that didn’t fit into beverage holders, these cups are slim and will be able to fit into the cup holders on your stroller.  Honestly, if you are a hot beverage drinker or have kids that like hot chocolate, spring for one of these cups.  They will save you a ton of money.
  • Santa is in the house – or actually in what used to be the food court next to Boardwalk Fries.  He has a guard to keep people from coming in with strollers.  You will be standing in line with your small child(ren) without a stroller.  Be prepared.  Santa has a mailbox that little ones can put their letters in as well if they’ve made out a list.  (I tried to find out what happened to them, but nobody knew.)  You can have one free photo with Santa with your own camera, but after that you must buy a package.  I was told this policy may change if the lines get long.  The cheapest package price for a photo with Santa is $11.99 plus tax for one 5×7.  There are digital add on options. 
  • The warmest place in the park award goes to the Minetown Arcade.  Many of the  machines had been repaired that were down for the summer and I spent a great 45 min playing Cyclone pinball on one quarter and got a couple high scores.  Nice present for me!
  • The night I attended was a full moon so I got some really great pictures but it was COLD!  Please think twice before bringing small children out to this event in the cold.  Most children I saw under the age of 4 or so couldn’t care less about the lights and were miserable.  They didn’t want to ride rides, they didn’t want to see Santa – they wanted to go home and made sure everyone in a 10 mile radius knew this as only small children can.  I have two littles ones that I will bring down if there is a warmish day, otherwise we will not be making the trip with them.
  • I caught the NOEL show a few times – it is a lights and music show that runs every 30 min in Comet Hollow.  There are 3 viewing spots from the Aquatheater bridge, the Ampitheatre bridge and the bridge by the SooperDooperLooper.  A set of bleachers are located at the Ampitheatre location and this is the best place to watch it from on the ground.  You are surrounded by the lights so it makes you feel like you are really in the action.  But the absolute BEST place to see NOEL from is on the Skyview ride.  Time your ride to coincide with the beginning of the show (or a few minutes after since it takes a little while to get down in the Hollow) and you will really get a show!
  • I did catch the Home Sweet Home for Christmas show at the Music Box but that deserves its own post so check here for my thoughts.  I do think it is a show worth seeing, but I also have a few reservations about it.
  • A word about tram service.  The brochure indicates tram service will be available but it was not running the night I was there so my guess is unless there is parking out to Tram Stop 1 and beyond, there will be no tram service.
  • Looking to eat while you are at Christmas Candylane?  Well, you will find a few things you don’t see in the regular season like Baked Potatoes, but mostly what you will find are closed doors.  Very few eateries are open during the winter season so I would plan on eating before or after your visit unless you want to pay a ton of money for burgers and chicken fingers.  Or try the food court at Chocolate World or sit down at the Tudor Grill.  You’ll still pay a lot of money, but you’ll have more – and better – choices.
  • If you like Hersheypark themed merchandise you are in luck ’cause every store is chock full of it!  You can find some nice things like chocolate scented candles and gift bags and boxes for the chocolate lovers on your list but the shopping is not what it used to be “way back when” they had independent stores stocking the shelves.
  • Be sure to check out the model train display outside Santa’s Workshop.  I love trains and this was a nice diversion from the usual lights and trees.
  • ZooAmerica is only open until 4:30 so if you want to see the animals you need to arrive early.
  • Make sure you take a ride on the Candylane Twilight Express – the Dry Gulch Railroad normally.  Lights and decorations are put up all along the route and it is a nice way to get off your feet.  Be warned though, it is brisk when the train gets moving!  You will need to remove your children from strollers for this and I personally don’t think it is worth waking a sleeping child for the ride.  They will not appreciate the cold lights nearly as much as they enjoy a warm nap.
  • Visit the reindeer – please.  They are at the very end of the open area of the park and nobody was there when I was there.  Must get kind of lonely.

Every year I question if this event is worth the trip and I can honestly say that if you have to pay to get in, don’t come.  The park is more shut off than ever, there are fewer food options than ever, the shopping is “Hersheypark-ified” and there are many other places you can visit Santa that are warmer and more little child friendly.

If you can get in free with your season passes, well, you might want to try it.  It is festive, the lights are nice to see and a ride on the carrousel in the dark night with Ave Maria playing on the organ is special.

© 2012 Amusement Park Mom Suffusion theme by Sayontan Sinha