Hershey Park Weekend

The last time I went to Hershey Park, it was for an orchestra competition in high school.  The only thing I remember about the trip was the Hershey kiss lamp posts.  Since the kids have been asking to take a trip somewhere, I thought a 3 hour drive to HP would be doable with baby T.  Thankfully, my parents were willing to make the trip with us.  It was a lot of fun for everyone and so helpful to have the grandparents with us. 

A couple tips I came across in my research before the trip that were helpful and I would recommend too: 
       Tip 1: First thing when we arrived at the park, I used the Family Finder Program and got wristbands for the kids with our cell phone numbers on it, in case any of them got lost in the crowds.  Apparently the Saturday we were there, there was a sold-out Bruno Mars concert and the crowds were particularly crazy that day.  However, I learned from one of the food stand attendants that Sunday are never really crowded, and I found that to be the case the Sunday we were there.

       Tip 2: I got official measurements for the kids in Founder's Circle (also makes for cute photo-ops to compare when we go next time).  After waiting in line for the rides, I didn't want to get to the front only to find that someone didn't meet the height requirement and then deal with the subsequent disappointment and tears.

a Hershey's, Reese's and a Miniature

       Tip 3: Buy a souvenir cup.  Refills are only $.99 and any food stand will fill your cup with FREE ice water. 

       Tip 4: Take along a reusable bag.  It's great for carrying all the prizes and stuffies they win at the games.  I particularly like Envirosax because it folds up really small but can carry a ton of stuff.

       Tip 5: FYI, I didn't get to use this since I bought 2-day tickets, but I found the cheapest 1-day tickets through the PA Boy Scouts.

Trip Highlights:
        1.  Hershey Park Character Breakfast--Okay so it's a little pricey but the kids loved it.  I thought it might be a little cheesy but it was perfect for my kids ages 6, 4, and 1.  Because the park doesn't open for 2 hours after the breakfast starts, we even got free parking.  When we arrived at Hershey Park Place, we were greeted by the characters.  Inside the restaurant we enjoyed a buffet breakfast while the characters came around, musicians sang songs personalized with our kids' names, and jugglers put on little acts.  A Hershey's chocolate bar even did a card trick for my mom.  And Lil P just loved the Hershey Kiss, I think because it's a girl.

By attending the breakfast, we were also given access to the park an hour before it opened.  This was awesome because the kids were able to go on one ride after another with no waits.  Even the grandparents and Baby T got on some rides. 

         2.  At Hershey's Chocolate World, which is a separate attraction from the amusement park, we went on a free chocolate tour with free samples and made our own customized candy bars.  It was really cool to choose the ingredients for our candy bar using touch screens and then watch it being made along a conveyor belt.  We also customized our own wrappers.  

My little chocolatiers customizing their chocolates

I bought 2 day tickets to HP and it allowed us a leisurely trip, instead of feeling like we had to jam everything into one day.  We went to the Boardwalk (the water portion of HP ) both days, to break up the day from the rides and games and also to cool off.  It gave baby T (and me!) an opportunity to nap too.  The Boardwalk had plenty to entertain the kids--a small wave pool area for Baby T, spray parks and slides for Lil P, and huge slides and a lazy river for big T.  Thank goodness we had the grandparents with us so we could split up in 3 different directions!

at the Boardwalk

The first day we got caught in a thunderstorm.  Though HP is an all-weather amusement park, we were at the Boardwalk during the storm.  Despite finding a canopy to stand under, we still got soaked for that brief moment that we were looking for cover.  Luckily the storm passed quickly and we were all in our swim wear so once we changed into our street clothes we were good to go.  The nice thing about having a little one is that we still use a stroller and we could easily tote around tons of stuff. 

It was a fun roadtrip.  This is why I love our minivan!  Here we are loaded up with all 7 of us and all our stuff with room to spare!  Hmm...where to next?

Road trip!!