When you think of Hershey, you probably think about Hershey's Chocolates. So when you hear the term, Hersheypark, you probably imagine something along the lines of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory with some roller coasters. And yes, they do have a lot of chocolate and other stuff in the park. And while Hersheypark is sure to satisfy chocoholics, it is also sure to satisfy roller coaster enthusiasts. You've got Storm Runner, Skyrush, Candymonium, Fahrenheit, and so many other great rides. And that's not even taking Wildcat's Revenge into account, which they've added since my last visit, which like all RMCs, looks AMAZING!!! But aside from chocolate and roller coasters, they've got a lot of other stuff including many flat rides, some good quality dark rides, and of course, an entire waterpark. The staff are friendly, the food is good (I'm referring to the food they serve in the park. Not their candy products, though those are also good), and the location that they placed it in is really good. Now I will admit that I've had issues with crowds and operations when I visited. But thanks to the fastpass, I still had a lot of fun. Plus, I'm pretty sure my return visit was on an abormally crowded visit, and that your average summer day isn't that bad. If you are into chocolate, or roller coasters, I would highly recommend going to Hersheypark when in Pennsylvania.
During both of my visita to Hersheypark, I did not ride a single flat ride at Hersheypark. However, I don't think I missed out on too much after looking over their flat ride collection. Their current best flat ride would be the Triple Tower, which is a series of 3 different S&S Towers. A Double Shot, a Space Shot, and a Turbo Drop. I do have to admit. I love theming to Hershey products, and they just look GREAT side by side, especially since they're arranged by size. It just has a GREAT look. And I'm sure they're fun. I just went on a HORRENDOUSLY busy day!!! Aside from Triple Tower, you can also ride a Frisbee, a Condor, some Flyers, a Carousel, a Ferris Wheel, the Observation Tower, a Tilt a Whirl, and a Whip. If you're in love with any of the flat rides I just said, they've got it at Hersheypark.
Not sure how they run, but they look gorgeous! =)
Dark Rides
While Hersheypark is no Disneyland when it comes to the dark ride department, it does have two dark rides. The first one is....pretty damn strange. The Resses Cupfusion. This ride is.....shoot the evil candy people (who I swear are the reject minions of King Candy from Wreck-It Ralph. Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks that) and save the Reeses people. It's very strange. But you know what!? I had fun on it! So I'd still recommend it, simply out of sheer uniqueness! And then their second dark ride is over in the World of Chocolate just right outside of Hersheypark. Now during this dark ride, it is all about how Hershey makes their chocolate and other various products. It's actually pretty entertaining, especially when listening to the singing cows. Unfortunately, they updated the ride, and.....I greatly prefer the original version. Seriously, the new singing cows suck! Bring back the old ones! But even so, it's still a very fun dark ride worth checking out if you're visitng the World of Chocolate. Plus you get a free candy sample once the ride is over.
Here's a POV of the original version of the World of Chocolate Dark Ride, complete with catchy singing cows.
Water Rides
The one water ride I rode at Hersheypark was Coal Cracker. This isn't an amazing log flume by any means. I pretty much just called this ride East Coast Jet Stream, since.....this really just feels like Jet Stream @ Six Flags Magic Mountain. It's not anything special, but it gives me a nice cozy nostalgic feeling simply....due to the similarities of Jet Stream. But moving onto the other water rides that I didn't ride. They also have Tidal Force. Tidal Force is a Giant Shoot the Chutes ride that creates ONE HELL OF A SPLASH!!! I mean, that splash is even bigger than the Shoot the Chutes I rode at Dorney Park. They also used to have a Rapids Ride, but they tore it down to expand the Boardwalk. And speaking of the Boardwalk...
Hello East Coast Jet Stream. =)
Water Park
Yep. Hersheypark does have a water park included in the price of admission. Yep, its the Boardwalk. And from what I saw during my visit, it was INSANELY crowded. Now granted, it just opened when I visited, but they keep expanding it, so it must be popular. Though on the bright side, everyone in the Boardwalk leaves less people in Hersheypark and shorter Storm Runner Lines for me. =) But the Boardwalk does look like a good water park and I might just have to check it out on my next visit to the park.
This does look like a really fun water coaster.
Dining
Despite what you may hear when you hear the words "Hersheypark", it is NOT like the Chocolate Room from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. However, they do have some good food over at Hersheypark. While I didn't go to this resteraunt, they just recently opened up a new resteraunt called "Chocolatier". And this place looks REALLY good. I for sure have to eat here on my next visit. But aside from that, the food is pretty meh at the park. And yes, you can buy all your favorite Hersheys Products at Hersheypark.
Note to self. Eat here during next Hersheypark visit. =)
Theming and Other Attractions
Here are the reviews of all the other stuff at Hersheypark. As for theming, Hersheypark really doesn't have any. There are some plastic seagulls in the Boardwalk, but yeah. There's no theming at Hersheypark. It's all about Coasters and Chocolate. As for other stuff to do, they have the World of Chocolate which includes the Dark Ride, and an oppertunity to buy a sh*tload of Hersheys Products including the Legendary 5 lb Hershey Bar. And from what I've heard on their website, Hersheypark also owns a zoo nearby. So, you could go and see the animals. I'm sure there's alot more to do at Hersheypark, but I haven't discovered anything else with my limited time there.
In Conclusion
Hersheypark is a really cool theme park to visit. As well as some awesome rollercoasters to ride such as Skyrush and Storm Runner, they've also got a lot of chocolates and infromation and history about Hershey Products. And the Boardwalk looks like a fantastic water park that I would totally spend some time in if I had the time. And they've also got some fun flat rides and dark rides. While the park is no Willy Wonka Factory, they've got lots of chocolates as well as other awesome foods to eat. And to make things better, Hersheypark seems to keep expanding, with Wildcat's Revenge coming 2 years later, which I am really looking foreward to. I would totally recommend going to Hersheypark sometime in your life.
Enthusiast FAQs.
*Are there kiddy coaster restrictions? - I can't say for sure since I didn't try to get on it due to the INSANE crowds, but I'm pretty sure you can.
Tips
*Comet's line moves VERY slowly
*Run to Skyrush (or Wildcat's Revenge) when you first get to the park.
*The Boardwalk will most likely be crowded
*Don't forget to check out the World of Chocolate and their dark ride right outside.
