we are planning on staying in the lancaster, pa. area and visiting Hershey and Gettysburg. Can anyone tell me about the Hershey factory tour? or the ins and outs of the Amusement Park?
We went to Hershey 3 years ago - took a 15 year old and a 13 year old. We did the tour of the factory and it was ok for me, they got bored after about 30 minutes. The amusement park was fun. Not as good as Cedar Point or Busch Gardens (Williamsburg), but it is a very good park, comparable to Kings Island or Kings DOminion. Like any park, attend on a Tues, Wed or Thurs, NEVER on Friday, a weekend or a Monday. The crowds will be much less and there will be little or no standing in line for rides.
It has been a couple years but the tour is not the actual factory, it is a ride through with narration, but it is OK. The gardens are nice because the use cocoa shells as mulch. The park is nice, we enjoyed it, each section has kiddie rides as well as larger rides so groups can stay together for the most part. Make sure you start in the back, we made the mistake of starting in the front and waiting in the lines to later find that the rides in the back did not have lines until the afternoon. Pack dry clothes so you can change after the water rides.
The "factory tour" is located in Chocolate World. The tour has been upgraded recently and is much better than it used to be. It is not actually a tour of the factory, but a simulated factory. Chocolate World is located just outide Hershey Park and is basically a Chocolate Gift Shop on steroids. It is worth seeing, but should only take you a couple hours to do the whole thing.
Hershey Park is a good park with several goods rollercoasters. As stated above, avoid weekends as it is very busy. Buy your tickets in advance if you can as it makes getting through the gate easier. There is a new ride major this year (Farenheit), so crowds may be larger than usual. They added a waterpark last year which is small, but fun. Do the waterpark early in the day as crowds build in the afternoon. Boardwalk fries are great, make sure ou try them.
The simulated chocolate factory tour is about 10 minutes long and lame, in my opinion. The park is nice, clean and has good rides. Food is astronomically priced and one of the women in our group got sick from her sandwich. It was early in the season and not very busy, so I'm sure that sandwich had been hanging around awhile. If you have time, you may want to visit Knoebels Grove, which is another amusement park about 1 hour away from the Hershey area. Much less expenisive, it has one of the top 10 coasters in the world and is such a great family park. Everyone that I have ever sent there has loved it!
Husband, myself, 15 yo daughter, 13 yo son, 11 yo daughter,4 yo black lab named Boomer, 1 yo black lab mix rescue, Murphy and the newest edition...a 4 month old blind smooth coat collie named Toby!
Hershey is probably the closest you will get to Disney without going south.It is very clean and well run. The factory tour is as stated above only about 10 minuetes long, not bad.Overall it is a good family vacation place, we go every year for a weekend and the kids love it.
We think it's worth the trip. As others have stated, the tour is short and simple, not amazing, but the park is a lot of fun. The little museum is fun to poke through for a half hour, too. I think the best part about the tour was afterwards in the store/snack area we sat for a few minutes and enjoyed some awesome chocolate shakes! We went two years ago and have thought about returning for another visit. Have fun!
And don't forget the free piece of candy at the end of the tour !!
What is nice about Hershey Park is that the parking lot is not all that far away that you could not pack some food in a cooler and enjoy a picnic lunch (saving money).
Enjoy your trip to Hershey, Lancaster and Gettysburg. All three are excellent destinations...but beware of Lancaster..visit it once and you will want to do it again. We visited Lancaster over the Easter weekend and the DW is already to visit there again..must be the extra "stimulus" money she has now
My kids 14, 13, 11 LOVE Hershey Park. It clean, a good price, lots of food places and rides - Its a great day trip. The tour is interesting - especially since I am a teacher. The zoo is ok but I would not spend the extra to see the zoo.
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