Pop Quiz: Do you know where the city of Hershey is? Pennsylvania, of course! Amidst rolling farm country is the corporate headquarters and tour area for the chocolate brand.
We stopped in at Hershey's Chocolate World for a free ride that covers the basics of chocolate-making (with free chocolate samples at the end). If you're in the mood for a little entertainment, you can go to Hershey's Really Big 3D Show ($5.95/adults; $4.95/kids) - very well-done (albeit a tad bit scary for my tenderhearted 2-year-old). They also have a new attraction where guests can create their own candy bar.
Adjacent to Chocolate World is the highly-acclaimed Hersheypark, an amusement park equally well-suited for little ones and daredevils. Our girls laughed like crazy on the Spinning Ladybug and the Ferris Wheel, while Tim & I preferred the fast pace of the wooden coaster. You could easily spend an entire day there from sun-up to twilight (P.S. Don't forget your suits - there's a water park inside the gates too!).
To find out more about the man behind the brand, we strolled through the Hershey Story Museum on Chocolate Avenue. Tim & I left feeling very inspired by Milton Hershey - a man who knew many failures and who gave away his fortune to help others. In fact, he even started a residential school for orphan boys that is still in existence today - although now it reaches children of both genders who have financial and/or social need.
Have you ever been to Hershey, Pennsylvania? What did you like/not like about it?
What is your favorite Hershey's candy? Or - What is your favorite brand of chocolate?
* Special thanks to Hershey Entertainment & Resort for providing passes for area attractions.
I love hershey, we go every year for my work picnic :)
its a great place for kids and adults, I am so glad you had a great time!
I've never been to Hershey, but it sounds fun. We were going to go when we were visiting family in the Philly area, but my grandma's health took a turn for the worse and we had to go back to Chicago.
I've noticed at the end of your posts, you give a shout-out to companies that provide passes for your family. I'm curious - did those companies contact you through Give Every Day? Or do you need to contact them first?
In most cases, I contact them first since we don't plan our itinerary out super far in advance.
Oh so yummy. I didn't know there was a Hershey theme park. I just might have to put that on my "one day East Coast travel list."
I've never been - but as much as I love chocolate I think it definitely needs to be on the "one day" list :) As for my chocolate... I've never turned down anything Hershey but I prefer Lindt, Ghiradelli and other decadent things like that :), Dark chocolate is my favorite, and the mint patties my sister-in-law makes at Christmas time are awesome and the organic chocolate milk from the local milk farm is addictive!
Sounds like your family had a blast! My husband is actually from that area, Hempfield, and went there frequently growing up. I've always wanted to go because I love amusement parks, although we live in northern central NY. :( ....one day though.... Lol
We actually live about 20 minutes away from hershey park. I prefer knoebels to HP. If you guys are even close by you should go! It's free to get in and free parking. It is very kid friendly. (It has a lot more kid rides then HP)
I think I saw a billboard for Knoebels! Is it themed? Do you pay per ride? What do you like about it? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Hi Stephanie-
Here is the website: http://knoebels.com/ It's not really themed. You buy books of tickets (I believe they are 20 dollars) and then you pay per ride. I love that it's very kid friendly. (We have a 6 and 3 year old) It is CHEAP. We don't even usually go thru 2 books of tickets.You can also get wristbands. And as I said earlier- you don't pay to enter or park. And the food is priced very well. They also have a pool, mini golf, camping, and a couple museums. They also have great coasters. The phoenix gets a lot of attention, it's an all wood coaster. They also have picnic tables all around so you can bring your own food if you want! I hope this helps a little bit.
We will be going friday for the first time this season! We can't' wait.
Oooo...how fun! I pretty much love anything dark chocolate. Although, since Sophia is allergic to all things cocoa it's banished from my diet right now. So sad.
Dark chocolate is my favorite too. I prefer bitter chocolate...rather than super sweet.
I love Hershey Park. I grew up going once every summer. We would camp there for the weekend. And once I had kids I knew I wanted to take them there. I'm always impressed with how clean the park is and the employees are always friendly. We try to go every year and my kids love it. Since they've started the Hershey Half Marathon in October we go for that and it includes admission into the park. My kids get to enjoy the park on Saturday and I walk the half marathon on Sunday. It's a great weekend for everyone.
What is the "route" for the Hershey Half Marathon? Is it through the park? Tell me more!
We went once a few years ago and have decided to never go back for a couple of reasons. One is that we were not that impressed with the park. We expected more references to Hershey (perhaps a giant hershey kiss on top of the merry go round) and the rides were nothing special for the young ones. There are some other wonderful places nearby...Dutch Wonderland, Sesame Place and the rides at the Ocean.
We definitely expected the park to be more "themed" than it was. I'd love to see the park expand to include indoor chocolate rides with a storyline and more Hershey props/shows/decor.
I visited it about 15 years ago when I went to Penn State. I just remember we were all wet from going down on the water slides and had no clothes to change into :(
We actually opted out of the water park portion of the park - much to my 4-year-old's disappointment.
We forgot our suits in the car and decided it would best to just spend the day on the rides...which ended up producing lots of happy laughter (and screaming too!).